Panasonic Lumix FZ-200 vs Lumix FZ-300, a proper upgrade?

INTRO

The Lumix FZ series of camera's have always been a top choice among people looking for a bridge camera. The FZ-150 was an instant success and the FZ-200 really pushed the standards with the stellar 25-600mm range (35mm eq) constant F2.8 lens and great video recording capabilities. While other manufacturers upgraded their bridge camera's, Panasonic waited 3 years to bring out the FZ-200's successor to the wild, but the big question is, is the upgrade worth it? Well, here is what I feel about the FZ-300 and my reasons to think it is a proper upgrade to the amazing FZ-200, which I've been using for the past 4 years.

When I first saw the specification of the FZ-300 I was surprised that Panasonic didn't change the focal length range nor increased the sensor size or resolution. But, I figured out the problems that these changes could posses. Like, increasing the sensor size means redesigning the already wonderful lens and could make the camera much larger and heavier. Increasing the focal length and keeping the constant aperture can also lead to the same consequences. Increase in the megapixel count mean lower high ISO performance.

CHANGE OF MIND

The thing is, every digital camera have 3 main components resulting in the final image. One is the sensor, second is the lens and third is the Image Processing Engine, or the mind of the camera. Panasonic kept the same lens and more or less the same sensor but the mind, the Image Processing Engine is completely new and is a much more powerful unit. The new Engine enables the camera to shoot 4k resolution video at 100mbps and other 4k functionalities like 4k photo modes. It also enables the camera to focus much faster and accurately with better algorithms, it enables introduction of higher resolution LCD and EVF as the processor needs to push all those pixels constantly. In short, the Lumix FZ-300 is a perfect example of what a camera can be with a new processing unit and here are my 9 reasons why this camera is a proper upgrade to the wonderful  FZ-200.

THE REASONS


1. 4k VIDEO AND OTHER VIDEO GOODIES

- Many would still say that 4k is an overkill. But I'm someone who uses a 4 year old Nexus 4, and I'm someone who take care of my things properly and use the most out of it. So 4k, which could be an overkill to many now would become useful after a couple of years...especially for someone like me.
This also comes with many image capturing features like the 4k 30fps photo mode, which captures 8MP stills from the 4k video file enabling us to take 'THAT' moment from the fast moving scene.There is a 'Pre Burst' mode enabling the camera to capture 30 frames before we press the shutter button making sure the shooter doesn't miss a moment.

- 4k video is shot at 100mbps but the best thing is the availability of options to choose between 30p and the cinematic 24p frame-rates. Down-sampling 4k videos to 1080p resolution will result in much sharper 1080p files than the native 1080p recording.

- Manual Focusing is assisted with peaking and also with a rotating dial in the left side of the lens barrel for proper adjustment. The FZ-200 had a manual focus switch which was a pain to use.

- A proper 3.5mm jack for mic inputs rather than the unconventional 2.5mm jack in the FZ-200.


2. WEATHER SEALED CONSTRUCTION

- The FZ-300 is weather sealed to resist dust and some water splash. Whenever I used my FZ-200 in beaches or in dusty conditions, I had to constantly cover the camera but the FZ-300 solves this issue.

- The camera is bigger than the FZ-200, which means, chunkier grip leading to much better steadiness while shooting. The FZ-300 is about a 100 grams heavier and overall larger than the FZ-200 but with the benefits it provide, I think it is something that can be over looked.



3. FASTER & MORE ACCURATE AUTO-FOCUS

- The FZ-300 is incorporated with the DFD (Depth from Defocus) technology, and I'm sure the AF performance would have got a serious bump up from the FZ-200. I've used the GH4 and have tasted the DFD system. Though, the FZ-300 would not be having GH4 like performance, I'm sure the performance when compared to the FZ-200 will be much much better. 


4. EVF & LCD

-  The FZ-300 boasts an EVF with a magnification of 0.70x, which is much larger than the one in the FZ-200. The new unit is an OLED panel means much smoother and less ghosting. The rear LCD has much higher resolution and have touch functionality. The touch screen can be used to just focus and capture with a single tap, making photo taking and AF area changing process much faster and intuitive.


