Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Question

Panasonic Lumix Cameras?

Nov 4, 2011 9:18AM PDT

Currently I have a Canon rebel eos, and a regular old non-hd video camera. After seeing commercials for the Lumix, I started to become intrigued. Up until now, I had been planning on upgrading to a hd video camera, but now I'm reconsidering. I love the idea of having to only lug around one camera to shoot both still and video. And if I'm honest, now that more of my photos are of my daughter, I simply keep my canon on automatic, and very rarely use the manual features. If I go with the higher end Lumix, am I going to be disappointed with the photo quality? I consider myself an enthusiastic dabbler, and I used to use the manual settings on my camera a lot more often, and I usually edit my favorite photos in Lightroom. The reviews I keep reading vary so much, and I get the feeling are from much more serious photographers, who would notice flaws that I wouldn't even think of. Any opinions on the quality of the DMC-GM2, GM3, fz150, or fz100 Lumix?

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Clarification Request
Panasonic DMC-GM2, GM3?
Nov 6, 2011 10:10AM PST

I'm not familiar with those models. Did you perhaps mean GF2 and GF3? And which Canon EOS Rebel do you currently have? And with which lens(es)? And what type(s) of pictures do you normally take of your daughter? (i.e. indoor candids of a toddler or outdoor pics of high school soccer?)

Having said/asked all of that, some general notes:

I'm not aware of any reason (other than a limited budget, which doesn't seems to apply here) to prefer the FZ100 over the FZ150, so I would say you can cross the FZ100 off your list. But note that even the improved low-light performance of the FZ150 will not match the low-light performance of a large sensor camera body (like a Canon Rebel or Panasonic GF2) with a fast/bright lens.

Also note that some of the newer Canon Rebels (like the T3i) do shoot HD video, and you should be able to continue to use whatever lenses you are using now with your current body. While you can buy an adapter to mount Canon lenses on Panasonic bodies, the lenses will be manual focus only and you will not be able to control aperture electronically. The downside of staying with a Canon body is that the autofocus while shooting video isn't as good as it is on the Panasonic bodies. And, of course, that the Canon bodies tend to be larger than the Panasonic, and since one of your goals is to reduce the amount of gear you "lug around"...

HTH - Mark

P.S. Full disclosure: I own a Panasonic GH1 and GH2.

- Collapse -
Answer
Video
Nov 4, 2011 11:36AM PDT

The video from a digital camera is OK for the average user.
We don't hear many complaints about the quality of the video.
Most complains we hear is about the audio.
Most of the digital cameras have a very simple automatic gain control (agc) for audio.
If the sound is low, the camera can raise the sensitivity of the microphone.

If the sound you are capturing is very loud, you are pretty much out of luck.
The automatic gain control (agc) can't lower the sensitivity of the microphone.

Trying to capture live music is just about impossible.
To get a good video shot of the band, you want to be close.
The closer you get, the bigger the sound problem.
Trying to video a rock and roll concert is out of the questions due to sound problems.

One sample video clip we got, the camera was close to the band and every time the big drum was struck,
the sound just shattered. The only solution is to get far away from the band.
Another was trying to capture piped-in exercise music for a ballet class.
The video's music was total distortion because the source of the music was too loud.

Look for a camera that has a place to plug-in a microphone.
A good feature would be to have a manual adjustment for microphone attenuation,
There are very few digital cameras that have those features.

..