Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Chris,

I haven't tried it with stills. The 2500 is dedicated to video.
If I have to keep touching the screen the focus point keeps changing or I shake the video. Need hands elsewhere.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

The FZ2500 is not a dedicated video camera, it is a hybrid camera which has greatly improved video facilities over the FZ1000 and is equally capable of both video and photography shooting.

Roger

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

The last wedding I did in december last year the photog had a fz1000 and a gx8.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

I've done a number of photography only weddings this year where I have use a Canon DSLR alongside one of my FZ1000s. The beauty of the FZ1000 and presumably FZ2500 is the speed and convenience of using it with it's big Zoom, excellent viewfinder and screen, and on the newer model the built in ND filters.

Roger

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

I think Larry means he has dedicated his FZ2500 to shooting video ...I'm the same, I use the 2500 for video and the FZ1000's for stills and sometimes also B cam video.

His issue is the FZ2500 dims the LCD screen after 30 seconds and if you touch the screen to bring it back to full brightness and you have touch focus enabled you could easily change the focus point without realising it ..equally if you use the shutter button to "wake up" the screen you could quite easily push a tad too hard and stop the video!!

I will experiment later today and see what I come up with..have a wedding rehearsal to attend this morning

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Exactly. I bought the 2500 to use exclusively for video. I have a canon dlsr for stills.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Chris,

I may have found the solution. I've switched the Monitor Lumanince from Mode 1 to Auto. Page 231 in the manual says the monitor will dim in Mode 1 after 30 seconds of no buttons being pressed. It may not happen in the auto mode. I'll test it tomorrow if the sun comes out.
The potential problem is that it seems we can't manually adjust brightness hgher in any mode other than Mode 1.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Hi Larry

Yes 100% correct! I was out today in the bright sun and never experienced any dimming at all. My cam was on auto by default .. I assume you changed it to Mode 1?

Auto seems to work pretty well even in bright sun !!

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Agree with Chris, out today filming in a clinic, no dimming while running on 'manual video' but the screen dims if in standby and no buttons pressed. Each clip was about one to 2 minutes long and one interview was about 6 minutes. Monitor luminance 'auto'

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Aah I see! You meant you have dedicated it to video, I would certainly try it with stills though as it should be even better than the FZ1000. I frequently use mine instead of my Canon DSLR.

Roger

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

If you are in standby it's no issue at all to flip the mode dial to P and shoot off a few stills and then go back to creative video mode. However I still prefer to use the FZ1000 ..At one wedding I was shooting stills, went into the reception and as the bridal party walked in I was still in stills mode !!

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

The next question is regarding Silent Mode and Audio. Selecting Silent Modeturns off all those annoying beeps, but also prevents audio recording. This will be appropriate for most of my wildlife filming. However, there will be times that I'll want to record audio while keeping all the other camera noises silent. I've found no option for this. I won't be buying an external mic since I expect to do little audio recording.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

???? I have mine on silent mode when recording. Just tested it. Silent operation, manual video and sound is fine

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

There's two different Silent options in the menu; Silent Mode under the Custom menu and Silent Operation under the Motion Picture menu.
When I turn on Silent Mode, audio doesn't record and shutter beep is muted.
Silent Operation doesn't affect audio recording.
Shutter beep can either be muted with Silent Mode on or when selecting Beep in the menu and turning it off. Beep can only be selected with Silent mode if off.
My solution is to mute the shutter Beep (selecting it the "Setup" menu) and leave Silent Mode On until I want to record audio.
I'll keep Silent Operation on too just so I don't forget to turn it on when I record audio.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

I see DPReview have published a review of the FZ2500 and whilst they have commended the new features, they have highlighted the inherent weakness of such cameras, in that quality is dependant on the fixed lens. It seems that a longer zoom reach has come at a cost in image quality judging by the sample comparisons.

In fact the lens on the FZ1000 is by their own tests of a much superior quality in regards to corner to corner sharpness. I think for Video, the new features makes the FZ2500 a no brainer in upgrading from the FZ1000, but for Photography, I would be less inclined to use the FZ2500 over the FZ1000.

