If you are in standby it's no issue at all to flip the mode dial to P and shoot off a few stills and then go back to creative video mode. However I still prefer to use the FZ1000 ..At one wedding I was shooting stills, went into the reception and as the bridal party walked in I was still in stills mode !!

The next question is regarding Silent Mode and Audio. Selecting Silent Modeturns off all those annoying beeps, but also prevents audio recording. This will be appropriate for most of my wildlife filming. However, there will be times that I'll want to record audio while keeping all the other camera noises silent. I've found no option for this. I won't be buying an external mic since I expect to do little audio recording.

???? I have mine on silent mode when recording. Just tested it. Silent operation, manual video and sound is fine

???? I have mine on silent mode when recording. Just tested it. Silent operation, manual video and sound is fine

There's two different Silent options in the menu; Silent Mode under the Custom menu and Silent Operation under the Motion Picture menu.
When I turn on Silent Mode, audio doesn't record and shutter beep is muted.
Silent Operation doesn't affect audio recording.
Shutter beep can either be muted with Silent Mode on or when selecting Beep in the menu and turning it off. Beep can only be selected with Silent mode if off.
My solution is to mute the shutter Beep (selecting it the "Setup" menu) and leave Silent Mode On until I want to record audio.
I'll keep Silent Operation on too just so I don't forget to turn it on when I record audio.

I see DPReview have published a review of the FZ2500 and whilst they have commended the new features, they have highlighted the inherent weakness of such cameras, in that quality is dependant on the fixed lens. It seems that a longer zoom reach has come at a cost in image quality judging by the sample comparisons.

In fact the lens on the FZ1000 is by their own tests of a much superior quality in regards to corner to corner sharpness. I think for Video, the new features makes the FZ2500 a no brainer in upgrading from the FZ1000, but for Photography, I would be less inclined to use the FZ2500 over the FZ1000.

You can see the review here and make up your own minds, but its worth considering depending on how you intend to use the camera.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-fz2500-fz2000

I've had real problems today with focussing. Set on AFC it keeps losing focus when about 1 metre from the subject on W/A
and 4K. Yes I know manual is better, I had no time to change, but what AF system should I be using. The manual is totally confusing.

I've had real problems today with focussing. Set on AFC it keeps losing focus when about 1 metre from the subject on W/A
and 4K. Yes I know manual is better, I had no time to change, but what AF system should I be using. The manual is totally confusing.

Haven't used mine much yet with all the rain and cloudy days, but ironically, I watched (most of) this video this morning. He mentions that there's no real difference between AFS and AFC provided Continuous AF is set to "On" on the 3rd menu screen. I don't know how true that is.

Experimenting for Better Understanding Auto Focusing on Panasonic FZ2000 - YouTube .

Hey Mike

If you want to shoot where the AF assists but you control the focus the keep it on AFS or manual ..I never use anything else. If you are shooting fairly consistent stuff then keep continuous focus off .. I find the on a tripod continuous is off and it the subject moves I then use touch focus on the LCD to refocus. Other for fast action especially handheld keep it on AFS and keep continuous focus on in video mode. I run my FZ1000's the same way but, of course with no touch focus I just assign AE lock to focus. Using half press shutter to focus is OK when you start a clip but not good at all if you need to refocus while recording,,it's too easy to push the button past halfway and you stop the clip recording.

Thanks Larry and Chris, I'll keep playing. I was filming in bright sunshine ( it's Thailand after all) head and shoulders,I was still and the subject was hardly moving , very itrritating.

At weddings where the subject hardly move I always use AFS, continuous focus in the video menu off and focus mode use the custom square. Use the shutter button to initialise focus and start recording .. If the subjects do move just use the LCD touch focus to bring it back sharp. The square can be customised so I make it about the size of the person's head at the widest I will shoot ..that way the camera cannot focus on the background cos it's out of the square. Of course if you zoom in later it's even better. I only use 49 point if I'm handheld and moving the camera a lot and then keep continuous on! General rule if you are on a tripod is stick to AFS and the square with continuous off. The difference between AFS and AFC is AFC is supposed to follow focus so if the subject moves position it will follow AFS is still the best though!!

