|
Title/Headline
Panasonic's
LUMIX
DMC-FZ30EG
Digital Camera |
Dear Fans &
Friends of Digital Photography
In case you arrived at this page via the
Namibia
Arts & Crafts Web, welcome to its parent website, the
Namibian Internet Portal on Web & IT & Namibia - WebITNamibia.com
for short.
If you came here through our
Free Publications section - many
thanks to you too for sharing our interest in photography.
Today, we would like to share with you a few thoughts and
experiences concerning digital cameras, with particular focus on the
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-30EG. You will be spared the enormous amount of
technical facts that accompany most camera reviews - there are
plenty of web pages on the Internet covering these in great detail.
Just do a search on any camera's name and/or model specification and
you will be swamped with results.
We want to take a look at digital cameras in a Namibian context, as
there are quite a few things to consider when selecting one for
mainly local use.
When we
started off looking for a new digital camera, Olympus was
our first choice simply because we knew from experience that their cameras all have excellent
lenses, they are well designed, and easy and fast to use - the company had refined
their products to an extent like only a market leader could. The
C-765 compact camera we used for about a year proved excellent
value-for-money and its 4 mega pixel images often exceeded the
quality of those taken with an older 1.5 mega pixel Olympus digital SLR camera.
The new
digital camera had to have the combined qualities of these two plus
some extras. We were
looking for a so-called "bridge" camera, one that offered the ease of use of a
point-and-shoot coupled with the characteristics of a SLR camera
minus the inconveniences.
We
eventually settled for the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ30EG because it
met, if not exceeded, the expectations most important to us - apart
of course from delivering a sterling performance in image quality.
In the following we will discuss the following topics:
Camera Body/Casing
Camera Weight/Manageability
Zoom Lens & Operations
LCD monitor & View Finder
Summary
- Sturdy and
thoroughly designed casing
In our
predominantly hot Namibian climate and desert environment, cameras
are often exposed to rougher conditions than they were
built for. Their casings therefore should be made of durable
materials that can take heat as well as sand without suffering
serious damage. Since plastic casings came into fashion, one is not
necessarily as strong and durable as the next one - the price tells
the difference also in this respect. Moveable parts, like
buttons and lens connectors, should have a tight fit with the main
body to minimise the risk of sand and dust entering the camera and
causing damage to the extremely sensitive electronic components.
The FZ30
gets our full points for design and sturdiness.
- Easy to grip, hold and adjust settings
Any camera
exceeding the basic compact versions in performance
has got a tangible weight. This is mainly due to the lenses,
especially were zoom lenses are involved, and due to the size and
quality of the battery required. Up to about 700g in weight, a
camera is comfortably handheld by an adult while shooting. In fact,
much less than that makes the camera lose the kind of steadiness
desired for taking thoroughly executed and sharp
shots, even in surprise situations, as it could accidentally be moved too easily.
Our advice
is to make a snugly fit with your hands and feeling comfortable with
the weight your top priority when selecting a high-quality camera
for regular use, as you will otherwise not make it work for its
money as much as it should and could.
The same is
true for the ease of adjusting settings and keeping a tight grip on
the camera while in action. Main controls should be within easy
reach of your fingertips without having to change your hand position
on the camera and, once used to the camera, you should be able to
identify and operate the control buttons blindly by their distinct
shape and positioning. Testing this prior to purchasing will provide
a good indication whether you and your camera can eventually become
a "team".
This is a very important point especially for nature and wildlife
photography, as you and your camera will often have to keep up with
the speed at which your photo subject is moving.
Panasonic's
flagship model suited us in weight and ease of use to the dot.
-
Powerful zoom lens & choice between automatic and manual operation
Even though
seemingly unrelated, these criteria in practice go
hand-in-hand. Nowadays, anyone can take good photos, if shooting in
automatic mode. Photography and its results become much more
interesting however when moving beyond this point and learning how
to create all the amazing effects only individual settings of focus,
exposure, and various other aspects can achieve. We are not talking
about particularly artistic photography, - if you are into that you
know your stuff and wouldn't be reading this -, but about the one
that turns good photos into excellent ones by giving them a little
'extra twist'. If you are a keen photographer, you will want to have
that opportunity but you still would not want to keep yourself
occupied with changing lenses but rather with getting camera
settings just right, preferably perfect, for any given shot ... and
for that having a powerful zoom lens is a must.
