filters.......NZ

[Moira]

Hi,a cry for help again :-)
Ive read as many posts on filters for the Z20 as I could and went shopping with a vague idea of what I wanted. The stores that sell Panasonic don't sell lenses and the camera shops that sell lenses ,don't sell Panasonic and know nothing about them . It appears they order them in and I didn't have a set idea of what I needed. I only want a filter for protection,I won't be adding special lenses to the camera.
Could some kind person look at the lenses/filters available here and tell me what I need please ? Ive dealt with this firm before.The local shop stocked some Marumi filters and could order in for me.
Brands are Hoya, Cokin,Sigma, Heliopan

http://www.photo.co.nz/newprods/newprods.htm

Do I need an adapter ring and will a filter :confused: bulk up my camera further ?
Cheers
Moira NZ

[nooner]

You could use the stock adapter and get a 72mm Hoya filter from that site. Phayee adapters are great and allow more protection and use smaller filters. anyway you can start with Panasonic 72mm adapter that came with the camera. :cool:

[Moira]

Nooner,I can understand that and might be able to find one locally. I'm annoyed the site seems to have collapsed though...maybe tomorrow :)
Thanks so much
Moira

[Grog]

I bought the Panasonic DMW-LMC72 UV Filter comes with lens cover but it only fits the adaptor hood. Sense I cann't use the hood while shooting flash I wanted to put a UV filter on the lens itself but have no ideal what size it is. It says 72 MM on the front of the lens but I now know that means the adaptor not the lens. If anyone knows the size let me know.

[genece]

If you want to put a filter on the lens you need something like this. As there are no threads on the lens itself

http://www.nextphoto.net/FZ20.htm

At any rate you should consider an adapter of some sort.

[Grog]

I don't mind using an adaptor but they get in the way when doing flash. I want to put a UV filter on the lens itself when shooting indoors. Way there or no threads on the lens doesn't make any sense. I like the camera but would of liked TTL flash and now I see it needs threads for a UV lens on the main lens.

[behr655]

I picked up my 72mm UV and Circular Polorized filteres at Ritz Camera. I also got a 72mm lens cap and tether there.

Steve

[genece]

I don't mind using an adaptor but they get in the way when doing flash. I want to put a UV filter on the lens itself when shooting indoors. Way there or no threads on the lens doesn't make any sense. I like the camera but would of liked TTL flash and now I see it needs threads for a UV lens on the main lens.


Do not be too hard on Panasonic over no threads on the lens as they do not want you to hang any extra weight on the lens.
That Nextphoto adapter will snap on and allow you to add a filter but if you tried to add a teleconverter lens the adapter would unsnap.
It is pretty safe as they have been making them for Nikons for quite a while.

As far as adapters if you were to use the Raynox adapter it only adds about 1/4 inch to the camera and would allow you to add add on lenses if you wish but if you only want to add filters get the Nextphoto adapter. You will save the price of it when you buy your first filter.

[Grog]

I am taking a photo course at a local school and tonight I showed the woman who is teaching it the adaptor and filter lens that is made for the FZ20. She said, "You don't want that on your camera it makes the filter lens to far away from the front of the lens and will effect your pictures". So I'm sending the 72 MM filter lens back to Panasonic for a refund.
The more I learn about digital the more I begaining to dislike it and am also thinking of selling my camera and going back to 35 MM film (Glad I didn't sell my film cameras). The digital cameras of today or using a sensers that is smaller than the 35 MM formate which is about 1 inch by 1 1/2 inch. IF a 35 mm lens with 72 mm focal length is the same as a 432 MM 35 MM lens than the senser must be very small. About the same size as the old 110 cameras. No wonder the digital picture have noise above ISO 400 as the picture is being inlarged in the camera you got the same effect when you enlarged 110 pictures.

[24Peter]

Grog - your assessment on the effect of the size of the sensor on the FZ20 (and many other digital cameras) is accurate. This issue has been discussed before on this forum and extensively elsewhere. It is one of the current tradeoffs of shooting digital in general and with the FZ20 in particular. (There are many benefits to both as well.) In the case of the FZ20, for me the tradeoff is worth it. Yes the images tend to be very noisy. I find I use heavy noise reduction in my photo software on almost every picture. But after applying the noise reduction I find I get very good images. (I often sharpen my images a little after applying noise reduction.) It is also worth noting that many of today's DSLR's can shoot as high as ISO 1600 with reasonable levels of noise in the image, mainly because their sensors are larger than the one on the FZ20.

The digital magnification issue is also a concern esp. on shots that require a wide angle. Until CCD's/CMOS chips/sensors with the same size as the 35mm film format can be made cost effectively, digital will suffer in this regard. (As you may know there are digital cameras with sensors equal in size to 35mm - Canon, Nikon and others make them - but they are very expensive.) So while your points are well taken, for me the benefits of shooting digital outweigh the problems.

[Curious George]

Do I need an adapter ring and will a filter :confused: bulk up my camera further ?
Cheers
Moira NZ

Hi Moira, no you don't need another adapter, just the 72mm UV filter from the shop you linked.
But if you wanted to reduce the filter/lens distance, an adapter like the pemaraal one here (http://www.pemaraal.com/index.html)
also explained here (http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/) .

I have a pemaraal derlin one, which uses 62mm filters, and it works well for me.
If I were to buy it again, I would probably go with the alloy, but it probably doesn't matter.

But do get something!

[Grog]

If you want to put a filter on the lens you need something like this. As there are no threads on the lens itself

http://www.nextphoto.net/FZ20.htm

At any rate you should consider an adapter of some sort.
I ordered the adaptor today so will be able to put a UV filter on the lense plus a 55 mm lense cap as you never know when you might need another one.

[Grog]

Well I got the Nextphoto adapter and a 55 MM UV filter today but am not very impressed with it. By the time you snap the Nextphoto adapter on add a 55 MM UV filter and the lens cap the whole works sticking over 1/4 inch past the lens barrel. This makes it possible to jam the end of the lens even while the camera is turned off. If there had been threads in the lens this would not be a problem. I am getting more and more disapointed in the design of some things on this camera. I also don't like the aperture and shutter settings disapearing until I press exposure button again while in manual mode. They should stay on in the display unstand of timing out.