Will There Be an FZ40?

[Meatwhistle]

LoveLife wrote:

FZ40 wish list.

Bring back the power zoom.

I don't have an FZ30 yet, but I like the idea of a manual zoom. As many point out here in the forum, manual zoom is faster. I recall my old 35 MM zoom with manual also had a much more variable adjustment compared to anything I've used with a power zoom. Now if they could come out with a power zoom with a manual overide that might be nice. Don't know if that is feasble mechanically or economically.

[LoveLife]

Meatwhistle wrote:

LoveLife wrote:

I don't have an FZ30 yet, but I like the idea of a manual zoom. As many point out here in the forum, manual zoom is faster. I recall my old 35 MM zoom with manual also had a much more variable adjustment compared to anything I've used with a power zoom. Now if they could come out with a power zoom with a manual overide that might be nice. Don't know if that is feasble mechanically or economically.

Manual zooms might appear to be sexy giving you that 35mm camera feel but they are slower operationally. With the FZ30 the fastest way to rip off shots is with the left hand moving around from zooming to aiming position and then hitting the focus button. The right hand works exposure and shutter controls. On the FZ10 15 and 20, the hands stay in fixed positions and only the fingers are moving. The left hand only does aim and focus with the button. The right hand does zoom exposure and shutter. If you want faster start-up with the zoom you hold down the zoom lever while turning the camera on.


It is not impossible to have both but the manual and power zoom but the manual / ring would have to be fly by wire. Yes it is a more expensive feature and there is nothing to stop them improving the speed / feel of the zoom by wire.

[José A.]

Which are the focusing problems in the FZ30? I'm not defending it since I don't have one, just curious...

LoveLife wrote:

Correct Focusing problems.

[LoveLife]

José A. wrote:

Which are the focusing problems in the FZ30? I'm not defending it since I don't have one, just curious...

LoveLife wrote:

Many of FZ30 owners will not admit it but the camera does not always give you a tack sharp focus even when it shows a focus lock. It is not a blurry image it just looks soft. This has been reported on the Digital Photography andCamera Labs review. This is an example of a FZ10 tack sharp image and an FZ30 not so sharp image.



FZ10





FZ30

[kenmck15]

we had the panasonic nz rep come in today and we had a quick chat about other things (plasma, lcd etc etc) but i dropped the question about the possibility of an fz40. he was sure that the fz30 (in nz) would carry us out for the rest of the year due to its success.

so looks like a not for a while.



ken

[meanstreak]

Many of FZ30 owners will not admit it but the camera does not always give you a tack sharp focus even when it shows a focus lock. It is not a blurry image it just looks soft. This has been reported on the Digital photography Camera Labs review. This is an example of a FZ10 tack sharp image and an FZ30 not so sharp image.

Are you referring to Autofocus issues?

[LoveLife]

meanstreak wrote:

Are you referring to Autofocus issues?

No, focus errors when shooting above 9X.

[meanstreak]

LoveLife wrote:

No, focus errors when shooting above 9X.

Iremember from the 35 MM film days that Zoom lenses always had a foucus issue or draw back at certain ranges. That is why I always had different lenses for different types of shots. Is that possibly the case here?

[LoveLife]

meanstreak wrote:

LoveLife wrote:

Iremember from the 35 MM film days that Zoom lenses always had a foucus issue or draw back at certain ranges. That is why I always had different lenses for different types of shots. Is that possibly the case here?

No, the FZ10, 15 and 20 did not have this problem.

[KENNETHD]

LoveLife wrote:

meanstreak wrote:

No, the FZ10, 15 and 20 did not have this problem.

Ya, just look at the focus here in this shot. Typical blurry focus at 12X zoom, mega cropped and handheld. :lol:From my humble standpoint, manual zoom rules.:!:

Kd