Furthermore, a zoom lens, especially a built-in one with as few
moveable parts as possible, is the better option in Namibia as every
change of lens would mean the camera's interior getting partially
exposed to the elements. Avoiding such destructive influences will
dramatically improve your camera's lifespan and save substantial
cleaning costs. The quality of such a lens contributes probably
with 50-75% to the camera's cost - make sure you get the best your money
can buy!
Zoom lenses hardly come any better than that of Panasonic's Lumix
DMC-FZ30:
Standard-equipped with a light-sensitive 32-420mm / 12 x OPTICAL
super-zoom with built-in stabiliser developed by Leica, the world
leader in top-end lenses for decades, this lens also features the
so-called 'extended optical zoom' for the first time, which delivers
a zoom capability of up to 668mm.
This
high-powered Leica DC Vario-Elmarit zoom lens is topped up by a 4 x
digital zoom but frankly, let's forget about any number connected to
the phrase 'digital zoom' as it does not do much for your camera's
performance - 'OPTICAL zoom' is key and you should buy as much of
that as you can afford.
Another
important factor is the speed of the image processor in your camera
and how well it communicates with the lens. The Lumix FZ-30 has got
the fastest we ever saw in a digital camera up to date.
If you, like
us, love to take close-up shots of small creatures and details of
any given subject, you will be pleased to learn that an impressive
macro function can be activated in the F30 at the push of a
well-positioned button.
This camera
model only comes with a small range of optional extras and actually
does not really need any, apart from one or better two
high-capacity/high-speed image storage chips of at least 1MB (about
250 images) each, as 8 mega pixel images quickly fill them up -
never mind that you will keep on shooting at your heart's content
with this great camera.
We did purchase wide-angle and tele lens add-ons in order to
increase the camera's zoom capacity to the maximum of 29-714
mm (1130mm with the 'extended optical zoom') but we knew beforehand
that we would have use for that. The average photographer will be
more than happy with the standard zoom lens.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 gets our thumbs-up for lens quality as
well as its performances in automatic and manual mode.
There is a
downside to this super-technology though as images sometimes come out rather 'noisy'
under certain light conditions. This camera to some extent is "too"
light sensitive for our harsh Namibian sunlight and
colour-intense sunsets but it really just takes a few adjustments
on the photographer's part to work around their effects. We also
experienced image noise when shooting in poor light where using the
built-in flashlight led to over-exposure and not using it seemed
just about to be working still. In most cases though the resulting
noise was easily removed by some post-processing with an image
editing software such as Ulead PhotoImpact XL.
If you are not worried about having to put in this bit of extra work
in isolated cases, you can disregard this only minus point.
- Flexible & protected high-resolution LCD-monitor plus electronic
viewer finder
We wanted both of these and found most cameras, even
high-quality ones in every other aspect, lacking in this area.
Again, our strong Namibian sunlight renders an LCD screen on a
digital camera quickly useless, if it does not have a resolution
that is adequate for the size of the monitor. The FZ30's LCD monitor
is large with 2 inches in diameter but a resolution of 230 000
pixels and the same in the electronic view finder make both display
the lens's view as well as re-played images crystal clear even in
bright daylight.
The flexibility of the LCD monitor's positioning while shooting as
well as its protected storage while not in use were two other
decisive factors in opting for the Panasonic DMC-FZ30. The LCD
screen, which is attached to the camera body with a hinge, can be
moved seamlessly into many different positions allowing also
over-head and around-the-corner shots as well as shooting from
hip-level. When not in use, the screen rests against the camera body
with its sturdy plastic back plate facing the outside and protecting
it against accidental knocks and scratching. A very clever solution
of a problem that most digital camera manufacturers have not yet
mastered. We hope though that Panasonic will still make the
screen-hinge moveable in both clockwise and counter-clockwise
directions with their next upgrade.
The various camera settings that can be displayed on monitor and
view finder, if one so wishes, are easy to recognise.
We found the
LUMIX FZ30 to be a winner also in all these aspects.
- Summary
The
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-F30 digital camera has got too many features to
discuss here so we would just like to summarise them by saying that
most of them are nothing but impressive - from the way they look to
the way they work and all the way to the image results they deliver,
in JPEG, TIF and RAW format up to a printable A3 size.
