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Gear / Technical Help => Photo / Video Recording => Topic started by: guitard on March 01, 2019, 10:17:07 AM

Title: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on March 01, 2019, 10:17:07 AM
Anyone have this?

The reviews say it's a fairly big upgrade over the ZS100 - to include the ability to 4K clips for up to 45 mins (and Full HD clips for 50 mins), and bit rates top out at 100 Mbps.

One of the reviews listed some video samples, and I noticed the clip suffered the same focus issue that I had when I owned my last Panasonic Lumix cam, which is that it briefly goes out of focus when you zoom in/out.  You can see that in this clip at around the ten second mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPbj8dkg0dE

I really want a point-and-shoot that can film in 4K.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: sckofelng on March 01, 2019, 03:37:30 PM
I've had this cam for 10 months now. Amazing camera, but worse quality in very low light than the ZS100. Still an amazing upgrade as the zoom has been increased alot. Still sucks that Panasonic crops more in 4k, but at least that gives more zoom and therefore makes the I. Zoom mostly obsolete.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on March 02, 2019, 09:48:39 PM
I've read conflicting reports about the recording length in 4K.  Some say it's 15 minutes, but others say it's longer.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Datfly on March 03, 2019, 12:31:53 AM
I've read conflicting reports about the recording length in 4K.  Some say it's 15 minutes, but others say it's longer.

The ZS200 is not as good in low light as the ZS100.
There is a very easy hack to get unlimited video from the ZS100. Shoot until the battery dies.
I have hundreds of hours of 90+ minutes single files. It has never overheated or caused an issue.
The only concern now is the less than 2 hour battery life.

Just about every video here for the past 2 years is with Multiple ZS100's - https://www.youtube.com/user/datflys
In the past 6 months I also used GoPro 5 a few times & now use DJI Pocket Osmo for stage use.
It's freaking amazing.  It's small & compact & tracks the performer. - Sample - https://youtu.be/jn3mlQBbU-Y?t=168 (https://youtu.be/jn3mlQBbU-Y?t=168)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on March 03, 2019, 12:42:39 PM
I also used GoPro 5 a few times & now use DJI Pocket Osmo for stage use.
It's freaking amazing.  It's small & compact & tracks the performer. - Sample - https://youtu.be/jn3mlQBbU-Y?t=168 (https://youtu.be/jn3mlQBbU-Y?t=168)

Is that the Osmo on a stand next to the stage monitor that's about knee high with Tab?  I assume you go into pro mode and adjust your settings.  What settings did you use (in particular I'm curious about exposure)?  Is any of this footage shot with the ZS100?  Does the ZS100 have any issues with "searching" for a split second and going out of focus when you zoom in or out?  And is the video hack good for unlimited 4K? 
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Datfly on March 03, 2019, 01:54:28 PM
I also used GoPro 5 a few times & now use DJI Pocket Osmo for stage use.
It's freaking amazing.  It's small & compact & tracks the performer. - Sample - https://youtu.be/jn3mlQBbU-Y?t=168 (https://youtu.be/jn3mlQBbU-Y?t=168)

Is that the Osmo on a stand next to the stage monitor that's about knee high with Tab?  I assume you go into pro mode and adjust your settings.  What settings did you use (in particular I'm curious about exposure)?  Is any of this footage shot with the ZS100?  Does the ZS100 have any issues with "searching" for a split second and going out of focus when you zoom in or out?  And is the video hack good for unlimited 4K?

That is the osmo on the stand. Yes, Pro Mode.
This footage is shot with 3 ZS100's - 1 Osmo & A Sony 4K (not mine) mounted on a pole.
I set the Osmo ISO at 200 & adjust SS for exposure.

My only issue is trying to get the color to match the ZS100's - The osmo has more natural color capture & the ZS100's colors are more saturated.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on March 03, 2019, 02:42:17 PM
This footage is shot with 3 ZS100's

I see you're filming in 4K.  So what about the recording limit hack for the ZS100 - are all your ZS100 clips limited to 15 minutes, or were you able to hack the cams to film longer clips in 4K?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Datfly on March 03, 2019, 03:35:13 PM
This footage is shot with 3 ZS100's

I see you're filming in 4K.  So what about the recording limit hack for the ZS100 - are all your ZS100 clips limited to 15 minutes, or were you able to hack the cams to film longer clips in 4K?
A super easy "push a few buttons" hack will give you until your card runs out or your battery dies for the ZS100 all in 4K - One big 70+ GB file.

This basically the hack. I can PM you the fine tuned version for the ZS100
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxmVDdU1xf0
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on March 03, 2019, 03:44:22 PM
This footage is shot with 3 ZS100's

I see you're filming in 4K.  So what about the recording limit hack for the ZS100 - are all your ZS100 clips limited to 15 minutes, or were you able to hack the cams to film longer clips in 4K?
A super easy "push a few buttons" hack will give you until your card runs out or your battery dies for the ZS100 all in 4K - One big 70+ GB file.

This basically the hack. I can PM you the fine tuned version for the ZS100
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxmVDdU1xf0

PM with the fine tuned hack would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: magmazing on March 07, 2019, 04:52:25 AM
I would also welcome a PM with the hack. There's been a few times shooting video of a concert where a band plays an extended medley I reach 13 minutes and start muttering to myself, "Please end the song. Please end the song.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Chrisedge on March 08, 2019, 08:08:05 PM
I just bought one (ZS100)...got that hack, but any other tips?

I put into 4K 30P
Need to figure out best exposure setting and any other settings...

Concert tomorrow
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Datfly on March 09, 2019, 01:35:58 AM
I just bought one (ZS100)...got that hack, but any other tips?

I put into 4K 30P
Need to figure out best exposure setting and any other settings...

Concert tomorrow

Below are a few of my settings.
Doing this allows you to set a custom function that has exposure control just below your right thumb...super easy quick access and you can adjust it while filming.
The other allows you to have ISO setting right below your thumb as well. All the control you need right there at your thumb tip....

Wrench/C Menu:

Screen 1: Silent mode > on
Screen 2: No Change
Screen 3: Direct focus area > on
Screen 4: Gridline > on
Screen 5: Highlight > on
     zebra pattern > on
Screen 6: No Change
Screen 7: FN Button Set >
     Settings in Record Mode >
     F1 Button (Exposure compensation: on screen #12)
     F2 Button  ISO (On Screen #5)
Screen 8: Eye sensor > LVF/Monitor switch > Monitor
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: robeti on March 09, 2019, 05:36:24 AM
Interesting topic. Checking in to follow
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on March 09, 2019, 05:46:35 AM
has exposure control just below your right thumb...super easy quick access and you can adjust it while filming.

Wow!  Never heard of being able to make changes on the fly with a point-and-shoot.  This is great news.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Datfly on March 09, 2019, 09:55:15 AM
has exposure control just below your right thumb...super easy quick access and you can adjust it while filming.

Wow!  Never heard of being able to make changes on the fly with a point-and-shoot.  This is great news.

Yes, but only while in 4K mode.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Chrisedge on March 09, 2019, 10:57:26 AM
Set those for tonight.

Does it always give you the warning triangle when you turn it off?
Since the aperture changes as you zoom does that effect exposure?
No stabilizer at 4K? (True?)
How long should I expect ONE battery to last (No way to get a minutes left on battery on screen?)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Datfly on March 09, 2019, 11:11:56 AM
Set those for tonight.

Does it always give you the warning triangle when you turn it off?
Since the aperture changes as you zoom does that effect exposure?
No stabilizer at 4K? (True?)
How long should I expect ONE battery to last (No way to get a minutes left on battery on screen?)

Yes, you always get the triangle.
It  does effect  the exposure slightly. The exposure button under your thumb fixes that instantly if needed.
No stabilizer in 4K sadly.
90 min - maybe a bit more depending on zooming etc...
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Chrisedge on March 09, 2019, 11:15:30 AM
Thanks! This may be the one to FINALLY replace my HX9V...lol

I am bummed about no stabilizer but we will see tonight.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Datfly on March 09, 2019, 11:29:55 AM
Put you mic setting on high wind...helps with cleaner audio for loud shows.
Here's my complete set up. Scroll through & pick & choose what you like.
If you have any other suggestion I might have missed in set up lmk!

ZS100 Camera Settings:


SET TOP DIAL ON CAMERA TO THE VIDEO CAMERA ICON/M mode:

Video Camera Icon Menu:

screen 1: Record format > MP4 for PC or Other for MAC
Screen 2: Record quality > 4k/30 p
     AF mode > facial recognition
Screen 3: AFF
     Continue AF > on
Screen 4: No change
Screen 5: Silent operation > on
     Wind noise canceller > high
   

Wrench/C Menu:

Screen 1: Silent mode > on
Screen 2: No Change
Screen 3: Direct focus area > on
Screen 4: Gridline > on
Screen 5: Highlight > on
     zebra pattern > on
Screen 6: No Change
Screen 7: FN Button Set >
     Settings in Record Mode >
     F1 Button (Exposure compensation: on screen #12)
     F2 Button  ISO (On Screen #5)
Screen 8: Eye sensor > LVF/Monitor switch > Monitor



PUT TOP DIAL ON CAMERA ON (M) MANUAL MODE:

Screen 1: Aspect ratio > 3.2
     Picture Size > L20
     Quality > RAW + .JPG SF
Screen 2: AF Mode > Facial Recognition
     AFF
Screen 3: No Change
Screen 4: No Change
Screen 5: No Change
Screen 6: ISO Increments > 1/3
Screen 7: No Change
Screen 8: Stabilizer > ON
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Chrisedge on March 09, 2019, 11:39:16 AM
So for those Wrench C settings, the dial on top is on C?

I did that.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Datfly on March 09, 2019, 11:44:49 AM
So for those Wrench C settings, the dial on top is on C?

I did that.

