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Panasonic FZ200 topic, 24x zoom with constant F2.8 aperture
  • 350 Replies sorted by
  • wallasdaviolawallasdaviola

    One more vídeo with multiple fz200.

  • belfrymanbelfryman

    Just got one of these, fantastic to have 2.8 all the way through for the price and boots up nice and quick but can confirm, again, the zoom is jolly noisy, I film actors and couldn't use it in a scene, tested recording separate sound on lavalier and NTG2 further than I could go for decent vocals and was still picking it up. No live HDMI is also frustrating but apart from those two factors I think it's a really exciting piece of kit for the price for the lens alone - would love to be able to pull it off and stick it on my GH2!

  • wielkiczarnyafganwielkiczarnyafgan

    Few weeks ago I've shot a commercial for some upholstered furniture manufacturer. FZ200 was used together with GH2 ( try to find out which shots were shot with FZ200 ) and I was really suprised how well FZ200 image fits this from GH2

  • wallasdaviolawallasdaviola

    Orchestra concert with multiple FZ200.

  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    @wallasdaviola I bet the orchestra was happy that you had so many angles to make sure that each soloist/section could be featured. Way to plan ahead. :)

    @wielkiczarnyafgan There are so many cuts that is difficult to talk about which is which. :) I would guess that the shallow DOF shots are predominantly GH2. Either way, lots of angle and activity so I am guessing the client was happy with how you shot it.

    However, there are just handful of shots that (whether they were with different cameras or the same one) stick out a little bit in the way they were graded. They look more washed out than the others and call attention to themselves. For instance, compare 4:31 to 4:37. But that's a grading issue, so it might not be caused by the camera.

    I don't really have constructive criticism other than to say that the white balance feels a bit off in some of the shots and might have been worth correcting either on-site or in post (like the shot at 5:10).

    Thank you both for sharing. :)

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    the very fact that it maintains a full max aperture of f/2.8 at all times makes it something of a wonder and handy for most shooting situations. Combine that with sharp images for its class, and solid, speedy handling, and you have a camera that is fantastic in many situations. For anyone from a superzoom beginner to a long-time camera enthusiast, the FZ200 should keep them happy with what it's intended for -- versatile, far-reaching picture taking when a DSLR is too much to carry or a smaller digicam is too limiting.

    http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/panasonic-fz200/panasonic-fz200A.HTM

  • cantplaycantplay

    Am looking forward to seeing what you come up with for the FZ200! The auto lens retract after 30 seconds in playback is such a nuisance. You probably already know this, but some users are accidentally getting F2.5 out of the FZ200 on random occasions.

  • trevmartrevmar

    And 3.5 hours of FullHD video (with AF enabled) from a single battery is really nice. I never find myself sweating the battery life with the FZ200.

    Now the GoPro Blacks - I am ALWAYS sweating battery life with them... Sigh...

  • gamebgameb

    Have not been in PV for a while... any news about hacking the fz200?

  • wallasdaviolawallasdaviola

    @gameb Some work has been done, but needs public frimware. I dream with t.his hack, I have 11 fz200. Lol here is something i recorded with them.

  • pTompTom

    Firstly, thank you Vitaliy_Kiselev's recommending FZ200 beside GH3 last year.

    I bought and used FZ200 from last year instead of long waiting for GH3 . I'm quite happy with FZ200. But I still struggle with its slow AF and I would like a feature of variable/constant speed zoom control through menu. Many times I need a very slow constant zoom speed in shooting.

    I'm wondering if Vitaliy_Kiselev can do that. I made a donation for GH3 hack. I think GH3 doesn't need any hack, the FZ200 needs to be improved.

  • markr041markr041

    The FZ200 is the real action cam, and the long zoom and 108060p capability are particularly useful for sports.

    Some shots at 1100mm with tele-extender from the bleachers; all other shots with ND filter from all around the stadium. Shutter speed set at 1/125th.

    You can tell the distant shots, which look up close, by the lag between the sound of the ball hitting the bat and seeing it.

    You can download the original and see how smooth the action is at 60 fps progressive.

  • niels007niels007

    Hi guys,

    My main problem with the FZ200 is its silly movie framerate. Technically I'm sure it can do 1080p 60.00 fps, but it either does NTSC at 59.94 or 29.97fps, or PAL at 50 or 25fps. In Europe I can only buy the PAL version. This looks horrible on a 60hz display or on Youtube, frame sync /skip issues are bad! 59.94 would also drop a frame or cause a 'stutter' once every 3 seconds or so.

