Smoky said:
Does the Panasonic DMC-FZ30 come standard with that lens?? Are there additional lenses that can be purchased for that camera?? If anyone else knows the answer jump on in.
Hi Smoky:
The FZ30 is probably the best camera around right now (new stuff comes out very fast these days?
. I helped my sister buy a camera while in Texas last year plus have discussed the camera with JerryF on several occasions prior to his purchase. That plus the feedback you read here on the forum makes me feel comfortable in recommending it.
If you are going for the super stuff such as you will see from our friend from Dallas, Ron M., you may want to consider a digital SLR with interchangeable lenses -- but from what I read about your projected images, the FZ30 should last you a lifetime.
Tho the FZ30 only has one fixed lens, it is a "super" lens. The other features are pretty standard with the competition, but the FZ30 sports an incredible Leica lens. My sister was able to work with 3 different cameras in the same price range, and looking at the resulting images, the FZ30 won hands down. Note the size of the piece of glass (the lens) in the front. The bigger the glass, the more light it can let in, so that gives you the f2.8 f-stop for those low light situations. The other feature of the lens is Image Stabilization.
I'm still pondering my next SLR. I currently have the best at the time Oly 2500L SLR with a fixed lens and a shutter speed of 1/10,000. In order to get Image Stabilization in a lens for my next digital SLR, I would have to come up with at least twice the price of the camera itself. So that feature alone for someone shooting stuff on the move makes the FZ30 a solid value.
Some of the advantages you would find by going to a digital SLR such as the popular Canon EOS Rebel XT, would be a pure optical TTL view finder and interchangeable lenses. Digitals are able to do a lot of of battery powered smoke and mirrors stuff (which is actually a "good" thing). For example, the FZ30 has an Electronic View Finder (EVF). That means it is essentially an LCD with more light. With an SLR you are optically looking thru the lens that is currently on the camera. The EVF will have a bit of a lag time catching up and the resolution & will not be the same as the lens itself so fine manual focus will not be as pure as with an SLR. It also takes battery power. The FZ30 has a 12x optical zoom if I recall. The rest they advertise is just electronic smoke and mirrors.
Smoky, I read that Circuit City carries that camera -- and perhaps Best Buys, and they can be found pretty easily along the way. Let us know what you come up with.