Computer compatability

[Ginger]

The Panasonic models FZ3 through 20 state that they will work with Macintosh OS9-OS10 (Classic mode). Now does this mean that if I have the new iMac-5 10.3 without Classic, I cannot use these cameras?

[John_Reed]

The Panasonic models FZ3 through 20 state that they will work with Macintosh OS9-OS10 (Classic mode). Now does this mean that if I have the new iMac-5 10.3 without Classic, I cannot use these cameras?It most certainly does not, Madame! I use no Classic at all, system 10.3.8, iPhoto5 is a sweet little photo program that comes with iLife5. Put your fears to rest.

[gary_hendricks]

The Panasonic models FZ3 through 20 state that they will work with Macintosh OS9-OS10 (Classic mode). Now does this mean that if I have the new iMac-5 10.3 without Classic, I cannot use these cameras?

No way - the new iMac will supprt the FZ series.

[eastcoastjoe]

Actually there's nothing to support; the FZ20 is just a USB device to any USB equipped computer. The jpeg & tiff files that the FZ writes (like any digital camera) are simply files.

You may be referring to the software that is included with the camera; in which case it doesn't really matter because most software available to work with images will be much better. The ARCSoft stuff included with the Panasonics is OK but as John Reed said, iPhoto is "sweet." You may also consider Photoshop (the grand daddy; lots of abilities but a high learning curve), Graphic Converter (a scaled down but amazingly capable shareware PS competitor) or Photoshop Elements (has most of the features of the full blown PS with some extar features to help new users). PS, PSE & GC all have nice browsers that you can use to organize your pics and great printing facilities. GC will even print a folder; this means if you want to treat your SD card like a roll of film, you can simply copy today's pics to one folder, open up GC and use the "print folder" command to get everything printed in one shot. You can, of course, do all of the fiddling you want, stick all of the shots you want into one folder and then print; but if you just want to print a "roll of film," the above mentioned works great and gives you orgainization by default.

One word of warning though: ALWAYS (did I say always? I meant ALWAYS! ALWAYS! ALWAYS!) work on a copy of your original file and ALWAYS save the changes as a .PSD or .TIF. Any time you save as a jpeg you will add further compression and degrade the image; every save adds compression in this format and you will see degradation after a save or two. On the other hand, while large, .PSD and .TIF files are "lossless" even when using LZW compression on a .TIF. Make lots of backups of both your originals and subsequent variations. Hey, CDs are cheap, what's a moment in time worth?

iPhoto is great but does its work in JPEG mode so it is imperative that you have copies of your originals. iPhoto BTW gets an A++ for red eye removal. I use PS 99% of the time but the red eye tool in iPhoto beats everything out there in terms of accuracy and ease of use.

Of course, as a Mac user you won't want to be without GraphicConverter. It is a truely amazing tool and its browser surpasses that of PS.

So it all adss up to you having two of the best tools with which to make outstanding digital photos easily. Enjoy your toys & have tons of fun. Let us know how it all works out for you.

[John_Reed]

...whenever you edit a photo in iPhoto, it archives the original, so you're always working on a copy, although the original is still stored on your disk, at least it's preserved. I really like the picture adjustment tools that come with iPhoto5 a lot. I don't go to Photoshop nearly as often as I used to. It lets you level horizons quickly and easily, increase or decrease exposure, increase or decrease color temperature, all in a very quick, intuitive way. And the redeye fixer is amazingly effective and easy to use - you just point at the ruby-colored iris, and ZAP!, it turns black. Nicely done!

And as for the ArcSoft software that comes with your camera, I highly recommend Panorama Maker 3. I've made several "stitch-free" panoramas with it, automatically done from hand-held scenery sweeps. Very nice product. I haven't used any of the other ArcSoft programs.