FZ50 zoom

[DigitalGal]

One of my friends was curious about how it works.. me either.. so this morning I have done a little test..[line]FZ50 on the long end of tele-zoom..

[line]FZ50 on the long end of tele-zoom + Digital zoom 2x
[line]FZ50 on the long end of tele-zoom + Digital zoom 4x.. with this one I should have used a tripod.. but I didn't.. not easy to focus otherwise.. and I had to zoom out a bit to not cut the edges of to chimneys.. so the 4x zoom is a bit more stronger..
[line]
Very strange.. this image still looks better than what you can get with sony H9.. a quality is not for daily use though.. but you have an option to choose now and then..

Have anyone else tried this option yet? If yes, I would like to hear an opinion too..

[DigitalGal]

And one more thing about FZ50..[line][line]The building is about 200m away.. I have noticed this spot on the roof, which is coming from FZ50 focusing system.. interesting detail.. This is what you cannot hide.. FZ50 lazer ray.. or what is the system it uses? I have to check another distance for a visibility of it..

[Narmer]

Cara DG

I still use my old FZ20 (although I'm a little bit sad not to have bought FZ30 when it was still available). maybe I ll take FZ50 in some months.

Anyhow I seldom use DZoom: it can help when the object is really distant, and when you have to spot meter it better, but if e.g. you are using a 2x zoom, in order to have a nice picture on screen you must at least reduce its size to the half.
So it is the same as using 12x zoom with no DZ.
Furthermore the longer zoom range (even if a digital extrapolation) still amplifies any camera movement, so it is even harder for the IS to deal with longer zoom use.

However I have always the DG activated because really distant objects could benefit of that (o potrei voler usare la fotocamera come un binocolo).

PS that bright spot is not from the FZ focussing light (I don't think it can reach that far) but it's a flare from that clear reflection on metal (in fact flares as well as out of focus object tend to assume the shape of the shutter blades, thus are circular at high apertures as F2,8-F4 and are exagonal at smaller ones F8 - F11.

Francesco
http://www.francescoraffaele.com

[DigitalGal]

Hi!

thank you, Narmer, for a sharing your knowledge. I made this test for a friend (and me as well) - he was curious to know what exactly does digital zoom means.

And you are right about the -

"Furthermore the longer zoom range (even if a digital extrapolation) still amplifies any camera movement, so it is even harder for the IS to deal with longer zoom use"

I have writtent already that a tripod should be used.. It's obvious, when you try to focus - LCD seems to go bananas... I didn't use any though for these pics.. I have very firm hand..

About this:

PS that bright spot is not from the FZ focussing light (I don't think it can reach that far) but it's a flare from that clear reflection on metal (in fact flares as well as out of focus object tend to assume the shape of the shutter blades, thus are circular at high apertures as F2,8-F4 and are exagonal at smaller ones F8 - F11.

I don't agree about a lens flare.. the circle was visible also with a naked eye - it appeard physically on the roof that is not a metal one.. I have moved it around.. also on the wall.. I can add one more thing - it appeard only on long end zoom focusing.. when zoomed out, it wasn't visible anymore. Such a tech thing only.. If someone is interested in such details.

Usually I enjooy taking pictures, not going into tech exploring of cameras itself. The curiosity of my friend has been interesting for me too. Thanks one more time!
Buon weekend!

Irena

[rafinmelb]

Hey digitalgal. Don't use the EZ Zoom or digital zoom feature much. OK in a pinch but I find I get better results with a TCON adapter (Olympus Tcon-17 (1.7x) in my case). But yes it is quite amazing.

I would tend to agree with Francesco about the white circle but agree that seems strange given your experience. I have seen flaring from dust mites when shooting into the sun on my FZ30 but not something like your. Perhaps a few more tests to determine the cause are in order.

[mcliu]

Well so for my knowadge in optical zoom and digital zoom is this (rectify me if I am wrong):
1)Optical zoom is what the lens provide you i.e 420mm in FZ-50
2) for Digital Zoom ,let me take a facisimle example. I t is like zooming in on you computer screen and take the picture of that section only.It never enhance the picture quality as per se, It just give you an aperent feeling of being too close.
(PS:- 1)Notice DZ comes only after optical zoom, got the idea
2) DZ plays if you keep the Meg at 5 meg or below, not at 10 meg)

[DigitalGal]

mcliu.. you are absolutely right.. DZ test was just to show the folks the capability of FZ50. I don't use DZ at all.. I did it once.. maybe some more tests..

Rafinmelb.. the spot doesn't bother me at all.. I saw it while trying a zoom.. I ll post other pics from the same session next week.. I am off for a weekend..

Have a great holiday!

Irena