You can see the review here and make up your own minds, but its worth considering depending on how you intend to use the camera.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pan...-fz2500-fz2000

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

I've had real problems today with focussing. Set on AFC it keeps losing focus when about 1 metre from the subject on W/A
and 4K. Yes I know manual is better, I had no time to change, but what AF system should I be using. The manual is totally confusing.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Haven't used mine much yet with all the rain and cloudy days, but ironically, I watched (most of) this video this morning. He mentions that there's no real difference between AFS and AFC provided Continuous AF is set to "On" on the 3rd menu screen. I don't know how true that is.

.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Hey Mike

If you want to shoot where the AF assists but you control the focus the keep it on AFS or manual ..I never use anything else. If you are shooting fairly consistent stuff then keep continuous focus off .. I find the on a tripod continuous is off and it the subject moves I then use touch focus on the LCD to refocus. Other for fast action especially handheld keep it on AFS and keep continuous focus on in video mode. I run my FZ1000's the same way but, of course with no touch focus I just assign AE lock to focus. Using half press shutter to focus is OK when you start a clip but not good at all if you need to refocus while recording,,it's too easy to push the button past halfway and you stop the clip recording.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Thanks Larry and Chris, I'll keep playing. I was filming in bright sunshine ( it's Thailand after all) head and shoulders,I was still and the subject was hardly moving , very itrritating.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

At weddings where the subject hardly move I always use AFS, continuous focus in the video menu off and focus mode use the custom square. Use the shutter button to initialise focus and start recording .. If the subjects do move just use the LCD touch focus to bring it back sharp. The square can be customised so I make it about the size of the person's head at the widest I will shoot ..that way the camera cannot focus on the background cos it's out of the square. Of course if you zoom in later it's even better. I only use 49 point if I'm handheld and moving the camera a lot and then keep continuous on! General rule if you are on a tripod is stick to AFS and the square with continuous off. The difference between AFS and AFC is AFC is supposed to follow focus so if the subject moves position it will follow AFS is still the best though!!

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Thanks Chris, the problem was bright sunlight, run and gun following a festival, the girl for the head snd shoulder shot stopped for about 30 seconds to pose for still photographers so it was EVF, I couldn't use the screen. I'll follow your advice in future

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Great Mike

For run 'n gun I just use AFS, continuous focus on and 49 point mode and haven't had a soft shot yet ...sheesh in bright sun it should have had a huge DOF unless you had some serious ND switched in. If I'm running around like an idiot I try and keep my clips short so each time I restart the camera gets a manual focus lock from the shutter depress but at weddings I go around tables getting interviews with the guests (like 15 sec ones) so I'm moving from person to person and never have an issue even in low light! I'll mess with the 2500 tomorrow and see if I can get it to lose focus !

Extended battery life
 

I've ordered one of these from aliexpress. It claims that if you attach a 5V 2A battery ( the sort used to power phones) it will output 8.4V and with the dummy battery fool the FZ into thinking it's attached to the main supply. Just choose a suitable battery and it should all work. I'll let you know ( Chris, a friend of mine is making up your version, your insturctions are great he says) ( I'm not sure if the files are attaching)

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Thanks Mike

According to specs the battery must have an onload voltage of 8.2v so it will be interesting to see how they manage to get a 5v spec battery to deliver over 8v ...if it drops below 7.2 the camera will reject it that's why I made mine using a 12v pack and then the voltage regulator to set it between 8.2 and 8.4

Do they also supply a charger with this one?

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

TheDC coupler provides 8.4-8.7 V output. It ends in a USB connection which is plugged into a powerbank
Images attached!!!!!

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

And another. If you want to use an XLR mic on the FZ you can quite cheaply.
The photo shows an XLR mic in a suspension sytem attached to an iRig Pre and then a Rode LC3 TRRS to TRS adaptor.
The iRig has a gain control and 48V phantom power.
This should mean that you can run an XLR cable some distance and still connect to the FZ. It's cheap, the iRig is around £40, the LC3 about £6 and the rest is up to you. The preamp in the iRig seems OK but I m no expert, but listening to the sound on my Mac it sounds great

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Thanks Mike

Ok I see what they are doing ..so taking the 5v from any powerbank unit boosting it to 8.7 and sending that into the DC coupler ....I assume you have ordered it? If so, let me know how it works??

The Phantom unit is neat too ..I have a Saramonic AX107 XLR adapter under my main camera which gives me dual channel, audio peaking, mic or line inputs and of course phantom power too.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

I've used this on a couple of weddings but not overly impressed, it just seems slower to respond than the 1000, there's no auto focus on the variable frame rate and the video button seems ever harder to press (I hate the video button on all the panasonics.

