good video. i have a issue with mine focusing. I was riding a bike and taking video and it lost focus on everything and didn't focus again till I stopped riding and held the camera still at something for a few seconds. 5 minutes of riding with everything blurry really pissed me off.
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Panasonic Lumix FZ28 - Unboxing and Layman's Impressions (Pics + Videos)
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NoxTek
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Mine will do that once in awhile, one of these days I'm going to have to try out the different focusing modes and see if I can prevent it. Othewise there is always manual focus, which may just be what you need in your case where the focusing distance is fairly static. (bike rides).
I want to strap mine to my bike somehow and go for a ride, but I'm afraid of all the rough bouncing and vibration screwing up the OIS motors somehow and breaking the image stabilizer.
i would get a compact that is meant for moving around a lot.
I posted my problem in the dpreview forums and apparently I need to turn off continuous AF. heres the thread: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1033&message=31730409
NoxTek
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Yeah but you kinda almost need continuous AF when you're shooting video, except for maybe in your case as I said where the distance is fairly static. If you turn off continuous AF then the focus will stay at whatever it was when you first depress the shutter button halfway and the AF locks onto something. (which is proabably good for you)
Still even with that video AF quirk I'm constantly amazed by the video performance of the FZ28. Being able to record HD video is just something I don't think I'll ever take for granted.
I sure wish I could replicate something like my bee video again, everyone loves that and they keep expecting something else of that calibur from me and by golly I haven't managed to do it again. I'm going to have to slap on the cheapo Tiffen +4 again and go knock over an anthill or something.
NoxTek
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Godammit, you know what Gabe? Mine did it again twice today... totally normal situations in which the camera should:
A. Not have lost focus in the first place
and B: been able to re-focus on pretty much instantly
Instead I had blurry video for like 15 - 20 seconds until I got pissed and stopped-restarted recording.
Maybe I have the focusing method set wrong... I think it's set to 'Multi' now. Maybe I should try 'Spot' or 'Fast Spot'. Grrrh.
OMG I also totally caught a couple of bluejays today trotting along our neighbors fence, I mean these were quick snaps of the shutter. Only problem when I got them home and into the PC was the damned camera locked in on the nice pretty grass about 10 feet behind the birds. DOH! My bad on that one though.
A. Not have lost focus in the first place
and B: been able to re-focus on pretty much instantly
Instead I had blurry video for like 15 - 20 seconds until I got pissed and stopped-restarted recording.
Maybe I have the focusing method set wrong... I think it's set to 'Multi' now. Maybe I should try 'Spot' or 'Fast Spot'. Grrrh.
OMG I also totally caught a couple of bluejays today trotting along our neighbors fence, I mean these were quick snaps of the shutter. Only problem when I got them home and into the PC was the damned camera locked in on the nice pretty grass about 10 feet behind the birds. DOH! My bad on that one though.
NoxTek
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More photos from today.... didn't watermark them since they probably aren't worth the effort anyway. Feel free to save any you like or request the fullsize version.
Squash flowers:
Yours truly:
Purdy flowers:
Plaque at the base of the Kennedale, TX town center clock:
New Kennedale, TX town center clock:
Fountain at Kennedale Town Center Park:
Hawk protecting his fountain:
More purdy flowers:
BAM! Dead cat! (j/k, it's my aunt's cat Sugar being rotten)
Squash flowers:
Yours truly:
Purdy flowers:
Plaque at the base of the Kennedale, TX town center clock:
New Kennedale, TX town center clock:
Fountain at Kennedale Town Center Park:
Hawk protecting his fountain:
More purdy flowers:
BAM! Dead cat! (j/k, it's my aunt's cat Sugar being rotten)
NoxTek
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I'm thinking about pulling off the cheap (Think it was tiffen or iConcepts) UV filter and just going naked, or maybe repacing it with the polarizing filter.
Reason being I'm noticing certain lighting anomalies with bright light sources, last night I was trying to photo and video the moon and it was nearly impossible due to a reflection that the UV filter was evidently casting.
I'm also wondering if the UV filter might be affecting the camera's ability to AF in some way, especially during video. These 'dead spots' where the AF just wigs out during video recording are pissing me off.
I wonder if they make a coated UV filter or something? Maybe Hoya would do worlds better?