Thanks Chris, the problem was bright sunlight, run and gun following a festival, the girl for the head snd shoulder shot stopped for about 30 seconds to pose for still photographers so it was EVF, I couldn't use the screen. I'll follow your advice in future

Great Mike

For run 'n gun I just use AFS, continuous focus on and 49 point mode and haven't had a soft shot yet ...sheesh in bright sun it should have had a huge DOF unless you had some serious ND switched in. If I'm running around like an idiot I try and keep my clips short so each time I restart the camera gets a manual focus lock from the shutter depress but at weddings I go around tables getting interviews with the guests (like 15 sec ones) so I'm moving from person to person and never have an issue even in low light! I'll mess with the 2500 tomorrow and see if I can get it to lose focus !

I've ordered one of these from aliexpress. It claims that if you attach a 5V 2A battery ( the sort used to power phones) it will output 8.4V and with the dummy battery fool the FZ into thinking it's attached to the main supply. Just choose a suitable battery and it should all work. I'll let you know ( Chris, a friend of mine is making up your version, your insturctions are great he says) ( I'm not sure if the files are attaching)

Thanks Mike

According to specs the battery must have an onload voltage of 8.2v so it will be interesting to see how they manage to get a 5v spec battery to deliver over 8v ...if it drops below 7.2 the camera will reject it that's why I made mine using a 12v pack and then the voltage regulator to set it between 8.2 and 8.4

Do they also supply a charger with this one?

TheDC coupler provides 8.4-8.7 V output. It ends in a USB connection which is plugged into a powerbank
Images attached!!!!!

And another. If you want to use an XLR mic on the FZ you can quite cheaply.
The photo shows an XLR mic in a suspension sytem attached to an iRig Pre and then a Rode LC3 TRRS to TRS adaptor.
The iRig has a gain control and 48V phantom power.
This should mean that you can run an XLR cable some distance and still connect to the FZ. It's cheap, the iRig is around £40, the LC3 about £6 and the rest is up to you. The preamp in the iRig seems OK but I m no expert, but listening to the sound on my Mac it sounds great

Thanks Mike

Ok I see what they are doing ..so taking the 5v from any powerbank unit boosting it to 8.7 and sending that into the DC coupler ....I assume you have ordered it? If so, let me know how it works??

The Phantom unit is neat too ..I have a Saramonic AX107 XLR adapter under my main camera which gives me dual channel, audio peaking, mic or line inputs and of course phantom power too.

I've used this on a couple of weddings but not overly impressed, it just seems slower to respond than the 1000, there's no auto focus on the variable frame rate and the video button seems ever harder to press (I hate the video button on all the panasonics.

I do like the sloe zoom, I think that will come in handy but I'm really struggling to get a usable dolly zoom.

not sure at this stage if I'll keep it or go back to the 1000

Hi Paul

I've done 3 weddings so far and the camera behaved very well ...the slow zoom is awesome ! This camera is made in Panasonic's China factory and yes, I agree about the buttons ..the power lever is nowhere as smooth as the FZ1000 and the shutter button (I don't use the video button) doesn't have the same feel as my FZ1000's ....there doesn't seem to be as much travel in the shutter button either ...My couple moved back a bit so I half pressed the shutter to grab focus and the video stopped ...I'll assign the focus to the AE button now but I still like the FZ2500 ....the touch focus is great ... I have a Live Stream encoder sitting on the hotshoe so it's easier to use the touch screen focus... that is a definate plus!!

I would suspect that the external buttons/switches have been sourced locally and don't come from Japan!

The FZ1000 hi speed video mode has neither focus nor exposure once you start recording so I suspected that variable frame rate would also be lacking in that so I don't use it. Dolly focus (if you read the manual) requires you to still track the camera forwards or backwards while you are dolly zooming to keep the subject the same size so especially at weddings that would be hard to do on the spur of the moment! Did you check if VFR has exposure control or not or is it just AF?? The Fz1000 at100fps has neither try a VFR shoot and move from dark to light and see if the camera corrects the exposure?

there doesn't seem to be as much travel in the shutter button either ...My couple moved back a bit so I half pressed the shutter to grab focus and the video stopped ...

