forum gone very quiet?

[jussiuk]

Seems this place has gone very quiet. It used to be so busy a few years back with so many Pana enthusisasts. Have they all moved to other brands now? SLRs?

I am still loyal to Lumnix despite the noise problems which are ever present. I upgraded to FZ28 from FZ18 only to find out 2 weeks later that they were bringing out FZ38! I was annoyed!

Here a few FZ28 shots taken on a recent trip to Finland.

[jussiuk]

a few more....

[gotta.learn]

Very nice shots here! My personal favs are numbers 4 of the boats and 5 of the pink flowers. I know what you mean about the quietness. I do miss the sharing and enthusiasm of the those days. I still have my FZ30 and having a great time taking pics with it. Good to see you and a few of the oldies still going at with the Panasonics.

[Tullio]

The quietness is experienced across most forums here. I've posted quite a few shots in different forums lately but got no replies at all. Maybe my pictures are not good enough, who knows. The fact is, traffic is still high but participation in terms of comments is low. Go figure!

Anyway, nice series. I would not feel too bad about missing the FZ38. I've read many people saying that the new model is not as good as the FZ28. If you look on eBay, you'll see that the demand for the FZ28 is quite high. Enjoy your camera.

[RealMash]

Hi!

First things first: I liked your pics, I have some of my own that need posting but...I simply can't find the power to do it properly.

I guess everybody was hyped up about their new Toys-digital cameras that were really usable and did take decent pictures. Then it turned out-making real good pictures is work. I needs learning, and the creative process to choose angle, light (Magnification-we are at Panasonic here!) takes a lot of Power. I have seen pictures here that are so good, so sharp, so creative-that forces me to operate at my personal limit to create something that comes close. And, furthermore, this nagging feeling that through this financial crisis (that lead to this global recession, that might lead to who knows?) the life we know might and, to be replaced by something still unforeseeable-this takes a big toll on everybody. So I do not muster the power to do real photography. And probably a lot of people feel that way. So basically:
a) Toy is not so new anymore, and you need to put effort in it to have decent results, and some of the pics over here are so good, that it intimidates people
b) everybody is frozen or cocooning for fear of the new world to come (in the west, Asia and Africa might start to cheer...).

So its a delayed fin de siecle feeling...

Cheers,
Michael

[Joe Sellers]

Some of us are just lurking trying to figure out what to pull the trigger on.

I have gone from wanting a Sony HX1 to Canon SX1/10/20 to being stuck on the Pany 35. Every time I see shots like yours done on the FZ series they just appeal to me vs the other brands for the money.

Like the SX1 but I can't see spending the extra money for it vs the Pany.
So I guess my comment is you guys with the Pany's need to post more pictures!

Biggest problem these days is being able to find a camera shop with the various models. I have yet to find the Pany and I am in north Dallas. Fry's at least has the Sony and Canon if you can put up with the salesmen.

Back to sleep now - nice pictures.

[Tullio]

I don't believe lack of posted pictures is an issue here at Steve's. The lack of activity should actually read lack of participation. Look at traffic. Some posts have hundreds of browses but one or two replies. People simply don't take the time to comment on images anymore. Some of the discussion posts are very active, not because of the pictures posted but the topics being discussed. The thing is, the less people comment on images, the less people feel like posting images.

Michael, you should not feel intimidated by anyone's images. If nothing else, you should take the opportunity to learn. I once entered a contest at the Panachallenge forum just for the heck of it. I did not think I had a chance once I saw everyone else's entries. It turned out I got second place. Sometimes we under estimate the quality of our work and what we might find ordinary, others may find extraordinary. So, my advice is don't wait for that perfect shot because most likely you've already got it. Now all you need to do is post it and share with all of us.

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by Tullio

I don't believe lack of posted pictures is an issue here at Steve's. The lack of activity should actually read lack of participation. Look at traffic. Some posts have hundreds of browses but one or two replies. People simply don't take the time to comment on images anymore. Some of the discussion posts are very active, not because of the pictures posted but the topics being discussed. The thing is, the less people comment on images, the less people feel like posting images.

Michael, you should not feel intimidated by anyone's images. If nothing else, you should take the opportunity to learn. I once entered a contest at the Panachallenge forum just for the heck of it. I did not think I had a chance once I saw everyone else's entries. It turned out I got second place. Sometimes we under estimate the quality of our work and what we might find ordinary, others may find extraordinary. So, my advice is don't wait for that perfect shot because most likely you've already got it. Now all you need to do is post it and share with all of us.

Excellent post and great advice.

I've been lurking also, looking for information. I did post, but have received no response. I think the information I'm looking for is not easily found.

[Tek_Freek]

BTW: I smelled the rose when I saw the picture. Very nice!

[mikegg]

Your pictures are beautiful! Post them over at the Panasonic forum at dpreview.com They have had 12 posts in the past one hour. It is quite active over there. I don't know what happened to these forums. They all seem quite slow.
Mike G.