Panasonic FZ-20 low light settings

What is the best way to set up the FZ-20 to get pics of kids in low
light? This situation requires large lens openings, and yet
reasonably fast shutter speeds because the little brats won't sit
still. How should I set up these things to optimize the camera:
-- white balance (does it have any effect?)
-- ISO - 80,100,200,400 (I assume 400 is best for low light)
-- picture size (2560, 2048, 1600, etc.) (What effect does this have
in low light?)
-- quality (tiff, hi cmprsn, lo cmprsn)(What effect does this have in
low light?)
-- color effect (cool, warm)(What effect does this have in low light?)
-- picture adjustment (contrast, sharpness, saturation, noise
reduction)(What effect does this have in low light?)
-- image stabilization (off, mode 1, mode 2)(What effect does this
have in low light?)

Thanks for any info.

Lew

On 1 Mar 2007 07:12:08 -0800
"Lew" wrote:

What is the best way to set up the FZ-20 to get pics of kids in low
light? This situation requires large lens openings, and yet
reasonably fast shutter speeds because the little brats won't sit
still. How should I set up these things to optimize the camera:
-- white balance (does it have any effect?)

No effect on the low light problem, but you want it set correctly for
the light source.

-- ISO - 80,100,200,400 (I assume 400 is best for low light)

Noise will be awful, but 400 will give you the best chance of stopping
action without using the flash.

-- picture size (2560, 2048, 1600, etc.) (What effect does this have
in low light?)
-- quality (tiff, hi cmprsn, lo cmprsn)(What effect does this have in
low light?)
-- color effect (cool, warm)(What effect does this have in low light?)
-- picture adjustment (contrast, sharpness, saturation, noise
reduction)(What effect does this have in low light?)

Each of these has a purpose unrelated to low light.

-- image stabilization (off, mode 1, mode 2)(What effect does this
have in low light?)

You want stabilization on. I find that my FZ30 works best in the mode
where the stabilizer only activates during exposure. If I recall,
that's mode 2.

Thanks for any info.

You're basically toast. Suck it up and use the flash. Or, if it really
matters, you're rolling in money, and you don't mind lugging more gear,
go buy a DSLR. Sorry.

Paul Allen

Alrighty. I have begun lately to consider a DSLR. I want so badly to
get really photography of my grandaughters in low light situations
(with no flash) that I am trying to come up with a way to overcome the
marital difficulties such a purchase will almost certainly eventuate.

Any recommendations for the new crop of DLSRs in the $800 to $1,200
range? I'd like to use SD cards for memory, but the main criteria is
to get crisp pics in average indoor lighting situations.

lew

On Mar 1, 1:13 pm, Paul Allen wrote:
On 1 Mar 2007 07:12:08 -0800

"Lew" wrote:
What is the best way to set up the FZ-20 to get pics of kids in low
light? This situation requires large lens openings, and yet
reasonably fast shutter speeds because the little brats won't sit
still. How should I set up these things to optimize the camera:
-- white balance (does it have any effect?)

No effect on the low light problem, but you want it set correctly for
the light source.

-- ISO - 80,100,200,400 (I assume 400 is best for low light)

Noise will be awful, but 400 will give you the best chance of stopping
action without using the flash.

-- picture size (2560, 2048, 1600, etc.) (What effect does this have
in low light?)
-- quality (tiff, hi cmprsn, lo cmprsn)(What effect does this have in
low light?)
-- color effect (cool, warm)(What effect does this have in low light?)
-- picture adjustment (contrast, sharpness, saturation, noise
reduction)(What effect does this have in low light?)

Each of these has a purpose unrelated to low light.

-- image stabilization (off, mode 1, mode 2)(What effect does this
have in low light?)

You want stabilization on. I find that my FZ30 works best in the mode
where the stabilizer only activates during exposure. If I recall,
that's mode 2.

Thanks for any info.

You're basically toast. Suck it up and use the flash. Or, if it really
matters, you're rolling in money, and you don't mind lugging more gear,
go buy a DSLR. Sorry.

Paul Allen

Lew wrote:
Alrighty. I have begun lately to consider a DSLR. I want so badly to
get really photography of my grandaughters in low light situations
(with no flash) that I am trying to come up with a way to overcome the
marital difficulties such a purchase will almost certainly eventuate.

