Photography Quest with Panasonic FZ18

Panny FZ18 has a new brother - Panasonic FZ28

2009-01-28T00:12:00.002+08:00

A few months after I bought my Panasonic FZ18, the Panasonic FZ28 was released. LOL. This my friends, is called technology. A few more months and you're obsolete.

The Panasonic FZ28 has the following differences from the Panasonic FZ18.

Aesthetics

2.7 inch LCD compared to FZ18's 2.5
the surround of the viewfinder eyepiece is a slightly different shape
there is a small difference in the options on the main mode dial
right-hand side of the camera now sports a small hatch concealing the component video output connector, a new feature for the FZ28 which allows it to be connected to a HD TV
the pattern of holes over the microphone are slightly different

Features

improved Face Detection now capable of tracking 15 faces at once
Intelligent Exposure, which helps to reduce the occurrence of black shadows and burned-out highlights
ntelligent Scene Selector, which automatically selects the correct scene mode, and Intelligent ISO Control, which as the name suggests selects the best ISO setting for the situation

Performance

new Venus Engine IV image processor
camera starts up in less than two seconds, which is exceptionally fast for a big super-zoom camera, and shuts down again just as quickly

Source:
Trusted Reviews.com

I've read the reviews and I wish I waited a few more months.

The Panasonic FZ18 is sold at $334.99 at Amazon.

Sunset Shots with Panasonic FZ18

2008-10-24T02:57:00.000+08:00

Settings (those that I can remember, LOL):

All in IA mode. I am not too confident to try the advanced settings yet. The pictures I have so far turned out quite good. All 100% credits to the camera.
Color effects set to warm
ISO 100

Basically, I just pointed and shot. :) Turned out alright. I am loving my camera.

Compare 2 Cameras

2008-07-19T05:04:00.002+08:00

If you want to compare reference images from 2 digital cameras side-by-side, Image Resource is offering this tool:

Comparometer

Select the first camera from the dropdown list on the left and the second camera on the right.

Top 7 Sites to Research Digital Cameras, Panasonic FZ18

2008-07-19T00:35:00.004+08:00

With hundreds of digital cameras of all size and shapes in the market, we need all the help we could get at choosing what best suits us. Here, I tried to compile the sites I visited while researching for a digital camera and finally decided to get the Panasonic FZ18. Hope you may also find these useful for your own digital camera research.

DPreview.com – Acquired by Amazon.com in 2007, the site has established itself as being the authority in digital camera reviews. DPreview.com provides extensive reviews of all digital cameras ever manufactured by camera companies. Suffice it to say that they rule the digital camera review world. You’ll find all the info you’ll need with comparisons between the FZ18’s competitors.

Panasonic FZ18 Review

Panasonic FZ18 Forum Threads

Steves-Digicams.com – A bunch of really nice people are always willing to help in the forums. Thanks Sarah Joyce (mtclimber)! If you’re a bit confused about which camera you’ll choose, search the forums if it hasn’t been discussed or ask the experts. They’ll steer you on the right direction and provide suggestions on the models you may want to consider.

Steve's-Digicams Forums

Steve's Digicams Panasonic FZ18 Review

Flickr.com – The best way to check the photo quality of the camera you’re planning to buy is to browse through photos upload by hundreds of members using that model. Not only is Flickr for uploading and sharing photos, members can also discuss about their cameras, too. If you’d join in the groups, you may also participate in different contests that members are setting up for their group.

Panasonic FZ18 Group

Panasonic FZ18 Photo Pool

Digicamhelp.com - This site is created and owned by Gail Bjork (I don’t know if she’s a distant cousin of Bjork, heheh). She owns a Panasonic FZ18 as well and I’m learning lots from her blog. She writes some tips, guides and features about Panasonic FZ18 in a simple, easy to understand manner.

Gail's Panasonic FZ18 blog

Amazon.com – I find the product reviews provided by buyers a rich source of information about the product and in fact I often base my purchase on the stars rating. Like everything else, read buyers' reviews before actually buying your camera. As the saying says, it is good to learn from our experiences but wise to learn from the experiences of others.

Panasonic FZ18 Product Page

Panasonic FZ18 Customers' Reviews

CNet.com – Cnet.com also has very rich information and reviews on tech and gadgets, including digital cameras. One feature I like in their reviews of digital cameras, Panasonic FZ18 in particular, is the shooting speed comparison chart between cameras of the same level. Really insightful.

Panasonic FZ18 Review from CNet.com

Youtube.com – Search for video tours of the digital camera model you’re planning to buy. You may see for yourself the camera in action and how it would fit into the hands. Sitting back and watching the video tour surely beats the crap out of reading long pages of text on screen.

Panasonic FZ18 Video tours

Who Should Buy the Panasonic FZ18

2008-07-14T23:18:00.003+08:00

We have our own reasons and criterias for choosing the digital camera that best fits us. Here, I'm trying to compile a buyer profile on who should buy a Panasonic FZ18. :)

The Panasonic FZ18 is perfect to those:

Who have had a digital camera before and felt they have graduated from point and shoot cameras and are interested to step up to the next level.
Who are wanting to learn the basics of photography first before jumping on the DSLR big gun.
Who found DSLRs cumbersome and heavy and/or looking for a DSLR substitute.
Who are looking for a versatile digital camera that gives a near DSLR photo quality specially in good light.
Who needs more zoom and doesn't want to pay extra for conversion lenses.
Who are planning to shoot mostly outdoors, and wild life that most of the time needs long zooms and fast shutter speeds.
Who are looking for budget cameras which have all the bells and whistle.