5. Wi-Fi  

- Wi-Fi not m=only means quick image transfer to your mobile device on the go, but it also mean, you can use the app in your phone to control your camera and shoot remotely.



6. ELECTRONIC SHUTTER

-  The FZ-200 has a fastest shutter speed of 1/4000s, which could only be used at apertures above f4. But with the introduction on an electronic shutter, the FZ-300 gives the shooter the ability to shoot at an insane 1/16000s at any aperture. Electronic shutter also enables to shoot silently, even without the AF confirmation sound.


7. 5-AXIS OIS

- Panasonic claims that it is a much better system than the one in the FZ-200, and I've reasons to believe it. But 5-axis OIS is not available in 4k video recording.


8. IN CAMERA RAW EDITING

- The new processing engine gives the camera ability to edit the RAW files straight from camera. So for quick on the go highlight, shadow, white balance, sharpness or color adjustments we have an option to do so in camera no matter where we are.

These are the 8 reasons that I found in the FZ-300 that made me feel like its a proper upgrade to the FZ-200.


So in short, the FZ-300 is a proper upgrade to the fantastic FZ-200, and this is the embodiment of what a gadget can be just by changing the processing unit and properly utilizing its capabilities.

C-1 : How it all started & Why Mirrorless

Intro

Photography has been one of my favorite hobbies since my school days and since I didn’t have any discrete digital camera at that time, my main camera were my parents phones, my mother’s sleek and cute Nokia 6300 and my father’s chunky Nokia N73. I couldn’t do much with the 6300 but the N73 was a stellar performer with its 3.2MP camera with Carl Zeiss Optics, yeah..!!! 

N73, September 2008

Nokia N73 was just amazing in the hands of my 16 year old self. It had an AF system with different modes with Macro being my favorite, a flash and most importantly the ‘Carl Zeiss’ branded lens, which I had no idea about in the beginning but later discovered the Zeiss brand and hence began my favorite thing in the camera module. With the Macro mode I got some good blurred background with, then sharp images from its sensor. Only god knows the number of photos I took with that camera, well, mobile.

N73, March 2008

Then comes our family’s first ever discrete digital camera, my beloved Sony CyberShot W-360 with its 14MP CCD sensor and 720p video recording. I was awed by the amount of details I could get from the sensor, as previously I was only used to shoot with a mere 3.2MP mobile camera. Took a lot of photos with it and this is when photography really started to grow inside me. I started experimenting on the metering system and I learned a lot from my general use. It didn’t have any manual controls but only modes which did everything for us. From the images I could get and from my uploads in FB and the response I got, this camera quickly became my favorite thing at home.

Sony W-360, May 2010

Sony W-360, May 2010

Sony W-360, April 2010

Sony W-360, August 2010

Sony W-360, March 2011

Sony W-360, Sept May 2011

That was when my sister, who again was a good frame maker herself decided to buy a camera for herself. She told me to find a good camera for her and her only condition was no complications with changing lenses and stuffs but a good camera that could shoot anything and everything. I started to research and thanks to Graham from YouTube, we planned to take the Panasonic Lumix FZ-200, and boy that was and still is one hell of a camera. My sister was hesitant to buy a camera made by Panasonic.  In Indian, this brand is mainly knows for TV’s, AC’s and other similar household electronics. After my research and before buying, I asked some of my friends who were photographers and they all were like, take the Canon ‘this’ or the Nikon ‘that’ and most of them had no idea that Panasonic made camera’s in the first place. But then the moment I started to post pictures in social media, my friends were all awed. Many asked me about the gear I used and stuffs. I learned everything I could from using that camera and also from the wonderful videos made by Mr.Graham Houghton. The Lumix FZ-200 had manual controls and I learned everything I could from it.

While researching about the FZ-200 I got a glimpse of the micro four thirds system with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 ad video, and it caught my attention big time. And I started to follow the development of this system and was impressed with what these small camera's could do. That was in November 2012. Almost an year later, I thought I would test the E-M5 but I could find a store that had one. I went to some camera stores and they were simply unaware of this system and one guy even said Olympus doesn’t make cameras anymore. I smiled and said Okay..!

