This photo is with the Panasonic FZ 18 F5.6 ISO 100

This photo Panasonic FZ 28 F5.6 ISO 100

These two photos have been posted to give people an idea of the difference between the Panasonic FZ 18 and the Panasonic FZ 28. These were taken quickly this morning before my coffee and were hand held. They were taken at the widest position with each camera. The cameras were set to 5.6 ISO 100 on aperture priority. I tried f4 and 7.1 but in both cameras 5.6 was notable better. As you will see the camera position is different and I know this needs to be done more accurately. This is all the time I have right now between selling cameras and running to the U.S. and Canadian post offices life is busy. Sandy and I are today also taking a trip to the city to take our youngest daughter Ann to the airport. She is moving to France for the next year to work and travel. We are excited and sad and worried most about her cat Oliver who doesn't understand. Bill

These photos have been uploaded with out resizing, the first one was taken with a Polarizing filter.

Here are some more photos from the new Panasonic FZ 28. I took them this morning from the deck while eating my breakfast. This is when I take most of my photos, in the morning with a cup of coffee near by or if you look back you will see there are a few in the evening with maybe a glass of wine close at hand. As to the new Panasonic, I need some time to compare with the FZ18. I have found in the past with new models there can be improvements but often they come at a cost. With market pressure to continually improve a product and then sell it at a lower price some of the changes may not be for the better. I sometimes wonder if the market we have created is working against product improvement. The last models of 35mm film cameras is an example where I often thought the priority was maximizing profit and not improving a product. Stay tuned for more. Bill

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