Lumix TZ220 Lens Hack for a 18mm Ultra-Wide!

I was happy to find out that the new Lumix TZ220 come with a 24 to 360 Eq zoom lens, one mm WIDER than the TZ110 it replaced.

In the TZ110 review, I lamented that ONE mm less at the wide end result in significant loss in coverage. Take a look at the picture below.

To prove to myself the TZ220 indeed came with a WIDER 24mm Eq lens, I took shots of the same scene with the TZ220 at 24mm setting to compare with a shot taken with a 12-32 kit lens, at 12mm setting. (12mm is 24mm Eq). Both files were JPEG, straight from the cameras.

A Better Grip for Lumix GM1

I love my little GM1, it is the tiniest full MFT camera that take interchangeable lenses, it is so small, it is hard to hand hold steadily till I found out and stuck on a Richard Franiec custom grip for the GM1!

Four years ago that small piece of 20g anodized aluminium alloy cost me a whopping US$34.95 plus shipping, my friends thought I am mad, paying that much for a small piece of metal! That piece of sculptured alloy was mounted on the GM1 with 3M double-sided tape and transformed the handling of the little camera!

Until, my friend Mity, post in Facebook what he ordered for his GM1!

Lumix DMC-TZ220, Another Ideal Travel Camera?

PANASONIC has been producing their TZ (TRAVEL ZOOM) compact camera range for nearly 12 years, their latest offering is the LUMIX TZ220.

By squeezing a large 1-inch 20.1MP sensor and a 24-360mm zoom lens into a pocket-sized body, I can see that Panasonic has no competition in this range!

The TZ220 is also known as Lumix TZ200 / ZS200 in other country.

Looking Back... Dr. M and His Words

Dr.M is at it again!  He is back!!

On Thursday, 10 of May he has been sworn in as Prime Minister of Malaysia the SECOND time after his shock election victory, 15 years after he stood down!

During my career with The Star, Dr. M and Moi cross path many time..

I remember fondly that I was given a scolding by him when I try to snap a picture of him having his lunch in Alor Setar. The excitement when one crazy guy try to attack him in Kedah and was subdued by his body guards. But my most memorable moment with the oldest Prim Minister in the world was on Thursday August 19, 1982.

Fast rewind to that fateful day... 

I was a young Photo Editor for The Star, waiting patiently for Dr M to come out from his meeting at the Second Army Division at Northam Road in Penang.

Standing beside me were photographers from other "larger" papers, Star was "nothing" to New Straits Time, Malay Mail, Straits Echo, Nanyang, Sin Chew and even Sin Pin and Kwong Wah Yit Poh!

Alas on that fateful day, the other photographers did not notice the Dr M's trademark slogan "Bersih... Cekap... Amanah" (Clean... Efficient... Trustworthy) that were hanging along the corridor!

I knew the shot I wanted and I chooses my lens for the best perspective to bring Dr M and his slogan together. 

The rest, like they said; is history.

This was the front page of the Penang edition of The Star, the next day.

A Better Grip for Lumix GX85

I love my Panasonic Lumix GX85, it is not too small like the GM1 and not too big like the GX8.

The GX85 is perfectly balance and comfortable to hold with most of the compact M43 lenses, it gets a bit front heavy when you start using heavy or long lenses on this "thin" body.

Unlike the GX7 it replaced (the GX85 is GX7 Mk2 in Japan), the "front grip" on the GX85 is not thick enough to stabilise a long or heavy lens, this is when I decided to get an external grip.

After much searches, I am shocked that there are less than a handful grips for the GX85, most of them are NOT grips per sec but thumb rests EXCEPT ONE!

GX85 or GX9?

DECISION, decision, decision!!

After I post my LUMIX GX9 a Better GX85, I got this comment...

Augusto said...

Your post is exactly what I was looking for since I still can't decide which one of these two cameras I should buy. I'm really inclined to get the GX85 due to the little difference in quality and considering that it's half the price of the GX9. But looking at these 2 pictures you took, I noticed that the road pavement in the one you took with the GX85 seems to be cracked while in the other picture it's perfect. Is it normal in the GX85?

I have to go back to my picture archive and look at those pictures again!

Adobe DNG Converter CROP Your RAW Files!

