Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Well it looks I've come to a halt,at least for now. Since January it has become impossible to ship lithium batteries by air, no one will do it, so my battery pack is sitting in the UK and I'm in Thailand. It seems you can ship lithium batteries if they are inside a camera for example but not separately. Makes no sense to me and of course people carry them on aircraft all the time.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Hi Mike

That's a bummer! I was under the impression that they could be sent if they were packed correctly so they cannot short or be damaged. You now need to find someone flying from the UK to Thailand that can take them for you as carry on luggage? Maybe advertise and offer someone a nice dinner once you get the pack.

Is it only Thailand that's the issue or all countries??? You could put an ad on Helping Hands on this forum and hope someone is doing the UK>Thailand trip soon.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

It's all countries, IATA rules from 1.1.17. I tried to get a battery from China, no luck so I've no idea how commercial enterprises will get their stocks. There must be some way to send them by air but I can't find it I'm asking around in the UK

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Hey Mike

I guess they buy enough stock to warrant a container so it comes by sea. That's a bad situation if you need to buy batteries. So one assumes it can only be the battery that fits in the device ? That's stupid ..previously you could ship lithiums as long as they were individually packaged and there was no chance of them short circuiting but I guess that's out the window now!! Hope you find a speedy solution!!

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Does it also apply to LiPo? The Lithium Polymer batteries are much safer (and lighter and don't discharge over time).

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

I haven't been following the thread much. Battery consumption by the FZ2500 is certainly rapid. I bought two extra ones just to be safe. I don't record many minutes during a day afield, but I do manage to go through a couple of batteries.

Frank, I've never used one of those portable chargers. Can the fz2500 charger be plugged directly into that device to charge its battery out of the camera.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

To clarify, you can carry Lithium batteries as hand luggage but not in hold luggage. They can be separate but must be protected from shorting out.
It seems you can't ship separate batteries by air ( i.e. buy or sell)

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

So how does the portable charger connect with the FZ2000 and how long does it take to recharge a battery?
Not much use to me if I can't use the camera while recharging takes place.


Ron

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Before spreading too much FUD about batteries, check this link...

https://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/...nt-2017-en.pdf

Along about page 12-13, it covers "consumer" type devices and batteries.


IF batteries are not overly high capacity and are packed properly, they should be shippable. At one point I checked the Wh limits, and the typical consumer grade battery (phone, camera, laptop, etc...) does not even come close to being "regulated". One should still observe reasonable packaging techniques to prevent any trouble, but that isn't THAT difficult.

That said, of course there are potential issues even with small consumer grade batteries, as Samsung discovered....

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Hi Dave

Over here the rating of the battery is only an issue with carryon luggage ..in other words you can carrry on multiple batteries below a special capacity ...that, of course doesn't help Mike who is trying to ship a battery pack from the UK ...That's a power bank so it might even exceed the carry on capacity too so it's worth checking.

Ronald ? You need a DC coupler for the camera which is essentially a dummy battery which can then connect to a mains adapter OR another power source as long as it has around 8.2v available.

I shot a wedding yesterday with the 2500 and had 2 bars left in the evening ... Both my FZ1000's and FZ2500 normally allow me to do a wedding and I would only need a battery change in the mid evening....also I normally change when it hits 1 bar so I don't have a battery failure whilst the brides father is doing a heartfelt speech ....running non stop your battery should last at least an hour or more

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Whatever the US may say, it's not possible to ship a powerpack by air from the Uk by any commmon carrier- DHL/FedeX etc. Mine is now sitting in a 'DONOT FLY' post office in Ireland.
Carrying them with you is a completely different matter

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Understood Mike but I was mentioning that you can carry on batteries ONLY if they are below a stipulated wattage so make sure you find out what the limit is before recruiting someone to bring it by air as carry on. I have a feeling the big power banks might exceed the limit so finding someone then would be a fruitless exercise!! The problem (provided it is allowed) is finding an irishman travelling to Thailand .. we have a friend going to Ireland in May BUT sadly back to Australia not Thailand.

Can you get your money back from Amazon ?? surely they should know shipping rules and should have declined your order if it was going to be impounded!!

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Unkiely, I got it sent to my son in the UK ,he then posted it on, Amazon would not post it to me. I was trying to get around the restrictions. I've now found a RAV powerpack sold in Malaysia and it's on it's way to me (overland!!!!). I'll keep you updated

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Thanks Chris, I will be in Perth in May, but I think I've found an answer. Thanks for the offer.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

You may recall I got this but small powerbanks just won't work. I tried to order a RAV that Frank suggested but it's no longer allowed to air post them.
I finally found one in Malaysia and it got sent to Thailand. It's a RAVPower Turbo+ 20100mAh (Type-C+QC3.0) Powerbank . It works, I don't know yet how long for, I've only just got it and am charging it and will then run a duration test. You can see it in the photos ( please excuse the mess, it's taking hours to update my wife's laptop). It's more expensive than Frank's one but I'm hopeful and it's the only one we people in Thailand seem to be allowed to buy :)
I'm sure the one that Frank suggested https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 will work fine too it is cheaper and simpler than the one I had to buy. Thanks Frank for putting me onto this line of powerpacks.


I ran the FZ2500 in AVCHD 28MBPS. After 4 hours only one of the four 'battery level' indicators had gone out. It looks like it will last a very long time I did not switch on/off nor zoom but it really gives an extended battery life, is well made and portable. I think this is an answer for those of us who can't use a soldering iron

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

That works very well it seems Mike! That's a brute of a battery too so obviously one does need a substantial power bank for it to work! Would you require anything longer than 4 hours for your purposes?

I would think that most long events would give participants adequate breaks anyway but that power bank certainly seems plenty for your needs.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Chris, I think it's more than adequate. Plays sometimes run for 1 1/2 hours or more so battery changes are possible, but this gives a lot of confidence that it won't fail minutes before the climatic conclusion

SD card speeds
 

I've been using Toshiba SD 128Gb card recently, they are cheaper than Transcend or Sandisk. It works fine with 4K, but I thought I'd test the speed of the card against Transcend 128 GB card using the Black Magic disk speed test.

Result Toshiba read 28 MB/s write 75 MB/s
Transcend read 50MB/s write 86MB/s

So the Transcend card is faster, but in practice it seems to make no difference. I could not test a Sandisc card as I do not have one, Transcend is my usual card

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Hi Mike

Mine too ..I just have a bunch of the U3 Transcend 64GB cards and no problems so far in 2017 Beacuse we do weddings I don't mind paying a few dollars extra for peace of mind and over the past 3 years with both of our FZ1000's and the FZ2500 we never have had a card issue

Best monopod/video head combination?
 

I’ve been trying for some time now to get the best monopod/head combination. I settled a while back on the Sirui 224S carbon fibre monopod. ( there is an aluminium version which is only slightly heavier and cheaper , but it was not available). This is just the best monopod ever. The links below show it well; superb design and manufacture and so well thought out. But finding the right video head was more difficult. I have a Manfrotto 501AH head which I like but it would not fit in the monopod case. I bought a Benro S4 but there is little drag resistance either in tilt or pan. I finally came across the Sirui VH10 head., fixed pan drag which is a little tighter the 501AH and variable tilt drag. The arm extends to allow delicate control over pan and tilt.
I’ve had the combination fora couple of days now and I reckon this combination can’t be beaten for small camcorders ( X70works fine), MFT and DSLRs

Links to videos below
Monopod Monopod comparison
Sirui VH-10 head review
What do you guys think?

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Had mine for over a year. Really liked it, holds my GH4 in cage with standing by itself without touching it and am able to leave it by itself if needed. Now FZ-2500 in cage with cage, zoom and wireless receiver at 5.2 LBs stands by itself.
Only problem is that the different shafts get stuck, sometimes up or closed and you can't get it up or down.
Tried oil with no luck.Have to use a lot of strength to move shaft up or down. Does this with the middle and top sections.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Random Q here for everyone:

Do you regularly power your camera on and off when shooting in the field? Or do you just power it on once and leave the switch on for as long as you're holding the camera, only switching it off when done?

I ask because I've always wondered (really with all bridge cameras with lenses that extend on power-up) how much power extended/retracting the lens consumes...versus leaving it extended.

That said, I understand that after a set period of time with no shooting, the lens with retract anyway.

With absolutely no testing nor data to verify it, I've always assumed that if I'm not shooting for (say) 5 minutes or more, I'm better off powering off the camera.

But I also worry about power switch and lens extend/retract motor actuations, LOL. (Don't want to wear them out prematurely!)

Thoughts?
Scott

PS - I'm wondering now if there is a setting on the FZ2500 that lets you turn off the "auto retract lens after inactivity" feature? (I've never really understood why this feature exists? I find it a nuisance.)

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Another random Q:

When I firast began shooting video with a DSLR several years ago, the standard thinking was "Always shoot with a shutter speed of 50 or 60, or twice the framerate you're using.

Does anyone stick to this rule with bridge cameras like the FZ2500? Or has that rule pretty much gone out the window as technology has improved?

Scott

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Hi Scott

I just power off when it's convenient ...We do mostly weddings so we would power down after we are finished at the bride's house , the after the ceremony etc etc ....The 2500 lens only extends once so you would use minimum battery there!

Technically your shutter needs to be twice your frame rate when you are shooting double frame rate (so 50P for me and 60P for you) I shoot most stuff at 25P anyway so I seldom bother with shutter issues ...If you are in bright sunlight just kick in an ND filter so the video doesn't stutter in high motion situations like motor racing in full sun. It rarely affects normal motion so I will ignore it.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

I can't see technology improving to a point this rule becomes obsolete. A shutter speed twice the frame rate gives the best motion in a video. Have shutter speed at the same frame rate and there can be too much motion blur in fast moving moments. Have the shutter speed even higher than 1/50 or 1/60 and motion can freeze the higher you go. You'll see birds hopping across the screen, movement will become a bit like stop motion - not quite as fluid.

That said, it is a rule I break when the need calls for it. However its not a pleasing look to my eyes and I try to avoid wherever possible.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

So what's the verdict on the FZ2500? Is it good enough for event work? The big selling points for me are no recording limits, ND filters, headphone jack, 4K. But apparently the lens is not as high quality as the FZ1000. I probably would mainly use it as 2nd camera to my AC90 for event work. Un-manned cam. Record 4K and zoom in on the footage on a 1080 timeline to simulate multiple cameras. I would personally use it for photography to replace my Canon T3i. Having played with the FZ1000 and liking it quite a bit I was disappointed to read about some of the quality issues with FZ2500. It was going to be my "perfect" bridge camera from work to play.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Are you seriously comparing the Leica lens of the FZ2500 against the cheap lens that they put on the AC-90? Hardly a comparison ....the AC-90 also has so much smoothing filtration that in low light it looks like hair has been stray painted on .... I would be using the 2500 as the main camera and the AC-90 as a B-Cam

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

I agree about the heavy noise reduction on the AC90. However, the AC90 is a decent camera for event work. It doesn't do anything great but gets the job done and has most of the features that I want for event work. For example, a minor feature is the variable white balance which is very handy for mixed lighting (which is pretty much the whole wedding day). It has dual XLR inputs and dual SD slots.

I would fully expect the FZ2500 to have overall better picture quality. With that said, I'm old school and like the grab 'n go experience of shooting with the AC90. If I were to really like using the FZ2500 I could myself replacing the 90.

So it sounds like you have experience with both cameras. Is the FZ2500 better in low light? I've read that it's not that great due to the lens stopping down quickly. My only experience with 1" sensor cameras is the RX100 which was pretty good in low light for stills but not great in video.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Hi Mathew

We shot on AC-130's which were the 1/3" sensor model up from the AC90's tiny 1/5" sensors and the low light wasn't bad but the 1" chip (also backlit) on the FZ2500 is way better. Just for interest the FZ series actually use a Sony sensor anyway so you get much the same result ...I find the camera a lot better and sharper than my AC-130's

Yeah the big downfall is the lack of audio processing ..I'm using a Saramonic AX-7 2 channel XLR unit under my camera for audio which makes it clumsy for handheld work plus being "DSLR form factor" I had to put a bar under the camera with twin handles left and right to make it usable!!

I'm old school too and if I could get a shoulder mount camera with the FZ2500 lens and electronics in the housing I would buy two in a heartbeat ... I have never been a big fan of using mirrorless cameras for video but there isn't much else out there that will give me the same performance as the FZ2500

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Panasonic need to update their AF-101, put GH5 "works" inside and make a couple or three power zoom lenses.

Ron

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

I have always powered off my cameras if I'm not going to use it for awhile. Doing this with past cameras, GH2, GH3 and now GH4 and just got the FZ-2500 and have done 3 events with it and power it off also. No use wasting battery just standing around waiting BUT it might take more battery power just turning it on again and extending the lens over again?? To bad Panasonic doesn't have a frequent asked question board

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Mathew Meyerotto-- I have used the FZ-2500 at 3 events in the month I have had it. One it was 2nd camera to GH4 and the wedding on Friday was an outside Indian ceremony and the FZ was main camera, GH4 was stand alone. The FZ was main because of the smooth zoom and ND filters.
Saturday it was a 40 year vow renewal and inside at a event place. I still used the FZ as main camera because of the zoom since I was by myself, the GH4 was 2nd camera with 12-35mm f2.8 lens. I did use both during cocktail time just to compare. The GH4 maybe just a little brighter, both on wide, both looked fine. And dancing time I used both again to compare and ended up using FZ-2500 more becaused I liked the colors I was seeing better.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Back to your question about the FZ being good enough in low light and good enough for events ..yes absolutely The FZ1000 is actually a bit sharper than the FZ2500 due to maybe extra lenses so if the slow zoom is not critical for you I would get a FZ1000 and save $500!!

I'm actually going to get rid of my FZ2500 and replace it with a shoulder mount MDH2 ..yes it's smaller sensor and not nearly as good in low light BUT I only use the 2500 for live streaming wedding ceremonies and I still have 2 x FZ1000's for 4K stuff .... Streams are all 720P so it's a waste using a 4K cinema camera to stream 1280x720 ... the MDH2 has a robust full size HDMI socket whereas the 2500 has a flimsy micro port (I have already damaged the ports in BOTH FZ1000's) Yes the FZ2500 has a brilliant zoom but to make space for the slow zoom buttons the stabilizer has been moved to a menu operated one so you cannot run off the tripod and have time to take the camera off the tripod AND switch on the stabilizer ...maybe however there is a function button it can be allocated too??

All things aside I still think it's a brilliant event camera!!

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Hey Chris, nothing robust about the MDH2. Bit of a toy, had one for about a month. Dont think it will be up to your standards.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Hi Jack

Not the casing ..that is flimsy ..the decent HDMI socket is what I need ..I just do a bunch of wedding ceremonies each month and even with a Lock Port on the FZ2500 camera I still have issues with the tiny micro port ..Yeah I had one before and regardless it will do the job just fine ...it's only a 720 stream ..single cam shoot. I still use my two FZ1000's for the decent stuff ...in fact I have twp photoshoots and two video shoots on Monday and Tuesday with the FZ1000's so they work hard and do a good job! I just felt it was pointless having the 2500 sitting in a rig all week only being used for 30 minutes on a Friday or Saturday ..such a waste of all it's awesome features ....BOTH my FZ1000 micro HDMI ports were damaged using a flexible HDMI cable so I want something with a tough full spec HDMI socket which the cheap MD has!!

They are mostly beach weddings too! So having a unit that I can replace cheaply when it ends up full of sand or salt spray is where I want to be. It's almost a disposable situation for me and I don't want to waste the pristine FZ2500 on that situation

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

The lack of switchable ND filters on the FZ1000 is a shame though. For me anyway as most of my work is outside. Have you settled on a good ND filter for exterior work Chris?

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Hi Bill

I have two Fotga Variable ND's on each camera and they seem to be OK but probably not the best ... When they are used they seem to do a good job. We don't do an awful lot of stills ..mainly video but the occasional real estate shoot does come up. With weddings unless they are on the beach, we tend to migrate to shadier spots where we can.

I needed the FZ2500 mainly for the nice slow zoom plus the fact that both my FZ1000 HDMI ports got damaged with overuse of cables into the port so I figured I might as well go up a notch, To be honest I don't use the ND's that much ..if you are doing big zooms and don't need the ND's all the time a FZ1000 might be a better buy I would think ..the image IS sharper!!

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

I'll be using it mostly for video. Full zoom then occasionally all the way back for perspective. I have switchable ND filters on my Canon XH-A1 video camera. Essential in the glare of the early morning sun.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

Hi Bill

If you are doing even zoom outs then definately get the FZ2500 ..the FZ1000 has a jerky zoom ..it's fine for framing but if you need a smooth zoom out or in then the FZ1000 doesn't do a good job! If you get the 2500 then you don't have to get ND's either ...in case you didn't know it also has "auto ND" which keeps the iris in the sweet spot if it's really bright .. all the HMC cameras had that feature too ..stops the shutter speed going crazy!

I'm doing my last live broadcast stream with the FZ2500 on Friday then I'll pop it onto eBay for a quick sale and use the 1000's and manual ND's from then onwards.

Re: FZ2500 Impressions and Comments?
 

How much do you want for it mate? Email me if that's better.