Is the FZ2000 the answer for wildlife video?

[Chris Harding]

Hi Mike

Check if Digital Zoom is on or off ...intelligent zoom is supposed to not affect the image but digital zoom will. What is on and what is off on your menu? If you let me know I'll see if my camera does the same?

[Roger Gunkel]

Hi Mike and Chris,

The FZ1000 has the same, you've probably never noticed Chris. If you have Intelligent zoom on, you will get an increased range over the optical zoom, as it is using the extra pixels on the edges of the sensor. The blue indication is showing it is going into the extra range. Of course once you also use the digital zoom, you are enlarging the pixels and reducing sharpness.

I've also noticed on the FZ1000 in Intelligent zoom that there is a slight hesitation as it moves in or out of the extended range. Hopefully the FZ2000/2500 doesn't do the same.

Roger

[Chris Harding]

Thanks Roger

Awesome ..nice to know ...Yes you are right I very seldom have intelligent zoom turned on. Most of my shoots are wide and up to maybe 70mm (35mm equiv) at best. Admittedly I did have a shot or two when we had the super moon a few weeks ago but normally I keep iZoom and Digital Zoom off in the menu. Panasonic obviously used the FZ1000 firmware as a starting point and just added the new features to the FZ2500 camera. I made up a handheld rig for the FZ2500 and Panasonic have shifted the tripod mount to the middle which is no biggie but they have also shifted the battery lid about 10mm from the edge of the camera casing so I can no longer make a battery box cutout in my 40mm wide aluminium flat bar ..I guess I will have to get a wider piece of flat bar so the cutout hole is within the width of the plate. It's no real deal as the main camera sits on top of the XLR mixer anyway so I have to take that off to gain access to under the camera body. There is always a solution..They put the SD slot on the side which is great ..pity they didn't make the battery box with an end entry rather than a bottom one!!

[Mike Griffiths]

Found it- light blue indicates optical xoom, dark blue digital zoom

[Mike Griffiths]

Does anyone know what DC coupler and AC adaptor this camera takes? I assume is must be the same as other Panasonic cameras with the same battery but I can't find any reference.

BTW time lapse for 2 hours and the battery was indicating 2 bars. I will run it on video to empty to test ( I film plays and need to be sure of battery life)

[Chris Harding]

Hi Mike

There are quite a few on eBay that says they suit the FZ1000 so one must assume they will work for the 2500 as well. Not very pricey either.

The official coupler is a DMW-DCC8 and the official power supply is a DMW-AC10 ...The ebay places will quote these model numbers if you look for them

[Mike Griffiths]

Here I go again, new to the FZ! Happy New Year to all but I have a question.

Does the FZ2500 have AGC? I was testing it under low light conditions in a restaurant with a singer and a backgound of people eating and chatting. I was using a Rode video pro mic and was about 3 metres away from the singer. In the quiet parts I think I can hear an increae in hiss/hum which seemed to fade when the singer sang again.I can remove it in FCPX. It seemed to be AGC but I can find no reference to it in the advanced manual nor on line. If it is there I want to switch it off!

Help please!

[J.T. Price]

Mike, How well did the 2500 handle the heat and humidity. Chris and Mike is the IS any better on the 2500 than the 1000 (in 4k)? Chris, I know you use a slick set of brackets but that starts to get unwieldy in the jungle. I found the 1000 to be great in Africa (mostly in the car), reasonably good in the Amazon but not for birds moving through the forest (where a tripod or monopod also does not work that well). My Canon XA20 does a nice job of IS and autofocus lock on birds flitting through trees, but is not 4k. The 1000 not so great, is the 2500 any better? I have even looked at some of the reviews of the new X1E but the IS in 4k has been panned in reviews. This time I am talking pretty serious rainforest, so am also concerned about how poorly sealed the 1000 is, is the 2500 any better?

Thanks

[Chris Harding]

Hi JT

My FZ1000's have had humidity and rain during weddings and are still going ! The 2500 hasn't encountered any rain yet but plenty humidity. AFAIK only the FZ300 is weather sealed but it does have the smaller sensor. On the 2500 the IS on 4K is a lot better than the FZ1000 but the zoom on the 2500 is silky smooth, variable and really good ...the FZ1000 zoom can only be used to reframe in practice.

My rigs are only a bracket with two foam handles and they help a LOT with run 'n gun!! but yes they do inhibit you being able to drop the camera into a bag when not in use!

Have you looked at the FZ300? It should withstand dripping wet rain forest with no problem

[J.T. Price]

Thanks Chris. In your reply you say but it has...did you mean and? My impression from your message is that the 2500 has better IS at 4k?

Being able to drop the camera in a camera bag is important when it might all of the sudden start tipping down with rain. The loupe on the back helps some with stabilizing the camera (a third point of support) and already makes it a little tricky with dropping it in the bag.

I did look at the 300, and the 2.8 lens and weather sealing is nice but the smaller chip, fewer pixels and lack of built-in ND less so (although the new focus after the fact feature is intriguing!). There are a lot of dedicated video cameras, including one by Panasonic, with the smaller chip but I have been trying to stay at 1" and can't really afford the new X1 (it looks nice though!). If I could sell some of my older HD video cameras then maybe but HD is not worth much now (even my XHA1) and there is certainly no market for an older G1 or G2 (SD).

It is always tough. I know there is always the possibility of selling some footage and you always figure you may not get back to come places so the temptation to get the best camera possible within some budget (e.g., not a RED camera with Canon lens) if possible...

[Chris Harding]

Hi JT

I'm confused ! Yes the 4K OIS in the 2500 is definately better than the FZ1000 from what I see. Not sure however where you saw "but is has" except when I mentioned the smaller sensor.

How about making the FZ2500 a neoprene jacket ..that will keep a lot of moisture from the general camera body just like the TV studios use??

[Larry Johnson]

Don't mean to change the subject, but didn't think a new thread was needed. Just something to be aware of. And a funny story.

While shooting today I couldn't figure out why the auto focus square kept moving to the upper right every time I looked through it. It was getting rather annoying, and then it dawned on me that my nose was touching the LCD scren when I looked through the viewfinder causing the focus square to move. I'm left eye dominant. Now my nose isn't long by any stretch of the imagination and my eye glasses prevent me from getting too close to the viewfinder. Knowing what was causing the problem, I shot a few more clips trying to prevent it from happening, but had no luck. Had to swing the LCD screen out of the way to solve the problem. Wonder if there's a viewfinder extension that could be attached. Maybe one that articulates.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Larry

I have a rubber eye cup pushed over the existing EVF and it seems to work fine and I haven't had any touch screen issues. I had an old lens puffer (the one shaped like a rocket) and the curve was just right to cut two eye cups out of so it does keep your face a little further away from the LCD The other issue I sometimes have is when the camera is on a tripod and I have to try to get to the EVF ..on conventional video cameras the whole EVF was able to swing upwards making viewing easier but you cannot do this on a DSLR style camera. I wonder if you could just stretch a rubber tube an inch long over the EVF so it keeps your eye away from the camera ...Let us know what solutions you come up with?