Since coming back from NABShow in Las Vegas, I have been using my Lumix DMC-FX50 to shoot digital still images. I bought it in May 2007, used it once on a trip to New York City, then shelved it when the pictures I took were disappointed. It just took reading the manual for the camera to produce wonderful images. Unlike the Canon D5 I have been using to shoot models and studio images, the Lumix is tiny and light. I took it a couple of times while walking on the city's Monon Trail and took great pictures of wild flowers. It fit in my back pocket where its weight was hardly perceptible as I walked briskly along the trail. Being able to shoot pictures made the walks that much more pleasant.
Two years ago, too, I shot more video using Lilliputian Sony HD camcorder instead of the more complex Sony HVR-Z1U. A more complex still or video camera is great for manual shoots but for what I shoot currently, a simpler machine works best. I heard this from workshop leaders at NAB Show over and over again. In fact they foresee a time when professional products can be made with what we presently call prosumer hardware as Sony, Panasonic and Canon makes increasingly miniaturized products. The Lumix takes great photos as shown by this sample I took in the garden this morning under under dark, rainy sky.
Photo experts repeated throughout the conference that high resolution is not necessary for good images since the Internet can only display 72-ppi images anyway and the available video technology often just makes high-resolution videos unattractive in high resolution. In fact digital photographers and video makers often use softening, blurring filters to mimic film-based products.
I tested the Lumix movie-making capability this morning. It creates .mov files that were fairly crisp on playback on the Mac. With an Eye-Fi Explore Video Wi-Fi Wireless SDHC memory card, the camera can geo-tag still images and, even more functional, use Wayport Wi-Fi hot spots to upload them to Internet sites and on a Wi-Fi home network, upload to your computer even when the camera is turned off!
Technology is intoxicating! We live truly in amazing times. Industries continue the miniaturization of hardware at breathtaking speed. This camera was made over two years ago.
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