Any recommendations for the new crop of DLSRs in the $800 to $1,200
range? I'd like to use SD cards for memory, but the main criteria is
to get crisp pics in average indoor lighting situations.

lew

If you wan to be able to use SD cards, then the obvious choice would be
a Pentax DSLR camera.
The most "bang for your buck" is likely to be the Pentax K100D: 6mp with
CCD-shift anti-shake and one command jog wheel (for shutter speed, and
aperture when pressing the +/-AV button).
The next step up is the K10D: 10mp with CCD-shift anti-shake, weather
sealing and two command jog wheels (one for aperture on the front and
one for shutter speed on the back, thumb and fore-finger on the right hand).
In Australia, the K10D is around $1300 ~ $1400 (about USD 1100) with
Pentax kit lens.
The K100D is around $850 ~ $950 (about USD 650) with a Sigma kit lens.

dj_nme,

I bought the K10D on your recommendation, and after having read as
many road tests as I could. $900 at Circuit City. On one hand it
does take superb pics, and the unique anti-shake system actually does
give an extra stop or two of useful lens opening if the subject isn't
moving too much.

I am going to return it for the following reasons, in order of
increasing importance.
-- It is heavy.
-- It doesn't take movies. I know this is a semi-pro camera not
oriented toward gimmicky consumer needs, but I want a better camera to
take pics of the Grandaughters. Occasionally I really do need to get
something with sound and motion. The Panasonic FZ20 does this pretty
well. It is not a very good camcorder, but it does an adequate job of
getting some special moment.
-- it doesn't give a live representation on the monitor of what the
lense sees. With the past five digital cameras I've had, I got real
used to being able to hold the camera away from my face when I
actually take the shot. With the K10D I have to put my drippy nose on
the camera and squint through the viewfinder to compose the shot,
especially under rapidly changing grandkid types of situations.
-- The thing is made in Vietnam. I lost too many family members and
friends to those people. A dear childhood buddy is living out his
life as a defeated cripple because of the torture he had to endure
there. Just seeing the name of that country on the camera makes me
feel strange.

Are there any DSLRs that can present a real time view on the monitor
of what the lense is seeing?

Are there any DSLRs that can shoot simple movies?

Thanks for the info.

Lew

If you wan to be able to use SD cards, then the obvious choice would be
a Pentax DSLR camera.
The most "bang for your buck" is likely to be the Pentax K100D: 6mp with
CCD-shift anti-shake and one command jog wheel (for shutter speed, and
aperture when pressing the +/-AV button).
The next step up is the K10D: 10mp with CCD-shift anti-shake, weather
sealing and two command jog wheels (one for aperture on the front and
one for shutter speed on the back, thumb and fore-finger on the right hand).
In Australia, the K10D is around $1300 ~ $1400 (about USD 1100) with
Pentax kit lens.
The K100D is around $850 ~ $950 (about USD 650) with a Sigma kit lens.

On Mar 25, 9:30 am, "Lew" wrote:
Alrighty. I have begun lately to consider a DSLR. I want so badly to
get really photography of my grandaughters in low light situations
(with no flash) that I am trying to come up with a way to overcome the
marital difficulties such a purchase will almost certainly eventuate.

Any recommendations for the new crop of DLSRs in the $800 to $1,200
range? I'd like to use SD cards for memory, but the main criteria is
to get crisp pics in average indoor lighting situations.

Mmm... buy FujiFilm FinePix F20/F30/F31/F40 ?? This is a point-n-shoot
camera. There are other Fuji cameras (the prosumer ones) which use the
same chip and are equally good in low light: S9100/S6000 etc ?

On Apr 14, 9:56 pm, "Lew" wrote:

-- it doesn't give a live representation on the monitor of what the
lense sees. With the past five digital cameras I've had, I got real
used to being able to hold the camera away from my face when I
actually take the shot. With the K10D I have to put my drippy nose on
the camera and squint through the viewfinder to compose the shot,
especially under rapidly changing grandkid types of situations.

This is a rare voice in the crowd of the "old farts" who demand
optical viewfinder in all newly released P&S cameras. They say they
could not use the camera vithout the optical viewfinder. So, here are
the reasons why you do not need it.

-- The thing is made in Vietnam. I lost too many family members and
friends to those people. A dear childhood buddy is living out his
life as a defeated cripple because of the torture he had to endure
there. Just seeing the name of that country on the camera makes me
feel strange.

Uh-oh. My grandad was killed in the last war with Germans; so were
about 1/3 of my male relatives of that generation. My life would be
much better if my father grew up with his father. However... I keep a
relationship with a German girl... I never asked her if your
grandfather fought in that war (which he probably did). Sometimes I
think how funny the things turned out. However, it is a new world,
mate. Besides, I bet the Pentax camera is assembled in South
Vietnam... and the ones who killed/injuerd your friends/relatives were
from the communist North.