I do like the sloe zoom, I think that will come in handy but I'm really struggling to get a usable dolly zoom.

not sure at this stage if I'll keep it or go back to the 1000

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Hi Paul

I've done 3 weddings so far and the camera behaved very well ...the slow zoom is awesome ! This camera is made in Panasonic's China factory and yes, I agree about the buttons ..the power lever is nowhere as smooth as the FZ1000 and the shutter button (I don't use the video button) doesn't have the same feel as my FZ1000's ....there doesn't seem to be as much travel in the shutter button either ...My couple moved back a bit so I half pressed the shutter to grab focus and the video stopped ...I'll assign the focus to the AE button now but I still like the FZ2500 ....the touch focus is great ... I have a Live Stream encoder sitting on the hotshoe so it's easier to use the touch screen focus... that is a definate plus!!

I would suspect that the external buttons/switches have been sourced locally and don't come from Japan!

The FZ1000 hi speed video mode has neither focus nor exposure once you start recording so I suspected that variable frame rate would also be lacking in that so I don't use it. Dolly focus (if you read the manual) requires you to still track the camera forwards or backwards while you are dolly zooming to keep the subject the same size so especially at weddings that would be hard to do on the spur of the moment! Did you check if VFR has exposure control or not or is it just AF?? The Fz1000 at100fps has neither try a VFR shoot and move from dark to light and see if the camera corrects the exposure?

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

It looks like the G80 inherited that shutterbutton from the fz2500, I took my g80 with me on a short holiday to put it through it's paces and can't even remember how many times I stopped recording instead of refocusing during recording, a problem I never had with my gh4,

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Glad it isn't just my camera then Noa! Does the G80 have touch screen focus? I don't have an issue handheld as I'm doing mainly short clips but on the tripod with all the gear in the way it's difficult to touch the button softly so I have taken to using the LCD to grab focus if I need the camera to shift focus.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Yes it has touch screen focus but I need that shutterbutton to function correctly because I do a lot run and gun handheld with my eye pressed against the viewfinder, it is possible to refocus using that button but you need to press it very gently. I"m only not that confident using it because I don't want the camera to stop recording during a critical moment.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Yeah me too .. I wonder if you can reassign another button to focus that would be easy to find with your finger when the camera is up against your eye? I'll have to look ..trouble is I'm (probably you too) quite used to using the shutter button with the FZ1000 that I instinctively go to it!! Guess we have to learn to be gentle on the button?

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

On the g80 you can reassign it to another button but it hunts more while it attempts to lock focus, looks like I "m stuck using the shutterbutton.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Well the adaptor finally arrived from Aliexpress. Unfortunately the powerbank I bought ,although claiming to be 2.1 amp. does not provide enough current, the lens tries to open and fails. But plugging the USB into the ouptut on a USB hub attached to my iMac and yippee! it works. The trick seems to be to find a powerbank with enough current. I'll keep trying

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Hi Mike

It still seems a back to front way to go to achieve an 8.4 volt output ... so it uses a 5 volt supply (USB) and then the adaptor inverts it up to 8,4 ... I've always used a 12v CCTV battery pack (cheap as chips) even for a 10,000 mah pack and drop a tiny voltage regulator chip onto the pack (3 components only) and adjust the 12.6v nominal down to 8.4v ...even if the battery pack drops down to 10.00v as it discharges you STILL can get 8.4v ....

Just for interest what is the minimum voltage threshold your adapter will accept as an input before it cannot lift the voltage to 8.4 any more ... There must be a minimum from the power bank before it falls over. Remember your Mac hub is running from the computer's PSU so it will always supply 5 volts unlike a portable power bank which will eventually go flat in the field ... I'd rather have too much voltage and be able to drop it down than have too little input voltage.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Just ordered this one to use with my FZ2500.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Sorry Chris I have no way of knowing, I'm not that skilled in electronics. I've ordered the battery pack recommended by Frank. No one will post it to Thailand so I have to get it sent to my son then he'll post it on.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

No issue ..tell me how it works though and whether it will run the camera on something like a dance recital that runs for maybe 2 hours non stop?

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Try your camera not in STD mode but also in Portrait mode and push the sharpen slider to +5 and the Noise slider to -5 ....makes a huge difference to your image and video too!!