Accessories for FZ7?

[Kellie]

I have some Christmas money burning a whole in my pocket, so of course I want to spend it on accessories for my camera. But, I'm not sure what I should get. I see the available accessories in the review and would eventually like both the wide-angle and telephoto lenses, but those are a little more than I want to spend right now. So, I'm thinking about the ND filter since I can use it with the supplied lens hood adapter. Do I have to buy Panasonic's filter or is there a generic brand that would work?

Are there other accessories I should consider? Can I get less expensive brands of wide-angle and telephoto lenses that will work?

[genece]

You are missing what a ND does.....basicly it just blocks light.....Makes it very useful for giving flowing water the Silky/ milky looking effect, by allowing a longer shutterspeed.
It will achieve a smaller aperture not a larger one....A ND4 allows 2 stops smaller and a ND 8--- 3 stops.

The only way I know of to get a pleasing bokeh(with the FZs) is to use the largest aperture possible (F2.8 to 3.3) plus the most zoom you can and have the most distance from the subject to the background as possible.
It is really nice if you can have twice the distance from the subject to the background as from the camera to the subject......

You do not need to purchase any accessories from Panasonic.......the prices are way too high.

A Tcon 17 will work fine as a Teleconverter
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=278672&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

And a Raynox dcr6600 is a fine WA.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=247051&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

[tuj28]

Actually I am in the same position as Kellie - looking for accessories for FZ7. I need a protective lens filter and went to a camera store where they recommended a Promaster digital multicoated filter for $29 rather than the uncoated glass ones that don't say "digital" and are less than half the price. Is it really necessary to go with the multicoated digital filters as opposed to a less expensive glass filter? And should I have bought a UV Haze filter as the protector instead of a clear filter? I also looked at circular polarizers but the "digital" and multicoated ones seem quite expensive; is there really a need for this, and is there really a difference between filter brands?

Thanks for any info you can give.
tuj28

[genece]

Well you do not need the filters marked digital....and you do need some coatings on the lens to guard against ghosting and Flaring.
I like Multi-coated lenses but there are a few here that claim as long as there are a couple coats ,thats enough.
And while I always use a UV filter...it is mostly because of availability, a UV filter does nothing but protect the lens on a digital camera.
Your clear filter is fine.

As to the Polarizer you only need a linear polarizer, ( you do not need a circular one for the FZ cameras) And mine is not multicoated but I am sure that MC would not hurt a thing.( but as you said to find a linear polarizer that is multicoated is expensive and not easy.)
Also while a circular polarizer does not seem to be quite as effective as a linear one , if its all you can find it will work.

And I am not familiar with the promaster line of filters, but I am sure they work fine. I have one expensive B&W filter and several Hoya filters( all of different prices) and a couple Sunpaks and I really notice no difference between them.

[tuj28]

Gene thank you so much for the help and for helping me save some money- I would have bought the wrong stuff and paid a lot for it.

Tuj28

[genece]

When in doubt ask here or another forum ...someone will be glad to help.

[Elisha82]

sorry for going off topic here....but since this is an FZ7 thread i should ask here....why is transfer speed so slow from camera to PC?
is there anything i need to set in the Software or on the camera?
my SD card is a 150x card so i'm sure its not the card. it pretty much takes 2 seconds or more per pic.

[genece]

The FZ cameras while USB2 are USB2 full speed which is in fact the same as USB1........If I could make one suggestion get yourself a card reader.....most any will do, a 10 dollar USB2 cardreader will do just fine.
The transfers will be much faster and you will avoid wear and tear on the camera, that will, in time make it necessary to get the reader at a later time anyway.
IMHO a card reader is a must have.