"Lew" wrote in message
oups.com...
dj_nme,

I bought the K10D on your recommendation, and after having read as
many road tests as I could. $900 at Circuit City. On one hand it
does take superb pics, and the unique anti-shake system actually does
give an extra stop or two of useful lens opening if the subject isn't
moving too much.

I am going to return it for the following reasons, in order of
increasing importance.
-- It is heavy.

Heavy? Sheesh, you need to work out a little. Compared to the old film
SLRs, and many current DSLRs, that thing is a featherweight.

-- It doesn't take movies. I know this is a semi-pro camera not
oriented toward gimmicky consumer needs, but I want a better camera to
take pics of the Grandaughters. Occasionally I really do need to get
something with sound and motion. The Panasonic FZ20 does this pretty
well. It is not a very good camcorder, but it does an adequate job of
getting some special moment.
-- it doesn't give a live representation on the monitor of what the
lense sees. With the past five digital cameras I've had, I got real
used to being able to hold the camera away from my face when I
actually take the shot. With the K10D I have to put my drippy nose on
the camera and squint through the viewfinder to compose the shot,
especially under rapidly changing grandkid types of situations.

Some people prefer to do that, since holding a DSLR out at arms length
increases the chances of having blurry images.

-- The thing is made in Vietnam. I lost too many family members and
friends to those people. A dear childhood buddy is living out his
life as a defeated cripple because of the torture he had to endure
there. Just seeing the name of that country on the camera makes me
feel strange.

Odd, my father fought in WWII, and owned Exacta cameras after the war, made
in East Germany. I drive a BMW and am married to a woman whose grandfather
fought for Germany. Some people can get past that, some can't.

Are there any DSLRs that can present a real time view on the monitor
of what the lense is seeing?

The Olympus E-330 has a live preview screen. Panasonic makes a version, but
it is more limited.

Are there any DSLRs that can shoot simple movies?

No.
--
Skip Middleton
www.shadowcatcherimagery.com
www.pbase.com/skipm

I expected to see this kind of "get over it" comment. It is easy to
make these kinds of shallow statements when you have been denied the
experience of barely living through the trauma.

I realize it is not logical to feel a strange combination of terror/
anxiety/hate just from seeing the name of a country on a camera.
There are plenty of cameras out there, however, that won't make me
feel like kicking the dog every time I pick it up.

Anyway, the situation with Germany is not analogous.

So,... if there aren't any DSLRs that have live preview and/or movie
capability, I suppose I'll just get along with my FZ-20 until there
are.


On Apr 14, 10:09 am, "carrera d'olbani" wrote:
On Apr 14, 9:56 pm, "Lew" wrote:

-- it doesn't give a live representation on the monitor of what the
lense sees. With the past five digital cameras I've had, I got real
used to being able to hold the camera away from my face when I
actually take the shot. With the K10D I have to put my drippy nose on
the camera and squint through the viewfinder to compose the shot,
especially under rapidly changing grandkid types of situations.

This is a rare voice in the crowd of the "old farts" who demand
optical viewfinder in all newly released P&S cameras. They say they
could not use the camera vithout the optical viewfinder. So, here are
the reasons why you do not need it.

-- The thing is made in Vietnam. I lost too many family members and
friends to those people. A dear childhood buddy is living out his
life as a defeated cripple because of the torture he had to endure
there. Just seeing the name of that country on the camera makes me
feel strange.

Uh-oh. My grandad was killed in the last war with Germans; so were
about 1/3 of my male relatives of that generation. My life would be
much better if my father grew up with his father. However... I keep a
relationship with a German girl... I never asked her if your
grandfather fought in that war (which he probably did). Sometimes I
think how funny the things turned out. However, it is a new world,
mate. Besides, I bet the Pentax camera is assembled in South
Vietnam... and the ones who killed/injuerd your friends/relatives were
from the communist North.

Not odd at all.

The situation in Germany is not at all analogous.

Your comment, "Some people can get past that, some can't" shows a
casual ignorance,.. and not your fault at all. You don't have
anything to get past, so you can dismiss these feelings quite easily.

In any event, there are lots and lots of really nice cameras out there
that don't have words on them that make me feel like Mr Hyde.

Odd, my father fought in WWII, and owned Exacta cameras after the war, made
in East Germany. I drive a BMW and am married to a woman whose grandfather
fought for Germany.



Are there any DSLRs that can present a real time view on the monitor
of what the lense is seeing?

The Olympus E-330 has a live preview screen. Panasonic makes a version, but
it is more limited.



Are there any DSLRs that can shoot simple movies?

No.
--
Skip Middletonwww.shadowcatcherimagery.comwww.pbase.com/skipm