It looks like the G80 inherited that shutterbutton from the fz2500, I took my g80 with me on a short holiday to put it through it's paces and can't even remember how many times I stopped recording instead of refocusing during recording, a problem I never had with my gh4,

Glad it isn't just my camera then Noa! Does the G80 have touch screen focus? I don't have an issue handheld as I'm doing mainly short clips but on the tripod with all the gear in the way it's difficult to touch the button softly so I have taken to using the LCD to grab focus if I need the camera to shift focus.

Yes it has touch screen focus but I need that shutterbutton to function correctly because I do a lot run and gun handheld with my eye pressed against the viewfinder, it is possible to refocus using that button but you need to press it very gently. I"m only not that confident using it because I don't want the camera to stop recording during a critical moment.

Yeah me too .. I wonder if you can reassign another button to focus that would be easy to find with your finger when the camera is up against your eye? I'll have to look ..trouble is I'm (probably you too) quite used to using the shutter button with the FZ1000 that I instinctively go to it!! Guess we have to learn to be gentle on the button?

On the g80 you can reassign it to another button but it hunts more while it attempts to lock focus, looks like I "m stuck using the shutterbutton.

TheDC coupler provides 8.4-8.7 V output. It ends in a USB connection which is plugged into a powerbank
Images attached!!!!!
Well the adaptor finally arrived from Aliexpress. Unfortunately the powerbank I bought ,although claiming to be 2.1 amp. does not provide enough current, the lens tries to open and fails. But plugging the USB into the ouptut on a USB hub attached to my iMac and yippee! it works. The trick seems to be to find a powerbank with enough current. I'll keep trying

Hi Mike

It still seems a back to front way to go to achieve an 8.4 volt output ... so it uses a 5 volt supply (USB) and then the adaptor inverts it up to 8,4 ... I've always used a 12v CCTV battery pack (cheap as chips) even for a 10,000 mah pack and drop a tiny voltage regulator chip onto the pack (3 components only) and adjust the 12.6v nominal down to 8.4v ...even if the battery pack drops down to 10.00v as it discharges you STILL can get 8.4v ....

Just for interest what is the minimum voltage threshold your adapter will accept as an input before it cannot lift the voltage to 8.4 any more ... There must be a minimum from the power bank before it falls over. Remember your Mac hub is running from the computer's PSU so it will always supply 5 volts unlike a portable power bank which will eventually go flat in the field ... I'd rather have too much voltage and be able to drop it down than have too little input voltage.

Just ordered this one to use with my FZ2500.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G1XH46M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hi Mike

It still seems a back to front way to go to achieve an 8.4 volt output ... so it uses a 5 volt supply (USB) and then the adaptor inverts it up to 8,4 ... I've always used a 12v CCTV battery pack (cheap as chips) even for a 10,000 mah pack and drop a tiny voltage regulator chip onto the pack (3 components only) and adjust the 12.6v nominal down to 8.4v ...even if the battery pack drops down to 10.00v as it discharges you STILL can get 8.4v ....

Just for interest what is the minimum voltage threshold your adapter will accept as an input before it cannot lift the voltage to 8.4 any more ... There must be a minimum from the power bank before it falls over. Remember your Mac hub is running from the computer's PSU so it will always supply 5 volts unlike a portable power bank which will eventually go flat in the field ... I'd rather have too much voltage and be able to drop it down than have too little input voltage.

Sorry Chris I have no way of knowing, I'm not that skilled in electronics. I've ordered the battery pack recommended by Frank. No one will post it to Thailand so I have to get it sent to my son then he'll post it on.

No issue ..tell me how it works though and whether it will run the camera on something like a dance recital that runs for maybe 2 hours non stop?

Try your camera not in STD mode but also in Portrait mode and push the sharpen slider to +5 and the Noise slider to -5 ....makes a huge difference to your image and video too!!

Well it looks I've come to a halt,at least for now. Since January it has become impossible to ship lithium batteries by air, no one will do it, so my battery pack is sitting in the UK and I'm in Thailand. It seems you can ship lithium batteries if they are inside a camera for example but not separately. Makes no sense to me and of course people carry them on aircraft all the time.

