my review of the panosnic fz15 camera

[raggie33]

note i got this cam used in a trade.so it may be difeet if it was new
it has good ergonomics it feels good in my hand buttens are placed in good postion.it uses a rechabale lithium battery(50 bucks)i get like 210 pics with it .usesing lcd and 50 percent flash usage..it has a 12 x optical zoom.thats can maintain a 2.8 apature to it full zoom..its has a iso equlatency of 64 to 400 iso(i think anything above 100 is uselesss do to the amount of noise in pic).its has a shutter speed from 8 seconds to 1/2000th second(id love to see more longer)it has excelt manual focus id rate it the best ive seen.and has manula setings for apature and shutter speed to.
pros.
great manual focus
long optical zoom
image stablizer feature
good feel to the camera
cons..
i would love to see a longer shuter speed for the fun shots
way to much noise in iso above 100
i dont like it useing a pratorty battery

ok i also want to point out im no expert in cameras.so take this review with grain of salt
i give the camera 7 ouy of 10 stars.it lost a lot do to the high amoutn of noise in higher iso setings.

 

[marcspar]

Re: my review of the panasonic luminix camera

Raggie,

I have a similar model - it has the stabilized 12x optical zoom but only a 2 mega pixel ccd.

My father bought the newer model which raised the mp count to 4 and added a hotshoe for external flashes, which is a good thing because the integrated flash is my least favorite feature.

I can take great shots outside, but I have not taken a single good photo indoors! (I blame myself /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif for this failing, not the luminix.....)

Overall, a great camera, IMHO, for the $$$.

Marc

 

[MaxaBaker]

Re: my review of the panasonic luminix camera

Thanks for the review /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I go bird watching a lot and a camera with a lot of optical zoom is always a good thing.

 

[bindibadgi]

Re: my review of the panasonic luminix camera

Great review! I've been thinking about a digicam, and Panasonic look good. I would also like to see longer exposure times. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[geepondy]

Re: my review of the panasonic luminix camera

The Panasonic FZ20 gets an excellent review here. Instead of getting a zoom lens for my Rebel 300D I think of getting this camera instead.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz20/

Now I think they have released even a newer model?

 

[MaxaBaker]

Re: my review of the panasonic luminix camera

Hello geepondy, how do you like your Rebel? My uncle is buying either that or the Sony 828. He can't decide which he wants so I'm just asking to get another opinion. Thanks.

 

[raggie33]

Re: my review of the panasonic luminix camera

o let me add im a very picky person..i will seldem think very high of anything...antther improvment they could of made is a brigther lcd

 

[Negeltu]

Re: my review of the panasonic luminix camera

If you can afford $500 or $600 I'd wait and keep checking www.ubid.com for the Minolta DiMage A2. I got mine refurbished by the manufacturer with warranty. It had no damage and no visible signs of wear. It works great.

 

[geepondy]

Re: my review of the panasonic luminix camera

I like my Rebel a lot. I like the speed of operation, the silky clean images and the fact that you can crank up the ISO without paying much of a noise penalty. Mostly the speed of operation. The camera focuses in an instant and you can immediately take another picture in an instant. But it can be an addictive hobby, mostly because there are so many nice lenses I want but can't afford.

Anyhow if serious for the Rebel, I would hold off for a week or two. It is strongly rumored that near or during this year's PMA (Feb. 20), a successor for the Rebel is going to be announced. Likewise successor's may be announced for the Sony 828, Canon Pro 1 and other's in that class. No guarantees but this is the time when a whole bunch of new cameras are introduced.

[ QUOTE ]
MaxaBaker said:
Hello geepondy, how do you like your Rebel? My uncle is buying either that or the Sony 828. He can't decide which he wants so I'm just asking to get another opinion. Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[MaxaBaker]

Re: my review of the panasonic luminix camera

Thanks for the response geepondy. I talked to my uncle and he says he can wait for any new improvements or models that may come out. But, now he's looking at the Nikon 8800. (my personel preference.)

 

[raggie33]

Re: my review of the panasonic luminix camera

some day i dream of a dslr. i realy love takeing pics. but man there is so much to learn.

 

[raggie33]

here is a macro shot now please understand im very new to this camera.and i still stink at useing it.thats part of a agp slot on my mobo them little things are resisters or something but there smaler thena graina rice

 

[raggie33]

o ps i also had to shink the hect outa it to go with cpf rulkes

 

[raggie33]

same pic croped to show resister and part of agp

 

[KevinL]

Nice photos.. Using macro mode isn't easy (it took me a long time to get it right), especially when I was trying to get closeups of computer parts. Those two photos of the motherboard came out really well, very detailed. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

 

[geepondy]

To the critical eye....The detail looks fairly good but lots of barrel distortion, I wonder why so bad? Is that a by-product of a super zoom lens? Also the white balance looks off. Raggie, did you take this under an incandescent light? If so, next time set your white balance to incandescent instead of auto and your picture will look more true to color.

 

[MaxaBaker]

Some barrel distortion, but very nice!!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

 

[raggie33]

lol its bad cuase i stink at takeing pics i cant stand still that long.lol i used flash light for lighting.

 

[cratz2]

The pics look very acceptable to my eyes though I know by definition, members of this forum tend to be... ahem... picky.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

But yes, from what I've read, the barrel distortion comes from having the available high optical zoom. The FZ20 which is the 4MP version but uses the same lens and software as te FZ15 gets great marks considering the 12x zoom lens. dcresource.com actually says it's probably the best camera with a similar lens available near it's price range.

As an alternative, I've been using a Canon A70 (with which you can use standard 52mm lenses with use of an available adapter) though the camera itself only has 3.2s optical and 3.0x digital. I wonder how a entry level aftermarket 2x converters would work?

I know next to nothing about photography though I certainly know how professional a good digital camera can make you seem.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

 

[geepondy]

Cratz2, the A70 is a classic Canon entry level 3 megpixel camera that has garnered very high marks. Canon's latest 3 megpixel entry the A510 has four times optical zoom, still full manual modes and a smaller package size then the A70 although not elph sized but also a very good deal at $200.