Wednesday, August 13, 2008

These photos are the first that I have taken from the new Panasonic FZ 28. I will post more and first impressions later. I have a FZ18 for a comparison. This may be your first visit to my blog. I am a camera sales person with a small store and because of that we are often the first to have and use a new product. We do sell on-line but if you visit our site http://www.contactphotoarts.com/ you will not find a shopping cart. I like to talk to my customers and there is contact information on our site. We ship across Canada by express post and for U.S. customers we are 15 minutes from a U.S. post office. The price in Canadian dollars is 449.95



The camera at it's widest angle.





This photo hand is held like the other two 1/200 F4.4 100 ISO





This photo is taken against the sun at 18x ISO 100. If you look closely that is Batman on top of the flag pole.







This camera is the newest in the Panasonic line of ultra zoom compact cameras. The previous model the FZ18 has been one of our best selling cameras for the last year. The question today will be, is the FZ28 a better camera than the FZ18. To begin it is important for you to know that I really like Panasonic cameras. I have twenty years of experience selling cameras and in our store with the point and shoot category you will find only Panasonic cameras and one model of Pentax. This is for many reasons but a few are, usually the customers first request is for a camera that is easy to use, secondly a camera that takes good photos. Panasonic does this very well at each price point but what customers don't often think about is that they need a camera that is well made with good quality control. If a customer who I sell a camera to has a problem with their camera it is also a problem for me. I test the cameras before they go out the door. It is important for me to know that what we sell is a good product. I won't sell something unless I would buy it for myself. I can count the number of warranty claims I have helped with on my two hands from Panasonic cameras that I have sold. I have lost count of how many cameras I have sold but it is more than one a day for the last three years. This is also a company that replaces or repairs their defective cameras faster than any other company that I have ever dealt with. Most Panasonic users never experience this but you can understand what a difference it makes to me the sales guy who depends on happy customers.
In the past when a company introduced a new camera my approach would be to wait to read a compressive review, order one to test and then decide if this was a camera that I would like to sell. I started this practice after an experience of having to return 24 cameras that I had ordered with the belief that they were a good product. Panasonic continually introduce new models that surpass the previous ones. If you have read all of this I think you will understand my statement that I like Panasonic cameras. I plan on posting many photos from the FZ28. We will soon be introducing our interactive new web site and there will be also a feature article written for the FZ28. Stay tuned for more, Bill Wilby

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

thanks a lot!
jeff from Paris.

Bill Wilby, Editor said...

You are welcome Jeff, my youngest daughter is moving to France Sunday and will be living in Brittany. Bill

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot Bill wilby.
It is a real fast response. Look forward to seeing more pics from FZ28.

Dr.Rajamurthy of India, from Kuwait

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Bill,

I myself own an FZ18, would you please also make some low light shots to see possible problems/improvements?

Anton
St. Petersburg
Russia

Bill Wilby, Editor said...

Hi Anton, I will do some comparison shots with the FZ18 but it will take me a few days. Thanks Bill

Anonymous said...

Bill,

Thanks for your pictures comparing the two cameras. I've been looking to replace my Casio Exilim Pro EX-P600 with something that has better zoom and hopefully better low-light performance. Not sure if this will qualify in the low-light category (I'm really looking forward to whatever you post in this regard), but it looks nice, nevertheless. I'm thinking this or the LX3.

At any rate, a question: were the two pictures taken in town both taken from the same spot (i.e., is the second picture a full zoom on the obelisk from the original position)?

Thanks,

Robb of Columbia, SC

Maria said...

Its been a few years now since you wrote this post. I just came across it web-searching. Where can I find your interactive web site with the article that you mention regarding the FZ28. I have one and am having some difficulty getting crisp, clear photos. I believe its my lack of photography experience and am doing something wrong. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks, Maria
mmblack@centurylink.net

Bill Wilby, Editor said...

Hi Maria, yes it has been a few years, I never did write that article and the web site has now been replaced. When I use the Panasonic ultra zoom cameras I set the focus to single not continues and to spot focus. The stabilizer to mode 2. With a camera with that much magnification holding it as steady as possible is also important. I would also set the ISO to manual setting and pick a ISO setting no more than 400. I hope this helps a little. Bill