Dana in Geeksville

From DSLR Cameras to Point and Shoot

Many photographers and camera dealers would try to convince you that a DSLR is the only way to go, that you'd never go back to a point and shoot, but that's not necessarily true. I really like and have made good use of my Nikon DSLR cameras. No doubt about it. What I don't care for is having to change lenses, the weight of the cameras that makes using a tripod necessary, and they're just overkill for the informal indoor, family/pet shots I want to take. Yet, there I am, trucking through the trails with a heavy backpack and my tripod, and family and pet just rarely get photographed. Until recently.

Several years ago I was on a digital photography forum on the internet, and had the pleasure of seeing insect photos from a photographer who used a small point and click camera. I was amazed at the macro shots she took, the detail of each insect, her beautiful composition. Her photography reshaped my view and aversion towards insects, and she proved to me it wasn't the camera, but the photographer who created fine photos.

From time to time, she would express her desire for a more professional camera, a better camera, but we couldn't help noticing that the camera seemed not to make one bit of difference where her actual photography was concerned.

So, recently, when I was fretting about having to use a tripod in the forest, and grumbling over having to switch lenses, I decided to reconsider getting a point and shoot camera. I ended up buying a Panasonic Lumix FZ5. I didn't feel I needed a 10+ megapixel camera, as I tend to print nothing larger than 8 X 12 anyway, and I didn't want to spend a lot of money in case I didn't like the camera. I got a great deal on this camera.

The features I was excited about with this camera was the amazing zoom, the many shooting modes, including macro, and the ability to use it in manual. I've also noticed over the years that new digital point and shoot cameras tend to have terrible shutter lag, which renders a camera useless for moving children and dogs. This camera claimed to be fast.

When the camera arrived via mail, I was surprised by how small and light it was. But it's not too light, nor is it too small for my little hands. It feels wonderful. Better yet, I can't hardly feel it when I'm wearing it around my neck, and it's small enough to sit on any table in my house for a quick grab and shot of the dog or grandchild.

With water bottle on my hip, and the new point and shoot around my neck, I headed out onto the trails of Big Basin sans the backpack, feeling light and gear-free.  I used the camera in program mode, but found it wanted to overexpose everything. Even so, this was an improvement over the DSLR,  in which I'd have to set up a tripod and use long exposure times. So, I adjusted with exposure compensation and was really impressed!

I was on the lookout for mushrooms, and soon came across little clusters. I put the camera in macro, and was excited to discover I could get the lens within 2 cm. The focus worked great in macro, and the exposure was wonderful. I didn't have to use the flash at all, which I was really excited about.

These mushrooms on the left were less than an inch tall, and I like the way the detail came out on the inside of the bells. For a first time working in macro with this camera, I was very pleased.

I did find that the LCD was small, and it was hard for me to tell from peering through the viewfinder if the shot was completely in focus. Often I thought it was in sharp focus, but later when opening the files on the computer, I discovered that many of my photos has considerable blur. So, while I didn't need a tripod or flash to get the right exposure, I do need to hold more steady. This camera does have vibration reduction, which I had turned on, but I will also try without just to see the difference.

I wouldn't call this next photo specifically macro, or close up, but I did shoot it in macro mode, and it did quite nicely. In fact, I forgot to switch modes from time to time, shooting a normal shot in macro, and it did quite nicely. This particular photo I shot for the composition and was very pleased with the exposure, the amount of texture, and the color variations. That the green leaves in the background are slightly blurred works well, in my opinion, because the real subjects are in focus, though one of the mushrooms blurred a bit. This can be resolved, I suspect, but putting it in aperture mode. I'd like to go back and find out.

Shooting in the forest is always a challenge because of the intense contrast between the shaded areas and the breaks of bright light between the trees. This camera took that challenge fairly well, but of course, it had some of the same issues, of underexposing areas because of the intense light in the background. 

In this next photo, I found it handled the situation quite nicely, though there is some blur on the moss growing on the tree. I think this could be improved with a tripod, though maybe not. One of these days, when I'm in the mood to carry my tripod, I'll investigate that possibility as a way to improve these types of shots.

Overall, I was pleased with the performance of this camera. The exposure compensation was easy to use, and I could see the change of what the compensation was doing in the LCD even before taking the picture! This I felt was a special feature my Nikon DSLRs don't have.

The zoom worked really well, though focusing while zoomed in I found a little challenging. After awhile I started to get the hang of it. For macro I found it much better to not use zoom at all and instead get closer to the subject and leave the lens on wide angle. With the mushrooms, this was easy and possible, but I know that's not always the case.

I didn't take many landscape types of shots yet, nor have I tried the camera out much indoors, but will do that soon.

On the negative, I found the photos a little flat compared to those of my DSLRs, and I'm not sure if this is because of an unsteady hand or a setting I have in the camera. I'm definitely going to take it out more this winter and put it through it's passes, and will do the same indoors.

I'm not ready to completely give up the DSLRs, but this little camera is a solid competitor!

Posted at 11:09AM Jan 09, 2009 by dananourie in Photography  |  Comments[0]