It’s natural because in India, we can only see Canon’s and Nikon’s and sometimes a rare Sony. Many doesn’t even know what the Micro four thirds system is. After some heavy research, I found a store that had one, which unfortunately was in another state. I went there and tested the OM-D E-M5 Mark-1 in the store and I understood that this was the camera I wanted, I waited for. I fell in love with the design, feel and the sheer pleasure of using that camera. And that was the day when I made my mind. 
And almost 3 years after that first impression, in June 2015 I decided to buy an OM-D for myself. So I started my search to find an authorized seller to get the OM-D E-M5 Mark 2 and finally ended up buying from the all India distributor in the capital city, New Delhi.  

My Baby. Taken with Lumix FZ-200

It has been a love story ever since.

Panasonic Lumix FZ-200 Review (after 4 long years of use)

INTRO

- This review will mainly contain come of my favorite pictures I shot with this camera, so from the photos you can judge for yourself. I use Aperture priority almost all the time.
- I will look at the pros, cons and also a look at its worth after 4 years after release.
- At the bottom of this article, you will be able to take a look at the edited files for my web use.
- I now use an Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II as my main camera but I still use the FZ-200 at times when I need better reach.

DESIGN & HANDLING

The FZ-200 is designed like a mini DSLR and one could easily mistake it to be one. Its when we notice we see the fixed zoom lens and the EVF. Its an all plastic construction but the built quality is great. The buttons are well damped but still have a click sound when a press is confirmed. The rear dial is also good, with good resistance and clicks. It has a button in built to change between different parameters while shooting. For example, when I shoot in aperture priority mode, the rear dial button switches between aperture and exposure compensation and hence compensates for the absence of a second dial. But the dial failed after 3 years of use, but luckily I got it repaired free of charge as the camera was just under the 3 year warranty period.

The shutter button is chrome plated and I think its a nice touch. The ring around it with a small lever lets us zoom in and out but I use the lever in the left side of the lens barrel to perform this function. Using this lever means, there is not need to take our finger from the shutter button to zoom, hence more control over the shots. Its one of the best ergonomic touches this camera has. Near this lever, there is a focus mode selector with AF, AF-Macro and MF as options and a button below this selector to do manual focusing.

The rear fully articulating rear LCD have decent sharpness and brightness but lacks touch functionality, and the EVF is tiny but has great resolution resulting in a tack sharp view. This camera has a mic input jack, but its a 2.5mm port rather than the conventional 3.5mm one. There is a hot-shoe on top for mounting mics or flashes.

THE LENS

The FZ-200 is an amazing camera...and even 4 years after release, I would still consider it as one of the top bridge camera in the market right now. The main reason is the lens. The 25-600mm lens have a constant aperture of F2.8, and it clearly demonstrates the advantage it has compared to other bridge cameras. For example, the hyper zoom Nikon P900 at 600mm has an aperture roughly equivalent to 5.6, which is 2 stops slower than the FZ-200. This means, if the FZ-200 at 600mm F2.8 shoots at a shutter speed of 1/200s, then the P900 can only shoot at 1/50s considering the ISO and exposure values are same. That difference is more than enough to lose the shot. This is just an example, and also keep in mind that the P900 can go all the way to 2000mm, which by any means is just astonishing. (more than 3x zoom of the FZ-200 at its maximum focal length).

The lens in the FZ-200 is sharp from the widest end to the longest end. I got the best sharpness from this lens from an aperture of F4-5.6 at focal lengths above 400mm equivalent, but it doesn't mean that at F2.8 its not. Take a look at this image at F2.8 and 600mm straight out of camera jpeg.

600mm eq, F2.8, ISO-100. 1/50s, -0.7 step

AUTO-FOCUS

The FZ-200 has a decent AF system, but it is no way near as fast as the latest DFD system seen in the Panasonic camera's these days. Single point AF works well, and confidently locks on to subjects but changing focus points from near and far away subjects can sometimes lead to slow hunting. But I have found the AF intelligent enough to lock on to obvious subject in the frame when all 39 F points are employed, but it is not accurate all the time though but still better than the one in my OM-D, which when compared is a great thing. C-AF with tracking is surprisingly good and it still holds even compared to my new OM-D E-M5 Mark 2.