Hi Mike

That's a bummer! I was under the impression that they could be sent if they were packed correctly so they cannot short or be damaged. You now need to find someone flying from the UK to Thailand that can take them for you as carry on luggage? Maybe advertise and offer someone a nice dinner once you get the pack.

Is it only Thailand that's the issue or all countries??? You could put an ad on Helping Hands on this forum and hope someone is doing the UK>Thailand trip soon.

It's all countries, IATA rules from 1.1.17. I tried to get a battery from China, no luck so I've no idea how commercial enterprises will get their stocks. There must be some way to send them by air but I can't find it I'm asking around in the UK

Hey Mike

I guess they buy enough stock to warrant a container so it comes by sea. That's a bad situation if you need to buy batteries. So one assumes it can only be the battery that fits in the device ? That's stupid ..previously you could ship lithiums as long as they were individually packaged and there was no chance of them short circuiting but I guess that's out the window now!! Hope you find a speedy solution!!

Does it also apply to LiPo? The Lithium Polymer batteries are much safer (and lighter and don't discharge over time).

Just ordered this one to use with my FZ2500.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G1XH46M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I haven't been following the thread much. Battery consumption by the FZ2500 is certainly rapid. I bought two extra ones just to be safe. I don't record many minutes during a day afield, but I do manage to go through a couple of batteries.

Frank, I've never used one of those portable chargers. Can the fz2500 charger be plugged directly into that device to charge its battery out of the camera.

To clarify, you can carry Lithium batteries as hand luggage but not in hold luggage. They can be separate but must be protected from shorting out.
It seems you can't ship separate batteries by air ( i.e. buy or sell)

So how does the portable charger connect with the FZ2000 and how long does it take to recharge a battery?
Not much use to me if I can't use the camera while recharging takes place.


Ron

Before spreading too much FUD about batteries, check this link...

https://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/dgr/Documents/lithium-battery-guidance-document-2017-en.pdf

Along about page 12-13, it covers "consumer" type devices and batteries.


IF batteries are not overly high capacity and are packed properly, they should be shippable. At one point I checked the Wh limits, and the typical consumer grade battery (phone, camera, laptop, etc...) does not even come close to being "regulated". One should still observe reasonable packaging techniques to prevent any trouble, but that isn't THAT difficult.

That said, of course there are potential issues even with small consumer grade batteries, as Samsung discovered....

Hi Dave

Over here the rating of the battery is only an issue with carryon luggage ..in other words you can carrry on multiple batteries below a special capacity ...that, of course doesn't help Mike who is trying to ship a battery pack from the UK ...That's a power bank so it might even exceed the carry on capacity too so it's worth checking.

Ronald ? You need a DC coupler for the camera which is essentially a dummy battery which can then connect to a mains adapter OR another power source as long as it has around 8.2v available.

I shot a wedding yesterday with the 2500 and had 2 bars left in the evening ... Both my FZ1000's and FZ2500 normally allow me to do a wedding and I would only need a battery change in the mid evening....also I normally change when it hits 1 bar so I don't have a battery failure whilst the brides father is doing a heartfelt speech ....running non stop your battery should last at least an hour or more

Whatever the US may say, it's not possible to ship a powerpack by air from the Uk by any commmon carrier- DHL/FedeX etc. Mine is now sitting in a 'DONOT FLY' post office in Ireland.
Carrying them with you is a completely different matter

Understood Mike but I was mentioning that you can carry on batteries ONLY if they are below a stipulated wattage so make sure you find out what the limit is before recruiting someone to bring it by air as carry on. I have a feeling the big power banks might exceed the limit so finding someone then would be a fruitless exercise!! The problem (provided it is allowed) is finding an irishman travelling to Thailand .. we have a friend going to Ireland in May BUT sadly back to Australia not Thailand.

Can you get your money back from Amazon ?? surely they should know shipping rules and should have declined your order if it was going to be impounded!!

