Digital Photography Guide

Straight up this camera ticks most of my boxes!

A swinging LCD screen IMHO is a must and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 has a beauty: 7.6cm, with a high res count of 460,000 pixels; it rotates 180 degrees horizontally and 270 vertically.

The MOS sensor has 14.1 megapixels and maximum image size of 4320×3240 pixels, leading to a 37×27cm print.

A razz of a continuous shooting speed: how about eleven pics per second at full resolution? If you want continuous auto focus, you can still run a burst at five fps.

These shots show how a 24x optical zoom, equivalent to 25-600mm on a 35 SLR, can perform. Super sharp at both ends of the zoom; shots were taken tripod-mounted.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 Features

It just gets better! Thanks to a prominent speed grip, holding the camera is no challenge and one-handed operation is definitely on the menu.

Although I’ve spent half a lifetime working with film and video cameras, these days I like to shoot home movies on my still cameras. This one is a winner in that department: Full HD res of 1920×1080, captured in AVCHD, then in AVHCD Lite or Motion JPEG for lower res movies.

You can shoot movies and still use the zoom control. Auto focus is still in play while shooting but, with the lens out to full tele, it is a little tardy. The camera records stereo audio from the tiny onboard mic; there is also an optional, outboard stereo mic available.

You can save still images as JPEGs or RAW files or RAW+JPEG.

Exposure options include auto, Program AE, aperture and shutter priority as well as manual. Added to this are some scene modes directly accessible from the mode dial plus 17 scene modes accessed through the screen menu.

ISO Speeds

Top to bottom, shots taken at ISO 100, 400, 1600. The ISO 100 and 400 settings were fine but the ISO 1600 point showed noise and lowered definition.

Startup Time

With power turned on, I could shoot my first shot in about two seconds; follow-ons came in at about a second a pic.

Distortion

The amount of distortion at either end of the zoom was negligible; for such a wide ranging optic, this is an excellent performance.

Comment

Quality: the test shots showed that this camera is well above average in image resolution and colour rendition.

The FZ100 committed very few sins in my book: however, I do think the power switch and the button that swings you from single frame to burst shooting should be highlighted in white. Black buttons on a black background? Nah!

Why you would buy it: you want a long zoom and a camera that shoots Full High Def video; you like Leica lenses.

Why you wouldn’t: can’t think of any reason.

At this price level you’re head on with many budget DSLRs. For my money, the long zoom is a swinger … provided you understand its limitations and special requirements when capturing extreme tele shots.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 Specifications

Image Sensor: 14.1 million effective pixels.
Metering: Multi zone, centre-weighted average, spot.
Sensor Size: 11mm MOS.
Lens: Leica DC Vario-Elmarit f2.8-5.2/4.5-108mm (25-600mm as 35 SLR equivalent).
Shutter Speed: 60 to 1/2000 second.
Continuous Shooting: 11 images/second.
Memory: SD, SDHC, SDXC cards plus 40MB internal memory.
Image Sizes (pixels): 4320×3240 to 640×480. Movies: 1920×1080, 1280×720, 848×480, 640×480, 320×240 at 30 fps.
Turret LCD finder: 5mm (201,600 pixels).
LCD Screen: 7.6cm LCD (461,000 pixels).
File Formats: RAW, JPEG, RAW+JPEG, AVCHD, Motion JPEG.
ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 100 to 6400.
Interface: USB 2.0, HDMI mini, AV.
Power: Rechargeable lithium ion battery, DC input.
Dimensions: 124.3×81.2×95.2 WHDmm.
Weight: Approx. 540 g (inc battery and card).
Price: Get a price on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 at Amazon.

Post from: Digital Photography School

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Choosing the best angle, when shooting food, comes from a good observation and an inner feeling. Before composing your image, try to enter into a visual meditation, move calmly around your subject and simply observe with your bare eyes. Just keep in mind that this meditation cannot be long-lasting, as you know that freshly prepared food will not continue to maintain that “fresh look” for more than a few minutes.

Photographing food is very similar to photographing people in a sense that each person has her best side. Considering the variety of food out there, diverse cooking and presentation styles, the final results are endless. This array of unique subjects creates an opportunity for infinite camera angle choices.

What is the best angle? Here are my Top 10:

Angle 1: Head-on Zen:

The camera is completely centered to the subject. This created a very clean contemporary look and feel. Tip: Keep the props to the minimum.

Angle 2. From Above:

Camera is positioned directly above the subject and perfectly centered. This angle produces a very contemporary, graphic look.

Tips on overhead photography see Tips for Shooting Overhead.

Angle 3. Lost in Space:

For this shot, food was placed directly onto the white plexiglass surface, a soft box was positioned below the plexi. This created a seamless and shadow-less environment. When you do not have a point of reference (no horizon line, no plate, no sense of environment) you can shoot from most unusual angles and get away with it.

Angle 4. Tilt Towards:

Camera is tilted right, so the subject tilts counterclockwise and the dish is welcoming you in, motivating the spectator to indulge in image.

Angle 5. Tilt Away:

Camera is tilted left, so the subject tilts clockwise, pulling away from you, engaging the viewer the desire to follow.

Angle 6. Close up and personal

Don’t be afraid to get close to your subject. It won’t bite. Or will it? When you are shooting close ups, the point of reference loses its importance, so any camera angle will produce an appetizing image or not?

A

ngle 7. Above with Perspective:

The camera is positioned above the front of the subjectdd, then the camera is tilted up until the subject fills the frame. The photograph will maintain a graphic dynamic composition that will engaging the eye to scan the image from the foreground to the background.

Angle 8. Diagonal:

Turn you camera so the subject starts in one corner and ends in the opposite corner, breaking the space diagonally.

Angle 9. With respect to the Line:

When looking through the viewfinder align the edge of the frame to any line you see in your subject. In this case I chose to align three parallel lines (left and right edges of the slice). So I turned the camera until these 3 lines ware parallel to the vertical edge of the frame. This created a very monumental and unusual composition, granting unprecedented importance to this slice of a regular cheese cake.

Angle 10. Gentle tilt:

The camera was tilted just slightly to the left. Why? Because the human brain likes to scan things by section. If the camera had been leveled, then the middle wedge would create a horizontal line that would divide the composition in two sections and forcing the eye to travel away from the center. But in this case, I wanted the eye to flow freely though the whole image while stopping only at the focal point. So “gentle tilt” solved the problem.

Conclusion:

Try to forget about the rule of thirds and everything you just learned, just move around your subject and really try to see it and when you see it, draw the camera to your eye and start framing. Keep your mind clear, no thinking. When you start getting a warm fuzzy feeling entering through your stomach and spreading to your chest, just push the button.

Angle 11: Can you post a shot with your best angle?

Further Reading on Food Photography

• Food Photography Techniques and Tips
• Food Photography – An Introduction
• 10 Tips for Mouth Watering Food Photography

Sasha Gitin is a New York based food and lifestyle photographer shooting for advertising and editorial industries. His commercial portfolio can be reviewed on sashagitin.com.

In addition, Sasha is a co-founder of an educational photography blog LearnMyShot.com where he shares photography tips and techniques.

Post from: Digital Photography School

Click on the picture to find out more about the photographer and how the picture was taken.

This picture is all about that look and is a fine example of a candid capture.

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