These are taken with all 39 AF areas employed and setting the camera to tracking.

284mm, f2.8, 1/2000s, ISO-100

69mm, f2.8, 1/2000s, ISO-100

204mm, f2.8, 1/1600s, ISO-100

Lack of an LCD touch screen for quick AF position change and shooting is something I started to miss when I started to use my OM-D but before that I didn't care. And besides, Panasonic have upgraded the FZ-200 to the FZ-300 with almost all the features I've craved for, hence, there will be an article coming soon, comparing those two cameras.

IMAGE QUALITY

Image quality from the 12MP 1/2.3" sensor is great. JPEG's have nice colors already and with some small tweaks in the picture profiles, I got even better JPEG's. For maximum detail, it is always better to shoot RAW and edit them in a software, and I use Lightroom all the time.

Here are some images taken with this camera. Keep in mind that all of these are untouched straight out of the camera JPEG's...though little cropping have been done for framing. Also, the images that shows the focal length more than 600mm is because of the slight use of digital zoom functionality.

F4, 1/160s, IS0-100, 536mm

F3, 1/125s, ISO-100, 624mm

F4, 1/100s, ISO-100, 686mm

F3.5, 1/40s, ISO-100, 648mm

F3.2, 1/160s, ISO-100, 84mm

F2.8, 1/250s, ISO-100, 624mm

F4, 1/250mm, ISO-100, 1200mm

F4, 1/200s, ISO-100, 624mm

F4, 1/500s, ISO-100, 600mm

F4, 1/500s, ISO-100, 600mm

As you can see, the colors are vibrant and there is enough detail to play with even in the out of the camera JPEGS.

I've found ISO's above 1000 to be a bit too messy for my use, so that is the limit for me. Here are some high ISO images. But I mainly use this camera in good lit conditions to extract the best out of the sensor and lens.

F2.8, 1/8s, 33mm, ISO-1000

F2.8, 1/8s, 32mm, ISO-1000

VIDEO

This is the area, where I've felt like this camera shines a bit more. There is AVCHD and MP4 formats at 50p and 25p respectively. The video quality is amazing, and there is tons of details when used in conditions with good light.


Here are some samples that I took with this camera and shared in YouTube.

The sunset is without any edits whatsoever. And even the other 3 have minimal contrast adjustments. There are no log modes or high bit-rates for heavy post processing but we have to keep in mind that this is just a 1/2.3" point and shoot camera.

With the good quality video, the availability of the mic jack means high end audio as well, though a 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter is needed. In short this camera is amazing in the video front and still could be considered a good option for vlogging. The continuous AF during video is good as well, and I have found it to be as good or sometimes better than my OM-D.

BATTERY LIFE

I get around 600 shots on a single charge and I think it is simply great. Generally, I do not shoot like a maniac, so most of the time, I get back home with sufficient battery life to go through the photos and videos in camera. And even now, after 4 long years, the battery life is brilliant.


EDITED SHOTS

F2.8, 1/640s, ISO-100, 468mm

F4, 1/160s, ISO-100, 600mm, -0.3 ev

F3.2, 1/80s, ISO-100, 600mm

F2.8, 1/2000s, ISO-100, 600mm

F4, 1/500s, ISO-100, 624mm

F3.2, 1/250s, ISO-100, 600mm

F2.8, 1/1000s, ISO-100, 600mm

F2.8, 1/160s, ISO-100, 148mm

F2.8, 1/1250s, ISO-100, 26mm

F2.8, 1/800s, ISO-100, 26mm

 

F4.5, 1/1600s, ISO-160, 25mm

PANAROMA SHOTS

7 shots combined, F4, ISO-100, 25mm

7 shots combined, F4, ISO-100, 25mm

5 shots combined, F4, ISO-100, 25mm

WITH A 20+ MACRO FILTER

F4, 1/640s, ISO-100, 56mm, -0.7 ev, Spot Metering

F2.8, 1/250s, ISO-100, 52mm

F2.8, 1/400s, ISO-100, 50mm

Will Continue.......

