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

    I guess the lens is 4.4-107mm f2.8. So this would be equivalent to a 12,5-300mm with a DOF f7.8 on a m43, right? But how does sensor size affect the needed eqv light and does ISO gain mean the same on different crop sensors? I never go higher than ISO 800 or slower than f2.8 on my GH2 in dimly lit churches (imagine using the 14-140 set to f8.0 at ISO 6400 in those situations, the horror!!!) I really want to be as stealthy as possible without using any extra lights. Please chime in with your thoughts :)

  • oscillianoscillian

    Take a look at the shadows at 6:47: total mush!

    I'll be sticking with my GH2+Tokina 16-50 2.8 then.

  • balazerbalazer

    .

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @balazer

    Please, all this into F Stop Flame topic.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Got FZ200 today, some initial thoughts:

    • Zoom is noisy, really noisy, on my camera
    • To overcome noise, Panasonic allow only low speed zooming during video
    • I can pretty good hear OIS work
    • Camera has low fps on both EVF and LCD by default settings. Switch off Liveview Eco in Economy menu to get proper 60fps.
    • LCD is usual 460k panasonic stuff
    • EVF is worse than G1 one, as it is wrongly designed (due to light leakage) tunnel vision shit
    • EVF is natively worse (slightly) compared to GH2 (mostly blacks are worse)
    • AF is not really that good (after GH2 or any other latest m43 bodies)
    • AF, compared to camcorders, can hunt for long time in some situations
    • At ISO 100 camera still use noise reduction (I mean JPEG here)

    Mine camera is made in Japan.

    So, initial impression - it is biggest disappointment (compared to any Panasonic camera I ever had).

    P.S. Fixed LCD/EVF fps related comments.

  • sergansergan

    hi vitaliy, I propose you send it back and save the money collected for a second gh3 body or even keep it for the upcoming gx2..;-) best sergan

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @sergan

    Nope, I won't do it.

    As for second GH3 body, we'll need it after initial stage (may be), not today.

    Plus GH3 is not available anyway.

  • sergansergan

    I see.. Thanks for your brilliant work again! Keep going and have a pleasant day!

  • oscillianoscillian

    Too bad :(

  • MeierhansMeierhans

    Thx for this info, guess this cam is out of race then. What a pitty, 120 FPS sounded so good..

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Btw, I had been fucking idiot (considering only very strange LiveView performance). It arise from default Eco setting in Economy menu :-). Got to this after switching it to English.

    I want to see genius who made this.

    Btw, GF5 also comes with such setting in ECO position. But it seems to work much better.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @Meierhans
    @oscillian

    Note that I just had certain expectations. It is not that camera is so bad. :-)

    It is GH2 class build quality. Zoom is bright, Power O.I.S is working good even at long end.

  • vicxvicx

    Is the FZ200 the same camera as the FZ150. I was impressed with the quality of posted FZ150 footage a few months back.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Is the FZ200 the same camera as the FZ150

    As it is easy to understand, it is not the same, FZ200 is better :-)

  • tinbeotinbeo

    Can we say fz200 has better stills than GH2 no dout about that?

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @tinbeo

    LOL. No :-)

  • mpgxsvcdmpgxsvcd

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev

    Does the AF hunt at wider angles? For instance does it hunt under 50mm in 35mm terms or is it only when using telephoto?

    Was there anything you liked about the FZ200? Is the slow motion bad? What about aliasing? Is it really bad or is it acceptable? Is the the image stabilization any better than in lens IS?

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Does the AF hunt at wider angles? For instance does it hunt under 50mm in 35mm terms or is it only when using telephoto?

    AF can hunt at any angle, just on long ones it is much more easy to spot :-) Especially with such lens.

    Was there anything you liked about the FZ200? Is the slow motion bad? What about aliasing? Is it really bad or is it acceptable?

    I just posted initial feelings from camera, I have no time to do measurements or full review.

    Is the the image stabilization any better than in lens IS?

    This one I do not understand.

  • PatrickGFPatrickGF

    Low-Light video test GH2 w/ 14mm vs FZ200 - sorry it's not a more interesting location. Watch on Vimeo or download 1080 HD file!

  • Alfi666Alfi666

    @PatrickGF: Thanks for that, that's an interesting comparison... I liked FZ200 more over GH2 in many shots... GH2 has strange color noise/shift in shadows/blacks... Color reproduction seems more natural on FZ200 for me - even though on many shots, the white balance was kinda off. Can you test side-by-side with some people to see the skintones, probably with green grass in the same scene as well please? :)

  • PatrickGFPatrickGF

    @Alfi666: This was a quick test and I just locked the WB (don't remember to what) on both. I'm sure I could have made the colors look better on both cameras. I was mostly just trying to test the lowlight and detail. Also wanted to get an idea how the 14-140 might compare in ETC mode for long zoom. I'm using both this weekend for an event, I'll see what I can do to test the color range

  • trevmartrevmar

    @Vitaliy

    AF can hunt at any angle, just on long ones it is much more easy to spot :-) Especially with such lens.

    I find that the amount of bokeh in the FZ200 image increases the amount of focus hunting. More and more I am using manual focus with my FZ200. Maybe a comparison with GH2 and a low f-stop lens might give a better comparison of algorithmic equivalence?

    Not sure why you are seeing zoom noise, mine doesn't have that. But in any case, I always use separate audio recorders, so I wouldn't necessarily have noticed that noise.

  • vicxvicx

    Well done @PatrickGF

    The similarities between the FZ200 and GH2 in ETC mode are uncanny although the FZ200 manages the resulting noise a little bit better.

    The FZ200 image and capabilities for the price look really great.

    I'm glad VK has this cam now. I would love to see what a customised patch could do. Maybe nothing, maybe an improvement that is very noticeable.

  • oscillianoscillian

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev Since it uses the same BLC12E batteries as the GH2, we should be able to hook it up to external power with the same battery kits we use now, right?

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    It seems so, I just tried GH2 DC coupler and it fits nice. Same 8.4v and all match.

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