Before I start my rant, please look at my work flow...

I do casual reviewing for Panasonic New Zealand, I shoot all my test pix in BOTH RAW and JPEG. Since every new camera have a unique RAW file, I usually was able to update my FREE Adobe DNG Converter before I receive the new camera.

After I got all the test shots I wanted, I convert all the Panasonic RW2 files to DNG for easy opening with Adobe Camera Raw in my OLD Photoshop CS5. I also open my JPEG files the same way.

I thrashed all the RW2 after they were converted to DNG.

So far so good, as expected the same JPEG and RAW files LOOK identical.

Right?

LUMIX GX9 RAW & JPEG INTEGRITY

After reviewing Panasonic's Lumix GX9 two weeks ago, it is time I look through the hundreds of image files I shot with this delightful M43 camera, archiving what I need and thrash what I do not.

In the process, I opened a few GX9's RAW (RW2) files with Affinity Photo, my Adobe DNG Converter (10.2) is not able to convert the "new" file yet.

My usual workflow when I review a camera is to shoot BOTH JPEG and RAW files.

The RAW are converted to DNG and open in Adobe Camera Raw, so are the JPEG and both are adjusted in ACR where necessary.

This time round I notice something strange between the JPEG and RAW that I cannot explain and I think it is worth some investigating!

LUMIX GX9 FIASCO

I was asked by my readers to write a post on the new Lumix GX9 camera and why it is receiving a lot of bad vibes from Lumix fans...

To understand why the Lumix GX9, a really good micro 43 offering from Panasonic is getting lambasted by it's fans, we got to rewind to the beginning...

In November 7, 2011 Panasonic announced their LUMIX DMC GX1.

The DMC-GX1 has a 16MP sensor with a top ISO of 12,800. The 460,000 dot 3.0" fixed LCD functions as a touch screen. The camera will create full AVCHD 1080/60i video from 30fps sensor output. Continuous full resolution shooting is 4fps while burst mode allows continuous shooting up to 20fps at a lower resolution. Extra function buttons were added bringing the total to four, two of which are on the touch screen. Auto bracketing will create sets of 3, 5 or 7 exposures at 1/3, 2/3 or 1 stop. Wikipedia

LUMIX GX9 a Better GX85

Before we start, let us get this out of our system...

"The NEW Lumix GX9 is NOT a replacement for GX8, neither a GX8 Upgrade!"

If you still do not believe me, take a look at this Panasonic G camera History Tree that I created with reference to a low quality snap of the same chart from Japan.

LUMIX G9 High Resolution Mode, Wah Lau Eh!

Wah Lau Eh. What it means: A Hokkien phase which when translated stands for "My Father Eh", "Wah Lau Eh" is an expression typically used to portray surprise or disappointment in Singapore and Malaysia.

The Panasonic Lumix G9 is the first Lumix model that implement the HIGH RESOLUTION MODE (Hi-Res Mode).

I was intrigued with this mode ever since Panasonic announced it.

When I received the review G9 from Panasonic New Zealand, I spend nearly three days (out of the seven given days) experimenting with this mode.

As a matter of fact, if I would plonk down NZ$4,099 for this camera (with the kit lens), the Hi-Res Mode is a deciding factor.

What is this Hi-Res Mode then?

Basically, when you set the G9 in this mode it will take 8 similar pictures in quick successions, each exposure will have a HALF A PIXEL SHIFT, the camera will then combine the eight shots into a whopping 80MP Hi-Res file.

The Hi-Res image measures 10368×7776 pixels, and will print to 35x26in using the photo-quality 300 ppi print standard.

To get more information on this mode, I suggest you visit this Panasonic UK site.

PANASONIC LUMIX G9, A Week of Fun

The Panasonic G9 is so popular, so HOT, that this old man was the last reviewer in the world to try it!

FINALLY, I was given a Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 to "try out" for a week. Can you actually get a good idea what this Panasonic top end camera is like in a week?  We will see!

When I Google " panasonic lumix dc-g9 review ", I receive 352,000 results! Therefore I am not going to repeat what these HUNDRED THOUSANDS of reviews are saying, I am just going to tell you how I FEEL about "Panasonic's best stills camera to date" and my LIKE and DISLIKE of it's features.