Unkiely, I got it sent to my son in the UK ,he then posted it on, Amazon would not post it to me. I was trying to get around the restrictions. I've now found a RAV powerpack sold in Malaysia and it's on it's way to me (overland!!!!). I'll keep you updated

Understood Mike but I was mentioning that you can carry on batteries ONLY if they are below a stipulated wattage so make sure you find out what the limit is before recruiting someone to bring it by air as carry on. I have a feeling the big power banks might exceed the limit so finding someone then would be a fruitless exercise!! The problem (provided it is allowed) is finding an irishman travelling to Thailand .. we have a friend going to Ireland in May BUT sadly back to Australia not Thailand.

Can you get your money back from Amazon ?? surely they should know shipping rules and should have declined your order if it was going to be impounded!!

Thanks Chris, I will be in Perth in May, but I think I've found an answer. Thanks for the offer.

TheDC coupler provides 8.4-8.7 V output. It ends in a USB connection which is plugged into a powerbank
Images attached!!!!!
You may recall I got this but small powerbanks just won't work. I tried to order a RAV that Frank suggested but it's no longer allowed to air post them.
I finally found one in Malaysia and it got sent to Thailand. It's a RAVPower Turbo+ 20100mAh (Type-C+QC3.0) Powerbank . It works, I don't know yet how long for, I've only just got it and am charging it and will then run a duration test. You can see it in the photos ( please excuse the mess, it's taking hours to update my wife's laptop). It's more expensive than Frank's one but I'm hopeful and it's the only one we people in Thailand seem to be allowed to buy :)
I'm sure the one that Frank suggested https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 will work fine too it is cheaper and simpler than the one I had to buy. Thanks Frank for putting me onto this line of powerpacks.


I ran the FZ2500 in AVCHD 28MBPS. After 4 hours only one of the four 'battery level' indicators had gone out. It looks like it will last a very long time I did not switch on/off nor zoom but it really gives an extended battery life, is well made and portable. I think this is an answer for those of us who can't use a soldering iron

That works very well it seems Mike! That's a brute of a battery too so obviously one does need a substantial power bank for it to work! Would you require anything longer than 4 hours for your purposes?

I would think that most long events would give participants adequate breaks anyway but that power bank certainly seems plenty for your needs.

Chris, I think it's more than adequate. Plays sometimes run for 1 1/2 hours or more so battery changes are possible, but this gives a lot of confidence that it won't fail minutes before the climatic conclusion

I've been using Toshiba SD 128Gb card recently, they are cheaper than Transcend or Sandisk. It works fine with 4K, but I thought I'd test the speed of the card against Transcend 128 GB card using the Black Magic disk speed test.

Result Toshiba read 28 MB/s write 75 MB/s
Transcend read 50MB/s write 86MB/s

So the Transcend card is faster, but in practice it seems to make no difference. I could not test a Sandisc card as I do not have one, Transcend is my usual card

Hi Mike

Mine too ..I just have a bunch of the U3 Transcend 64GB cards and no problems so far in 2017 Beacuse we do weddings I don't mind paying a few dollars extra for peace of mind and over the past 3 years with both of our FZ1000's and the FZ2500 we never have had a card issue

I’ve been trying for some time now to get the best monopod/head combination. I settled a while back on the Sirui 224S carbon fibre monopod. ( there is an aluminium version which is only slightly heavier and cheaper , but it was not available). This is just the best monopod ever. The links below show it well; superb design and manufacture and so well thought out. But finding the right video head was more difficult. I have a Manfrotto 501AH head which I like but it would not fit in the monopod case. I bought a Benro S4 but there is little drag resistance either in tilt or pan. I finally came across the Sirui VH10 head., fixed pan drag which is a little tighter the 501AH and variable tilt drag. The arm extends to allow delicate control over pan and tilt.
I’ve had the combination fora couple of days now and I reckon this combination can’t be beaten for small camcorders ( X70works fine), MFT and DSLRs

Links to videos below
Monopod https://youtu.be/BU55vv0LwpA
Monopod comparison https://youtu.be/jvf-UuCdeYg

Sirui VH-10 head review https://youtu.be/qQZZ5jpMwqc

What do you guys think?