Question for Panasonic DMC FZ20 camera users

01/30/2005 05:22:16 PM · #1

Hi! I got this camera for Chrismtas and have a question. Is there a way to test the image stabilizer to see if it's working correctly? I currently have it set on mode 1. I had tried out one of these cameras at a store here in town before I bought one from a store on the internet. (they had a better deal) With the one at the store, I would move the camera on purpose and it would still take beautiful clear pictures. But it seems like at least half of the pictures that I take now with mine are blurry. I'm not sure if it's not working correctly on my new camera or if I'm doing something wrong. Thanks!

01/30/2005 05:34:39 PM · #2

Usually, I use my FZ20 on mode 2 - I think it works better than mode 1 with image stabilization.

Also, check to make sure the focus switch on the side of the lens barrel is set to auto focus instead of manual. Sometimes, this can get changed by mistake.

There are lots of other things than moving the camera that can cause pictures to be blurry. Make sure you hear the focus beep before you press the shutter all the way down. My husband is bad with that - he just presses the button and forgets to press it halfway to focus the camera first!

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

01/30/2005 05:40:15 PM · #3

I've been doing the things that you suggested. I can't tell any difference between the two modes. I'm really beginning to wonder if there's something wrong with the camera. The one at the store really seemed to work better. I was just wondering if there was a "test" that I could do to be sure or if I'm going to have to send it back to be worked on. I didn't want to do that though if the problem was me! :)

BobsterLobster

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro

01/30/2005 06:31:57 PM · #4

IS won't perform miracles, it will only rescue 2 or 3 stops. The general rule without IS (at 35mm equivalent focal lengths) is that if you shoot at 40mm, you use 1/40s minimum, 80mm is 1/80s, 300mm is 1/300s. With IS for example, you would be able to get away with 1/30s if you are very steady when you press the shutter. You can't shoot at 1/4s or 1/2s unless you have exceptionally steady hands. What focal lengths are you using (35mm equivalent), and what shutter speeds?

timj351

Sony DSC-F707

01/30/2005 07:22:19 PM · #5

I was thinking that you probably should test the autofocus and manual focus first without the IS on. To do this, mount your camera on a tripod and set up some kind of test image to focus on. This image should have a combination of features, lines, small details, lettering, etc, that will serve as a good test image. Make sure that the focus area in your viewfinder is over an area of contrast (like a solid line) on your test target. You might have several focus/metering options to choose from so test them as well. Take several photos with auto focus and manual focus with varying aperture settings and a relatively fast shutter speed (to completely eliminate this cause). Once you have determined that there is no problem with the focussing then do similar tests with the IS turned on but without the tripod and just hand holding the camera from the same location. And finally, do this test while adjusting the shutter speeds slower and slower until you are sure it is causing motion blur. This can help you determine a minimum shutter speed that you can still use while hand holding your camera. This part is largely dependent on what zoom range you are using as well. Longer focal lengths increase motion blur. With this kind of test on a fixed subject you should be able to get a good idea of any focussing issues your camera might have. Let us know what you find.

T

Message edited by author 2005-01-30 19:26:02.

01/30/2005 10:38:26 PM · #6

Tim,
Ok, I'll see if I can do what you suggested. I'm not a pro so I was mostly using the auto settings (although I have used the manual focus a little too). What was weird is that with the one that I tried out in the store, I was using the zoom and purposely moving the camera a LOT more than I normally would if I was really trying to take a picture. The pictures were all clear except for one. I was trying to mess it up and it took clear pictures. Now, with mine, I'm trying to take clear pictures and at least half, probably more, are blurry.

Bob, some of the pics that I took at my daughter's swim meet I was propping my arm on a rail to help steady the camera since I didn't have a tripod with me. There were a few that came out ok but most were blurry. (although this was a difficult place to get good pictures.) I was using different focal lengths. When she wasn't swimming I was "practicing" on other kids to see which settings did the best.

I'll let you know what I find out. Thanks for your suggestions!

Message edited by author 2005-01-31 06:57:58.

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

01/31/2005 05:55:11 PM · #7

Ok, I have an update. I tried doing some of the tests this morning and some of the time the pictures came out clear but most of the time they were blurry. I decided before I went into a lot of depth with the tests I would take it to Wolf Camera (about two blocks from our house) and ask the lady there to look at it. I'm not sure which screen she pulled up, but when she'd take a picture, she could see that the image stabilizer was working. (you could see where it was straightening the pic., etc.) She then looked at all of my settings, which was something I had wanted her to check. She changed three of them & thought that would help. I just got home & tried it out again and it seems to be doing better. These are the settings that she changed:
ISO -changed to 400
AF - I had it off and she changed it to on (I'm thinking this one probably had the most effect?)
Picture size - was set to 1280 & she changed it to 2048

I haven't had time to do a lot of pictures since I've gotten home, but the half dozen or so that I did take, were much better.

faidoi

Pentax K10D

01/31/2005 06:05:04 PM · #8

Originally posted by pianomom:

ISO -changed to 400
AF - I had it off and she changed it to on (I'm thinking this one probably had the most effect?)
Picture size - was set to 1280 & she changed it to 2048

High ISO is good for night or low light shots, but will cause noise. I leave it auto or ISO 100. Auto will probably keep it on ISO 100, 80% of the time.