When you hit the menu button the 5 icons on the left of the screen will each
lead to a setting.

1  - camera
2 - video
3 - Wrench-C
4- Wrench
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Datfly on March 09, 2019, 11:50:11 AM
So for those Wrench C settings, the dial on top is on C?

I did that.

Always put the top dial on the Video Camera/M icon to shoot 4K on the camera.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Chrisedge on March 09, 2019, 12:26:25 PM
So handheld at 370mm, no stabilizer...ummm. Does anyone use stabilizing in post? I have tried it in Vegas 13, and it helps, but wondering how much it effects the final quality.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on March 09, 2019, 03:27:19 PM
How long should I expect ONE battery to last (No way to get a minutes left on battery on screen?)

90 min - maybe a bit more depending on zooming etc...

Any difference in OEM battery life vs Wasabi Power batteries?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on March 09, 2019, 03:35:53 PM
So handheld at 370mm, no stabilizer...ummm. Does anyone use stabilizing in post? I have tried it in Vegas 13, and it helps, but wondering how much it effects the final quality.

I've tried a few of them over the years and never got a result that I thought was worth the trouble.  It always seemed like a double edged sword ... the stabilizer fixes one problem ... but creates another (equally or more) annoying problem.

How far from the stage will you be shooting?  I just bought it and haven't used it yet, but I plan on using the ZS100 when I'm somewhere other than the cheap seats.  If I'm in the cheap seats where security is much less of a concern, I will film with my camcorder (Sony AX100).
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Datfly on March 09, 2019, 07:33:55 PM
How long should I expect ONE battery to last (No way to get a minutes left on battery on screen?)

90 min - maybe a bit more depending on zooming etc...

Any difference in OEM battery life vs Wasabi Power batteries?

I have only used OEM's as I learned years ago with my 35mm camera that the non OEM's usually
let me down at critical moments.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Chrisedge on March 10, 2019, 12:42:41 PM
So I was pretty impressed. No stabilizer wasn't much of an issue, even zoomed all the way in. (Granted I had a rail) House of Blues had the stage majorly backlit, so I had it on ISO800 and about plus 2 exposure. The footage looks a little grainy but sharp. The grain goes away as soon as the stage is lit. I chose to change to manual focus and used the button to occasionally have it auto focus.

Is there a way to lock the aperture in video to 5.8 so it stays more constant? It was brighter when I zoom out, and I don't want to have to keep adjusting the exposure. And any tricks to reduce the grain or should I just worry about that in post (or chock it up to the poor performer lighting?) I will post a video shortly once it's rendered.

Thanks Datfly!
(and yes I plan on using it for U2)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: webvan on March 10, 2019, 01:45:08 PM
Great thread, thanks for the tips shared in here. Might finally pick up a ZS100 at some point. For pics only the Sony HX90 does a pretty decent job in manual mode.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: tapeheadtoo on March 10, 2019, 03:34:04 PM

Is there a way to lock the aperture in video to 5.8 so it stays more constant?

If you put it in Aperture Priority Mode (A on dial) you can set the aperture wherever you want and it will stay constant.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Chrisedge on March 10, 2019, 07:02:50 PM
Here is my first attempt

Metric
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppKXQHuZ5iQ


This was 800iso, so I will try and get down to 400, and expose it up as much as I can. Again, super backlit too.

I use Vegas to output, any suggested bitrate to keep it from being massive uploads? (I am exporting at 4K 50,000,000 bit rate...)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: webvan on March 11, 2019, 06:48:09 AM
Nice, what's the audio source ?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: yug du nord on March 11, 2019, 11:38:45 AM
How long should I expect ONE battery to last (No way to get a minutes left on battery on screen?)

90 min - maybe a bit more depending on zooming etc...

Any difference in OEM battery life vs Wasabi Power batteries?

I have only used OEM's as I learned years ago with my 35mm camera that the non OEM's usually
let me down at critical moments.

I currently use a Wasabi with a Lumix GH3.
I can't tell any difference between it and OEM.
YMMV.

I've had other 3rd party batteries that were terrible.
I also prefer to stick with OEM batteries..  but the Wasabi came in a package deal and it's been solid.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on March 11, 2019, 04:47:08 PM
I probably should have titled this post "Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS100" instead of "Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200."  :bigsmile:
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on March 15, 2019, 01:08:55 PM
Ordered a ZS100 this week at Amazon.  FedEx left it at the door ... but it's no where to be found.  Fucking package thieves.  Amazon quickly provided a full refund though.  Ugg ...
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: Chrisedge on March 16, 2019, 05:17:36 PM
Nice, what's the audio source ?

That clip of mine is just the camera audio. Nice upgrade over the Sony I had as well. My videos labeled "HQ Audio" have dubbed audio from a separate source.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on April 03, 2019, 07:56:52 AM
Just a couple of questions. 

Put you mic setting on high wind...helps with cleaner audio for loud shows.
Here's my complete set up. Scroll through & pick & choose what you like.
If you have any other suggestion I might have missed in set up lmk!

ZS100 Camera Settings:


SET TOP DIAL ON CAMERA TO THE VIDEO CAMERA ICON/M mode:

Video Camera Icon Menu:

screen 1: Record format > MP4 for PC or Other for MAC
Screen 2: Record quality > 4k/30 p
     AF mode > facial recognition
Screen 3: AFF
     Continue AF > on
Screen 4: No change
Screen 5: Silent operation > on
     Wind noise canceller > high
   

Wrench/C Menu:

Screen 1: Silent mode > on
Screen 2: No Change
Screen 3: Direct focus area > on
Screen 4: Gridline > on -- I see "guide line" but not "gridline"
Screen 5: Highlight > on
     zebra pattern > on -- there is zebra pattern 1 and zebra pattern 2 - does it make any difference which one you choose?
Screen 6: No Change
Screen 7: FN Button Set >
     Settings in Record Mode >
     F1 Button (Exposure compensation: on screen #12)
     F2 Button  ISO (On Screen #5)
Screen 8: Eye sensor > LVF/Monitor switch > Monitor



PUT TOP DIAL ON CAMERA ON (M) MANUAL MODE:

Screen 1: Aspect ratio > 3.2
     Picture Size > L20
     Quality > RAW + .JPG SF
Screen 2: AF Mode > Facial Recognition
     AFF
Screen 3: No Change
Screen 4: No Change
Screen 5: No Change
Screen 6: ISO Increments > 1/3
Screen 7: No Change
Screen 8: Stabilizer > ON -- I see two different stabilization options "up & down" and "vertical & horizontal" - which one should I choose?

Also I stumbled upon a potentially helpful feature:  if you tap the "DISP" button on the lower right four times while you are filming, the LED screen turns off, but the camera keeps recording.  One more tap and it turns back on.  Might come in handy if security is hassling you.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on April 03, 2019, 08:48:44 AM
Screen 7: FN Button Set >
     Settings in Record Mode >
     F1 Button (Exposure compensation: on screen #12)
     F2 Button  ISO (On Screen #5)

Could you please explain ISO when shooting concerts vids with the ZS100?  I understand how exposure works, but I'm shaky on the ISO adjustments.  Thanks.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: xjsb125 on April 03, 2019, 10:44:04 PM
ISO is, in an extremely simplified way, helping raise or lower brightness in your image. Lower ISO values, lets say 100-400, are general used in situations where lighting is very good. Situations like direct sunlight, or other well-lit scenarios. Higher ISO values, 800-6400 (or higher depending on your camera), are normally used when lighting is low to poor. For example, dusk, indoor lightning, concerts. Lower ISO values have a cleaner image if used correctly with aperature and exposure. Higher ISO values will create "noise" in the image; that grainy, red speckled image that occurs when the sensor is working hard to process the image. Hope that helps explain it somewhat!
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on April 05, 2019, 08:20:54 AM
One thing I've noticed about the ZS100 is that it doesn't have "grippy" contact points in the spots where your fingers typically come in contact with the camera while you're holding it.  I'm going to try a couple of things to remedy this:

https://www.amazon.com/dragon-Grips-Adhesive-Backed-Rubber/dp/B07GJV6HYC

I'll likely affix a small piece of grip tape for my left index finger above the viewfinder (being careful not to cover the left mic input) and maybe another piece on the bottom of the camera for my left thumb.  I'll also put a piece on the front of the camera where my right index and middle fingers typically grip the camera, and possibly another very small piece for my right thumb to the left of the Fn1 button and above the Fn2 button. 

Alternatively, I'm also thinking about getting a "Flipbac FBG3 Camera Grip" for the front of the camera:

(https://4.img-dpreview.com/files/p/E~forums/57600903/afe2555453424a1a827b543ba084311a)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on April 05, 2019, 11:27:16 AM
Got the grip tape in today's mail.  Definitely feels less slippery.  Here's how it looks with it applied:

(https://i.imgur.com/TzD1rRGh.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/0u91jrph.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/QyZmja1h.jpg)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: yug du nord on April 06, 2019, 10:13:03 AM
In a pinch, gaff tape can work as "grip tape" too.  Makes a camera less slippery.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on April 06, 2019, 10:30:00 AM
For the life of me, I can't remember how to get to manual focus while shooting 4K video.  I had it working once, but got to it while trying various combinations of buttons and can't remember how I got there.  Using the right index finger to turn the control ring is really easy and I think being able to shoot with manual focus during shows could really be beneficial at times.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: magmazing on April 20, 2019, 05:25:48 AM
Has anyone run into an issue with the electronic viewfinder of the ZS100 suddenly turning white. It's not affecting the video or photos being shot/recorded. It's just that suddenly a wash of white covers the EVF when use the zoom.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on May 06, 2019, 01:30:29 PM
How long should I expect ONE battery to last (No way to get a minutes left on battery on screen?)

90 min - maybe a bit more depending on zooming etc...

Any difference in OEM battery life vs Wasabi Power batteries?

I have only used OEM's as I learned years ago with my 35mm camera that the non OEM's usually
let me down at critical moments.

I currently use a Wasabi with a Lumix GH3.
I can't tell any difference between it and OEM.
YMMV.

I've had other 3rd party batteries that were terrible.
I also prefer to stick with OEM batteries..  but the Wasabi came in a package deal and it's been solid.

Just a bit of a follow-up regarding batteries ...

I recorded a show the other night with a Wasabi battery and stopped after 1hr 39 mins of continuous recording in 4K, that included frequent zooms in/out.  The camera was still running fine but I knew the battery must be running low, so I decided to make the switch.  I followed that with another 1 hr 10 mins of recording.  I've recorded in 4K for ~3 hrs continuously (minus 30 sec battery change) several times now without any problems at all.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: robeti on May 31, 2019, 08:41:26 PM
This footage is shot with 3 ZS100's

I see you're filming in 4K.  So what about the recording limit hack for the ZS100 - are all your ZS100 clips limited to 15 minutes, or were you able to hack the cams to film longer clips in 4K?
A super easy "push a few buttons" hack will give you until your card runs out or your battery dies for the ZS100 all in 4K - One big 70+ GB file.

This basically the hack. I can PM you the fine tuned version for the ZS100
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxmVDdU1xf0

does it work for the zs200 as well?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: edtyre on June 02, 2019, 02:20:46 PM
How long should I expect ONE battery to last (No way to get a minutes left on battery on screen?)

90 min - maybe a bit more depending on zooming etc...

Any difference in OEM battery life vs Wasabi Power batteries?

I got 90 minutes, get maybe 5-8 minutes more on the Panny ones
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on June 04, 2019, 06:51:11 PM
This footage is shot with 3 ZS100's

I see you're filming in 4K.  So what about the recording limit hack for the ZS100 - are all your ZS100 clips limited to 15 minutes, or were you able to hack the cams to film longer clips in 4K?
A super easy "push a few buttons" hack will give you until your card runs out or your battery dies for the ZS100 all in 4K - One big 70+ GB file.

This basically the hack. I can PM you the fine tuned version for the ZS100
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxmVDdU1xf0

does it work for the zs200 as well?

So far - no known hack for the ZS200.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: robeti on June 06, 2019, 04:55:47 PM
Thanks for the reply! Maybe i'll go for a zs100 then
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Elvis Hitler on July 31, 2019, 05:26:18 PM
Hey man, long time no see! (I think it was the Jeff Beck show in Cinci with Finatic a few years ago.)

I got the Lumix FZ300 and have been pretty happy with it so far, though I'm still on a learning curve to find the best settings for video.  Recording time limit is dependent on which format you're shooting in (AVCHD, MP4, 4K), but is generally 20-30 minutes, so it's easy enough to find a spot between songs in that time frame to stop and quickly re-start the recording.

Here's a video from the King's X show Finatic and I recorded a couple of weeks ago.  He was on the right side by Ty Tabor with a Canon G20 camcorder and I was using my Lumix on Doug's side.  Audio is from my Lumix with no external mic --not great, but not bad considering how loud the show was.  I think the picture quality of the Lumix is superior to the Canon, and I recorded out in the open with a monopod while Finatic had his camcorder concealed under a t-shirt.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTO7x9sDFFM
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 01, 2019, 07:52:42 AM
Hey man, long time no see! (I think it was the Jeff Beck show in Cinci with Finatic a few years ago.)

Long time indeed!  I'm pretty sure that was the 2010 show at PNC Pavilion. 

I got the Lumix FZ300 ... Recording time limit is dependent on which format you're shooting in (AVCHD, MP4, 4K), but is generally 20-30 minutes, so it's easy enough to find a spot between songs in that time frame to stop and quickly re-start the recording.

I've become spoiled being able to shoot 90+ minute clips in 4K with the ZS100.  I doubt I'll ever go back to a camera with a time limit.

Here's a video from the King's X show ... I was using my Lumix on Doug's side.  I think the picture quality of the Lumix is superior to the Canon, and I recorded out in the open with a monopod

I agree that the picture quality of the Lumix is better.  I'm kind of surprised they let you use a monopod. 

Finatic had his camcorder concealed under a t-shirt.

It's almost silly that they still ban camcorders but allow you to have a point-and-shoot camera that can shoot amazing quality video in 4K.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Elvis Hitler on August 01, 2019, 10:16:04 PM
Finatic had his camcorder concealed under a t-shirt.

It's almost silly that they still ban camcorders but allow you to have a point-and-shoot camera that can shoot amazing quality video in 4K.
[/quote]

...and they let people stand there recording the whole show with their phones... but they see someone with a camcorder and lose their minds.  Makes no sense at all.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: robeti on August 03, 2019, 04:18:18 AM
Finatic had his camcorder concealed under a t-shirt.

It's almost silly that they still ban camcorders but allow you to have a point-and-shoot camera that can shoot amazing quality video in 4K.

...and they let people stand there recording the whole show with their phones... but they see someone with a camcorder and lose their minds.  Makes no sense at all.
[/quote]

I agree. I've had this happen at a show in Glasgow, Scotland.

Brought in my camcorder (12 times zoom) and photocam (30 times zoom, better quality). I started with my camcorder (I like filming with it better than with a photocam), got caught.
Asked the security guy if filming with the photocam was OK. He said: "sure no problem. Camcorders are not allowed, photocams are OK"

Crazy.

Taped the whole show with great results.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: robeti on August 07, 2019, 05:10:28 PM
Just bought a Panasonic tz100. How storage do I need for filming 2 hours in 4K?

I'm using 64GB cards now- for HD-  but I think 128GB is better, right?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 07, 2019, 11:46:58 PM
Just bought a Panasonic tz100. How storage do I need for filming 2 hours in 4K?

I just recorded some video tonight with my TS100.  One clip ran 1 hr 4 mins and is 42GB.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 08, 2019, 06:24:02 PM
Just bought a Panasonic tz100. How storage do I need for filming 2 hours in 4K?

I just recorded some video tonight with my TS100.  One clip ran 1 hr 4 mins and is 42GB.

And a quick note about this 1 hr 4 minute clip.  I recorded it with a freshly charged battery - that died after an hour and four minutes.  I get much better battery life from OEM and Wasabi Power batteries.  This is the one that only lasted an hour and four minutes:

(https://static.bhphoto.com/images/fb/983731.jpg)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Datfly on August 18, 2019, 10:16:21 AM
Another must have setting for the ZS100 that I forgot to add is you can do 1/3 increments instead of full stops on ISO while shooting.

To set this put the top camera dial in P mode.
Select the top Icon of the Camera (not video camera) go to screen 6 (of 8) and select ISO Increments.
This setting will carry over to shooting video as well.

Datfly
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 18, 2019, 12:42:22 PM
Another must have setting for the ZS100 that I forgot to add is you can do 1/3 increments instead of full stops on ISO while shooting.

To set this put the top camera dial in P mode.
Select the top Icon of the Camera (not video camera) go to screen 6 (of 8) and select ISO Increments.
This setting will carry over to shooting video as well.

Datfly

Is the 1/3 increments the default setting?  My camera is already set at 1/3 increments, but I don't remember ever changing it.

One other question - I have got my camera set on manual focus (which I generally prefer).  For the life of me, I can't figure out how to get back to auto-focus.  Do you know how get the camera back on auto-focus without having to reset all the settings?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: edtyre on August 21, 2019, 11:09:00 AM
Has anyone tryed a battery hack? It should be child's play to open a battery and make a dummy
to run off external usb power. I think me and Nicky C can make these and sell them if there is enough interest.
I get max 100 minutes on my best batteries. I hate having to take a camera down from a mounted position to change out the battery.
Lets get this project going!
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Craig T on August 21, 2019, 01:43:19 PM
Check online.  I found an aftermarket battery dummy/adapter for my Panasonic FZ2500.  It was cheap and works great.

Has anyone tryed a battery hack? It should be child's play to open a battery and make a dummy
to run off external usb power. I think me and Nicky C can make these and sell them if there is enough interest.
I get max 100 minutes on my best batteries. I hate having to take a camera down from a mounted position to change out the battery.
Lets get this project going!
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Chrisedge on August 21, 2019, 07:08:44 PM
Has anyone tryed a battery hack? It should be child's play to open a battery and make a dummy
to run off external usb power. I think me and Nicky C can make these and sell them if there is enough interest.
I get max 100 minutes on my best batteries. I hate having to take a camera down from a mounted position to change out the battery.
Lets get this project going!

I just bought the battery>2xUSB cable and can run the camera off a massive external battery pack.

This
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0781DGN6F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Plus this
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Ultra-Portable-VoltageBoost-Technology/dp/B07HBWF1K8/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=anker+13000&qid=1566428880&s=gateway&sr=8-3

(Or any 2 USB Battery pack)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 21, 2019, 08:18:07 PM
Has anyone tryed a battery hack? It should be child's play to open a battery and make a dummy
to run off external usb power. I think me and Nicky C can make these and sell them if there is enough interest.
I get max 100 minutes on my best batteries. I hate having to take a camera down from a mounted position to change out the battery.
Lets get this project going!

I just bought the battery>2xUSB cable and can run the camera off a massive external battery pack.

Nice tip Chris - I just ordered the coupler USB power kit with the dummy battery.  I really hate lugging even more gear around than I already am, but that is just too good to pass up.  Especially when I'm filming open and using the ZS100 as B roll cam.  Put a 256GB card in it, hook it up to a couple of power packs and let it run for the next 4-5 hours filming in 4K.  Can't beat that with a stick.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: edtyre on August 22, 2019, 09:29:38 AM
Has anyone tryed a battery hack? It should be child's play to open a battery and make a dummy
to run off external usb power. I think me and Nicky C can make these and sell them if there is enough interest.
I get max 100 minutes on my best batteries. I hate having to take a camera down from a mounted position to change out the battery.
Lets get this project going!

I just bought the battery>2xUSB cable and can run the camera off a massive external battery pack.

This
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0781DGN6F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Plus this
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Ultra-Portable-VoltageBoost-Technology/dp/B07HBWF1K8/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=anker+13000&qid=1566428880&s=gateway&sr=8-3

(Or any 2 USB Battery pack)

Thanks, just bought two.
It works with zs 100 right?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: edtyre on August 26, 2019, 08:18:25 PM
Has anyone tryed a battery hack? It should be child's play to open a battery and make a dummy
to run off external usb power. I think me and Nicky C can make these and sell them if there is enough interest.
I get max 100 minutes on my best batteries. I hate having to take a camera down from a mounted position to change out the battery.
Lets get this project going!

I just bought the battery>2xUSB cable and can run the camera off a massive external battery pack.

This
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0781DGN6F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Plus this
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Ultra-Portable-VoltageBoost-Technology/dp/B07HBWF1K8/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=anker+13000&qid=1566428880&s=gateway&sr=8-3

(Or any 2 USB Battery pack)

Thanks, just bought two.
It works with zs 100 right?

Just got mine, works perfect, just have to grind out a little space for cable, thanks for the info
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 27, 2019, 09:08:46 AM
Just got mine, works perfect, just have to grind out a little space for cable, thanks for the info

Ed - did you cut a little slot into the camera body into which you can insert the wire and close the battery compartment?  Seems like a good idea since it doesn't take much pressure on the internal latch (for the battery itself) to unhinge.

If this is what you did, please post a pic.  Thx.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Chrisedge on August 27, 2019, 08:43:31 PM
I didn't need to grind anything. It fit through the hole in the door.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 28, 2019, 08:22:33 AM
I didn't need to grind anything. It fit through the hole in the door.

So yesterday I'm looking for this hole ... and thinking "WTF ... ain't no hole."

Got up this morning, had my morning cup of coffee ... and I'll be damned ... now there's a hole!

Kind of funny, but I never looked closely enough at the battery/SD card compartment door to notice that it has a (what I now know from a little bit of research) reserved power cable outlet.

Thanks again Chris.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: edtyre on August 28, 2019, 04:04:30 PM
Just got mine, works perfect, just have to grind out a little space for cable, thanks for the info

Ed - did you cut a little slot into the camera body into which you can insert the wire and close the battery compartment?  Seems like a good idea since it doesn't take much pressure on the internal latch (for the battery itself) to unhinge.

If this is what you did, please post a pic.  Thx.

Yep and Nick C modded the cable to run on external
9 volt power instead of dual usb
https://imgur.com/a/5U3BfOJ
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: edtyre on August 28, 2019, 07:30:10 PM
Just got mine, works perfect, just have to grind out a little space for cable, thanks for the info

Ed - did you cut a little slot into the camera body into which you can insert the wire and close the battery compartment?  Seems like a good idea since it doesn't take much pressure on the internal latch (for the battery itself) to unhinge.

If this is what you did, please post a pic.  Thx.

Yep and Nick C modded the cable to run on external
9 volt power instead of dual usb
https://imgur.com/a/5U3BfOJ

I need my camera to sit on shelf’s and seats
the wire sticking straight out of the bottom doesn’t
work for me, my notch does. Actually Nicky cut the notch
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: old and in the way on August 30, 2019, 08:05:54 PM
If you did a little carving and drilled a hole through a block of wood you could screw that to the camera and notch the wood for the dummy battery . might save one from grinding on ones nice new camera.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: edtyre on August 31, 2019, 08:13:50 PM
All you fine people mod your gear as
you see fit!
Here’s one I was able to do without
taking my cam down from the mounted
position , actually i ran opener and headliner 3.5 hours continuous
https://youtu.be/vxZ1FFqFJpI
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: webvan on November 07, 2019, 05:01:09 AM
Nice recording (how was the original audio ?) but wouldn't it be better to stick to 1080p and keep stabilization ?

After years of trying to make do with my trusty Sony HX90v, mostly for pictures, I jumped on an Amazon Warehouse deal on a TZ100 and will try it next week at a show. Thanks for all the tips in this thread !
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: webvan on November 07, 2019, 05:16:35 AM
has exposure control just below your right thumb...super easy quick access and you can adjust it while filming.

Wow!  Never heard of being able to make changes on the fly with a point-and-shoot.  This is great news.

Yes, but only while in 4K mode.

Any reason this can't be done in 1080p ?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on November 07, 2019, 09:40:20 AM
wouldn't it be better to stick to 1080p and keep stabilization ?

I suppose it depends on how steady you're able to hold the camera when you're filming in hand-held mode.  I have a very steady hand, so it's not a problem for me.  And also, to my eyes at least, 4K is just so much nicer looking than 1080.

Edit to add:  I am pretty sure that the 4K recording limit hack only changes the recording limit while filming in 4K, so you'll still only be able to record clips up to 29 mins 59 secs long in 1080.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: webvan on November 07, 2019, 03:08:43 PM
Too bad the hack (and settings shared in this topic ?) only work in 4K mode.
30 minutes isn't too bad, it was 15' on my TZ7 and others here mentioned it was 15' for them too, maybe it depends on the area, 15' for Europe and 30' for the US ?

BTW there seems to be a new version of the "battery pack hack" that only requires one USB input now : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FQP6J7P/
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: webvan on November 08, 2019, 03:15:26 PM
So the TZ100 came in from Amazon Refurb and other than the box being a bit beat it looks like new, maybe it is an actual refurb...
Anyway I proceeded to do the YT hack to switch it from PAL to NSTC and all went well but I'm still seeing a limit, 29'59" that is, actually it's 29'59" in 4K and 720p but NOT in 1080p for some reason, it's 27'09" in 30FPS/20mbps and 20'20" in 60FPS/28mbps, strange. Ah no I get it, it's the 4GB FAT32 File limit, but why not in 4K mode ?
Are there instructions specific to the TZ100 to get unlimited recording ? Thanks !
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on November 09, 2019, 09:30:15 AM
Are there instructions specific to the TZ100 to get unlimited recording ? Thanks !

I made this short presentation for a friend - and he said it was easy to follow and worked out great for him:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JDEBby1zOT1FIkVMN321RLPNlICRcZJ2zXaMVaJqGNw/edit?usp=sharing
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: webvan on November 09, 2019, 07:17:16 PM
Thanks, so same steps as in the hack posted on Page 1 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxmVDdU1xf0
It seems that this enables unlimited recording on the ZS100 and ZS110 models but on the TZ100 models it only bumps it up from 15' to 30'. Probably because they have built in more limitations on the Euro version and use different PCBs according to the Service Manual I found in the meantime, here it is : https://www.apotelyt.com/doc-pdf/panasonic-tz100-service-manual.pdf see page 10 specifically.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on November 21, 2019, 02:37:54 PM
Are there instructions specific to the TZ100 to get unlimited recording ? Thanks !

I made this short presentation for a friend - and he said it was easy to follow and worked out great for him:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JDEBby1zOT1FIkVMN321RLPNlICRcZJ2zXaMVaJqGNw/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks, this worked for me. Does anyone else's show the yellow caution triangle when turning off the camera now?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on November 21, 2019, 02:47:04 PM
Thanks, this worked for me. Does anyone else's show the yellow caution triangle when turning off the camera now?

Yes.  Not sure, but it might be because of the hack.  It's nothing to worry about though.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: webvan on November 22, 2019, 04:27:00 AM
Yes it's the "hack", actually the "hack" puts them in a "test mode" as explained in the service manual I linked to above. Note that on the TZ100 unlimited recording is NOT available, that' only works on the ZS100.

So I took my TZ-100 to its first show last Saturday and I'll say one thing, there's a steep learning curve ! I've been using digital cameras since the first ones came out around 1999 (a Kodak I believe at the time) and I've had pretty much all generations since (a good 10 or 15 including DSLRs) and this is one tough cookie to master ! Anyway I'm pretty happy with the pictures and audio but video was a bit of a letdown in the sense that the tweaks mentioned here to adjust ISO on the fly with the custom setup and shortcuts on FN1 and FN2 did not work for me. They did work in picture mode so I'm confident they were "programmed" ok. Maybe I'm missing something obvious (I did double/triple check I was in 4K although I'm not sure why that would make a difference) but when filming the FN buttons were not active. Anyone see what could be happening ?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on November 23, 2019, 02:25:29 PM
How long should I expect ONE battery to last (No way to get a minutes left on battery on screen?)

90 min - maybe a bit more depending on zooming etc...

Any difference in OEM battery life vs Wasabi Power batteries?

I got 90 minutes, get maybe 5-8 minutes more on the Panny ones

I shot a show last night and got 1 hr 50 mins 20 secs with the OEM Panny battery.  This shot included regularly zooming in and out.  It would have ran a bit longer, but the low battery light was flashing and it was in between songs, so I shut it off to change batteries.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: johnmuge on November 26, 2019, 08:26:29 AM
Would the ZS-100 be a good choice for a all around camera ? Looking to get a camera for my wife for Christmas and a bonus good quality video camera would be great for shows.  B&H has them for $397 which seems to be a fair price for such a camera.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1242597-REG/panasonic_lumix_dmc_zs100_digital_camera.html
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: webvan on November 26, 2019, 09:33:28 AM
Absolutely, it's extremely versatile both thanks to its 1" sensor, zoom reach, best in class microphones, but also its easy/advanced modes. It's slightly on the larger side (the Sony RX-100s are more compact) and it lacks a flippable LCD but other than that it's the bee's knees ;-)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on November 26, 2019, 09:46:15 AM
Would the ZS-100 be a good choice for a all around camera? Looking to get a camera for my wife for Christmas and a bonus good quality video camera would be great for shows.

Hmm ... all around camera?  It shoots OK photos, but still suffers from the typical problems most point-n-shoot cameras have when it comes to still photos.  They just can't ever begin to measure up to a DSLR camera (even a cheap one) with a decent flash.

But for a point-n-shoot camera to shoot 4K concert videos -- it's the best IMHO.

So if your wife is going to be relying on it a lot for photos of the kids and family events, etc.; and it's only going to be an occasional thing for you to use at shows ... I personally wouldn't go with the ZS-100.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on November 26, 2019, 09:16:28 PM
What are you guys using for SD cards? I need to get a 256 gb card for 4k
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on November 27, 2019, 08:28:06 AM
What are you guys using for SD cards? I need to get a 256 gb card for 4k

I've been using this 256GB card - and it has worked just fine for me.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H4BPZZG
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on December 27, 2019, 12:08:38 PM
I just bought a second ZS100.  Got it as an "open box" deal for $315.  Looking forward to using it for some 2-cam shots.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on January 01, 2020, 11:06:25 AM
Yes it's the "hack", actually the "hack" puts them in a "test mode" as explained in the service manual I linked to above. Note that on the TZ100 unlimited recording is NOT available, that' only works on the ZS100.

So I took my TZ-100 to its first show last Saturday and I'll say one thing, there's a steep learning curve ! I've been using digital cameras since the first ones came out around 1999 (a Kodak I believe at the time) and I've had pretty much all generations since (a good 10 or 15 including DSLRs) and this is one tough cookie to master ! Anyway I'm pretty happy with the pictures and audio but video was a bit of a letdown in the sense that the tweaks mentioned here to adjust ISO on the fly with the custom setup and shortcuts on FN1 and FN2 did not work for me. They did work in picture mode so I'm confident they were "programmed" ok. Maybe I'm missing something obvious (I did double/triple check I was in 4K although I'm not sure why that would make a difference) but when filming the FN buttons were not active. Anyone see what could be happening ?

So is adjusting ISO while filming possible or not?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Datfly on January 01, 2020, 12:29:44 PM
Yes it's the "hack", actually the "hack" puts them in a "test mode" as explained in the service manual I linked to above. Note that on the TZ100 unlimited recording is NOT available, that' only works on the ZS100.

So I took my TZ-100 to its first show last Saturday and I'll say one thing, there's a steep learning curve ! I've been using digital cameras since the first ones came out around 1999 (a Kodak I believe at the time) and I've had pretty much all generations since (a good 10 or 15 including DSLRs) and this is one tough cookie to master ! Anyway I'm pretty happy with the pictures and audio but video was a bit of a letdown in the sense that the tweaks mentioned here to adjust ISO on the fly with the custom setup and shortcuts on FN1 and FN2 did not work for me. They did work in picture mode so I'm confident they were "programmed" ok. Maybe I'm missing something obvious (I did double/triple check I was in 4K although I'm not sure why that would make a difference) but when filming the FN buttons were not active. Anyone see what could be happening ?

So is adjusting ISO while filming possible or not?

Yes! You can even use custom functions and assign buttons right under your thumb to change ISO and or exposure while recording!
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on January 08, 2020, 05:31:55 PM
My ZS100 arrived.I did the hack no problems.I see that also in AVCHD the time limit is removed.I hate these menu cameras though.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on January 10, 2020, 09:23:43 AM
I see that also in AVCHD the time limit is removed.

I tried finding the AVCHD setting, but couldn't.  The manual wasn't much help either.  I have non-concert related projects that I could really use the AVCHD setting without the time limit.  Please help a brother out.

I hate these menu cameras though.

But once you get your menus all set, you pretty much don't have to mess with them again except for maybe formatting an SD card.  At least, that's how it's been for me.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on January 10, 2020, 10:36:06 AM
2 different sections in the motion picture menu. One has you pick between mp4 and avchd it’s before where you choose the 4K or 1080 modes.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on January 10, 2020, 11:45:18 AM
2 different sections in the motion picture menu. One has you pick between mp4 and avchd it’s before where you choose the 4K or 1080 modes.

Got it - thanks!
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on January 10, 2020, 12:18:37 PM
Also I have the lcd set to monochrome, way easier to manually focus with peaking.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on January 16, 2020, 02:03:46 PM
Does anyone record in 4k and upload in 1080? The file sizes are staggering - my connection times out before I can upload these shows in 4k
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: sabre on January 17, 2020, 06:36:42 AM
Does anyone record in 4k and upload in 1080? The file sizes are staggering - my connection times out before I can upload these shows in 4k

What is your upload speed?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on January 17, 2020, 04:47:12 PM
Does anyone record in 4k and upload in 1080? The file sizes are staggering - my connection times out before I can upload these shows in 4k

I mux 4K vids with 24 bit audio and upload to Youtube all the time.  So ... 60-70GB files.  Down-converting to 1080 would be really time consuming -- and would seriously cut into time I spend doing other video projects on my computer.

I'm really lucky that the podunk town I live in decided to do something about the shit internet service offered by Comcast and it started its own fibernet service.  So I get really fast upload speeds (over 10MBs/sec most of the time) and I only pay $40/mth flat fee.  On top of that, they don't care how much bandwidth you use; they don't even monitor it.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on January 25, 2020, 12:36:02 PM
Is it possible to have Auto ISO in video mode?I don't see it.

How to get Auto focus in video mode? I'm stuck in manual focus.

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on January 25, 2020, 01:59:34 PM
Is it possible to have Auto ISO in video mode?I don't see it.

How to get Auto focus in video mode? I'm stuck in manual focus.

OK i seen Auto ISO is not available in Manual mode(unlike the Canon DSLRs that i'm used to)But is available in Shutter Priority,Aperture Priority.

Still wondering about AF and MF though.

I can set the AF ON AE LOCK button to auto focus while pressing it in while im in MF mode but what about being in auto focus mode without pressing the button and grabbing MF when needed while filming.I can't find any way to do this.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on January 25, 2020, 03:10:02 PM

How to get Auto focus in video mode? I'm stuck in manual focus.

I asked this several months ago and no one ever responded.  I have since bought a second ZS100 and have not tried to do anything that would take it out of auto-focus mode.  My first ZS100 is still in manual focus mode.  I like it for certain situations - like when there is a lot of flashing lights (strobes), for example.  But I also get a fair amount of video that is slightly out of focus when shooting in manual focus mode because it appears to be in focus in the LED, and I don't actually see that it's out of focus until I get home and see it on my computer.

I considered the 'nuclear bomb' option of resetting the camera to default settings (which would bring back auto-focus) and go back through with the other various recommended settings that Datfly listed, along with the recording time hack.  That would only take five minutes or so.  But now that I have a second camera, I decided not to do that.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on January 26, 2020, 10:53:37 AM
I just noticed a strange occurence.

I recorded 2 clips in AVCHD 1920 x 1080 30p

When i copy them to computer the specs of the clips are 720 x480 and windows media player plays them as 720 x 480.

I bring those clips into Vegas and they are 1920 x1080?

guitard can you test on your system please.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on January 26, 2020, 01:14:56 PM
I recently recorded a clip in AVCHD mode with the second (from the top) option for "FHD 17M 60i" in the "Recording Quality" section in the camera menu.

I copied the file to my computer.  Here are the file specs shown by MediaInfo (https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo (https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo)) on top, and Windows Explorer on the bottom):

(https://i.imgur.com/cgo7nMS.jpg)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on January 26, 2020, 02:28:44 PM

How to get Auto focus in video mode? I'm stuck in manual focus.

I asked this several months ago and no one ever responded.  I have since bought a second ZS100 and have not tried to do anything that would take it out of auto-focus mode.  My first ZS100 is still in manual focus mode.  I like it for certain situations - like when there is a lot of flashing lights (strobes), for example.  But I also get a fair amount of video that is slightly out of focus when shooting in manual focus mode because it appears to be in focus in the LED, and I don't actually see that it's out of focus until I get home and see it on my computer.

I considered the 'nuclear bomb' option of resetting the camera to default settings (which would bring back auto-focus) and go back through with the other various recommended settings that Datfly listed, along with the recording time hack.  That would only take five minutes or so.  But now that I have a second camera, I decided not to do that.


I figured it out.

On the back of the camera to the left of the center Menu button is the MF button.
If when you press this the yellow focus square pops up(such was the case for me)You need to go into the Menu>Custom Wrench screen>Page 3 DIRECT FOCUS AREA -OFF-.
Now when you press the MF button on back of camera you get your choices of AF.MF

Also most useful for how we are filming is to change the AF/AE Lock button so when you press it in you get AF only while pressing in.So you can be in full Manual Focus and grab AF when pressing and holding the AF/AE Lock button(AKA back button AF) press it in and get AF.let go and back in Manual focus.

To set this up go to Custom Wrench Menu>Page 1 AF/AE Lock>SELECT >AF-ON :coolguy:
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on January 26, 2020, 03:27:39 PM

How to get Auto focus in video mode? I'm stuck in manual focus.

I asked this several months ago and no one ever responded.  I have since bought a second ZS100 and have not tried to do anything that would take it out of auto-focus mode.  My first ZS100 is still in manual focus mode.  I like it for certain situations - like when there is a lot of flashing lights (strobes), for example.  But I also get a fair amount of video that is slightly out of focus when shooting in manual focus mode because it appears to be in focus in the LED, and I don't actually see that it's out of focus until I get home and see it on my computer.

I considered the 'nuclear bomb' option of resetting the camera to default settings (which would bring back auto-focus) and go back through with the other various recommended settings that Datfly listed, along with the recording time hack.  That would only take five minutes or so.  But now that I have a second camera, I decided not to do that.


I figured it out.

On the back of the camera to the left of the center Menu button is the MF button.
If when you press this the yellow focus square pops up(such was the case for me)You need to go into the Menu>Custom Wrench screen>Page 3 DIRECT FOCUS AREA -OFF-.
Now when you press the MF button on back of camera you get your choices of AF.MF

Also most useful for how we are filming is to change the AF/AE Lock button so when you press it in you get AF only while pressing in.So you can be in full Manual Focus and grab AF when pressing and holding the AF/AE Lock button(AKA back button AF) press it in and get AF.let go and back in Manual focus.

To set this up go to Custom Wrench Menu>Page 1 AF/AE Lock>SELECT >AF-ON :coolguy:

I was :banging head: for a long time about this until I finally gave up.  Thanks for figuring this out.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on February 08, 2020, 03:16:24 PM

How to get Auto focus in video mode? I'm stuck in manual focus.

I asked this several months ago and no one ever responded.  I have since bought a second ZS100 and have not tried to do anything that would take it out of auto-focus mode.  My first ZS100 is still in manual focus mode.  I like it for certain situations - like when there is a lot of flashing lights (strobes), for example.  But I also get a fair amount of video that is slightly out of focus when shooting in manual focus mode because it appears to be in focus in the LED, and I don't actually see that it's out of focus until I get home and see it on my computer.

I considered the 'nuclear bomb' option of resetting the camera to default settings (which would bring back auto-focus) and go back through with the other various recommended settings that Datfly listed, along with the recording time hack.  That would only take five minutes or so.  But now that I have a second camera, I decided not to do that.


I figured it out.

On the back of the camera to the left of the center Menu button is the MF button.
If when you press this the yellow focus square pops up(such was the case for me)You need to go into the Menu>Custom Wrench screen>Page 3 DIRECT FOCUS AREA -OFF-.
Now when you press the MF button on back of camera you get your choices of AF.MF

Also most useful for how we are filming is to change the AF/AE Lock button so when you press it in you get AF only while pressing in.So you can be in full Manual Focus and grab AF when pressing and holding the AF/AE Lock button(AKA back button AF) press it in and get AF.let go and back in Manual focus.

To set this up go to Custom Wrench Menu>Page 1 AF/AE Lock>SELECT >AF-ON :coolguy:

Thanks for this. I'm trying it out tonight. My last video has periods of lost focus, which was disappointing.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on February 10, 2020, 11:32:05 AM
Does anyone record in 4k and upload in 1080? The file sizes are staggering - my connection times out before I can upload these shows in 4k

I mux 4K vids with 24 bit audio and upload to Youtube all the time.  So ... 60-70GB files.  Down-converting to 1080 would be really time consuming -- and would seriously cut into time I spend doing other video projects on my computer.

I'm really lucky that the podunk town I live in decided to do something about the shit internet service offered by Comcast and it started its own fibernet service.  So I get really fast upload speeds (over 10MBs/sec most of the time) and I only pay $40/mth flat fee.  On top of that, they don't care how much bandwidth you use; they don't even monitor it.

In what program are you doing this?

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on February 10, 2020, 03:26:04 PM
Does anyone record in 4k and upload in 1080? The file sizes are staggering - my connection times out before I can upload these shows in 4k

I mux 4K vids with 24 bit audio and upload to Youtube all the time.  So ... 60-70GB files.  Down-converting to 1080 would be really time consuming -- and would seriously cut into time I spend doing other video projects on my computer.

I'm really lucky that the podunk town I live in decided to do something about the shit internet service offered by Comcast and it started its own fibernet service.  So I get really fast upload speeds (over 10MBs/sec most of the time) and I only pay $40/mth flat fee.  On top of that, they don't care how much bandwidth you use; they don't even monitor it.

In what program are you doing this?

XMedia Recode

https://www.xmedia-recode.de/en/download.php

It can be kind of clunky, but it's completely free and once you get it all figured out, it works well.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on February 10, 2020, 03:36:45 PM
Does anyone record in 4k and upload in 1080? The file sizes are staggering - my connection times out before I can upload these shows in 4k

I mux 4K vids with 24 bit audio and upload to Youtube all the time.  So ... 60-70GB files.  Down-converting to 1080 would be really time consuming -- and would seriously cut into time I spend doing other video projects on my computer.

I'm really lucky that the podunk town I live in decided to do something about the shit internet service offered by Comcast and it started its own fibernet service.  So I get really fast upload speeds (over 10MBs/sec most of the time) and I only pay $40/mth flat fee.  On top of that, they don't care how much bandwidth you use; they don't even monitor it.

In what program are you doing this?

I use Davinci Resolve. It's free and fairly easy to use after a YouTube tutorial. I just made this with it https://youtu.be/Z7gDjOLtQYs
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: sabre on February 11, 2020, 12:13:15 AM
I use Davinci Resolve. It's free and fairly easy to use after a YouTube tutorial. I just made this with it https://youtu.be/Z7gDjOLtQYs

I think you need to increase the video bitrate when you export your video. The YouTube video gets very blocky when there is a lot of movement on the screen (I watched the 720p60 version on YouTube).

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on February 11, 2020, 02:53:10 AM
I use Davinci Resolve. It's free and fairly easy to use after a YouTube tutorial. I just made this with it https://youtu.be/Z7gDjOLtQYs

I think you need to increase the video bitrate when you export your video. The YouTube video gets very blocky when there is a lot of movement on the screen (I watched the 720p60 version on YouTube).

Thanks. Would you mind going into a bit more detail? I'm new to video.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on February 11, 2020, 01:38:54 PM
I use Davinci Resolve. It's free and fairly easy to use after a YouTube tutorial. I just made this with it https://youtu.be/Z7gDjOLtQYs

I think you need to increase the video bitrate when you export your video. The YouTube video gets very blocky when there is a lot of movement on the screen (I watched the 720p60 version on YouTube).

Thanks. Would you mind going into a bit more detail? I'm new to video.

Have you considered not re-encoding your videos; and instead keeping them as 4K?

Creating a new lossless 4K video file that is exactly the same as the raw video you started with (except it is muxed together with new audio) is as good as it can get in terms of picture quality IMHO.

Here's an example of a 4K video that I muxed with separate audio.  There was no re-encoding involved in making this. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKyryZW1Nys
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on February 11, 2020, 01:42:02 PM
I use Davinci Resolve. It's free and fairly easy to use after a YouTube tutorial. I just made this with it https://youtu.be/Z7gDjOLtQYs

I think you need to increase the video bitrate when you export your video. The YouTube video gets very blocky when there is a lot of movement on the screen (I watched the 720p60 version on YouTube).

Thanks. Would you mind going into a bit more detail? I'm new to video.

Have you considered not re-encoding your videos; and instead keeping them as 4K?

Creating a new lossless 4K video file that is exactly the same as the raw video you started with (except it is muxed together with new audio) is as good as it can get in terms of picture quality IMHO.

Here's an example of a 4K video that I muxed with separate audio.  There was no re-encoding involved in making this. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKyryZW1Nys

Correct but You Tube stills re encodes compresses all uploaded video right?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on February 11, 2020, 03:13:45 PM
I use Davinci Resolve. It's free and fairly easy to use after a YouTube tutorial. I just made this with it https://youtu.be/Z7gDjOLtQYs

I think you need to increase the video bitrate when you export your video. The YouTube video gets very blocky when there is a lot of movement on the screen (I watched the 720p60 version on YouTube).

Thanks. Would you mind going into a bit more detail? I'm new to video.

Have you considered not re-encoding your videos; and instead keeping them as 4K?

Creating a new lossless 4K video file that is exactly the same as the raw video you started with (except it is muxed together with new audio) is as good as it can get in terms of picture quality IMHO.

Here's an example of a 4K video that I muxed with separate audio.  There was no re-encoding involved in making this. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKyryZW1Nys

Correct but You Tube stills re encodes compresses all uploaded video right?

Of course, we all know Youtube re-encodes.  I wasn't trying to suggest that Youtube video didn't get re-encoded; only that I uploaded it as a lossless re-muxed 4K video and I think the quality (even after re-encoding by Youtube) is very nice.

The real point I was trying to make is that you can losslessly re-mux your raw video and audio files and get the highest quality possible outcome.  I watch these re-muxed 4K video files on my 4K tv and they look and sound great.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on February 11, 2020, 04:35:09 PM
Nice to hear you can do this No Re Encoding to the 4k files.Similar thing i would do with blurays i made in DVD architect .The footage from the 1920 x 1080 .mts files were already compliant so you could just match your good audio in Vegas >Render the audio>Replace camcorder audio in Dvd architect and the video was unaltered.Unless you were doing a multicam edit of course.


Also the biggest benefit to this Panasonic zs100 is the ability to change the picture profile settings.Unlike any consumer camcorder we had in the past.

The default is set at STANDARD which is not good for video as the blacks are completely crushed.And there is digital sharpening added.

I am using this picture profile settings.

MOTION PICTURE MENU item 1

PICTURE PROFILE >NATURAL
Change CONTRAST to   -5 (Blacks are not crushed anymore)
Change SHARPNESS to -5 (Doesn't make footage soft is still sharp without digital edges)
Change NOISE REDUCTION to -2 (Reduces smoothing)
SATURATION remains at 0

Press SET to save these changes.


Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: sabre on February 15, 2020, 08:42:38 PM
I use Davinci Resolve. It's free and fairly easy to use after a YouTube tutorial. I just made this with it https://youtu.be/Z7gDjOLtQYs

I think you need to increase the video bitrate when you export your video. The YouTube video gets very blocky when there is a lot of movement on the screen (I watched the 720p60 version on YouTube).

Thanks. Would you mind going into a bit more detail? I'm new to video.

When you render your video (i.e. export it from your Video Editor), you are presented with a dialog where you can specify the video and audio bitrate. The higher the bitrate you choose the better quality the video will be but the larger (in megabytes/gigabytes) the video will be.

