It's the new black

I've had the Lumix FZ20 for just over two months as of this writing and have been putting it through the rigors of experimentation, and really love it. Of course, as the new baby in the family, it’s easy to overlook some of the minor flaws, but I’ll get to that later. The truth (as I see it) is that this is not a d-SLR, but a super-zoom/advanced point-n-shoot camera. Keeping that in mind reduces almost any disappointment one might have about this camera.

First, I’ll talk about what disappoints me about the camera. It doesn’t capture in RAW. Rather, it offers the useless TIFF, which provides huge files (15MB) at quality, which is pretty much matched by a high quality JPG. The lens adaptor which comes with the camera (!) is plastic. The only problem with this adaptor is the size. It only accepts 72mm filters which are expensive. I like to keep a multi-coat UV filter on my camera at all times to protect the lens, but I cannot use this adaptor and flash at the same time. More on this later. My final complaint has to do with the LCD not gaining up in low light – I’ll explain my problem in a moment.

Let me start with turning it on. From the throw of the switch, until you can take the first image is roughly about 2-3 seconds, during which time the zoom is extending. While you might miss that shot that made you pick up the camera and turn it on, it’s excellent for most non-dSLR cameras (dSLR’s are instant on but costs begin at twice as much, lens not included). The zoom is fast and fluid. The display could be crisper – both the LCD and EVF (electronic view finder) are a little on the low-res side, which makes checking for tack-sharp focusing a little challenging. The LCD holds its own even in dim lighting. Now, I’m not talking a blackened, candle-lit room here. I shot some pictures with Christmas lights as my only illumination, and while the shutter speed needed to be about 1/30th of a second, everything in the LCD was clear and easily visible. I was concerned about all I read about it not gaining up in low light, but I imagine the light must be very low for this to be an issue. My last camera gained up in low light and produced such noise at those exposures I was better off not taking the pictures except to record the moment. The Lumix has a “WYSIWYG” display – What You See Is What You Get – meaning that the display shows you what the final exposure will look like before the picture is taken. Personally, I prefer that to an LCD that provides an optimistic representation of what might be there. So, in a room too dim to read, the camera operates fine. However, I think that the camera should gain up when the flash is activated. This would be a perfect compromise, in my opinion. Still, I would not let this factor dissuade me from purchasing the camera.

There are plenty of settings to tweak the camera, and while the manual does a great job of explaining them, you’d better have an idea of what you’re doing to optimize them yourself. The layout is intelligently designed, such that you don’t need to do a whole lot of searching to make adjustments. After a few weeks navigating the camera, I could change non-menu settings even in near darkness. Setting exposure compensation is accomplished with a single press of a button, so that’s great when you’re looking to get the shot just right. You can even adjust the flash output, which helps dim hot spots. Using the camera was a bit awkward for the first few days, until I became accustomed to the layout, which is actually very good.

The auto mode on the camera functions as a light meter, with the display properly set, it reads the recommended shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, as set by the camera. This is extremely helpful because I usually shoot in a priority mode (aperture or shutter – the former if I’m concerned about field of view, the latter if the concern is speed) or go full manual. Having a baseline is a big help. Having the display that shows me approximate exposure and a live histogram completes the package.

Viewing the live histogram can help you set the exposure, and choosing to allow the camera to point out blown out highlights on playback (they flash black) is a godsend – you know the shot is bad and can immediately adjust your exposure and re-shoot.

The camera is a little on the large side, which certainly has its pros and cons. While you can’t take it in your pocket, you will look like you know what you’re doing when you pull it out. It’s big enough to be taken seriously; likewise, the size prevents you from holding it all over – just where you’re supposed to (no fingers over the lens!). It’s very intuitive to use, even without first looking at the manual (read it at before you use the camera and again after your comfortable!).

It comes with a lens adaptor that extends the barrel of the lens about 2 inches to accommodate 72mm filters and attachments. I ended up spending the extra money on a new adaptor. Pemaraal makes both rugged plastic and anodized aluminum adaptors (black or silver) in a range of sizes (great if you already have filters). I went for the 55mm adaptor with integrated lens hood. It is about an inch long, just long enough for the UV filter to sit about 1 CM from the extended lens. Best of all, I can keep it on and use the flash with no shadows. For under $100 I was able to buy the adaptor, a multi-coat UV filter, a circular polarizer, and a tethered lens cap. My immediate recommendation is a multi-coated UV filter. It doesn’t do much but protect the camera’s optics. It’s a must with any camera that accepts filters. A circular polarizer is third, after a new lens cap – the one that comes with the camera doesn’t attach to the camera in any way (making it easier to misplace or drop). It’s very easy to spend nearly $30 on a good 72mm UV filter and twice that on a polarizer (useful for nearly all outdoor photographs), so for about the same amount I went with the aluminum adaptor. Another benefit of going with the adaptor is lens flare. The further apart glass elements are, the greater the likelihood of flare. The smaller adaptor puts the filter much closer to lens, reducing that likelihood.

