Archive for the ‘Gadgets’ Category

I have been wanting to upgrade my Panasonic FZ8 and the time has finally come. I just bought a Panasonic FZ40 from Amazon with super fast Prime shipping. Here are some pictures of the camera and as you can see, it is made in Japan (as most panasonic cameras are, except the low end models).

This camera is a capable camera for all kind of people, from casual to serious photographer (though there are some limitations for serious photography). It is not that compact but it is still smaller than normal SLR/DSLR. For myself, I can deal with it though it is a lot bigger and heavier than my Panasonic FZ8. The selling point of this camera is the zoom range, it covers from wide angle (25mm) to tele photo (600mm), based on 35mm film standard.

16:9 Sample Images (Click on the image for higher resolution – 1200×676):

4:3 Sample Images (Click on the image for higher resolution):

Click Here for sample HD video

Panasonic has added a very nice feature, a wheel button. In my FZ8, it really takes a long time to change shutter speed, focus, or/and aperture. Panasonic had done a great job designing the wheel button, it can be pressed to jump between aperture or shutter speed. I shoot most of my pictures in Manual mode, so this wheel button is an A++ feature.

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What I like about this camera:

• Great zoom range (25mm-600mm)
• HD video
• 14 Megapixels
• Power O.I.S (Optical Image stabilization)
• Fast focus
• Made In Japan
• Leica Lens

• Fast lens (f/2.8 @ 25mm)

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What I DON’T like about this camera:

• Lens protrudes too long at maximum zoom
• Minimum (or smallest) aperture is f/8
• Shutter speed is limited to 1/2000s
• iA (intelligent Auto) mode can only be saved as JPG
• New Panasonic RAW format (*.RW2)

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I was trying to test my Carl Zeiss Aus Jena Zebra 50mm f/2.8, it currently have aperture blade problem.
Here is the test Result:

Swirling wine

Master Chief Toy

I think the result is not bad at all, what do you think?

I have been using Streamlight since before they move on to LED realm and I love their products, especially the rechargeable ones. Streamlight is a solid flashlight and it’s made in the USA, but I’ve been hearing a lot of thumbs up regarding new chinese flashlights that are popping out in the market. I’m intrigued to check it out for myself.

From Left to Right: Streamlight DS LED HP, ThruNite Catapult, Fenix TK11 R2, Streamlight TLR-2.

Marketed MAX Lumens:

- Streamlight DS LED HP: 200 Lumens

- ThruNite Catapult: 900 Lumens

- Fenix TK11R2: 240 Lumens

- Streamlight TLR2: 135 Lumens

When tested, both streamlight have Smooth reflector and the other two have orange peel reflector. Streamlight DS LED HP is running on Streamlight Rechargable battery, ThruNite Catapult is running on 2xCR123A, Fenix TK11R2 is running on 2x CR123A, & Streamlight TLR2 is also running on 2xCR123A.

@ 1/200 s

@ 1/1600 s

@ 1/8000 s

It’s really hard to tell a difference, even @ 1/8000 s. I’d say the Catapult ThruNite is the winner here (in terms of brightness & fill).  All the flashlights are built solid and I can only say that the Chinese made are very nice. However, I do not know its reliability yet, so I am still using Streamlight as my primary flashlight.