TZ10/ZS7 lens speed - too slow?

[vicp]

I see here that a good number of you use the Panasonic ZS7 for UW photos and videos (which look great, BTW). I just bought one and really like the camera for a point & shoot. I am about to invest in an Ikelite housing (Panasonic is out of stock at B&H - plus Ikelite is rated deeper and may be easier to service in the future), and if I do, I will get a second ZS7 since these housings are way more expensive than the cameras and do not typically fit the camera upgrades that come annually (the ZS10 and 8 are due in March).

My main concern, before I commit to a housing and another camera, is that the lens is fairly slow (F3.3-4.9) and limited in range. With the 12X zoom it makes for a great travel/pocket zoom, but is the f-stop range limiting underwater where there is less light?

Compared to F2.0 (Canon S95 and Panasonic LX5) or even F1.8 (Olympus XZ-1), F3.3 is faily slow. Is this fairly tolerable underwater or do you need to rely on a strobe to get decent results? For that matter, even with the faster lenses, do you still need a strobe (making the slower lens less of an issue)? I am used to snow skiing photography (did it for a living) where one uses high shutter speeds for action vs. high F-stops for depth of field. I don't have any experience in UW photography and don't plan on carrying a tripod underwater for low light!!

Thanks

 

[slowhands]

It is a much slower lens. That means to get reasonable exposures, you will have to set the ISO high, which can lead to noisy (grainy) images. Maybe the use of an external flash can compensate somewhat.

The Panasonic LX5 is vastly superior in having a faster F2.0 lens, and the ability to shoot RAW exposures which makes color correction easier. I'm not knocking the ZS7, it's a great camera for the money, but just not ideal for underwater. Unfortunately, housings for LX5 are scarce. I think only 10Bar and RecSea make the, and they run $730-1200.

If you wan the fast lens at a reasonable price, you can't beat the Canon S95 with Canon DC38 case. Total under $600. Killer setup.

 

[vicp]

Thanks for the reply. I did consider the Canon S95, but am partial to Panasonic (have several others), have already bought the ZS7, and did not like the fact that the S95 doesn't zoom in video.

My future camera equipment may include a dSLR or a micro 4/3, but I am not sure, being new to UW photography, that I want to deal with the bulk and expense of taking a dSLR underwater. If the point & shoot ZS7 works out, I will probably consider the LX5 or the Olympus XZ-1 and an upscale housing for my next effort. Both have relatively faster lenses and smaller zooms (I suspect that big zooms are not useful underwater?).

Right now I am trying to decide whether to wait to get the OEM housing for the ZS7 (much cheaper but on backorder) or the Ikelite, which is more expensive, but available.

 

[Calinectes]

Here's some of my work with a TZ7 and pany housing without an external strobe. You can judge for yourself.....

ScubaBoard Gallery - Fiji 2010

 

[froggie01]

Hi,

If you'd like to see more pics with the TZ10 you can check out the following thread. I only used the internal strobe and thought it was quite good with little backscatter even in poor visibility. Of course I have to get close!


http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/panasonic-planet/356254-question-housing-lumix-zs7.html