The SD card that comes with the camera is a lame 16 MB. I recommend at least 512 MB for day shooting. With the 1 GB card I bought I can get about 400 high res – low compression jpg’s on the card. Go high speed. Sure it costs more, but why slow the camera down with a slow card? I went with a 1 GB card. I have no use for such a large card on the day to day, but I wanted something to use on trips. Some photographers recommend using several smaller cards to safeguard against data corruption (you’ll lose the contents of 1 smaller card, not everything. It may be silly, but I’m going for the risk. For the two-three times a year I shoot more than 100 pictures to a card, I’ll take that chance. One recommendation – don’t just delete images off the card – format it every time. This safeguards you against the file system on the card becoming corrupt over time. If you do have a problem, there are a handful of programs out there for retrieving data from corrupt cards – thankfully I’ve never had to use it, but my computer geek friend has, and he was able to pull over 40 images from a card that was unreadable!

Don’t bother shooting tiff. A low compression jpg is indistinguishable from a tiff and takes 2 MB as compared with 15 MB. The camera doesn’t shoot RAW, which is too bad – it’s the only thing missing. Still, for every pro out there shouting “Only shoot in RAW”, there’s another shouting, “Don’t waste your time with RAW, shoot JPEG!” Still, it would have been nice to have the option.

One excellent feature that I use is manual white balance. All digital cameras have issues with white balance when more than one type of lighting is in play. It takes seconds to set up, and insures that the camera won’t guess wrong.

Another two features I like are useful for review. One causes all parts of the picture that are blown out (totally white, meaning no detail) to flash black. This way I can instantly tell if a picture is over exposed and either set my exposure compensation or adjust my aperture or shutter speeds. No more getting home to find my pictures that looked good on a 2 inch screen are actually blown to white in places. Also, the camera lets you zoom into images, so you can instantly check for sharpness or opened eyes. Again, what looks perfect on a small LCD my look horrible on a 19 inch monitor.

I recommend when taking the picture to always pre-focus (press the shutter button half way). This helps ensure the camera focuses properly. Once you do that, shutter lag is negligible (One review rated it at less than ½ of one second). There is also manual focus. Once you turn manual focus on, you can get the camera to “pre-focus” for you (like auto-focus, except it lets you fine-tune it once it’s done). As you move the focus ring (it’s electronic manual focus), a box appears on the LCD with a digitally-zoomed image from the center of the screen to help you judge focus (you can turn this off, but I’ve found it helpful).

The camera has many menu settings, enough to seem daunting to a newbie, but they’re settings you set once and forget. I prefer to do post-production work on my pictures, so I set the image enhancers to low (there’s sharpness, color saturation, and noise reduction). If you prefer to shoot and print, you can always go to normal or high here.

Picture quality (in my opinion) is excellent. At ISO 80-100 there’s almost no noise. It becomes noticeable at 200, and at 400 it’s obvious. Still, you won’t need to go to ISO 400 for most situations because of the lens’ aperture. 2.8 through the range of the zoom is quite impressive – just do a search on-line for a comparable lens and you’ll find it’ll cost about the same as the FZ20!. Color is accurate, although (as I mentioned) when there’s multiple light sources (ie regular bulbs AND fluorescent) illuminating your subject, the auto white balance can be faked out. And detail is amazing. You can severely crop an image and still have a good quality picture. I’ve found minimal pincushion and lens distortions at opposite ends of the zoom (standard problems with zooms). However, there’s little to no vignetting (dark corners). On web sites that review cameras, the FZ20 picture quality beats all its price-point competition, and gives many dSLR’s a run for their money.

The anti-shake is invaluable! You don’t realize how the subtle tremors of your pulse affect an image. Suddenly pictures you thought were sharp before can’t compare. Don’t think this is a panacea, however. It doesn’t allow you to shoot long exposures without a tripod. Normally, 1/60 is as slow as I can go without noticing shake (if I’m steady) with the AS, I can go 1-2 speeds slower and still be hand-held. I use mode 2, which only works when you actually take the picture, as opposed to mode 1, which is always on (I find it makes the LCD look too fluid which is distracting to me).

The movie modes are fun, but not to be confused with video cameras. The quality is decent but cannot compare with a camcorder. Still, it’s nice to shoot a quick bit of video with sound for moments where a picture just won’t do. Also, making animated movies is a cute feature, I don’t imagine I’ll get much use out of it, but I think it would make for an interesting time-lapsed movie.

The camera allows some expansion with accessories, from filters (all you’ll really need is a UV and a polarizer – it is IR (infra-red) capable, meaning it can see the light from a remote control, but I’ve not taken that expensive plunge to buy a IR filter, so I don’t know how those pictures might come out), lens adaptors (zoom and wide – at 55 mm they’re within most budgets at under $200, as opposed to over $300 for 72mm), and a hot-shoe flash. I also recommend a decent external flash that can be bounced (off ceilings), it provides more even illumination with no red-eye or harsh shadows than the on board flash. All these toys means you’ll definitely need a bag (the camera is too big to tote around comfortably without one – you can’t just fit it into your pocket.

If you’re looking for a camera to shoot the kids and to tote around with you, this probably isn’t it. If you’re looking for a camera that does nearly everything a dSLR can do (with a few minor exceptions) at less than half the price, this is it. As I said, I’ve had the camera for just over two months and love it. It takes excellent, sharp pictures with great color. It’s a good looking camera that’s intuitively easy to use at a great price.