If the video bitrate is too low for a particular portion of video, you will get compression artifacts such as macroblocking. You can see an example of this in my links below. The first image there is not much movement on stage it is easy for the encoder to process. In the second image the bitrate is not sufficient for the motion so it degenerates.

Here are a couple of screen shots I took from your YouTube video.

Good - https://i.imgur.com/sdyEbbn.jpg
Bad - https://i.imgur.com/csITLxl.jpg

What settings do you use when you export your project?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on February 26, 2020, 07:20:05 PM
Nice to hear you can do this No Re Encoding to the 4k files.Similar thing i would do with blurays i made in DVD architect .The footage from the 1920 x 1080 .mts files were already compliant so you could just match your good audio in Vegas >Render the audio>Replace camcorder audio in Dvd architect and the video was unaltered.Unless you were doing a multicam edit of course.


Also the biggest benefit to this Panasonic zs100 is the ability to change the picture profile settings.Unlike any consumer camcorder we had in the past.

The default is set at STANDARD which is not good for video as the blacks are completely crushed.And there is digital sharpening added.

I am using this picture profile settings.

MOTION PICTURE MENU item 1

PICTURE PROFILE >NATURAL
Change CONTRAST to   -5 (Blacks are not crushed anymore)
Change SHARPNESS to -5 (Doesn't make footage soft is still sharp without digital edges)
Change NOISE REDUCTION to -2 (Reduces smoothing)
SATURATION remains at 0

Press SET to save these changes.

Trying these changes out tonight, thanks. I'll report back.

I use Davinci Resolve. It's free and fairly easy to use after a YouTube tutorial. I just made this with it https://youtu.be/Z7gDjOLtQYs

I think you need to increase the video bitrate when you export your video. The YouTube video gets very blocky when there is a lot of movement on the screen (I watched the 720p60 version on YouTube).

Thanks. Would you mind going into a bit more detail? I'm new to video.

When you render your video (i.e. export it from your Video Editor), you are presented with a dialog where you can specify the video and audio bitrate. The higher the bitrate you choose the better quality the video will be but the larger (in megabytes/gigabytes) the video will be.

If the video bitrate is too low for a particular portion of video, you will get compression artifacts such as macroblocking. You can see an example of this in my links below. The first image there is not much movement on stage it is easy for the encoder to process. In the second image the bitrate is not sufficient for the motion so it degenerates.

Here are a couple of screen shots I took from your YouTube video.

Good - https://i.imgur.com/sdyEbbn.jpg
Bad - https://i.imgur.com/csITLxl.jpg

What settings do you use when you export your project?

I'm not 100%, I just started playing around with Davinci and video in general. I'll post when I do my next video but I'm pretty sure the bitrate was not as high as it should have been.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on March 01, 2020, 02:12:51 AM
Much better results this time after changing the settings to beatkilla's natural recommendation. Also, my export settings were 4k at a max of 30,000 kbps. I'll post a link here when it's done uploading to YT.

Here's the video: https://youtu.be/n0W76gmzfO0
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on March 01, 2020, 10:53:17 AM
For the first year or so that I had the ZS100, I always shot in manual focus mode and would tap the AF icon on the LED screen once I zoomed in to focus the picture.  The problem with this is that during the 2-3 seconds it takes to fully zoom in, as well as for a second or two after you've zoomed in, the picture is out of focus until you can tap the AF icon on the LED screen - but that disappears while the camera is zooming and doesn't reappear until a second or two after you stop zooming in/out.  So a few months ago, I made the switch over to shooting in auto focus mode.  I generally prefer this to manual focus; especially in situations where the musicians are different distances away from my camera (i.e., I am near the front left side of the stage, so the guitarist in front of me is 8 feet away, the lead singer in the middle of the stage is 15 feet away, and the bass player on the other side of the stage is 25 feet away, etc.).  Shooting in manual focus mode in this scenario, I would have to refocus for all three of the musicians (four if you include the drummer).

A big drawback with auto focus mode is that I tend to have trouble staying in focus when there is a lot of dark parts in the picture.  For example, I zoom in on someone playing a black piano and you can only see their head and the rest of the picture is dark.  In this situation, the auto-focus just drifts in and out of focus and really drives me crazy.  Also, when there are a lot of flashing lights or strobe lights - the auto focus has a hard time handling that.

As far as I can tell, you can't change the AF <--> MF setting while shooting on the fly (by pushing the MF button next to the "Menu Set" button).  Of course, stopping the video in the middle of a show to change this setting is not practical.

I have read quite a bit about the AF/AE button on the back of the ZS100, but can't seem to figure out how to lock the focus when shooting in auto focus mode.  If I could lock the focus, I could zoom in on that guy playing the piano and once I got a properly focused picture -- I could lock it in and not have to worry about the camera drifting in and out of focus.  But I just can't figure this out.  Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on March 01, 2020, 12:52:32 PM
For the first year or so that I had the ZS100, I always shot in manual focus mode and would tap the AF icon on the LED screen once I zoomed in to focus the picture.  The problem with this is that during the 2-3 seconds it takes to fully zoom in, as well as for a second or two after you've zoomed in, the picture is out of focus until you can tap the AF icon on the LED screen - but that disappears while the camera is zooming and doesn't reappear until a second or two after you stop zooming in/out.  So a few months ago, I made the switch over to shooting in auto focus mode.  I generally prefer this to manual focus; especially in situations where the musicians are different distances away from my camera (i.e., I am near the front left side of the stage, so the guitarist in front of me is 8 feet away, the lead singer in the middle of the stage is 15 feet away, and the bass player on the other side of the stage is 25 feet away, etc.).  Shooting in manual focus mode in this scenario, I would have to refocus for all three of the musicians (four if you include the drummer).

A big drawback with auto focus mode is that I tend to have trouble staying in focus when there is a lot of dark parts in the picture.  For example, I zoom in on someone playing a black piano and you can only see their head and the rest of the picture is dark.  In this situation, the auto-focus just drifts in and out of focus and really drives me crazy.  Also, when there are a lot of flashing lights or strobe lights - the auto focus has a hard time handling that.

As far as I can tell, you can't change the AF <--> MF setting while shooting on the fly (by pushing the MF button next to the "Menu Set" button).  Of course, stopping the video in the middle of a show to change this setting is not practical.

I have read quite a bit about the AF/AE button on the back of the ZS100, but can't seem to figure out how to lock the focus when shooting in auto focus mode.  If I could lock the focus, I could zoom in on that guy playing the piano and once I got a properly focused picture -- I could lock it in and not have to worry about the camera drifting in and out of focus.  But I just can't figure this out.  Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.



The AF/AE lock button has 4 different possibilities.

Scroll to WRENCH C screen>AF/AE lock (drop down menu)--->AE LOCK(only exposure is locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF LOCK(only focus is locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF/AE lock(both focus and exposure are locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF-ON(Auto focus starts)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: phil_er_up on March 02, 2020, 07:22:04 AM
Thanks for all the advice and ideas for the camera ts members.

Ever since I updated the camera with the hack I can not get the camera to transfer files to the PC. The PC will not recognize the camera. I have to pull the SD card to transfer the files.
Anyone else have this problem?

Any fixes?

Thanks.

-p
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on March 03, 2020, 03:35:55 PM
For the first year or so that I had the ZS100, I always shot in manual focus mode and would tap the AF icon on the LED screen once I zoomed in to focus the picture.  The problem with this is that during the 2-3 seconds it takes to fully zoom in, as well as for a second or two after you've zoomed in, the picture is out of focus until you can tap the AF icon on the LED screen - but that disappears while the camera is zooming and doesn't reappear until a second or two after you stop zooming in/out.  So a few months ago, I made the switch over to shooting in auto focus mode.  I generally prefer this to manual focus; especially in situations where the musicians are different distances away from my camera (i.e., I am near the front left side of the stage, so the guitarist in front of me is 8 feet away, the lead singer in the middle of the stage is 15 feet away, and the bass player on the other side of the stage is 25 feet away, etc.).  Shooting in manual focus mode in this scenario, I would have to refocus for all three of the musicians (four if you include the drummer).

A big drawback with auto focus mode is that I tend to have trouble staying in focus when there is a lot of dark parts in the picture.  For example, I zoom in on someone playing a black piano and you can only see their head and the rest of the picture is dark.  In this situation, the auto-focus just drifts in and out of focus and really drives me crazy.  Also, when there are a lot of flashing lights or strobe lights - the auto focus has a hard time handling that.

As far as I can tell, you can't change the AF <--> MF setting while shooting on the fly (by pushing the MF button next to the "Menu Set" button).  Of course, stopping the video in the middle of a show to change this setting is not practical.

I have read quite a bit about the AF/AE button on the back of the ZS100, but can't seem to figure out how to lock the focus when shooting in auto focus mode.  If I could lock the focus, I could zoom in on that guy playing the piano and once I got a properly focused picture -- I could lock it in and not have to worry about the camera drifting in and out of focus.  But I just can't figure this out.  Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.



The AF/AE lock button has 4 different possibilities.

Scroll to WRENCH C screen>AF/AE lock (drop down menu)--->AE LOCK(only exposure is locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF LOCK(only focus is locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF/AE lock(both focus and exposure are locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF-ON(Auto focus starts)


The AF/AE lock button has 4 different possibilities.



Scroll to WRENCH C screen>AF/AE lock (drop down menu)--->AE LOCK(only exposure is locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF LOCK(only focus is locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF/AE lock(both focus and exposure are locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF-ON(Auto focus starts)

If you choose any of the 3 settings above except AF-ON(Auto focus starts) You get another selection below the AF/AE lock selection.The next selection below that is AF/AE LOCK ON or OFF.

