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ABOVE: This gilded relief
sculpture is high on the façade
of the newly restored Oude Griffe in Bruges, Belgium.
Thanks to the FZ1's 12X lens, I was able to zoom in from
my distant vantage point on the ground.
See unedited 1600 x 1200 image (318 Kb).
More sights, less shake
As I lived with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1 over the next 10 days, I came to
appreciate the virtues of a powerful, large-aperture, optically stabilized zoom
lens.
The 12X zoom range meant that I could “crop in the camera” instead of having
to take high-resolution images that would have filled up a memory card quickly
and required cropping in an image-editing program. If I wanted a photo of a
seagull on a pier, I could just zoom in on the seagull instead of wasting
several Megapixels on extraneous pier decking. Thanks to the FZ1’s powerful zoom
lens, the maximum image resolution of 1600 x 1200 pixels was more than adequate
for high-quality snapshot or postcard-size prints.
The f/2.8 maximum aperture at all focal lengths made it possible to take
indoor photos even in relatively dim light without resorting to flash (a good
thing, since the FZi’s built-in flash isn’t powerful enough to illuminate a
large room).
The FZ1’s optical stabilization was of immeasurable value for extreme
telephoto shots (which would have required a tripod with conventional cameras)
and when taking pictures at slow shutter speeds indoors. Although it’s possible
to turn it off, I left it on all the time.
Of course, camera shake isn't the only reason why you sometimes get soft or
fuzzy pictures. The FZ1's autofocus didn't always pick the right objects to
focus on during my cruise, but that was often my fault for not taking the time
to prefocus.
TIP: If you don't know how to prefocus, here's the technique:
- Center the focusing point on the most important object in the scene.
- Depress the shutter halfway to lock the focus.
- While you're still holding the shutter halfway down, move the camera if
necessary to recompose the scene.
- Finish depressing the shutter button. (Remember--squeeze, don't shove!)
Next page:
Proofing the pixels
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