Panasonic My first images with the Panasonic ZS-100/TZ-100.

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dalethorn

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My first photos (besides the test stuff) with the new Panasonic ZS-100. Shot as JPEG only of course. I was concerned with the test/compare photos about noise in the shadows in daylight images, but I'm not concerned now. The two harbor photos were underexposed for shadows, and I had to lighten those, and still the bridge and rocks in the last image don't show excessive noise. The bridge in the first image has a little noise in the sky, but I've seen as much with better cameras, due to my JPEG processing.

Edit: In the first pic, the first tower is about 1/2 mile away, making some details difficult. The shelter at the base of the tower supports is 1/4 mile away. The foliage is only about 100 yards away. The objects across the harbor in the second image are about a mile away, and I think my resolution problem there is partly the distance at dusk, and partly not being able to set infinity accurately in manual focus. And while I haven't tested for coma to any extent, this lens seems to have it more than other cameras I've had, like the Pana GM1.

Panasonic ZS-100, f5.9, 6 seconds, ISO 125.
Charleston_Bridge38_s.jpg


Panasonic ZS-100, f5.6, 1/6 second, ISO 400.
Charleston_Harbor30_s.jpg


Panasonic ZS-100, f5.6, 1/200, ISO 400.
Charleston_Harbor31_s.jpg
 
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One more for today's ZS-100 shooting. I'm really warming up to this camera, especially seeing the details in the tree bark and other foliage.

I'll be posting the video review link shortly.

Panasonic ZS-100, f7.1, 1/50 handheld burst, ISO 125.
Charleston_Downtown37a_s.jpg
 
Two more from the new ZS-100/TZ-100: #1 is near high tide, so the water starts creeping inland, where the ground is already soft enough that a person would sink in to their waist. #2 is the somewhat famous Francis Marion hotel at dusk. I shot that one from the top of an electrical box using a Joby tripod that folds up to the size of my index finger (usually used for camera phones). Unfortunately any moving objects are blurred or worse, and that was a very busy moment.

Panasonic ZS-100, f2.8, 1/2500, ISO 125.
Charleston_Harbor32_s.jpg


Panasonic ZS-100, f5.6, 1.3 seconds tripod, ISO 125.
Charleston_Hotel_Marion01_s.jpg
 
Here's where the ZS100 hits its limit - not by *not* being a birding camera, but by showing considerable noise in ideal lighting. I suppressed the noise as much as possible, so it's good enough to keep, but I'll need to get closer. Cropped 50 percent.

Panasonic ZS100, f5.9, 1/320 handheld, ISO 125.
Redwing_Blackbird10_s.jpg
 
Two challenges for subject movement here. The dog was running toward the camera, and the 1/100 second speed was OK, but the dog isn't as sharp as should be because of the motion. The convention was shot at dusk, and I just let the camera choose the shutter speed at the fixed ISO, which was 1/15 second. I made several bursts, so I knew I'd get a couple of sharp ones, but I wasn't allowing for subject movements. So a few of the heads are a little soft, but not bad overall.

Panasonic ZS100, f5.9, 1/100 handheld, ISO 125.
Charleston_Downtown63_s.jpg


Panasonic ZS100, f5.6, 1/15 sec. handheld, ISO 125.
Charleston_Place00a_s.jpg
 
Four more ZS-100 samples: The church interior was not lit in the center, making this extremely difficult handheld, but I think I got a good Web photo here. The lighting on the hat club was good, so no problems there. The first steeple had good lighting and the second one not, so those turned out as expected.

Personal impression at this point: The ZS-100 sensor is 3x smaller in area than my Leica X's APS-C sensor, and 4x larger than the Panasonic ZS50's 1/2.3 sensor. Yet this camera's JPEG images seem a lot closer in quality to the ZS50 than to the Leica X.

Panasonic ZS-100, f3.9, 1/8 sec. handheld, ISO 125.
Charleston_Church_St_John_Baptist00c_s.jpg


Panasonic ZS-100, f5.6, 1/640 handheld, ISO 125.
Charleston_Hats01_s.jpg


Panasonic ZS-100, f7.1, 1/640 handheld, ISO 125.
Charleston_Church04_s.jpg


Panasonic ZS-100, f5.9, 1/1600 handheld, ISO 125.
Charleston_Church03_s.jpg
 
Views of Charleston Harbor from Mt. Pleasant. First image facing West and second facing North. Taken about the same time, and although the objects in the second image are not significantly farther away, there is considerably more air turbulence present. I did some sky cleanup on the first image, but didn't bother with the second. I don't know why there would be so much air turbulence in photo no. 2, unless there were emissions from the port and the ships responsible for it.

Panasonic ZS-100, f6.3, 1/800 handheld, ISO 125.
Charleston_Harbor33_s.jpg


Panasonic ZS-100, f6.3, 1/1300 handheld, ISO 125.
Charleston_Harbor34_s.jpg
 
A mixture from the Panasonic ZS-100:

A brand-new apartment complex built on a marsh.
A favorite local hotel restaurant.
A common flower in South Carolina.
An osprey sitting on scrap metal in a fish-breeding area.

Panasonic ZS-100, f5.9, 1/1000 handheld, ISO 125.
Mtpleasant51_s.jpg


Panasonic ZS-100, f5.6, 1/5 sec. handheld, ISO 125.
Charleston_Place06_s.jpg


Panasonic ZS-100, f2.8, 1/250 handheld, ISO 125.
Flower87_s.jpg


Panasonic ZS-100, f5.9, 1/800 handheld, ISO 125.
Osprey18_s.jpg
 
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