Got My Camera

Well yes I got my camera the Pany FZ18K, Quite a nice camera with lots of features and lots of manual controls, I unfortunately didnt receive it in time for my holiday and missed out on getting some really nice wildlife shots and had to use a crappy older cannon p&s in wich I took a picture of a bird and it was glowing blue wich sucked not mentioning the crap 4x zoom compared to 18x, so unfortunately I havent got any good shots to share with you's.

Ive just been playing around with it here and there but not being out and about with it I just have crappy indoor shots and just trying to work out best settings for what situations like exposure, aperture ect. Will be going to the Detroit motor show so should have another chance to take some nice pictures of cars while there.

All in all great camera only problem is that when I got it there was a foreign object in the lcd screen which really pisses me off :mad: I mean its a Jap built camera arent their factories clean and free of particles in the air? But that really doesnt affect the overall quality and features of the camera but still :mad2:

The controls are well laid out and the menus are good also, the lens cap stays on even with a slight tug and the mode dial is nice and chunky with good bumps in it for quick thumb control movement and grip.

At times it is hard to get the setings right but that because Im new to photography, I have also found that geting the histogram right for exposure is hard for some reason. I also have not had much luck using the macro feature and am wondering what things such as af/ae lock do and af/focus and af/mf the last one I really have no clue about.

Thats about all I can say for now. Hopefully Ive been comprehensive in mi mini reviwe/impresions. :)

Congratulations on the new camera! Your mini review is very good! When you've had it a bit longer please make sure to post a complete review in our users reviews.

Don't try too hard to learn it all at once. Keep it simple. The Program mode is usually a good place to start because it will automatically set the exposure and still let you change the aperture and shutter speed. For help with the histogram, check the Histogram Guide in the Learn section. And don't hesitate to ask questions.

Congrats on your purchase. I bought the Panasonic DMC-FZ7 quite some time ago, and really like it. Read your manual and then reread it with the camera on your lap, for reference. Also, take the manual along with you when you go take pictures. There is a lot to learn. Enjoy and be sure to post pictures.