If you're all of the above, you better add the Panasonic FZ18 on the top of your list. :)

Flower Macro Shots with Panasonic FZ18

2008-07-12T12:26:00.005+08:00

Why Set the Date and Time

2008-07-10T22:43:00.001+08:00

I've just learned tonight that there's more to setting the date and time of the digital camera just for the sake of setting the date and time. Everytime we take a picture with our digital camera, a some sort of digital photo storage media or "metadata" is stored. Metadata is just a fancy term that means data or information about the picture. These data (including the date and time, ISO speed, exposure setting, etc.) are written in EXIF format and are stamped into the picture. Now the fancy part is that softwares like ACDSee and others can read this metadata and is possible for us to review the settings we used. We'll also be able to sort our photos by date and other stuff. :) So there.

My Panasonic FZ-18

2008-07-03T17:27:00.006+08:00

Yay!! I finally bought my Panasonic FZ-18 and I love it! Nahh, I didn't wait for Adsense earnings. Paid it with my hard-earned savings and my salary, hehe.

Thanks to Todd for buying it for me and acting as my mail man! :D

If you're contemplating on buying this camera and is still uncertain, these sites might convince you to put the dot on your decision:

I will post photos with my Panny-Potpot here soon. Hehe.

I've changed the blog template. I've found lots of very beautiful templates at eblogtemplates.com and I'm trying out some of them. The Aspire template is the one I like best at the moment but I'm thinking of changing to WP-Polaroid soon. We'll see.

3 Photographers and Their First Photography Sale

2008-05-27T15:21:00.012+08:00

I would like to share this really motivating article I found at blogs.photopreneur.com.. 3 photographers tell their story about the first photo they sold.

The Day I Sold My First Photo

This is the first photograph that Diego Lema (one of the featured photographers) sold:

Powerful isn't it? It's a self portrait, Diego Lema is the model, photographer and digital re-toucher. Yep, he's handsome and talented. There are just people who have it all. Sometimes, God really do play favorites. Hehe.

If the day comes that I have sold a photo, I could finally die happy. LOL. Got to buy the gear first. But with the rate I'm earning online right now ($0.55 from Adsense!), I think I could buy the LCD screen protector first after a year. Haha..

Photography Composition Lesson: The Rule of Thirds

2008-05-23T20:33:00.004+08:00

Photography's rule of thirds is and should be the first principle that a photographer should know about photography. This can be considered as a photographer's staple as rice is to Filipinos.

So what exactly is the Rule of Thirds?

No, I wouldn't even attempt at explaining what or how it is because for sure I would sound like a blundering idiot (which I really am). I will let the pros tell you what it is. So click here: The Rule of Thirds.

Here's my attempt at practicing the rule of thirds.

This was taken by a borrowed Nikon D40.

P.S.
I have found my new favorite site, the Digital Photography School blog. They also have a forum with which anyone can register and join for free: Digital Photography School forum. If you're wanting to improve your photography skills, go over there right now!

Why I want a better digital camera

2008-05-23T12:16:00.004+08:00

Here are samples of the photos I'm having. These basically are few of the reasons why I'm wanting a better digital camera. :)

Notice that huge splash in the center? A faster shutter speed could have caught the diver in mid-air and could have made this photo more interesting.

I know I was not in a good position but a more advanced camera could have captured more details, sharper image, and brighter colors.

Blurry photo. Could be much better if I had a good digital camera. There are lots of noise in this photo. Taken in Macro mode.

My Photography Wish List

2008-05-22T18:46:00.006+08:00

As I've said, I am a photography newbie and am learning how to get better pictures. I currently own an obsolete Olympus IR-300. Nothing against Olympus, but I think my cam doesn't give me good quality pictures (but a better photographer could probably get away with breathtaking pictures using my cam). That is why I am wanting to upgrade to a better camera. I recognize that I'm not ready for a DSLR yet and I don't want to carry that heavy luggage. But most importantly, I cannot afford the big guns. :) So, I decided I should settle for an advanced point and shoot first and learn everything I can about the technical part of photography.

Here's my photography wish list:

That's what I want for now until I see better options. :)

In the meantime, here's a picture I took a year ago with my IR-300 during our trip to Boracay. We are off to a snorkel site here. :) (I know the picture's not so good but the snorkel site was great!).

Hello World

2008-05-21T11:51:00.001+08:00

Hello world indeed. :)

I go by the name of Michelle and I live in the Philippines, a country of wasted beauty and sad ironies. I want to become a photographer.

No, I have no wish to become the BEST as that is a long shot to the moon. I only want to be competent enough to capture beautiful photographs to prove to myself and to anybody who cared that there is great beauty in our world and in life that is worth our efforts to protect, nurture and love. A photographer holds great privileges to hold a camera in their hands and be able to freeze a moment, a thing, and even time to eternity. Yes, it is possible to freeze time. You see it every time you view your photographs. And I am yearning to freeze my time. :)

And so I have a quest. Photography, I understand is not a cheap hobby. I couldn't finance it with my salary and I figured out that perhaps I can raise what I need from Adsense and affiliates. And my first quest is to raise enough to buy myself a Panasonic FZ-18. Why this particular camera? I will write about it in another post. :)

And so, I set up this blog and bought my domain today. I promise to document everything I learned and everything I did for my quest. Perhaps others will be interested to learn, too. So, learn photography with me, I invite you. :) I am hosting this site at Blogger yet as I have no budget for a web server. Perhaps when I earned enough. :)

I have also tried to mess around with the template and found this great website owned by a talented 18-year old Turk. He offers free blogger templates for free, he's very generous. Thank you very much for sharing your talent. Check out GosuBlogger's site if you'd want to change your blogger template. He has loads that he designed himself.

So, I guess this is about it for a first post. I'll try to fix the other sections of this wonderful template.

I enjoyed this photography by Steve Wall from Flickr. He adeptly titled it "Secret little worlds".