BWCA Lumix FC 70 Boundary Waters Group Forum: Photography in the BWCA
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mapsguy1955
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05/19/2017 07:08AM  
Has anyone here used or currently uses this bridge camera? I just purchased one and plan on bringing it to Quetico this summer and would love some tips! It seems to be taking decent shots.
 
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KerryG
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05/19/2017 09:44AM  
It should be a decent camera. I had a Lumix Fz 200 for a couple of seasons and it was excellent for a bridge camera. Obviously it depends on the kind of photographs you plan to take. For snapshots the FC 70 should work very well. The thing you'll need to be aware of is using the zoom. I believe the camera is 2.8 - 5.6, which means the further you zoom out the smaller the aperture opening becomes. What that means is that if you plan to zoom be sure you have good light. Under low light conditions you won't get very good results - prior to sunrise, dusk, in a forest setting and so on.
 
jeroldharter
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05/20/2017 08:32PM  
Take a small tripod. The best shots are at sunrise and sunset. If you don't use a tripod, you will get blurry shots or else have to crank up the ISO and get noisy/grainy shots.

Don't use auto-ISO. Set ISO to 100 and use a tripod when necessary. If you don't have a tripod, just get a little Joby with a ballhead and it will suffice.
 
mapsguy1955
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05/24/2017 09:33AM  
I'm finding that the anti-shake on the zoom is much better than I had anticipated. Even hand held I'm getting some pretty decent shots. I bought a mini Manfrotto tripod which hasn't been used yet but am looking forward to trying out. Will try the set at 100! Thank you!
 
jeroldharter
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05/24/2017 10:22AM  
The shake reduction available nowadays is very good, but only to a certain extent. One your exposures are longer than 1/8 second depending on focal length, you will still get blurry shots. For sunrise and sunset shots, exposures can be several seconds.

Familiarize yourself with your camera's longest automatic exposure time, usually 30 seconds. If you are taking photos at night, you might exceed 30 seconds and have to use the bulb exposure mode, increase the ISO, or open the aperture. If you do take longer exposures, use a remote shutter release or use the auto timer feature on the shutter release, usually set to 2 seconds. That way, you push the shutter and the camera has 2 seconds for the vibrations to settle before tripping the shutter.
 
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