Reason being I'm noticing certain lighting anomalies with bright light sources, last night I was trying to photo and video the moon and it was nearly impossible due to a reflection that the UV filter was evidently casting.
I'm also wondering if the UV filter might be affecting the camera's ability to AF in some way, especially during video. These 'dead spots' where the AF just wigs out during video recording are pissing me off.
I wonder if they make a coated UV filter or something? Maybe Hoya would do worlds better?
NoxTek
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Awsome shots BlueFalcon
Dude, I'm so totally going to build the same kind of squirrel feeder! We've got 2 squirrels that live in the trees next to our house and I swear they must be friggin' married because they fight CONSTANTLY.
Great shots!
I'll take pictures of the feeder itself tomorrow.
NoxTek
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On Sunday I took my mother to Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, TX) and of course I had the FZ28 in tow!
Firstly a couple of 720P stills I took from video of when I snuck the camera on the 'Roaring Rapids' ride:
More photos:
Firstly a couple of 720P stills I took from video of when I snuck the camera on the 'Roaring Rapids' ride:
More photos:
Last edited:
NoxTek
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Oh yeah and by the way, since I took off my UV protective lens I've had FAR less AF problems than with it on.
Guess I'll have to just be really anal about keeping the lens clean and protected from now on, heh.
Guess I'll have to just be really anal about keeping the lens clean and protected from now on, heh.
NoxTek
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w00t! Thanks Mustanguy, that definitely gives me some ideas!
Photos from today:
Photos from today:
Blue,
You got quite the different kinds of birds in your area. All we got around here is Robins ad Blackbirds with an occasional sighting of a Bald Eagle.
Gonna head out to the drag races this weekend and snap some shots.Some cars that will be there include:
Nostalgia Super Charges (Funny Cars & Dragsters)
6 Second 200+ MPH Super Charged Pro-Modified Cars
Jr. Dragster Race #4
Points Race #3 (Super Trophy, Pro Trophy, Pro Bike, MOD ET & TOP ET)
$1000 to Win Shoot Out Race
Trophy Street Car Shoot Out Race
You got quite the different kinds of birds in your area. All we got around here is Robins ad Blackbirds with an occasional sighting of a Bald Eagle.
Gonna head out to the drag races this weekend and snap some shots.Some cars that will be there include:
Nostalgia Super Charges (Funny Cars & Dragsters)
6 Second 200+ MPH Super Charged Pro-Modified Cars
Jr. Dragster Race #4
Points Race #3 (Super Trophy, Pro Trophy, Pro Bike, MOD ET & TOP ET)
$1000 to Win Shoot Out Race
Trophy Street Car Shoot Out Race
NoxTek
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Dude, you better share those pics! We've got two race tracks close by, but it's like $40 a night at each place... crazy expensive but I still want to go some day an take some pics and high-def video.
Finally got a chance to try out the Camera I bought last Fall @ the
drag races this Sunday.
Under no circumstances,do not goto these races WITHOUT wearing
earplugs! It's very hard to take pictures while trying to plug your
ears at the same time!!
I missed ALOT of good photos,due to the fact I was not ready at times.
This being the first day of the season,you forget just how quick you gotta be,in order to get those great shots. Next time I go,I'm going prepared,with EARPLUGS and gonna grab some video as well
drag races this Sunday.
Under no circumstances,do not goto these races WITHOUT wearing
earplugs! It's very hard to take pictures while trying to plug your
ears at the same time!!
I missed ALOT of good photos,due to the fact I was not ready at times.
This being the first day of the season,you forget just how quick you gotta be,in order to get those great shots. Next time I go,I'm going prepared,with EARPLUGS and gonna grab some video as well
NoxTek
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Awesome shots Mustang, truly shows off some of the potential of this camera!
Hi Gonzo, nice to see ya!
I plan on doing an 'updated' video review of the FZ28 - sort of a '6 months later' kind of thing. I'll let you guys know when it's posted and please let me know if you have any requests or questions for the video.
Hi Gonzo, nice to see ya!
I plan on doing an 'updated' video review of the FZ28 - sort of a '6 months later' kind of thing. I'll let you guys know when it's posted and please let me know if you have any requests or questions for the video.