    I record for computer playback, so I want 30.00 or 60.00, not some 1980s TV standard! :-)

    Is there any chance of a custom firmware or something that may allow adjusting the frame rate settings?

    Thanks, Niels

  • seekerseeker

    @wallasdaviola How good is the internal clock in FZ200? In other words how good it is in keeping the sync between multiple cameras?

    I am currently using a nu number of JVC GY-HM100e and GY-HM150E they do exhibit a shift against each other of one or two frames in various places for recordings longer than 1-2 hours. Some of them may have a different setting of "drop" or "non-drop" mode. Recording is always PAL 1280x720 50p. Synchronization is done either manually or using PluralEyes.

    Is FZ200 in the ballpark of same accuracy or not?

  • wallasdaviolawallasdaviola

    @seeker I have to say that I have never had any problems with the fz200 regarding sync, and I do classical music which requires absolute syncing. I used to sync manually but now I use PluralEyes and it is awesome. Take Care

  • seekerseeker

    @wallasdaviola Thanks for the quick response. This sounds encouraging! I should try this camera soon. I'm also hoping for 30min fix in the future.

    The other thing I'm looking for is above average dynamic range for unevenly lit dance performances on stage. Sometimes the optimal exposure for the center of stage is over three stops off what is required for the sides of the stage (F5.6 vs F1.8). Currently this can be solved ether by having different cameras pointed at different points of the stage or by manually readjusting exposure while moving the cam. This difference between light levels is beyond of what can be easily re-adjusted in post. Besides the main trouble is with the cam covering the entire stage. The center is often overexposed, some details even blown out, sides are mostly underexposed at the same time.

    I've been looking towards Dynamic Range Stretch (DRS) feature of professional Panasonic cameras but the are beyond reach anyway. Some other cameras with higher than 8 bit processing and/or 10-12 bit per color recording may be worth looking at. All I know by now that the KNEE function built into GY-HM100e cameras is not enough for this purpose. It has been always a tradeoff for proper video exposure of entire stage.

    I have also verified that the 14-bit NEF still images coming from 3-year old Nikon D7000 are much better suited for bringing back detail both in highlights and shadows on the same unevenly lit stage. Of course it is achieved during post processing stage.

    To find out if the dynamic range of FZ200 is any better than in my current setup, I'd probably need to purchase and put FZ200 side by side with JVCs.

    Thanks again!

  • RachmaninoffRachmaninoff

    Hi guys... I'm new here, but the forum is fantastic. First, sorry my bad english; Second, I have a Panasonic FZ200 and have a curiosity: is likely to come out a hack for it or not? You've got idea if this will work? Regards to all.

  • MeierhansMeierhans

    It depends on firmware update release. Vitaly needs this get into it. From his comments I believe he will hack it once he has the new firmware in his hands.

  • RachmaninoffRachmaninoff

    Wonder! the hard part is the Panasonic update the firmware of the FZ200. Is not it?

  • oscillianoscillian

    Find something to complain about. If enough people report on it, Panny could be quicker on releasing FW.

  • MeierhansMeierhans

    Bitrate too low counts as bug? ;-)

  • valdi99valdi99

    FZ200 tends to indicate that highlights in the video will be overburn, while they are still OK. That surely counts ;)

  • matt_gh2matt_gh2

    B&H says FZ200 no longer available http://m.bhphotovideo.com/mobile/detail?R=880958_REG&title=Lumix+FZ200+Digital+Camera

    Amazon selling for $498 http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008MB6ZX0/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?ASIN=B008MB6ZX0&redirect=true&ref_=pe_368620_30038750_pe_Week21_Deals_Mail_Row1b1_t

    Not familiar with this cam so this may be common knowledge, but thought I'd post in case it helps.

    Edit:

    Apparently Adorama also has the $498 deal but they're throwing in a $50 gift card http://m.adorama.com/newui/search.aspx?sku=IPCDMCFZ200G

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @matt_gh2

    Hmm, may be they'll introduce replacement soon.

    Like 10mp sensor, 16x F2.0 zoom and ProRes recording :-)

  • matt_gh2matt_gh2

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev Yeah that would be great. I always thought the F 2.8 was good but not good enough. I find my F 2.0 lens basically covers any situation and shot I could need, so what you described is what a lot of people want.

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