January 16th – A shot I was keen to try with the TZ 100 has been the M6 Toll bridge at Anglesey wharf. I don’t think it was dark enough. It was certainly struggling with the balance between sky and the sodium-lit under bridge.
It’s not a bad image, but bizarrely, I think the TZ90 did it way better.
January 14th – Still awful, but hoping to be better for work next day, I pushed myself up the canal to Chasewater to try out the TZ100 instead of the Canon I’m getting very accustomed to.
Coming back to the quirkiness of a Panasonic after the Canon was a shock, but as I’ve been suspecting, it’s the sensor size that’s making the difference. Although structured for different styles and uses, the two cameras seem to be equally good in low light – streets ahed of the TZ90 – but the Panasonic, like the Canon, will benefit from playing with.
The ride wore me out, and it was bitingly cold. I got in, and collapsed into bed.
December 31st – At last, a decent if rain-sodden ride. Going stir crazy on a wet New Year’s eve, I slipped out at 3pm determined to test the loan cameras on something decent. Instinct had me head for Hopwas Hays Wood near Tamworth.
Both cameras are excellent. At the moment, the GX7 has the edge but the user interface is bizarre to me. I’ve never had much joy with Canon kit before, but this was a revelation.
I didn’t use flash once, just the bike headlight. I’m quite pleased with these.
Oh, and happy new year!
May 27th – I was busy all day and escaped after nightfall for a spin around Brownhills in the dark; it had been squally all day with a strong wind, and the weather was finally calming.
It’s new camera time again and I’ve been loaned a new Canon SX730 to try out – for a brand new model 40x zoom compact I’m not terribly impressed. It loves bright sunlight, but as these images show, the night performance on automatic is woeful. There are not many helpful scene modes either like the Panasonics or Nikons I’m used to. For a £400 camera I’m not terrifically impressed, if I’m honest. The user interface is horrific, too.
Build quality is decent, though, it has to be said, but again, I think I find myself leaning to the new Lumix even though it has less zoom.
Cameras, like bicycles, are never quite just what you want.
November 12th – I was busy most of the day, and slipped out after dark on errands.
I’d forgotten how good the Nikon was at night. This camera loves the dark, but you do need a gorilla pod or similar.
I know it’s a cliche, but this spot at night feels so homely to me. It’s my patch and I adore it.
November 7th – I’m still not happy with the low light performance of the TZ-80. In lichfield I’d been using the Nikon, which seems to love the night, but this particular incarnation of the Panasonic compact seems very middling.
When you can get it right, as above, it’s not too bad, but the reflection of the street light is better than the light itself.
On the TZ70 if I munged with the aperture, I could get the hard sharpness I liked, but not on this one.
Something is obstructing me, but what? This was the best of 20 odd shots, most unusable mush. I suppose if it comes down to it, I could always read the manual…
I’ll crack it.
November 3rd – Oh well, I guess it’s time to rediscover night photography again.
I came back to Brownhills, and realised I’d forgotten to make a call in Clayhanger, so looped around. The classic view of Silver Street and the canal is always nice at night, but I’m not sure the TZ-80 is as good in low light as the TZ-70 was, or maybe I have to tweak a few settings. I like night urban shots to be hard and crisp mostly, but I can’t quite get what I’m after with this camera yet.
It’s a shame, really; when I played with the Nikon 9900 it was a great camera for most stuff, but the lack of manual focus made it difficult for night use.
My ideal camera would have Panasonic build quality, a Sony interface and Nikon optics. I guess it’ll never happen, though…
June 19th – At that moment, the battery in the camera died. This one has a slight design flaw in that you can accidentally turn it on to display mode without noticing as you put it away, drawing power unnoticed. Hate it when that happens.
I had to make do yet again with the phone camera, which doesn’t seem to like bright sunlight very much at all, but the beauty of Lichfield’s Friary Gardens on a bright summer afternoon is undeniable.
I love this spot, with it’s mature trees, weathered paths and great flowers and shrubs. An overlooked, tranquil jewel.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 