So I got my FZ28 today and inside the package it had a note saying:
Dear Customer
Regarding Motion Pictures and Pictures with Audio
In order to improve audio quality, the audio recording specifications of this unit have been modified.
As a result, motion pictures and pictures with audio taken with this unit cannot be played back on Panasonic digital cameras (LUMIX) released before July 2008.
I had heard Panasonic addressed these audio issues so hopefully this note reinforced that. I cannot really mess around with it since I ordered the camera thru amazon and the 16gb sdhc card thru newegg and it wont be here till tomorrow.
Dear Customer
Regarding Motion Pictures and Pictures with Audio
In order to improve audio quality, the audio recording specifications of this unit have been modified.
As a result, motion pictures and pictures with audio taken with this unit cannot be played back on Panasonic digital cameras (LUMIX) released before July 2008.
I had heard Panasonic addressed these audio issues so hopefully this note reinforced that. I cannot really mess around with it since I ordered the camera thru amazon and the 16gb sdhc card thru newegg and it wont be here till tomorrow.
NoxTek
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They didn't do much, my camera came with the same notice. Audio is still recorded in 11khz mono quality, I can't remember the bitrate but I know it's really low.
Yeah Im noticing that too. Its acceptable for most of the stuff I will use it for though. Kids soccer games, et al. Still its hard for me not to give this camera 9 out of 10. If this thing had stereo and the 3.0" screen like on the TZ5 it'd be damn near perfect as is Im keeping it.
NoxTek
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Working out in the garden and a gorgeous summer moon started rising...
We found this little guy standing on the sidelines supervising our gardening:
We found this little guy standing on the sidelines supervising our gardening:
I've noticed that after I snap a shot, it will take close to 2 seconds to transfer the image to the SD card, all while the evf screen is frozen.
I figured that the speed increase in an SDHC class 6 card helped the transfer time between the card and the pc reader, does that include the transfer speed from the cam to the card? If so, upgrading to a class 6 card is definitely a priority.
I figured that the speed increase in an SDHC class 6 card helped the transfer time between the card and the pc reader, does that include the transfer speed from the cam to the card? If so, upgrading to a class 6 card is definitely a priority.
classes play a part in transfer to cam to card for sure, i think thats what people are thinking about first, since it's more important to be able to take a next shot then how fast you can load pictures onto your pc. class 6 cards are so cheap anyway($15 for a 8gb). you also have to look at how fast your camera can transfer to the card, thats probably just as important if not more then how fast your card is.
Did you not get a class 6 card? You must have a class 6 card if you wanna record in 720p. I kinda thought we recommended that to you already. Anyway, do buy one. 720p requires 10MB+ speeds which most class 6 cards actually hit.
SDHC Reviews Here's a little comparison of some from Tom's. Personally I got the Transcend from newegg as I trust that brand its in both my cell phones. As you see from these graphs you'll be ok picking from several class 6 options and exceeding the 10MB read/write benchmark:
NoxTek
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Keep in mind that exposure times have a direct effect on camera processing times also - ie if you set a 2 second exposure time (for a long exposure shot) expect to wait 4 seconds - 2 for the actual shot and 2 more for the camera to process and store the image.
That rule extends all the way to the high end of things too... a 30 second exposure means you'll wait 60 seconds in total. 30 seconds for the actual shot and 30 more for 'processing'. Don't ask me why but all my old Canon powershots are the same way too.
It should be noted that during this 'extra' processing period the Lumix will display 'Please wait' with a countdown timer and hourglass...
Now aside from that yes, definitely you want a class 6 card and the faster the better. I like Transcend and Adata, Transcend for their fast speeds an Adata for their cheap prices.
That rule extends all the way to the high end of things too... a 30 second exposure means you'll wait 60 seconds in total. 30 seconds for the actual shot and 30 more for 'processing'. Don't ask me why but all my old Canon powershots are the same way too.
It should be noted that during this 'extra' processing period the Lumix will display 'Please wait' with a countdown timer and hourglass...
Now aside from that yes, definitely you want a class 6 card and the faster the better. I like Transcend and Adata, Transcend for their fast speeds an Adata for their cheap prices.
Great comment BF. When I was taking those night shots above I had shutter speeds ranging from 3.2-8 seconds and yes the processing time usually mirrors the exposure time