020908
i have been contemplating downsizing my photoStuff for a year or so. i have never cared about having a lot of fancy equipment and am happiest with something small and light with a clean capture. a Big Zoom is almost a necessity. i don’t care about perfection, because photoshop is my friend. my very good friend. i’ve wished for something as casual as a toycamera, but digital and capable of holding many images, with the option of nice clean shots if i want. this past year even my Panasonic Lumix FZ7 has felt “too big”. so … i decided to give the TZ3 a try, as a possible replacement. here are the specifications, if you are interested. at first, i shuddered - “no manual controls?” - then realized i seldom, if ever, use them. the most frightening aspect was no viewfinder. and whether it would feel comfortable in my sturdy peasant-sized hand.
so i took her out today. (all images may be enlarged upon clicking)
she has a 10x zoom. and it WORKS - nicely. i noticed in this shot, and in some others, where white glare was smoothed and not nearly as offensive as in my FZ7.
i *really* like the way she handles whites so far. today was very bright and sunny, and i was in an alley with dappled light, but still - the white is SWEET, not glaring. ISO set on 100 for all these shots. i do wish there was an ISO 80 setting, though.
this is as close as i came to a successful macro for today (user error). but i am pleased. i am noting that the colors seem very subdued (i am set on “natural”, i think, and there is a more saturated setting, but as i said - photoshop is my friend)
here one can see where the light spots are pretty blown out, but in about 50 images, this was the only one. i am finding that capturing in 16:9 aspect was easier as i was out, practicing. hell. it’s FUN to have this different viewpoint!
and here is where i fell in love with this little creature and her 28mm lens. i have NEVER been able to capture all 3 of these little windows at once before, just wandering down the alley. oh oh OH! i think i’ll keep her!!!
all of these images are straight from the camera, other than resizing in photoshop (because i forgot to change the settings and they are HUGE. normally i crop and skew and glamorize to my heart’s content, but today i did not. composing in the LCD screen was easier than i imagined. blown up to actual pixels, the images are not bad at all. i did have a few where i accidentally had “Intelligent ISO” turned on and it was not a pretty sight. i have not tried printing these images yet, but i think they will be just fine. i think i am delighted. and the LCD screen was Just Fine, even on a very sunny day. it will take some getting used to, of course, no viewfinder. and although sometimes i felt shaky with handling her, i was surprised how clean the images came out. i used Mode 2 OIS setting.
tomorrow i will take her out again before deciding for sure, but i think she might be a keeper!