Camera Labs

Hi ekimzulad,

Like you I also have the FZ100 and have adjusted the NR to -2 and Sharpness to +1. Not from having another Panasonic to compare, but from reviews/post on another site.

Anxiously awaiting Gordon's review of the camera! Would also like Gordon to go into some of the initial settings he might recommend, as a starting point. for a beginner.

The FZ100 has so many possibilities. Would be nice to have some "Base" settings.

The FZ100 has a RAW mode and Gordon should compare the standard JPEG and RAW photos with each other.

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

id updated to the lastest firmware.. and it seems to be handling better the noise issues, anyone else updated the firmware?

Hi everyone, the FZ100 review will be done by Ken MacMahon, who alsow rote the FZ45 and SX30 IS reviews. He will be doing RAW tests with it, but as a preview, you can check the FZ45 results page compared to the FZ38 as it includes RAW comparisons.

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panas ... FZ35.shtml

He will also be looking at different settings in his review.

this shows again that the 14 mp on a super zoom is just the wrong decision.
Happy that Sony did choose 9 mp on the HX1

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http://hx9v.blogspot.com/

Hi everyone, if you haven't already noticed, our F100 review is here:

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panas ... DMC_FZ100/

Check out the first results page for some interesting comparisons with different settings... (scroll down to see them all!)

When comparing the reviews of the SX30 and FZ100 the low light movie example was dim with the FZ100. Can the reviewer please explain why so dim? Is there any adjustment to change this?

I assume it was darker simply due to the way the camera metered the scene. You can set the FZ100 into Creative Manual mode though and choose manual exposures for video if preferred. You might also be able to apply compensation in the auto modes too.

The FZ100 has great features with the CMOS sensor, however it appears that the sensor brings noise above 100 ISO. Can it be explained why the camera has a high ISO maximum that appears unusable. Do I misunderstand and the higher ISOs are usable? How can they be usable?
The picture definition is described as not the best. Is this because noise requires some slight loss of of definition even in the usable ISO range?
This is a negative that is making it difficult to choose this camera.

Gordon could explain this better, because he's written the review and his English is far better than mine, but Ill give it a try.
Noise, when we are talking about noise at 100 ISO, we're talking about 100% crops. Nobody is ever going to print 100% crops of his shots, a compact isnt just made for that.
If you look at 100 ISO, the FZ100 has more noise than other cameras, but that really doesnt matter that much.
Noise at higher ISOs is something else: If there's so much noise, it could ruine your images, even on prints. But, even then, if you dont print too large you wont see the noise.
The noise at 1600 ISO could only be seen on your screen when you zoom in the picture and when you print large pictures.

I hope you could understand me

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

Thanks Ruben123. I not familiar with the 100% crop definition. 100% implies to me that all the picture is cropped away, clearly this is not the case. Somehow it must mean a small proportin is left and zoomed in or blown up or enlarged.
So I gather that a normal uncropped picture is not going to be too affected by noise.

That's 100% right!

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

Ruben123 - As any long-zoom Bridge-Zoom camera can't be other than a "package of compromises" (I have 3 of them) - the Makers seem to "bias" their products towards one or other function mode.

Canon's SX30 is clearly biased towards its excellent Std HD Video - other functions, RAW, Fast Continuous, JPEG IQ, are either missing or somewhat limited.

Fuji's HS10 is biased towards low-light, high-ISO and very Fast Continuous - its Std and HD Video control functions are difficult to comment on, as it "zooms" jerkily-woefully and doesn't have any others... (Yes, I have one.)

Panasonic's FZ100 seems to bias towards stills IQ - while getting a good range of functions and Video - but at the cost of lower ISO noise.

Users with any of those cameras will be "working around" the compromises in their particular camera, and hopefully enjoying the functions towards which theirs is "biased".

And about every second or third post they make across several Forums, they'll be getting used to being advised to "get a DSLR".

If I'd bought a DSLR every time I'd been advised to, over the last 4.5 years and 3 Bridge Zooms - I'd now have a warehouse-full...

Well, I've been saving busily for quite a while - to "get-a-DSLR" - and I'll soon have a Pentax K-R...

Not because of all the "Advices" to "get one", over the past several years - but because such a device seems to be an excellent "accessory" for the collection of K-mount and M42 lenses now decorating my display-cabinet....

Dave.

We just spend a couple of weeks with an FZ100 reviewing it for our website. Overall, a nice camera. However, I felt that the photo quality was weak compared to our ZS7. Images did not appear nearly as sharp and crisp. I love the lens and the articulated screen. Disappointed that our lavaliere mic did not work with the external mic jack.

I recently purchased a new FZ100 camera and received it yesterday. I'm still studying the instructions and getting used to it. I noticed a "smudge" on the viewfinder image. It is near the upper right hand side of LCD viewfinder and is about 5mm in diameter. The smudge is on both the LCD, EVF, and the recorded image. I think it is a piece of dust on the sensor. The lens looks clean. The location of the smudge remains the same whether in wide angle or zoomed. The smudge is more clearly defined (less blurred) when zoomed.

My question is there a way for a user/owner to gain access to the sensor surface? I'd rather not send this back to the vendor, Digital Electronics, in New York. In fact, I'd rather not deal with them in any matter in the future.

Thank you.

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Louie