ViS Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 The last two are just showing the zoom at full wide and 12x. Camera was hand held both times to illustrate the image stabilisation at 12x. The pictures are not cropped at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymes007 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 so i guess you like your camera Andy? more great shots mate. cheers jaymes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 Yeah I'm pretty happy To combat the "noise" problem which kicks in at 200 ISO or higher, I've set the ISO to 80 permanently (when using "Program", "Aperture priority" or "Shutter priority") and it's just great. When I use the select modes (portrait, sport, indoors etc) it reverts back to auto. I'm getting pretty good at using the priority modes and the Image Stabilisation is worth 200 - 400 ISO anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fman Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Andy Very nice. What's the maximum range for the macro function on the FZ30? Have you used it for tank shots yet, and if so is the flash disabled? Also, did you manually focus the macro shots, or were they auto-focus? Sorry to ask 101 questions. Cheers, Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 It says 5cm - infinity. I've taken several photos normally forgetting to switch off the macro, so it works like normal auto focus. I've gone much closer than 5cm and it still focuses automatically. It's a really quick auto focus too. If you activate zoom, you can't get closer than a couple of feet. There is no "auto flash" on the camera that I've found. There is an auto flash when taking pics if you release the flash up, but if you leave the flash down, it will never pop up when focusing. You can still use flash with macro. I've seen people use diffusers when taking macro successfully. I haven't needed to use manual focus yet. Even taking pictures of fish through glass, it will focus on the fish and not the glass, which is a major problem with my G2. Hope that helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 cool pics Andy , is the camera hard to use , i can get this camera in HKG at a really good price but couldnt make my mind up between the canon powershot and this one , and the sales staff were pushing the cannon . Have you tried the video function yet. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 I'd go this camera any day over the S2 (which I'm guessing you are referring to). The video function is probably the best you could get to come out of a still camera. Panasonic is video background, so you'd expect it to be pretty good. at 640 x 480 @ 30 fps, it's more than adequate and surprisingly clear (vision and sound). The S2 is much more a "point and shoot" camera compared to the FZ30, which has much more manual functionality (as much as most of the DSLR's). The S2 doesn't have manual zoom, which makes it pretty slow. It's also shutter speed limited at wide aperture. Perhaps an "S3" in the near future might come closer, but the S2 was aimed more at the FZ5 and those sorts of cameras. Still a very neat camera that will produce excellent results, but I'd definitely go the FZ30 given a choice. You could also look at the FZ20 which is the same pricerange as the S2 and is an awesome little camera. It has a 12x zoom lens that has F2.8 along the entire zoom range (almost unheard of for a P&S superzoom camera). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndoboi Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Hi Frank, Here's a tank shot (auto focus [spot], macro, flash selected). Hope you like! Im loving this camera Cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fman Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Steve Love the shot, falling in love with the camera. Nice crisp focus on the eye, no flash burnout. You haven't sharpened it in Photoshop Elements have you? Cheers, Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndoboi Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 No sharpening Frank, just a crop down to 800x600. Thanks for the compliment, i'll try and post a couple of other fish soon. Cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndoboi Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Here's a couple more - An L104 P. Maccus and a young L. Speciosus. Cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fman Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Steve I can see why you're happy with the camera. By the way, hows the job as regional manager of Panasonic going? The eye on the L104 is interesting - I'm sure Ive seen photos of these before but never noticed the eye. Thanks for sharing these photos. p.s. How are you going with PS Elements? Cheers, Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndoboi Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Now if only I could get royalties... lol. My favorite shot so far is the one I took of the echindorus flower. I blame Andy - if not for his smashing photos I would never have lashed out and got this camera. Damn you Andy, now im broke and cant afford any more fish..... Havent had much time lately to play with PS Elements, so I barely scratch at the surface of its functionality when I do Mostly using it for resizing/croping, lighting adjustments (though dont have to do much of that now..) and removing tank scratches, etc. One day im sure I'll sit down and get serious with it! Cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simonauv Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Hey Andy, nice shots. Nice camera too. I got myself a dSLR instead (canon 300D) and have spent a small fortune on lenses and other toys (about $4000 so far - just spent another $1000 on a portable hard drive that I can download my pics too straight from my CF card whilst away and a lowepro backpack) but will never go back to a point-and-shoot type digital camera again. One thing some of you might be interested in is making some money out of your digital images. The concept is royalty free stock photography microsites. There are a number of them around and membership is generally free. I joined some a few months back and am yet to make payout but it's early days and uploading here costs a fortune so I need to wait until work goes back I only have 25 or so images on there (with about 50 waiting to be uploaded) but have sold these 111 times in those few months so for anyone looking to offset their fish keeping addiction a little bit you may want to get into this. All you need is a digital camera (or a good slide scanner or normal scanner) that takes pics over 2.5MP and these days almost alll do. I know people who are making in excess of $1000/month from these sites. If you are interested in something like this the agency that makes me the most money is Shutterstock. It's a matter of working out what the stock game is all about but then again you just never know what people are looking for.... my second most purchased photograph was taken with my little 3.2 MP point-and-shoot digital camera taken whilst SCUBA diving (thanks Andy ) off Duncombe Bay on Norfoilk Island of a silhouette of a diver (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-554672.html) from 17m down. This camera (not my dLSR) sits in an IKELITE underwater housing (see www.ikelite.com). We don't have cichlids over here (actually we do have a few - a few jewels floating around, some mongrel breed yellow and blue fish and my Green Terrors got stolen) so I don't get to do much fish photography anymore, but since buying my dSLR so many more doors have opened up I now do photoshoots for Norfolk Touring and my images and artwork appear on all their advertising from their brochures, shop signs and even their buses (end soon their website). It's very cool. If you are considering going into this I suggest you get a good noise reduction program like Noise Ninja - and go join the online digital photography forum http://www.photozo.com.au - I have a gallery there too ( http://www.photozo.com/album/showgallery.p...500&ppuser=5940 ) as this place will teach you heaps about digital photography. Oh yeah - for those that don't know me (which is probably most of you lol) go to the dwarf forum and see the simon there - that's me lol ) Glenn wants me to upload some of my New Zealand pics - hmm - maybe I will lol ciao Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted January 17, 2006 Author Share Posted January 17, 2006 Hey buddy I just went and joined photozo.com (not .com.au) Seems like a good forum. I usually use stevesforums.com You've probably dived more than I have in the past few months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted January 17, 2006 Author Share Posted January 17, 2006 I retract my last comment. photozo.com is awful They have a 3 image limit per thread Not per post, PER THREAD. I would have had to start 3 separate threads to post those 7 pics above, then nobody else would have been able to post pics in the same threads?!?! It's a PHOTOGRAPHY forum for gods sake . If people on dialup aren't expecting a photography site to be image heavy, then too bad. Anyway, I came I saw, I posted, I got in trouble and I left There are much better sites out there. I use stevesforums, does anyone else have good sites they use for photography? It has to be the same sort of set up as this forum. I hate the "tree" forums where you see all the posts branching out and can only view one post at a time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I'd go this camera any day over the S2 (which I'm guessing you are referring to). The video function is probably the best you could get to come out of a still camera. Panasonic is video background, so you'd expect it to be pretty good. at 640 x 480 @ 30 fps, it's more than adequate and surprisingly clear (vision and sound). thanks Andy, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simonauv Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I retract my last comment. photozo.com is awful They have a 3 image limit per thread hmmmm - that can't be right - I have posted way more than that before - three in my first post and then I cut lose lol - I also link to pics from the gallery they give you. It does seem to be getting a little heavily moderated lately (and the mods are not the real experts there - you get to suss out the real cluey ones and forget the touchy-feely ones and and the forum nazis lol) - then it becomes pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilli Powder Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Here's a couple more - An L104 P. Maccus and a young L. Speciosus. Cheers Steve ← Hi Steve, The L speciosus are 'black ocellatus'. I have never seen a black occie fry being so pale. I have bred them and still have some growing up. Perhaps it's not the best photo of the? Thought I'd let you know. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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