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II Review

INTRO

- If you have read my previous posts you must be familiar with the reason on why I choose this camera over a conventional DSLR.
- This article is more like me describing my feeling of using this camera rather than a spec sheet display.
- This review is based on my use of this camera with the M.Zuiko 12-40mm F2.8 Pro lens.
- I'm in love with this camera. 😃

DESIGN, BUILT & FEEL

OM-D E-M5 II & 12-40mm Pro

From my perspective, the OM-D E-M5 II is the best designed M43 camera that Olympus has ever made. (Looks are subjective, so.) It's all retro and classy and at a glance, it's a film camera but looks closer and you will find the obvious digital elements. Make no mistake under this retro body there are technological marvels and it delivers. It's a beautifully put together piece of art, and I simply don't know how else to put it.

The body is made of Magnesium alloy and is weather sealed to a good extent. The buttons have a quality feel to them and the dials, yeah the dials are just beautifully designed and its a joy to use.

But the main thing is the feel of holding and using this camera that will set the experience apart from using other cameras. It's a completely different thing. It's small but hefty. It's pretty and brilliant. It's just art.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II

ERGONOMICS

OM-D E-M5 II & Pentax-M SMC 50mm f1.4

This is not a camera that I felt was spot on when I used it for the first time. The lack of a proper grip is the culprit here. For someone who is familiar with DSLR's and other Mirrorless camera's like the GH4 or the E-M1, this is something that will be noticed first. But it doesn't take a lot of time to get used to. For me, the first 30 minutes were kind of weird but then I forgot and my hands and the way I hold adjusted without my notice. The lack of grip aside, this camera is perfect for my hands. The plethora of nicely spaced buttons and the dials made me change the various parameters while shooting a breeze.




IBIS

@F2.8, 2s, ISO-200, 25mm (50mm eq) - HANDHELD

The 5-axis IBIS or In-Body Image Stabilization is the best thing about this camera from a technological point of view. This feature actually changed the way I shoot in low light situations and it is just incredible. For the people unaware, this is a sensor based stabilization and the benefit is that any lens mounted onto this camera with or without adapter becomes stabilized, and the old vintages lenses include. And it's not just a mediocre stabilization but one of the best out there. I can easily get 1s exposures handheld at up to 40mm (80mm eq), but sometimes I get a full 2s shot like the construction site photo here. If there was no stabilization, I won't be able to use an ISO-200 but something like ISO-6400 at least. The only thing to consider is that there should not be any moving subjects in the frame but also, sometimes, moving subjects can be used creatively.
In short, the IBIS pretty much compensates for the mediocre low light performance of the M43 sensor compared to the full frame counterparts.

Also, the 5-axis IBIS works in video mode as well.


IMAGE QUALITY

From my experience, the image quality is great. Olympus is well known for the way the colors are rendered and in my experience it is true. Here are some unedited JPEG's straight out of the camera, so check these for yourself. All images are taken in Fine JPEG mode with the white balance set to Auto, in Natural picture profile with default contrast, saturation or sharpness.

F2.8, 40mm, ISO-400

F2.8, 12mm, ISO-200

F2.8, 40mm, ISO-400

F5, 12mm, ISO-400

F2.8, 30mm, ISO-200

F2.8, 40mm, ISO-250

F3.5, 12mm, ISO-400

I was surprised with the street shot because the camera really nailed the colors as it was in real life, one of my favorite out of the camera JPEG since I've seen many cameras struggling in such situations.

F5, 40mm, ISO-200, 1/125s

Here is an edited RAW file with a huge crop. This demonstrates some of the capabilities of this camera with a pro lens.

More than a 100% crop from the above image

This camera with a pro lens doesn't behave like it has got only 16 megapixels, the detail retention and quality is just amazing.


