I pulled out my TZ3 in the airplane, just in case there would be a good shot. The passenger next to me asks about the camera and as we talk, he mentions his camera is also a 10x camera. Turns out he has the TZ1, but he says the photos are nearly always blurry when he uses the zoom and he wants to buy a new camera. I said it must have been dropped, because I've seen a bunch of photos and videos from the TZ1 and they are every bit as good the TZ3. As we talked, I realized he most likely inadvertently switched off the Image Stabilization (IS). This explains why the wide angle shots are in focus, but the telephoto shots are blurry.
I'll never find out if this was the case, but neither will his wife (he said he wasn't going to tell her) , because it turns out all of his daughter's graduation photos were blurry - Ouch!!
For key events, professionals recommend you review a couple of photos on the camera's lcd, but zoom in on the lcd to a small section to ensure focus. Cheers, Kevin.
Have you ever worn a good pair of polarized sunglasses (RayBan, Maui Jim, Revo H20s) and looked at the beautiful shallow water of South Florida? Then you understand the incredible impact polarization has on what you see. If you haven't worn polarized sun glasses before, go to your local CVS Pharmacy or food store and buy a pair of cheap Foster Grants - you will be truly amazed! Instead of just seeing the bright shiney surface of the water, you will acutally see into the water and the color will magically turn an incredible hue of aqua green or deep intense blue.
A Polarizing filter for your camera is one of the few accessories necessary for outdoor photography, because you typically can not recreate their enoumous impact in photo software, such as PS Elements. When you take a picture of blue sky or water in bright sun, almost always the picture will look somewhat "flat," no matter what camera you use. The water surface will be very reflective and shiney and the sky will be a very anemic light blue, almost white.
There are two types of polarizing filters, linear (less expensive) and circular (more expensive). The TZ3 and FZ18 work fine with the linear polarizer. A circular polarizer is only required for certain SLRs/DSLRs with light meters and focusing systems that rely on half-silvered mirrors or prisms. If you are buying one filter to fit several cameras, buy the circular, otherwise linear is just as good. A circular polarizer can always be substituted for a linear polarizer, but not vice versa. A polarizer typically reduces the amount of light through the lens (good thing in bright sun) and also results in a bit of color shift.
For P&S, more important than circular versus linear, is the optical quality of the glass and type of metal used for the threads; sometimes you do get what you pay for. Recently I purchased a heliopan (german) SH-PMC ES 46 Lightfilter (slim) from B&H Photo.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/399985-REG/Heliopan_704640_46mm_SH_PMC_Circular_Polarizer.html
This was a very, very pricey filter at $97 before S&H, but the filter is mutlicoated and uses brass for the treads. If you have every tried to remove a cheap filter that has been mounted for a long time, you understand the benefit of brass threads. I also can attest to the quality of the glass and multicoating, because it worked shooting directly into the sun at sunset (no weird star patterns or reflections). Others say B+W Schneider are also top shelf filters and you can also get good quality filters for Hoya, Tiffen and Kenko. Good filter sources include:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ http://www.2filter.com/
Overall, I'm very pleased with the heliopan, but even though it is a slim (ES designation) filter, it does vingette the corners ever so slightly at the wide end of the TZ3 (28mm). Cheers, Kevin.
The weather in South Central Alaska was perfect, it rained lightly nearly every day, all day. Admittedly, not everyone visiting the Kenai Peninsula would consider this perfect weather, but if you want to experience Alaska's rainforests and unbelievably magnificent flowers, you have to be willing to get a little wet and work hard (the best views are not from the visitor centers). While preparing for the trip, I read a quote that rang very true - In Alaska, there is no bad weather, only bad attitude and bad gear.
It was difficult planning what photo and/or video gear to take. Had been playing around with our Fuji Finepix F30 for about six months. Highly rated 6mp, 3x optical point and shoot (P&S), with a "larger than normal" sensor and a "stronger than normal" flash and image stabilization.
My wife bought the camera for me for Christmas and quite frankly we were much happier with the pictures from the digital P&S Fuji, than we were with the photos, from my trusty and large, but aging Konica 35mm with an integrated zoom lens. I don't blame the Konica, which has taken fabulous photos over the years, but rather the anemic Kodak film we purchased and/or the developing by CVS. Have always preferred the more saturated colors of Fuji film, but it's getting pretty tough to find. After this experience, we made the final jump to all digital and gave away both the Konica and a great little Fuji pocket 35mm with a 28-103mm zoom (we have some awesome pictures on two European vacations with this camera).
Given the wildlife and whales we hoped to see, I was worried the 3x was not going to be enough magnification and the lower end of the zoom range was not really not wide enough for those dramatic vista shots. I also was just not convinced lugging a full size 35mm camera around was the answer either. Finally, literally a week before we left, I ordered a Panasonic TZ3 for rush delivery. The TZ3 is a 7mp P&S with a "standard sized" sensor and weak flash. Panasonic's P&S cameras have so-so reputations when it comes to noise and picture detail for shots in low light, but the 10x optical zoom range, starting at 28mm would be ideal for our trip. We had purchased the TZ1 (one of the first P&S cameras with a 10x zoom) for my Wife's son last Christmas and he carries it everywhere. I have been very impressed with the outdoor pictures and the movies he shot - the ability for him to zoom from 35mm to 350mm was truly stunning and made me a little jealous. I didn't realize, until after my purchase, the TZ3 is actually a total different camera from the TZ1, but the good news is they really improved the camera and only gave up a few benefits of the TZ1 (e.g. the ability to zoom while recording video).
We headed to Alaska with both the Panasonic and the Fuji. I spent the 11 hours in the air reading manuals for both cameras. We took nearly 1,200 photos, of which about 150 are really great photos. The quality of the photos was truly phenomenal and it has rekindled my passion for photography.
I believe there are four "goods" to a great photo:
