u can get it at most roadshows.... most of the stock already arrived.

TS, this thread very low traffic. I would suggest u change the title to Panasonic Zoom series TZ & FZ discussion thread to increase discussion participation.

Took the Panasonic DMC-FZ35 for a spin. Most are easy shots in daylight or with good lighting. With the IA mode you can easily point and shoot. Although I miss being able to slip my camera into a pocket, you can always sling it around your neck. It is light weight so it doesn't feel like a burden. It does feel a bit plasticky, so take care not to smash this baby. The slideshow feature is quite impressive - made me feel like I am an award winning NGC photographer. The battery should last you a whole day (please read the professional reviews) if it is fully charged. I made the mistake of leaving the hotel without making sure it is fully charged. I started at 11am and by 7pm I had to start limiting my shots to conserve the batteries. Storage is not a problem - I have 8gb.

Night shots are quite easy. For city shots with neon lights, the IA mode works just as well. It gets a bit tricky in very low light situations - that is when a tripod is a necessity and you need to either go manual or use camera's the night presets which are quite easy to use.

The 720p HD video is impressive. The dedicated movie button is a little out of the way but very very handy - you don't need to go into movie mode to shoot. The colours came out wonderfully. And as mentioned in the professional reviews, the autofocus is a little slow but if you adjust your shooting style (i.e. don't zoom in/out too fast), you should be fine. I've not tried movies under very low light conditions. The files are pretty big though, a 4.5 minute shot of the tram ride up Victoria's Peak took 445mb at the highest resolution.

Navigating around the functions are easy despite being feature laden (compared to my old Canon Powershot A70). I prefer the viewfinder when shooting (makes me look more professional) so the dedicated viewfinder/LCD toggle button is a very useful. You can use it to switch to LCD to review your pictures and press it again to go back to viewfinder mode to shoot more pictures.

Overall, I am pleased with this camera and rate it as a good buy. I can only compare it with my old Canon Powershot A70 and it is a big jump in quality. An unfair comparison though as the A70 came out 7-8 years ago. I chose FZ35 over other super zoom models from Sony and Nikon after reading reviews online. Of course, there will be arguments that other make/models are better but FZ35 is the one that satisfied my requirements. Considering I will always be viewing the pictures from a widescreen LCD monitor, it make sense consider in future to shoot using 9MP widescreen mode instead of 4:3. And maybe at a lower resolution, these pictures average a gigantic 5mb each. The total 350 odd pictures already took up 2gb, and the 20 short movies another 1.3gb.

Below are some samples, no touch ups, shrunk using MS Paint. Click on the thumbnails to view the 25% downsized version. I didn't bring along a tripod so these are mostly taken with my shaky hands, even the full zoom and night shots. For shots where shutter speed exceeding 0.5 seconds, I do rest the camera on a stable platform before shooting. A trick is to use the 2-second timer to avoid movement when shooting.

Lovely Hong Kong girl waiting outside a popular small restaurant

Here, the 18x zoom and anti-shake comes handy to get a clear natural shot. This is taken in IA mode.

Big spider on Victoria's Peak

Zoom comes handy again. This spider is big (palm size) and although it is harmless I am not going near it. Autofocus worked well on this instance because the background is far away, but there's another spider that the camera kept focusing on the background rock instead of the spider. Need to read the manual how to control the autofocus.

Sleeping man at Stanley

This is a private housing area on the sea front, so the zoom works well to discreetly take a picture.

Stanley restaurant at sunset

ISO 80, F3.2 at 1.6 seconds but underexposed, doesn't have the desired effect. A tripod would help. I used a hand rail to steady the camera but it is still not entirely stable. The antishake helps a bit, but I had to reduce the shutter speed to ensure a clear shot.

Hi tech playground at Cyber City

The lens was a little frosted after exiting from an air conditioned bus. This probably explains the fuzzy floodlights.

Lonely bench at Cyber City

Night time snapped using IA mode again. Hand held, no tripod.

Fancy shot of St Paul's ruins, Macau

This place is crawling with tourists, so a little creative angle is required. FYI, if you look up from the flowers you'll see the swarm of tourists.

Grandeur of the Venetian, Macau

Again, great lighting so the IA mode can handle this with ease.



I can't post any more pictures, but here are some more links.

Dusk at the Macau Venetian
http://s989.photobucket.com/albums/af15/et...nt=P1000292.jpg
Not a difficult shot, it is dusk but lighting is sufficient. IA mode.

The Venetian waterway at dusk
http://s989.photobucket.com/albums/af15/et...nt=P1000303.jpg
The IA mode doesn't do well, so I played around with various modes. Can't remember if this is taken using the night time preset or if I took manual controls, but the file info told me I used aperture priority mode at ISO 400, F/2.8 at 0.2 sec. No tripod but I used the bridge railing to steady the camera.

The Crown Hotel, Macau
http://s989.photobucket.com/albums/af15/et...nt=P1000307.jpg
IA mode shot

The Grand Lisboa, Macau
http://s989.photobucket.com/albums/af15/et...nt=P1000343.jpg
This is taken using IA mode from inside a moving bus through a dirty window. A little underexposed but still sharp. Of course, I snapped 5-10 pictures and this is the only one that came out OK.

The Sands Macau fountain at night
http://s989.photobucket.com/albums/af15/et...nt=P1000350.jpg
IA mode works for a fountain shot at night for an amateur.

The Waldo and the Sands
http://s989.photobucket.com/albums/af15/et...nt=P1000353.jpg
IA mode shot for an amateur like me.

Statue and Sands Macau neon lights at night
http://s989.photobucket.com/albums/af15/et...nt=P1000388.jpg
This is not a good shot but it demonstrates again the importance of a tripod. My hands are shaky so I could not get enough a long enough exposure for the statue to come out.

This post has been edited by Eugenet: Sep 23 2009, 09:12 PM

well it tried to stream down the discussion to FZ35/38 coz i really liked the camera.. there's a dedicated Panasonic Lumix thread already so urhhmm.. maybe i can try to change to FZ series at most.. any more suggestions especially from mods? tq for the suggestion aeiou

wow eugene very impressive sample photos indeed!!! but i'm quite concerned of the night shots, even at ISO400 i clearly see some noises.. worse compared to F31fd (truly still the low-light legend)

This post has been edited by navilink: Sep 23 2009, 08:51 PM

Hey guys... Actually I'm kinda interested with FZ35, after all I'm looking for prosumer camera around 1.5k budget, so I've done few survey between this FZ35, SX20IS, HX1 and SP-590UZ... For me the important things is the good quality of pictures + HD video capabilities... End up, I go for SX20IS... Hope no regret for not choosing FZ35...

congrats of ur purchase of SX20IS.. but what makes u choose SX20IS over FZ35 i would like to know?

Thx... But I'm not received the camera yet... Just ordered from wcs2798...
Currently i've another Panasonic P&S with me right now... so i've lil' bit of experience with Panasonic...

It's really hard to tell why I dont' choose FZ35, maybe because I don't like the colour produced by Panasonic. It's not that vibrant compared with Canon, Nikon and Sony... Maybe it's just me...

Another things because it use li-on battery... I prefer AA...

ok not sure about the color reproduction between Canon and Panasonic.. but Pana got a mode call Vivid color also.. or maybe i guess with software u will just be able to make ur photo more 'vibrant'

ok about the battery choice.. well.. i prefer it the other way

Proprietary batteries are a big negative, but FZ35 is not so bad as it could last 1 day and 400+ pictures. It takes only 2 hours to fully charge.

The FZ35 has some problems with noise at ISO 400 as mentioned by Navilink and there are other cameras that does better at ISO 400 and above. But no prosumer camera is perfect and each has its own strength and weaknesses. There are ways to shoot night scenes at ISO 200 or lower, so this is not a major problem.

As for the colour issue mentioned by .:zep:., I thought the colour by FZ35 is great. However, a side by side comparison is required before passing judgment.

eugenet we need more sample photos from ur fz35!! we need real-life examples to actually appreciate the capability of a camera..

400+ using the LCD? then is not bad already, would be longer if use viewfinder..

Yup. That's not a big problem for me because I can use photoshop to edit the pictures. Actually if make a comparison side by side, FZ38 already wins over SX20IS. with alot of extra features, plus the ability to support RAW. that's the main advantages.

The the li-on battery is no-no for me. But if u have 2 - 3 pcs of spare battery, then way to go.

Wowo 400++ pictures on single charge is not bad. just buy spare battery then it will be better than use AA.

I've seen the comparison over cameralabs.com, FZ35 kills SX20IS. the image quality of SX20IS is not that good though, ISO100 also looks noisy. hmm. FZ35 way better.

Ya. We want more, we want more!

I'll received my SX20IS tomorrow, will give a shot. but can't post it here. Will create a new topic.

i'm tempted to get one fz35..but i get an offer of RM1699..
i dont think it should at the high price..
so mind all share of price u buy, n pacakge u get?
hope get one before nov

Search at garage sales, lotsa temptating price there...

what usually ii ll hav when buy fz35?
case, sd 4g, tripo..any else?

hi guys...izit ok for a newbie to get this camera? thanks

Woot. Just received my SX20IS last few days... Now I'm kinda like, why I'm not consider big times to go for FZ35... lols

RM1699 is recommended retail price, the camera should not be priced at there!! shud be arnd RM1500 range..


'great' to hear that

Actually the camera is okay. it's just that the LCD not that accurate and overexpose. Plus image quality is mediocre sometimes
Can see my gallery and flickr.