If anything critical should be added, then it can only be that this
camera needs a fairly skilled photographer as it is certainly geared
at meeting the requirements of a semi-professional, if not those of
a professional earning a living from photography.
When putting the camera through its paces and making full use of its
powerful zoom capabilities and special functions, we found that
using a tripod is recommendable as it makes taking photos with
different settings much more comfortable. This may be a downside to
those who predominantly want to point-and-shoot but whoever does not
expect much more than the performance of a basic compact camera will
probably not buy such a high-end model at a price to match its
quality anyway.
It
definitely is a camera that is highly suitable for the photographic
conditions prevailing in Namibia, far more than most of the makes
readily available in the country, which made us raise some eyebrows
and critical questions.
We hope though that Panasonic will realise the sales potential of
their products not only in Namibia but in the whole of Southern
Africa, and also come up with a consumer-friendly solution
concerning warranty and repair services - an area which leaves much
to be desired across our region and the entire product ranges of all
well-known brands.
We furthermore hope that Namibian camera sellers will eventually
move away from mainly catering for the cheap-'n-easy market segment
and grow not only their knowledge and product range of cameras truly
suitable to the many keen photographers in Namibia but also insist
on the delivery of excellent after-sales services.
Should you,
dear reader, come across an opportunity for testing the Panasonic
DMC-FZ30 don't let it pass by - if you do have a reasonable budget
at your disposal, you will probably not want to spend it on anything
less than what this camera has got to offer in quality!
In case you have any questions concerning the Panasonic DMC-FZ30,
please contact Email:
Info@WebITNamibia.com or phone Inge
@ Web design & optimisation Solutions (Web - doS) in Windhoek, Tel.
(061) 242431. |
About the Author:
As far as still cameras and
photography are concerned, I have "worked my way up" from very
humble beginnings as an 8-year old child to using both
professionally four decades later. Cameras of all types and
qualities have accompanied me through life and I came to see them as
parts of my daily routine, like one uses a TV or a car - not really
considering their monetary value but treasuring them for what they allow
one to do and enjoy.
The existence of fashionable
makes and models never influenced my camera buying decisions, as I
had the good fortune to learn early what was 'right' for my
preferred kind of photography at any given stage. These
stages brought dramatic changes as the years went by and so did what
I expected my cameras to be capable of.
Standard point-and-shoot or
compact
cameras using normal slide or negative film material never did
anything for me. They had not yet been invented when I started off,
and by the time they were, I had long discovered the advantages and
joys of a more creative kind of photography made possible through
manual camera settings.
It was already numerous years
into the existence of fully automatic cameras when I realised the
true value of my experiences and the fact that I had resisted
the temptation of buying one:
After a couple of thousand
shots taken around Africa and Europe, a once-in-a-lifetime trip took
me into the Peruvian jungle along the Amazon River. Due to the
incredibly high humidity, my companions' automatic cameras gave up
one by one within a matter of hours, leaving their owners in agony
over the amazing photographic opportunities they missed.
My trusted, well used, and still fully manually operated
Pentax though occasionally just got a bit "foggy" around the front
parts of its lens but otherwise kept on working as usual - dripping
wet all around and with no chance to dry up properly over a few
days.
First the target of pity, for still having to haul around a rather
heavy camera body and huge zoom lenses, all of them made from metal,
my travel mates soon switched to envy and hoping that I would
"rescue" their tour by providing copies of my shots of all the
natural treasures we discovered on our journey.
The Pentax sadly saw its end
when someone accidentally dropped my camera bag onto a stone floor,
many years and travels in Africa later.
The only replacement available at the time to have the same Pentax
bayonet lens adapter was a Ricoh but "we" never really warmed up to
each other.
It was just as well, as years
of few travels and just as few new photographic challenges followed
... until I madly fell "in love" with the first digital SLR camera
built by Olympus. Since then, I never looked back and upgraded
whenever the next generation of digital cameras hit the market ...
or so I thought.
When I recently came across a
brand-new and slightly younger version of the Pentax I once owned, I
simply could not resist the temptation of having a manual camera as
a back-up once again ... who knows where and when it might
come in handy! |