FZ10 zoom tests

[Lan-Lord]

I thought some of you guys would be interested in the amount of zoom power that the new panasonic FZ10 has. This guy even screws on a 1.7x olympus teleconverter.

Zoom results

 

[foulshot]

Man, talk about being able to catch the neighbor off gaurd.

I'll have to try that with my C740 and teleconv.

Those full zoom shots with the 1.7x are pretty noisy.

 

[Lan-Lord]

I think the 6x+1.7x combo and 12x+1.7x combos look acceptable (especially for the distance that is being covered). Part of the noise may be coming from the haze/atmosphere. (some of it looks like digital artifacts too though)

Also I think if you were zooming in on something closer you would have more of the subject in the frame of the optical abilites which would not have as many artifacts in the photo.

How far do those houses look to be? (judging from the wide angle shot) I would guess 200-300 yards? man that is some serious distance.

 

[BirdDawg]

I just got a canon rebel 2000.....don't know how good a camara it is but it beats those paper throw away's......I'd like to get a lense that I can zoom in like that.....will that lense fit this camara?

 

[Lan-Lord]

Hey BD, your camera will accompany a variety of lenses. Here are the conversions from the panasonic so you can get an idea of which lens to get for you canon.

6x = 210mm
6x+1.7x = 350mm

12x = 420mm
12x+1.7x = 715mm

36x = 1260mm
36x+1.7x = 3780mm (yikes!)

The lens on the panasonic is fixed to the camera, and the teleconverter will not fit on the canon lens system(although canon has their own teles)

I think lenses above 500mm will be pretty expensive.

Here is link to some lens sizes and prices put together by saskman. lens prices

 

[BirdDawg]

Thanks for the info lan-lord.....I'm new at this.....actually this is the first camara I've ever owned and all this is a little dutch to me.....I looked at the price list but don't understand....

75-300 f4-5.6 USM $179.95 (non IS)
100-300 f4.5-5.6 USM $279.00 (non IS)
75-300 f4-5.6 USM IS $414.95
100-400L f4.5-5.6 USM IS $1389.00

whats 75-300 mean and whats f4-5.6? I don't mean to sound ignorant....LOL....but when it comes to camara's I am.....I want to get a zoom lense to take pics of some of the game we have on our club....but the dang critters don't want to co-operate and run off before I can get close.

 

[Lan-Lord]

BirdDawg, all of the lingo and terminology can be overwhelming. Here is the breakdown.

75-300 - This is the the zoom range. You can zoom from 75mm up to 300mm. So, according to our FZ10 zoom example (where it lists how much power was used for each shot) it would be like 2x-7x power.

f4-5.6 USM This basically has to do with lens speed. The smaller those F values, the better (but more expensive). If you have an f2.2 lens, it is going to let through twice as much light as an f4-5.6 lens. More light is better, you can have a faster shutter, shoot in lower light, achieve auto focus faster. You can supplement a slower lens with faster film though. Faster film means the film is sensitive to less light. ie you need less light to expose the photograph.

$179.95 This is the price of this lens.


You will also see/hear about primes. A prime is a lens at a fixed length. like a 300mm prime or 400mm prime. It is fixed, you can't zoom. you get that amount of power all the time.

chew on this info a little bit and when you have more questions, come back here and ask them.
)

 

[g-hog]

lan lord, wildebeast or any one else that can answer this.... I just purchased the Oly c750 since it seems to be pretty well respected here. Like Birddawg, I am new at photography and learning. A while back OBH posted that he had gotten a telephoto lens for the 750 that increased the zoom. Any suggestions on the type lens I could use with this camera to increase zoom and pic quality. A firend of mine bought the C-700 ulta zoom and a something optic telephoto lens for his but when he uses this lens it turns out a circular pic with black edges. Forcing him to crop his pics to get something printable. He thinks he was sold something not really for his camera and I don't want to make the same mistake. Thanks for your time

GHog

 

[campkopasquat]

Amazing

 

[Lan-Lord]

G-Hog, here is what you need:

Extension tube

1.7x Teleconverter

There are a few other teleconverters that I am aware of that are of good quality. One is the tcon 14B (1.4x) It is a little less power, but a very good quality lens.

There is also the B300. It is a 1.7x lens, it was replaced by the TCON 17x (link above). I have the B300, it is one of the best lenses olympus ever made. They discontinued it a few years ago though. I think if you come across any of the above lenses you will be extremely happy with it and will get great results.

You wont have a black circle around the edges with any of the above lenses either.

 

[BirdDawg]

LOL lan-lord...I did figure out that $179.95 was the price.....now for a few more questions:

75-300 f4-5.6 USM $179.95 (non IS)
100-300 f4.5-5.6 USM $279.00 (non IS)
75-300 f4-5.6 USM IS $414.95
100-400L f4.5-5.6 USM IS $1389.00

if you get a bigger range in 75-300 f4-5.6 USM than you do with the 100-300 f4-5.6 USM why is the later more expensive?

and what is USM and IS?

also I was looking at 17photo.com and they have a EF 75-300mm F4.0-5.6 III -58mm lense for $145.....is this a good lense?

 

[Lan-Lord]

Okay, I forgot to give the low down on IS. IS stands for Image Stabilization. When you photograph with large zooms, hand shake is alot more evident (its magnified) so alot of photographers have to use tripods (especially for really big zooms) or use a sandbag/bean bag or something to stabilize the lens. Now they are making lenses with Image Stabilzation built into them so that you may be able to hand hold the camera and photograph your subject without blurring the photo due to hand shake. I think IS is worth the money, especially if you have the chance to be shooting without a tripod or a way to brace the camera.

The weight of the lens is a big factor too. Just for reference, most people can hand hold the 300mm zooms and get good results without shaking too much.

A lens without USM means noisier, slower Autofocus (AF).

There are also the "L" lenses. These are extremely high quality. They are the "Rolls Royce" of lenses. I dont consider them a must, but alot of Pro photographers will not shoot anything but "L" lenses. It all comes down to how much do you want to spend, and what your requirements are for quality and performance. If you are a casual shooter and are not required to make a living on photography, you could probably do without "L" lenses.

Also remember you can add a teleconverter to your zoom, so if you go with a 75-300, you can add a 1.4x teleconverter to it and get 105mm-420mm. Or you can get a 2x teleconverter and have 150mm-600mm.

[edited]
Im not sure why the 100-300 is more than the 75-300. Here are some links to b&h's website with all of the specs.

link to 75-300
link to 100-300
[/edited]

 

[BirdDawg]

Well that 75-300 lense is what I'm looking for.....but I doubt the wifes going to let me spend $400.00 on a lense so I'll have to go with the cheaper one for now.....what about filters? I see 58mm Haze UV-1 Glass Filter and 58mm Circular Polarizer Glass Filter.Would you recomend getting one of these?