 |
| FZ1000 Does B.O.H. (Bird On Head) I am finding this camera very versatile, delivering good pictures in wide variety of situations inside and outdoors. It focusses and operates quickly. The pictures have very good detail and highlight/shadow information. |
Preliminary note: The contents and accessibility of the menus varies with the Mode set and with other settings such as Picture Quality and Size. For instance if you set P(rogramme) AE Mode then enter the menu system, some items such as I-Dynamic and I-Resolution will be greyed out if Quality is RAW bur active if Quality is JPG. i-Handheld Night Shot and i-HDR are only active if the Mode Dial is on iA. If you turn the Mode Dial to {Scn} or C2, new Menu tabs appear allowing further selections.
I usually set the Mode Dial to P for menu setup but for some items, iA, {Scn}, C2 or video Mode must be set.
Setup Menu Page 47 of the Manual. I will not dwell on items like setting the time, which need no explanation from me and I pass on Wi-Fi which is extensively explained in the Manual, Page 250-267.
Beeps and Shutter Volume Set the beep volume to personal preference. I note that the default shutter sound is a composite of the actual sound of the leaf shutter working plus an electronic sound. I set the shutter sound to Off which removes the electronic component leaving the soft little blip of the leaf shutter.
Live View Mode This feature is inherited from the GH4. The Manual, Page 49, says this sets the frame rate of the recording screen (live view screen) at 30 or 60 fps, without specifying whether the monitor or EVF is meant. I tried both and can't really see a convincing difference. So I have it on 30 fps for now as the Manual says this uses less power.
Monitor Display Note: this changes to Viewfinder Display when you look in the viewfinder. Both can be adjusted for Brightness, Contrast/Saturation (increasing contrast increases saturation) Green/Magenta color (red tint) and Yellow/Blue color (blue tint).
I am finding the monitor looks right to me at default settings. However the LVF looks different. Each individual has different preferences and eye sensitivity but for the record I use on the LVF: Brightness -3, Contrast +1, Red tint zero, Blue tint -2. This adjustment is to some extent a work in progress.
Monitor Luminance There are four options. I just leave it at the default which is [A*] Auto, which appears to work well in a variety of conditions.
Economy You can choose when the camera will turn the monitor off and when it will go into sleep mode to conserve battery. As battery life is an issue with this camera I set auto monitor off to 1 minute and sleep to 2 minutes. The camera wakes up from sleep mode almost instantly with a half press of the shutter button.
USB Mode and TV Connection I can't say anything about these features as I never use them.
Menu Resume Set this ON. When you press the Menu/Set button to enter the menus, the display will jump directly to the last used tab. This is very handy for accessing items such as Format, which can only be found in the menus. Unfortunately this camera does not have a My Menu facility.
Menu Background You can experiment with this. Personal preference will prevail. I use the second option from the top.
Menu Information I would suggest users unfamiliar with the Panasonic interface leave this on for a while until they have become familiar with the options then later switch it off to declutter the interface.
Language and Version Disp need no comment from me.
Exposure Comp Reset You can set exposure compensation directly with the front lever (if it is thus set up) or by pressing the rear dial until it clicks which activates the +/- function. Someone at Panasonic has realised that users like me invariably forget to cancel +/- at the end of a photo session. When Exposure Comp Reset is ON the camera will automatically reset +/- to zero when you change recording Mode or switch the camera off or if you allow the camera to go into sleep mode. Excellent idea.
No. Reset Resets the file number sequence.
Reset Returns all settings except folder number and clock to default.
Reset Wi-Fi SettingsDoes the same thing for the Wi-Fi settings.
Format You should always format a memory card after inserting it into the camera for the first time, or if it has been in another camera. I use this command frequently and wish it could be allocated to a My Menu. That not being available Menu Resume usually gets me to Format quickly enough.
Rec (ording) Menu
Photo Style Settings here affect the camera's JPG output. They have no effect on RAW files. So, for instance, if you set Monochrome in Photo Style and select RAW Quality, the preview and playback image in camera will be monochrome but the downloaded RAW is still a RAW color file.
I am generally a RAW shooter but I use JPG in two situations. iZoom only works in JPG. When I am following sport/action I have found the camera gives more shots per burst in JPG than RAW and writes to the card much more quickly.
You can select one of the preset styles such as Standard, Vivid, Natural, Monochrome.....etc or you can select Custom then adjust Contrast, Sharpness, Noise Reduction and Saturation separately. Your selection will be strongly influenced by personal preference. I find the Standard preset rather over processed for my taste and of the presets prefer Natural. Alternatively I use a Custom setting with Contrast 0, Sharpness +1, NR -5, Saturation 0. Some experiment is indicated.
