Panasonic Lumix FZ38

[nammynake]

Has anyone got one of these. I've read a lot of good reviews. Looking for a camera to bridge the gap between my compact and SLR.

[jimmy156]

I had the FZ28 which the FZ38 replaced. It is a great little camera capable of some great images. Not as simple to use the manual controls as on an slr and manual focus is nearly impossible. But the zoom is great (if a little slow), IQ is really good too. High ISO / low light functionality is the camera's downfull, due to its small sensor its struggles. However this will be the case with ANY bridge camera, and most compacts. Any specific questions or if you want to see an example image or two just let me know.
James

Edited for poor grammer

Edited by jimmy156 on Saturday 31st July 11:24

[nammynake]

jimmy156 said:

High ISO / low light functionality is the camera's downfull, due to its small sensor its strugglesJames

Yeah this seems to be the biggest snag with this camera (and type of camera). Not a major concern, as most of my shooting will be in daylight conditions, plus can always use the flash for close-up subjects. I'm going to view one today, just to see how it handles and 'feels'.

If you have any links to photos on the web (flickr etc) that would be great.

[jimmy156]

They do handle pretty well IMO, most things are fairly simple to use and adjust. Here are a couple of examples, havent got too many on the web but the robin is one of my favourites.







AS you can tell, i do mostly wildlife

[nammynake]

Excellent shots there. How does it perform at the long end of the lens range? I've read it has good stabilisation, but can you hand-hold at max focal length? Only in bright conditions?

[jimmy156]

Both the robin and the blue tit were taken at the longest end of the zoom range (486mm eqv i think). It peforms great in good light, but if there is cloud cover, or for example you're in quite dense woodland it struggles to get shutter speeds fast enough to do wildlife shots. You can still handhold it okay if your subject is still, but freezing action is another matter.

[Ultuous]

I've had mine for a couple of months and love it - it's always going to be a compromise in terms of low-light vs. size vs. zoom as others have already said, but it's surpassed my expectations... In my case, I decided I couldn't justify an SLR right now but wanted to take a step up and try some different types of photography before looking at spending more in a year or two - I can still see me using it for travelling etc. after that, so I can see it's usefulness in being a second camera...

All of my photos here were taken with it, if you want to have a gander at various types of shot I've found achievable - the main limitation in my case so far being lack of skills!

Oh, and I believe there's a couple of newer models out soon so you may wish to hang fire to get an upgrade or bargain!

Edited by Ultuous on Saturday 31st July 12:29

[Ultuous]

jimmy156 said:

havent got too many on the web but the robin is one of my favourites

Saw your Robin photo on a thread here a while ago - it's actually what alerted me to the FZ series in my search for a decent camera, so thanks!

[jimmy156]

Ultuous said:

jimmy156 said:

havent got too many on the web but the robin is one of my favourites

Saw your Robin photo on a thread here a while ago - it's actually what alerted me to the FZ series in my search for a decent camera, so thanks!

, no problem. I bought the camera with exactly the same intentions as you, except i new i wanted to do wildlife. 18 months down the line i took the plunge and bought a DSLR setup. The pana was a great introudcution to photography, very versitle and it allows you dabble with manual control which is great when you want to gain more control over your shots.

[Space Invader]

FZ38 being replaced, so get one cheap or wait for the new model.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/4878/panasonic-l...

Not blown away by my FZ38 to be honest so sold it for a Nikon D5000, I'd be tempted to spend £100 more and get an DSLR, whole different league.

[jimmy156]

Space Invader said:

FZ38 being replaced, so get one cheap or wait for the new model.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/4878/panasonic-l...

Not blown away by my FZ38 to be honest so sold it for a Nikon D5000, I'd be tempted to spend £100 more and get an DSLR, whole different league.

Except that if its zoom that you want (486mm equiv on the FZ38), it will be another £100 for the camera, and then another £600 (at least) for a 400mm lens.

[nammynake]

Well I've take the plunge and picking one up tomorrow. Got it for £211 via a company discount. Not too bad a price given the high spec and the glowing reviews. Yes I've read about the noisy readout at higher ISO's, but this camera is by definition a 'bridge' for me - slight bigger and better performance than most compacts, without the cumbersome nature of an SLR and additional lenses. I own a Nikon D1, so I know what 'bulky' is - it does my fking back in just lifting it out of it's bag!

I'll take some sample first images and post them up here in due course.

Thanks for the advice people.

Edited by nammynake on Tuesday 3rd August 00:54