Panasonic Lumix L1 and TZ3 Test Drives by Ken DeJarlaisDPA Seattle Instructor Ken DeJarlais recently took these two Panasonic models for a test drive and came away with some great results.

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Fall Maple (Lumix L1) –

Fall Maple is an example of using fill flash and perspective for added impact. Use live view for composing with gridlines for composition. Use full flash and control distance by zooming in or out once flash f stop is right for fill light ratio that opens shadows. Use full strength flash when shooting contrasty outdoor scenes if possible – flash power isconsistentat fullstrength. Use a tripod and look at live view at a variety of locations once you establish proper f stop for desired depth of field and fill ratio.

Haystack Rock (Lumix L1) –

Haystack Rock is an example of using proper f stop and focus point. I like f8 and try to use it for good depth of field as much as possible.

A good general rule is the sharpest f stop for any camera is about two stops down from wide open. To get the best distance always focus about half way into the image so near and far points are sharp. Never just focus on the furthest point. I used live view on a tripod, preset my framing and focus and waited for the waves to wet down the sand and give me the desired texture. It′s good to use the live view option because you can stand back and observe the scene, glance at viewing screen and fire the shot when elements wanted come together.

Morning Mist (Lumix L1) –

Morning Mist is an example of using a larger (in terms of number) f stop when the near and far points are very far apart. Using f11 I focused on a point at half the distance from the furthest rock. Using careful shutter and ISO combinations to control the contrast (mist not blown out or too gray). Again, I use live view and waited until someone walked into the scene in the upper left 1/3 of the frame to help withperspective. The critical sharpness of f8 isn′t as important when shooting a nice overall soft scene but sharp enough to show off the leading lines in the sand.

Tide Pool Beasts (Lumix L1) –

Tide Pool Beasts is just a fun shot that I happened to see while practicing composition opportunity using live view. I like to look at interesting subjects and see if there is something even more interesting lurking. Using the viewing screen helps intermediate folks see composition possibilities.

I use it because it reminds me of the days shooting with an 8X10 and always composing different ways. I happened to see these faces and framed them in such a way I could crop several ways for different effects. Also watched water movement and shot when foreground texture was what I wanted and used light off of the water to fill 4:1 so shadows didn′t gocompletelyblack.

Fall City (Lumix TZ3) –

Fall City was a quick grab shot using the handy Lumix TZ3 that I always carry around in my jacket pocket. It′s a good idea to have a strong point and shoot camera with you all the time.

I saw a interesting composition using reds and yellows. Just one of those cityscapes that pop out quickly. Light was right, people in bottom of the frame had right clothes for color and were in good position in relation to sign. One shot later and I missed the guy with the good shadow in lower left. Buildings looked very good to me from that angle with the light and colortemperature providing good shadow depth and definition. I keep the camera set on automatic with ISO at 200 and film mode set on normal with highest resolution. I also have the flash on forced off for these types of “quick draw” shots. I will set the flash to the on position if outdoors later than pre sunset or harsh bright noon sun. Of course flash is always set to automatic when indoors.

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