The selected Photo Style is used in iZoom in addition to normal JPG images.
Aspect Ratio The native sensor AR is 3:2. Anything else is just a crop. So I always capture 3:2 and crop later as and if required.
Picture Size For best picture quality select L=20Mpx. I see little reason to select a smaller size except that if you want to use Ext.Opt.Zoom then the M or S size must be selected. By the way, I recommend iZoom as the preferred digital zoom type.
Quality The basic choice is between JPG (best quality, two lines of dashes), RAW or both. I see little point in using the lower quality JPG setting (the one with only one line of dashes).
AFS/AFF There is only enough space for three positions on the Focus Mode lever. So one of them has to do double duty. AFS is AF Single. AFF is one of those "helpful" settings which is supposed to function as AFS with a still subject but switch to AFC when the camera detects subject movement. Canon DSLRs have a similar setting called AI Servo, if I remember correctly. Maybe AFF will function as advertised, maybe not, or maybe not quickly enough for my purposes. Anyway I want to know exactly which setting is currently active so I select AFS on this tab.
Metering Mode The choice is between Multiple, Center Weighted and Spot. I find the most reliable in a wide variety of situations is Multiple so I use that all the time. It is basically centerweighted with consideration of the pattern of lightness across the frame compared to a database of subject types stored in the camera's memory. If you want to achieve lots of incorrect exposures try Spot a few times. It is more difficult to use than the other two options.
Burst Rate Page 167-168. When you set the Drive Mode Dial on top of the camera to position 2 (multi page symbol) the camera will use the Burst Mode setting made here. The explanation of the four burst speeds in the Manual is informative and detailed. For sport/action the most generally useful is M Burst which allows live view, AF and AE on every frame at a nominal 7 fps.
I am using Focus Priority AF ( Custom Menu, Page 169) in AFS as I want all my single shot pictures to be in focus. I am still experimenting with Focus/Release Priority for AFC with moving subjects.
Auto Bracket This is the place to establish auto bracket settings, which the camera will use when the Drive Mode dial is set to position 3 (multi page symbol with +/- ). The options are extensive.
Single/ Burst Single means you have to actuate the shutter for each frame of the sequence. Burst means you press and hold the shutter button (or wired remote) while all the frames fire off quickly.
Step Select from 3 shots at 1/3 EV step intervals up to 7 shots at 1 EV step intervals. There is no option for 3 shots at 2 EV step intervals, which I would use if it were available. So I compromise on 5 shots at 1 step intervals.
Sequence Select from -/0/+ or 0/-/+. Makes no difference to the result but the former always seems more logical to me.
Note there is no option to combine AEB with Timer Delay. So you have to actuate the shutter with the shutter button, wired remote or smart phone. Panasonic gets considerable negative comment in user forums about this. Some method of combining the two would be very popular.
Self Timer You get the option of one shot after 2 or 10 seconds or 3 shots after 10 seconds for various types of selfie.
Time Lapse/Animation I have to confess this function remains a mystery to me at present. One day..........maybe....... I might try to figure it out.............perhaps..................
Now follow a series of features which work with JPG captures:
Highlight/Shadow This is a feature which I first saw on Olympus M43 cameras a few years ago and found it a one day wonder there. If highlight/shadow is an answer I am not quite sure what the question was. Somebody will love it. Maybe. There are already so many ways to adjust JPG images I am not convinced we need more of them.
i Dynamic Used for subjects with high brightness range, this feature underexposes the shot to prevent highlights blowing out then applies a tone curve adjustment to the shadows. There are three levels, auto and off. It works and might be useful for regular JPG shooters in locations with bright sunlight.
i Resolution This one is supposed to do something clever which leads to better definition in detailed parts of a scene without causing objectionable noise in even toned areas. I tried it on a GH4 with no apparent benefit and have not been moved to try it on the FZ1000 yet.
Handheld Night Shot [iA] and [iA+] Modes only. This is, I suppose, a kind of emergency feature for someone caught out at night without a tripod. I tried it. When the shutter is pressed, the camera makes a series of exposures then combines them into one. It works as advertised and the results look OK. The feature can be left set On permanently as it only comes into play in very low light in [iA] or [iA+] Mode.
i HDR [iA] and [iA+] Modes only. If the camera detects a subject with high brightness range it will fire off three quick shots at different exposures and combine them in camera. Another emergency feature for the intrepid photographer without a tripod.