DYNAMIC RANGE

So the colors are the main thing I noticed and the second thing is the detail rendition. The JPEG engine resolves so much detail without making the photo looking over-sharpened. The RAW is just another level, and I could edit them in Lightroom to get even more details and it just doesn't feel like I'm dealing with a 16MP sensor. The RAW files provide great dynamic range and this below pic is just an example.

RAW directly converted to JPEG via Lightroom

The RAW file with basic adjustments

There are other images that blew me off, this is just an example.

ISO

Talking about ISO performance, for my use I find the Image quality superb up to ISO-4000, and after that, I really needed to work on the RAW files to get the best out of the file. So I would set the ISO limit from 200-4000 almost all the time. Here are some high ISO Images ranging from ISO-1600 and above. All are RAW edited in Lightroom.

ISO-1600, F 7.1, 1/2s, 12mm

ISO-3200, F 2.8, 1/40s, 21mm

ISO-2000, F 2.8, 1/40s, 12mm

ISO-3200, F 5, 1/13s, 12mm

ISO-4000, F 4, 1/60s, 29mm

ISO-10000, F2.8, 1/160s, 32mm

AUTO-FOCUS SYSTEM

I use single point AF almost 90% of the time, and I find the AF quick..like really quick. Even while using the touch AF via the rear LCD, the camera does a fine job 85% of the time. I've tried C-AF at times, employing all 81 points and letting the camera choose the AF and tracking, and I've got some fine results. It's decent, but that's about it. My beloved OM-D won't compete with DSLR's in C-AF with tracking, it's just, it simply cannot. But I'm okay with it since my use doesn't need much tracking and all.
In short, the AF system is great while using S-AF mode but lacks performance using C-AF. And earlier I said 85% because there are times when the system goes haywire...I mean, the camera shows that it focused but when viewing the photo, the image will be terribly off focus, I mean by a good margin. This is something that I've encountered from the beginning and hoped would change with a firmware update but it hasn't. I'm using v2.2 now and this issue still persists.

BATTERY

I get around 350 shots per charge and Olympus says that using the quick sleep mode, we can get around 700 shots but from my experience, I got around 500. It's decent, but I don't use that mode now since it takes a couple of seconds to start up from the sleep...so I might miss the critical frame.


EXTRA FEATURE - Hi-RES MODE

Long story short, in this mode the camera captures 8 shots making full use of the impeccable IBIS system to move the sensor around by 0.5 pixel...the end result is a huge 64MP RAW for a 40MP JPEG file. The resolution is real and its not up-scaling of a 16MP image. The end result is mind boggling, as you can see in this image below. Its a 64MP JPEG converted from RAW, so you can download it and check for yourself.

F2.8, ISO-200, 1/13s - 64MP JPEG converted from RAW

There are limitations in this mode. We can use this mode for static subjects only, though there are situations where we can use this mode to our advantage for moving things like a waterfall or a busy water stream..where this helps to give a long exposure look. (This also depends on the shutter speed used). The next is, we need a tripod or a steady base to rest the camera to use this mode. The ISO limit is capped to 1600 and the slowest shutter speed which can be used is 8s. But when the conditions are right, with the use of good lens, the results are stunning.

VIDEO

Though I'm not a videographer, the 5-axis IBIS makes the video shooting experience a breeze. Its super smooth and the best thing is, like I said, we can use any lens from any format with the help of an adapter and the camera stabilizes the image for us. It is magical. We can choose any frame rate irrespective of the NTSC/PAL region selection..so 24p, 25p, 30p, 50p, 60p is available at your disposal. The maximum bit rate is at 77mbps but that's all what I can say about it since I've not played much with video, but I'm learning and will soon catch up and will write a review on the video front as well.

Here is a video clip I shot and shared in my YouTube channel.

SUMMARY

As a camera, as a tool, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark 2 is amazing. I have got great images with this camera and the size, feel and the outstanding IBIS system just makes the experience a whole lot different from using a conventional DSLR.

I'm in love with this camera...its not only a tool to me but also my friend. Someone I love to take with me no matter where I go and the best thing is that, it just doesn't feel like a materialistic thing but something with an emotion, its a part of me now.