Thursday, August 1, 2013

Thing #5: Buy a good camera

2-P1000751

1-P1000721

Photos taken at The Ewe Sculpture Gardens, Glengarriff, Co. Cork

My new toy is a Panasonic Lumix FZ62.

I’m not about to pretend I know camera talk and do a fancy tech review.  Instead, I’ll just tell you what I like about it.  No jargon.

The FZ62 is a bridge camera, which is sort of a cross-between a compact digital camera and a ‘professional’ SLR.  It does lots of the things a bigger SLR camera can do, with both manual and automatic settings.  The ‘intelligent auto’ setting is there for inexperienced and lazy photographers like me – it works incredibly well and is one of the camera’s main selling points.  The other selling point is it’s wide-angle 24x super-zoom lens.  I promised no jargon.  Sorry.  It’s super-zoomy.  Video recording is more intuitive than most cameras I’ve seen with a simple start/stop button at the top of the camera, enabling immediate recording without having to switch to ‘movie mode’.   The continuous shooting setting operates on the same principle, with a separate button for  ‘burst’ shooting beside the shutter button. There is a ‘scene mode’ on the camera with predetermined settings for 18 different shooting scenes including portrait, scenery, panoramic, food (this one has been particularly useful)(!), sunset, night etc.  I’ve had a lot of fun using the creative control setting, which allows you to apply different filters (similar to those on instagram) before you take the photo.  You can also edit photos on the camera afterwards.  

I bought this camera direct from Amazon and I am so pleased with it. I ordered this bag too.  It fits the camera perfectly, with a little space left for lens cleaner, memory cards or other small accessories.

€5 has been donated to UNICEF Ireland for the completion of this ‘thing’.  Click here if you too would like to donate online.

9 comments:

Nicole said...

I own a Canon Powershot. If it suites you then it will work is my motto. My next camera will defiantly be an DSLR as I know I'm a little too advance for the 'in between'. My only problem is that I believe I don't know enough about the DSLR functions, ha! For me as long as it has 15 modes (manual, fireworks, auto, etc), auto timer (2 sec, 10 sec), quick capture (2 shots, 3 shots, 10 shots, etc), flash and the edit option and AT LEAST 12MP then I am good to go! But that is just me. Have fun with your new toy love!

Erika Lee @ A Tiny Rocket said...

I love my DSLR and so glad I bought it years ago and the best thing is.. you can always get a new lens when you want a little bit of an upgrade.

oomph. said...

congrats on the new camera...it's exciting learning all the features and functions! i would love to have one of these "in between" cameras...lugging a dslr around all the time can be troublesome.

[oomph.]
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Unknown said...

Sounds like a fab piece of kit Thelma - I'm really interested in bridge cameras too, thanks for your review xo

Gloria said...

Wow, this camera sounds amazing! And I love that you can add filters to your photos - very cool!

Erin said...

A good camera can really change your life. (Can you tell I got my degree in Photojournalism in college, espousing grand statements like that?!). Once you go DSLR though, you'll never go back. It's a lot easier than you think! I've been shooting on an SLR for over 15 years. Been hooked since I was a kid! It helped that both my parents and my older brother were both hobby photographers. The Lumix line is great! I'm glad you're happy with your purchase! xo

Unknown said...

ugh.. my camera broke! I need a new one so badly but they're quite expensive.. I can't afford one yet.. I actually added a paypal button on my blog asking for donations for a camera ha.. lame BUT followers have donated.. it's amazing how people you dont expect turn out to be super awesome and selfless... anyway.. now that I'm here, I thought I'd answer some of the comments you left on my blog..
1. the quote you liked, I actually got it from a tumblr blog (one of the millions I follow).
2. The "now reading" section has been there since day one! in 2009 I started the blog and that was there, ha :( too bad you hadn't noticed.. I'm about to finish that book and starting one from Kafka, I love him, have u read him?
3. the person you say will love my illustration should visit my online store ;) I hope you share the link..

I'm checking out that camera on amazon, I buy everything there.. thanks for sharing the review.. have an epic weekend!

Ashley said...

Well aren't you all spiffy and stuff :) A new camera is definitely on my list of must-haves.

Thelma Frayne said...

Yeah, Ivette, I shared the link. Never noticed the now reading link before... weird since I have one myself and am ALWAYS looking for recommendations. I haven't read any Kafka.