HDR This feature is also JPG only but can be used in the P,A,S,M Modes with more user input and control. The camera fires three shots and combines them in camera. The step between them can be Auto, 1,2 or 3 EV and Auto Align can be used with hand held operation. It works as advertised.
Multi Exp Ah, the mysterious Multi Exp which has eluded my understanding through several generations of Panasonic M43 cameras and now the FZ1000. Maybe one day I might figure out how this one works........................ but not today.
Panorama Settings The in camera auto stitching panorama feature in this camera works very well, so setting up the function to suit your preferences is worthwhile. First set the Quality to JPG. Then turn the Mode Dial to {Scn}. Now access the Rec Menu and see the Panorama Settings tab on Page 4. You select Filter Effect, which I always leave at No Effect, and Direction. When you enter the Direction tab see four options designated by a screen symbol and arrows. Ignore these, they are misleading. My preference is to select the bottom option of the four. This allows you to hold the camera in portrait orientation while panning left to right. Some practice is required to get the function working reliably.
Shutter Type The choice is M(echanical), E(lectronic) or Auto. I leave it on M which is the best setting for all general photography. If you set Silent Mode the camera will automatically switch to the E-Shutter.
Flash Manual, Page 203. This camera has an advanced set of flash functions for on camera and off camera, including wireless operation. The Flash submenu covers three pages. Full discussion of flash functions deserves a separate post or maybe several of them. For the occasional/casual user some starting settings might be:
Firing Mode-TTL, The camera fires two flashes in quick succession.
Flash Mode-Forced Flash On (single lightning symbol),
Flash Synchro-1st,
Flash Adjust- Depends on whether you want the flash to be the primary light source or just a fill for darker tones and backlit shadows. I am experimenting at -2 stops, using the flash just as a supplement to ambient light.
Auto Exposure Comp-On.
Red Eye Removal Page 211. Either of the two flash settings with an eye symbol have this feature. The camera fires two flashes about 1/5 second apart.
ISO limit Set Sets the upper limit for Auto ISO. I just set the highest available which is 12800. The camera is quite reluctant to select an auto ISO above 1600. Picture quality at ISO 12800 is poor but better than nothing.
ISO Increments The camera provides 1/3 stop increments on aperture, shutter speed and Auto ISO so there is no need for 1/3 increments in manual ISO settings.
Extended ISO This allows ISO 80 and 100 at the lower end (very useful in sufficient light or on tripod) and 25600 at the top end (of dubious value in any circumstance). Set Extended ISO to ON.
Long shtr NR Long shutter speeds give rise to increased noise levels. When Long Shtr NR is ON, the camera makes a second exposure with the shutter closed to identify and remove excess digital noise. The camera has algorithms which decide which combinations of shutter speed and ISO merit the extra exposure and processing. I leave this ON.
I-Zoom The FZ1000 has three types of digital zoom. These are i-Zoom, Digital Zoom and Extra Optical Zoom (which is as far as I can tell actually digital....??). Of these, i-Zoom is the most useful and user friendly. It allows full control of the AF box and can be set permanently in the Rec Menu. It will only become active when Quality is set to JPG. It provides a maximum zoom of E800mm which is as much as this camera can usefully manage in my view.
So I set i-Zoom On and Digital Zoom Off.
Color Space Set this to Adobe RGB. The camera will automatically revert to sRGB with JPG capture.
Stabiliser Page 195. Here you decide to set Normal (which compensates for vertical and horizontal movement, or in fact 5 axis movement according to the FZ1000 promotional material) or Panning which only compensates for up/down movement. Some contributors to user forums have reported that this may be useful at air shows and similar situations where fast panning would confuse the Normal OIS. The setting chosen here will become active when the OIS switch on the lens barrel is in the up position (On).
Face Recog (nition) Page 187. This is not your plain old face detect but a system for registering and detecting individual person's faces. I have to confess the purpose of this eludes me somewhat. It looks like another one of those clever answers to a question nobody (but the security services) asked.
Profile Setup Last and least on the Rec Menu we have a system for "recording profiles of babies and pets on images". This is getting a bit Monty Pythonesque I think. Maybe the last two items are for grandparents who can't recognise their grandchildren and can't remember their birthdays, or failed to write them down somewhere.................... whatever....... Seems like a waste of processing power to me.................
Next Post, after I recover from writing this one will be about the Custom Menu.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar