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Photo camera expertise and recommendations needed
shoelessdun
Posts: 131
in The Porch
Can one of you pro photography camera experts weigh in and please recommend a Lumix new model 4k camera for me that has an expansive zoom, fixed lens, 4k video capability, that will shoot awesome PJ vids in low light for me? Budgeting about 800 bucks for it. Thanks in advance.
Dallas Lollapalooza '92
Denton UNT '93
Hartford '10
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Hartford '13
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NYC MSG 2 '16
Quebec City '16
Fenway 1 '16
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Wrigley 1 '16
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Denton UNT '93
Hartford '10
Worcester 2 '13
Hartford '13
Philly 1 '16
Philly 2 '16
NYC MSG 2 '16
Quebec City '16
Fenway 1 '16
Fenway 2 '16
Wrigley 1 '16
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Something more compact but still very strong is the ZS100. It does everything you want although the zoom won't be quite as strong. The good news is that it's super compact, can fit in your pocket and you won't get grief at teh arena door.
I have the ZS60 which is the model before the ZS100 and never have an issue. Conversely, one of my recording partners has an FZ and he has to fight at every door and even got it taken away in Toronto before getting it back.
The orange line is the Sony RX10 MK II which allows an amazing amount of light in throughout its range but only zooms to 200mm (about 4x), whereas the FZ1000 lets less light in (more potential for blurriness) but zooms further to 400mm (about 8x). So, they both have trade-offs! If price is an object, I'd second the recommend for the FZ1000. The ZS100, in my opinion, probably won't cut it for what you're after due to the high aperture values across the board (see the second screen grab).
If you need any more advice, please let me know! Our family business is cameras in Canada, and my dad was a photographer, so I know my way around them pretty well
EDIT: The third image shows all of the cameras I've mentioned, and then a few others. I'd still say the FZ1000 is a great value proposition.
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
And Benjs, what are your thoughts on the ZS100?
Denton UNT '93
Hartford '10
Worcester 2 '13
Hartford '13
Philly 1 '16
Philly 2 '16
NYC MSG 2 '16
Quebec City '16
Fenway 1 '16
Fenway 2 '16
Wrigley 1 '16
Wrigley 2 '16
I use the sadly discontinued Panasonic LX 7 with the EVF attached, just to shoot stills, but it's HD vid is stellar..
24mm to 90mm equiv. f1.4 at 24mm f2.3 at 90
Panaleica LX 100 is the way to go now, although you dont have as much telephoto going from 24mm to 75mm and although he lens is negligibly slower f1.7 at 24mm and f2.8 at 75mm, you have 30p 4K Ultra HD video
$800 list price.
$797.99 at B&H today
I would be amazed if someone were to question you walking in with either one of those cameras.
http://shop.panasonic.com/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/lumix-point-and-shoot-cameras/DMC-LX100.html#start=1&cgid=cameras
most of my stills that I have shot from the pit and at shows 800 to 1250 ISO 250th to 500th of a second at f2
And Tiki - read this regarding 4K. In addition to these reasons, I was under the impression that shooting in 4K and down-sampling to 1080p can yield greater dynamic range on your shots, but don't quote me on that as I can't remember my source! https://fstoppers.com/originals/6-reasons-shoot-4k-video-even-if-you-cant-view-it-yet-77535
shoelessdun - I would not get the ZS100, strictly based on the equivalent aperture curve I showed above. You'll see that the equivalent aperture across the range is substantially larger than most of the other cameras we've been discussing. That will translate to requiring a slower shutter speed, which translates to less crisp shots and videos. If you can avoid it, I would!
EDIT: Another thing to consider is that the LX100's restrictive zoom is somewhat offset by the fact that the sensor size is so much larger. This means you could very well have as much quality video data in a quadrant of a 4K shot, as you might in a full 4K shot from any of the 1" sensor cameras (i.e. any of the other cameras discussed here). Sorry if this is getting too technical!
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
I'm just a stills guy by profession, and and don't enjoy video editing at all.
I do want a camera that I can shoot sick stills and HD video with, all in 1 package.
My concern with that LX100 model is the restrictive zoom range in comparison to the Lumix FZ100. This is my concern because the 10C tix I often score put me in the mezzanine and sometimes purdy darn far away from the stage. I mean, Philly 1 this tour I was lower bowl, but 3/4 of the way around the side on Mike's side. Without a serious zoom, no way I'd be able to get any kind of decent shots of say just Mike or just Jeff.
Denton UNT '93
Hartford '10
Worcester 2 '13
Hartford '13
Philly 1 '16
Philly 2 '16
NYC MSG 2 '16
Quebec City '16
Fenway 1 '16
Fenway 2 '16
Wrigley 1 '16
Wrigley 2 '16
If you want to see what some close-ups can look like with the LX100, see my album from Brooklyn (link below)! I'll try to dig up some long-range crops to show you what they're like for comparison's sake
https://flic.kr/s/aHsjL6oGrX
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
Denton UNT '93
Hartford '10
Worcester 2 '13
Hartford '13
Philly 1 '16
Philly 2 '16
NYC MSG 2 '16
Quebec City '16
Fenway 1 '16
Fenway 2 '16
Wrigley 1 '16
Wrigley 2 '16
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
Denton UNT '93
Hartford '10
Worcester 2 '13
Hartford '13
Philly 1 '16
Philly 2 '16
NYC MSG 2 '16
Quebec City '16
Fenway 1 '16
Fenway 2 '16
Wrigley 1 '16
Wrigley 2 '16
Totally untouched, at the rail right in front of Mike
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
Denton UNT '93
Hartford '10
Worcester 2 '13
Hartford '13
Philly 1 '16
Philly 2 '16
NYC MSG 2 '16
Quebec City '16
Fenway 1 '16
Fenway 2 '16
Wrigley 1 '16
Wrigley 2 '16
I'm on the lookout for a better camera for concerts
- Christopher McCandless
You may be able to find that Panasonic LX-7. RAW JPG HD vid
I took the photo above with an LX-7 about 8 rows deep in GA at Hampton.