Why I love my FZ50

[Anson]

any recommendations Anson on where and what brand of 3rd party ttl flash is good? i can't pocket enough for the widely used FL36.

I would like to know that also.
Not so confidence to buy a second hand unit.
Afraid that it will spoilt very soon once I have bought that.
But it is too expensive to buy a new one.

I have tried a few third-parties flash before purchasing the FL36, frankly speaking most of them either just doesn't work with the FZ50 or you need to do a lot of manual setting on the Flash itself.

Actually the FL36 cost much less than a similar TTL flash offer my Panasonic. For me the on camera flash control is what I like about the FL36. The advantage/disadvantage of FL36 is that it uses only 2 x AA batteries. Hence it is lighter than most TTL flash but it take a longer recycle time between shots.

Just my two cents.

 

[fitlies]

I have tried a few third-parties flash before purchasing the FL36, frankly speaking most of them either just doesn't work with the FZ50 or you need to do a lot of manual setting on the Flash itself.

Actually the FL36 cost much less than a similar TTL flash offer my Panasonic. For me the on camera flash control is what I like about the FL36. The advantage/disadvantage of FL36 is that it uses only 2 x AA batteries. Hence it is lighter than most TTL flash but it take a longer recycle time between shots.

Just my two cents.

so your advice is jump straight into getting the FL36 and forgo the other 3rd party flashes? i'm still heavy-hearted to part with my money :bsmilie:

 

[Anson]

so your advice is jump straight into getting the FL36 and forgo the other 3rd party flashes? i'm still heavy-hearted to part with my money :bsmilie:

I think compared to other TTL Flash system used by DSLR, the FL36 is priced quite reasonable.

 

[Anson]

All shots taken @ HortPark using only FZ50

Constructive comments are welcomed... (",)

 

[Anson]

All shots taken @ Cats Carnival 2008 using FZ50 + FL36. Some are taken overhead with liveview ("car shots")

Constructive comments are welcomed...

 

[Anson]

All shots taken @ Hong Kong using FZ50 ( City shots )

Constructive comments are welcomed...

 

[Anson]

All shots taken in WCG 2008 @ Suntec Singapore using FZ50 + FL36. Some shots are taken using LiveView.

Constructive comments are welcomed...

 

[JPLim]

May I know the photo @ 2nd row left hand side was taken at which iso?
Was it iso 800?
Can observe some noise there.
Thanks for sharing those photos.

 

[Anson]

Thanks for your comment, the photo was taken in ISO 200. However I pump up my "Curves" for Highlights & Mid Tones and did not use Noise Reduction to preserve the details ( but noise as well).

 

[Anson]

The below candid shots taken in WCG 2008 @ Suntec using FZ50 + FL36:

Constructive comments are welcomed... :angel:

 

[Anson]

Shots taken of Eason using only FZ50 + FL36. All shots were taken using LiveView, & LCD flipped 90 degree ( I have no choice as was standing on level 2, with rows of his fans in front of me).

Constructive comments are welcomed...

 

[Anson]

All Shots taken using only FZ50 + FL36 (Flash).

Constructive comments are welcomed... (",)

 

[JPLim]

Woh, the latest photos are decent for the exposure and proper use of flash.
Good job, Anson!
Have you done any noise reduction for those photos?

 

[Anson]

Woh, the latest photos are decent for the exposure and proper use of flash.
Good job, Anson!
Have you done any noise reduction for those photos?

Thanks for your comment, didn't do much NR (have set the camera's NR to low).

The reason is being my final output is into my PDA (320 x 480), hence most camera's "noise" would not pose an issue.

 

[ccube78]

Any idea whether there'll be a successor to FZ50? I hope they combine FZ28 with LX3..it'll be a winning combo!!

Btw, how much does FZ50 cost now?

 

[Anson]

Any idea whether there'll be a successor to FZ50? I hope they combine FZ28 with LX3..it'll be a winning combo!!

There is rumors around for a long time on a FZ60 coming out soon. But frankly speaking as Panasonic is moving into the DSLR business, I seriously doubt that it would come up with a successor (unless it uses micro 4/3).

Come to think of it, current new "big prosumer" camera (like S100F & EXF1) in the market are all from camera companies that does not concentrate on the DSLR market. Thus in a business point of view, why would Panasonic come up with a successor to the FZ50 as it would "dither" the potential DSLR market and confuse their customer.

Technically combining FZ28 & LX3 maybe quite hard if you want to maintain photo quality, as you may notice the optical zoom factor of the LX3 is limited to 2.5 times with a min 24mm focal length (35mm equivalent). I believe the reason is because of the F2.0 aperture, which set the limits. Even though both FZ28 & LX3 are full manual capable, both camera are catering for difference market segment. FZ28 for Zoom & LX3 for low-light.

Just my 2 cents of thoughts.

 

[JPLim]

There is rumors around for a long time on a FZ60 coming out soon. But frankly speaking as Panasonic is moving into the DSLR business, I seriously doubt that it would come up with a successor (unless it uses micro 4/3).

Come to think of it, current new "big prosumer" camera (like S100F & EXF1) in the market are all from camera companies that does not concentrate on the DSLR market. Thus in a business point of view, why would Panasonic come up with a successor to the FZ50 as it would "dither" the potential DSLR market and confuse their customer.

Technically combining FZ28 & LX3 maybe quite hard if you want to maintain photo quality, as you may notice the optical zoom factor of the LX3 is limited to 2.5 times with a min 24mm focal length (35mm equivalent). I believe the reason is because of the F2.0 aperture, which set the limits. Even though both FZ28 & LX3 are full manual capable, both camera are catering for difference market segment. FZ28 for Zoom & LX3 for low-light.

Just my 2 cents of thoughts.

Totally agree with ur view.
Was waiting for new FZ60 before but no news at all.
Give up the wait after 2 years and now switch to DSLR.
But my lovely FZ50 will still be with me as my 2nd camera.
I like her performance but a bit disappointed with its high iso performance...

 

[Anson]

Totally agree with ur view.
Was waiting for new FZ60 before but no news at all.
Give up the wait after 2 years and now switch to DSLR.
But my lovely FZ50 will still be with me as my 2nd camera.
I like her performance but a bit disappointed with its high iso performance...

I am also impress by the performance of the FZ50. Even though I have tried the newer prosumer camera (S100F & EXF1), personally I find that the FZ50 have the best flexibility & handling. It offer 2 jog dial ( similar to those in mid-range DSLR), speedy auto focus, external TTL & 235 k pixels high resolution EVF (much higher than most prosumer camera).

After using the FZ50, I find that most PnS / Prosumer are just too slow for my taste. I agree that high iso is a problem with the FZ50, hence I need to do a lot of light "bouncing" to get the correct exposure.

 

[Anson]

All Shots taken using only FZ50 + FL36:

As usual, constructive comments are welcomed... (",)

 

[Anson]

All Shots taken using only FZ50 + FL36 (flash unit), does not need to use LiveView for this event as there was not much photographers there so I was able to stand in the front.

Constructive comments are welcomed... (",)