AF - Since I don't have a manual focus it's always on. The only thing about this is it's suppose to use up more battery since it hunts for something to focus on. Never ran out of battery yet.

Picture size- The higher the resolution the less compression and thus better image quality.

Shifting or changing any of the modes will save the mode, so remember to change modes back to their original settings before shooting certain pictures.

This is based on the DMC- FZ3, the baby brother of the FZ20.

faidoi

Pentax K10D

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

01/31/2005 06:07:49 PM · #9

What types of pictures do you most often take? What type of weather are these pictures taken? Mostly indoor or outdoor shots?

Burst mode used? If burst mode is used what type of SD card? Faster writing speed may effect burst mode pictures. Since it's 5 megapixel.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

01/31/2005 06:30:46 PM · #10

I'm sure it was probably the auto focus not being turned on that was causing most of the problems - I mentioned to check this in my first post.

You will not want to leave it on ISO 400 - that is very noisy. It is best to use the lower ISO's unless you are in a low light situation. Even then - ISO 200 is really the most you can use without getting lots of noise.

The picture size has nothing to do with the focus.

BobsterLobster

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro

01/31/2005 06:37:55 PM · #11

Yeah, without AF being activated, unless you manually focused every shot, or activated the focusing when composing your shot, your camera wasn't going to know that you wanted to focus it! It's good, but not that good! Try to keep your ISO levels down, 400 is pretty unusable.

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

01/31/2005 06:51:01 PM · #12

Yeah, I figured it was the auto focus that probably helped the most. I take pictures of scenery, kids'sports (probably the hardest), our dog, flowers, family, all kinds of things. Yeah, I knew the picture size didn't have anything to do with the focus. So, if I'm taking pictures indoors or low light or my daughter's swim meets you think the 400 ISO is good? What do you mean by "noise"? Sorry, I'm not a pro but I'm learning! :) The memory card that I have is a SD memory card with 512MB.
Sammie, the auto focus switch on the side was set to auto focus but the AF in the menu screen wasn't. It was still set to "off". That was the one that she changed. For some reason I hadn't noticed that! lol Thank you guys SO much for your help! I've learned so much on this board just by looking at the photos you all have taken and reading the comments, etc. I really enjoy photography and hope to get better at it.

SDW

Canon EOS-60D

01/31/2005 07:08:54 PM · #13

The further you zoom the less effective the IS [in both modes]. As mentioned by others it does not work miracles. I can say that first hand.

Something else to remember and I don't know if others have had this problem. There is an option in the menu called Picture adjustment if you enter that feature it gives you the option to set the contrast, sharpness, saturation, and noise reduction to high, standard, or low. I have noticed that if you set it to high [on all] you will have a problem that looks like an IS problem. I found that out yesterday by taking a picture and noticed all was set on high and it looks like camera shake but IS 2 was on and only half zoomed with 1/500 SS. Has anyone else noticed that?

01/31/2005 07:10:00 PM · #14

Dear Glenda,

Sorry my last post seems sort of abrupt - have been in such a hurry today but still wanted to post!

I'm glad you're getting your camera figured out - I love my FZ20 and I hope you will love your's, too.

Noise is the grainy looking stuff in pictures. At ISO 400 the noise is very bad - look at a picture full size and you'll see it. There are noise removal programs that can remove the noise but at ISO 400 there can be so much noise that when the noise is removed the actual details of the picture are removed as well.

I've had some very good results taking pictures in low light with ISO 200. These haven't been action shots though. The best thing to do now that you have the focus issue solved is to experiment. An external flash is another option to take good pictures of your daughter swimming from a distance. I have a Sunpak 383 and it has coverage over a LONG distance. I took pictures with it at my niece's graduation from a long ways away and they turned out very well. Also used it for a wedding reception in a dark room and got some excellent shots.

Remember, with action shots you need to have a shutter speed of at least 1/60 of a second or else you'll get subject movement. The stabilized lens will help with movement you make but not the subject moving.

01/31/2005 08:51:09 PM · #15

Thanks! You guys have helped me so much! I'm actually printing down the suggestions that you've made so I'll remember everything! If I can figure out how to post a couple of (clear) pictures that I took at Christmas when I first got the camera, can you look at them & let me know what you think? I haven't done anything to the one with the Christmas balls but I did lighten the one with the angel and crop it.

Sammie, your post was fine! You've been a big help! :) (and I do love my camera, I was just getting aggravated with so many of the pictures coming out blurry. Hopefully, now I'll be able to get the ratio of clear ones up! It's a great camera!)

Message edited by author 2005-02-03 19:00:25.

01/31/2005 09:00:19 PM · #16

Ok, hold on. I'm trying to get the pictures smaller.

Message edited by author 2005-01-31 21:06:07.

01/31/2005 09:11:18 PM · #17

Ok, here's one.

Message edited by author 2005-02-03 18:55:26.

01/31/2005 09:21:51 PM · #18

Trying the second one. What would you suggest for these two to improve them or are they ok the way they are? I haven't done anything to them.

Message edited by author 2005-02-01 10:02:57.