With LOCK OFF you press and hold the AF/AE button on back of camera to use what you have selected as your choice and when you let go it stops using that selection.

So for instance your filming and zoom in to your piano player -->You have selected the settings of AF LOCK(only focus is locked)and also chosen LOCK OFF.Once you had zoomed into piano man you would press and hold the AF/AE button to lock(really this is switching to Manual focus the focus has just stopped where you told it to)

OR with AF/AE LOCK ON/OFF setting set to LOCK ON.

Same scenario you don't need to PRESS and HOLD the back button of camera(AF/AE) You push it once and the focus is held and push it once again to start autofocus working again.

Now if you want to choose AF-ON(auto focus starts)the LOCK ON/OFF is greyed out unfortunately because this would give you Manual and Autofocus whenever you wanted it.
BUT you still can have MANUAL focus AND Auto focus while filming.

Choose AF-ON(autofocus starts)for the AF/AE back button.

Set your camera to Manual focus.

Now while filming in Manual focus you can PRESS and HOLD the AF/AE back button to use Auto focus whenever you want/need it.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on March 06, 2020, 10:18:55 AM
For the first year or so that I had the ZS100, I always shot in manual focus mode and would tap the AF icon on the LED screen once I zoomed in to focus the picture.  The problem with this is that during the 2-3 seconds it takes to fully zoom in, as well as for a second or two after you've zoomed in, the picture is out of focus until you can tap the AF icon on the LED screen - but that disappears while the camera is zooming and doesn't reappear until a second or two after you stop zooming in/out.  So a few months ago, I made the switch over to shooting in auto focus mode.  I generally prefer this to manual focus; especially in situations where the musicians are different distances away from my camera (i.e., I am near the front left side of the stage, so the guitarist in front of me is 8 feet away, the lead singer in the middle of the stage is 15 feet away, and the bass player on the other side of the stage is 25 feet away, etc.).  Shooting in manual focus mode in this scenario, I would have to refocus for all three of the musicians (four if you include the drummer).

A big drawback with auto focus mode is that I tend to have trouble staying in focus when there is a lot of dark parts in the picture.  For example, I zoom in on someone playing a black piano and you can only see their head and the rest of the picture is dark.  In this situation, the auto-focus just drifts in and out of focus and really drives me crazy.  Also, when there are a lot of flashing lights or strobe lights - the auto focus has a hard time handling that.

As far as I can tell, you can't change the AF <--> MF setting while shooting on the fly (by pushing the MF button next to the "Menu Set" button).  Of course, stopping the video in the middle of a show to change this setting is not practical.

I have read quite a bit about the AF/AE button on the back of the ZS100, but can't seem to figure out how to lock the focus when shooting in auto focus mode.  If I could lock the focus, I could zoom in on that guy playing the piano and once I got a properly focused picture -- I could lock it in and not have to worry about the camera drifting in and out of focus.  But I just can't figure this out.  Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.



The AF/AE lock button has 4 different possibilities.

Scroll to WRENCH C screen>AF/AE lock (drop down menu)--->AE LOCK(only exposure is locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF LOCK(only focus is locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF/AE lock(both focus and exposure are locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF-ON(Auto focus starts)


The AF/AE lock button has 4 different possibilities.



Scroll to WRENCH C screen>AF/AE lock (drop down menu)--->AE LOCK(only exposure is locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF LOCK(only focus is locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF/AE lock(both focus and exposure are locked)
                                                                                          ---> AF-ON(Auto focus starts)

If you choose any of the 3 settings above except AF-ON(Auto focus starts) You get another selection below the AF/AE lock selection.The next selection below that is AF/AE LOCK ON or OFF.

With LOCK OFF you press and hold the AF/AE button on back of camera to use what you have selected as your choice and when you let go it stops using that selection.

So for instance your filming and zoom in to your piano player -->You have selected the settings of AF LOCK(only focus is locked)and also chosen LOCK OFF.Once you had zoomed into piano man you would press and hold the AF/AE button to lock(really this is switching to Manual focus the focus has just stopped where you told it to)

OR with AF/AE LOCK ON/OFF setting set to LOCK ON.

Same scenario you don't need to PRESS and HOLD the back button of camera(AF/AE) You push it once and the focus is held and push it once again to start autofocus working again.

Now if you want to choose AF-ON(auto focus starts)the LOCK ON/OFF is greyed out unfortunately because this would give you Manual and Autofocus whenever you wanted it.

Thanks for doing all of that research.

It seems like the best option for me, based on how I film and the problem I am trying to overcome, is to go with AF/AE LOCK --> AF LOCK, and AF/AE Lock Hold --> OFF.  And it does work -- I zoom in and press the AF/AE LOCK button and it locks in the focus.  The problem is that when I release the button and move to a different focal point, it takes several seconds before it will start auto focusing again.  So basically, this fixes one problem -- but creates another problem. 

I have come to the conclusion that their isn't a perfect solution to the fairly unique problems that come up when filming concerts with a small camera like this.  You just have to work with the limitations that come with each of the two basic options (auto focus or manual focus) and try to overcome them as best you can.

BUT you still can have MANUAL focus AND Auto focus while filming.

Choose AF-ON(autofocus starts)for the AF/AE back button.

Set your camera to Manual focus.

Now while filming in Manual focus you can PRESS and HOLD the AF/AE back button to use Auto focus whenever you want/need it.

A better option IMO is to use the "AF" button on the LED screen (see picture below) when shooting in manual focus mode.  It only requires a light touch with the right thumb, so there is pretty much no chance you'll have any camera shake or unwanted movement.

BUT ... as I said earlier ... there isn't a perfect solution.  About half the time I tap that AF button, the focus goes into a "hunting" mode for a few seconds -- so the camera goes from only being slightly out of focus, to completely out of focus for a few seconds, and then back into perfect focus.  It's really annoying.

(https://i.imgur.com/8xeNQAil.jpg)

I think for the time being, I am just going to stick with auto focus for most shows.  At shows when I am filming from somewhat of a distance from out in front of the stage and all of the performers are relatively equidistant from the camera, I will choose manual focus.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on March 09, 2020, 01:58:45 PM
My most recent effort:
Set 1: https://youtu.be/n0W76gmzfO0
Set 2: https://youtu.be/FH4epL05h9I

I used a 30k kb/s bitrate render and it looks much better. I found how to sync audio by waveform in Davinci, so it took about five minutes to make the second video after processing the audio. Great free program.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on March 13, 2020, 10:29:53 AM
I used a 30k kb/s bitrate render and it looks much better.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, you can use a program like XMedia Recode to synch audio (remux) and produce a lossless 4K video file that is exactly the same as the raw video you started with (except it now includes the alternate audio).  Unless there is a compelling reason to re-encode the video (for example, if you have to correct the color), I don't think you can beat the quality of the ZS100's original 4K video.

https://www.xmedia-recode.de/en/download.php

Here are my instructions on how to use XMedia Recode to produce a lossless 4K video.  Note:  you have to synch the audio in another program prior to muxing it in XMedia Recode.  I do that in Vegas Video; but that can be done in pretty much any video/audio editing program.

1.  Click the Open File icon at the top of the GUI page and select the video and audio files you want to mux.

2.  Format tab (this tab is selected by default when you open the program) - choose your desired format.  I usually choose mkv as it allows 24 bit audio.  And in "Output Stream Type" choose "Video and Audio" (default).

3.  Video tab - choose your video file from the two files in the queue above (by clicking on it) and for "mode" choose "copy" (will be "convert" by default - which you don't want).

4.  Audio tab - the audio in the video file you just chose will automatically be parsed into the output box.  For "mode" choose "copy."  Click the "import" button and choose the audio you want to mux with the video.  Right click the audio that shows in the output box (the audio in the video file) and choose to delete it.  In the source box, click the audio you want to mux with the video and then click on the arrow button between the source and output boxes to move it over to the output side.

5.  At the bottom of the GUI, click the "output" link and then click "Save to folder" to choose the destination for the new file.

6.  Click on the "add to queue" button (blue plus sign) at the top of the page.  Double check to make sure the video and audio in the "Output" box that pops up shows that they are both listed as "copy."

7.  Click encode button at the top of the page to get the muxing started.

*A five minute 4K video will usually take around two minutes to mux.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on March 15, 2020, 01:16:48 AM
I used a 30k kb/s bitrate render and it looks much better.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, you can use a program like XMedia Recode to synch audio (remux) and produce a lossless 4K video file that is exactly the same as the raw video you started with (except it now includes the alternate audio).  Unless there is a compelling reason to re-encode the video (for example, if you have to correct the color), I don't think you can beat the quality of the ZS100's original 4K video.

https://www.xmedia-recode.de/en/download.php

Here are my instructions on how to use XMedia Recode to produce a lossless 4K video.  Note:  you have to synch the audio in another program prior to muxing it in XMedia Recode.  I do that in Vegas Video; but that can be done in pretty much any video/audio editing program.

1.  Click the Open File icon at the top of the GUI page and select the video and audio files you want to mux.

2.  Format tab (this tab is selected by default when you open the program) - choose your desired format.  I usually choose mkv as it allows 24 bit audio.  And in "Output Stream Type" choose "Video and Audio" (default).

3.  Video tab - choose your video file from the two files in the queue above (by clicking on it) and for "mode" choose "copy" (will be "convert" by default - which you don't want).

4.  Audio tab - the audio in the video file you just chose will automatically be parsed into the output box.  For "mode" choose "copy."  Click the "import" button and choose the audio you want to mux with the video.  Right click the audio that shows in the output box (the audio in the video file) and choose to delete it.  In the source box, click the audio you want to mux with the video and then click on the arrow button between the source and output boxes to move it over to the output side.

5.  At the bottom of the GUI, click the "output" link and then click "Save to folder" to choose the destination for the new file.

6.  Click on the "add to queue" button (blue plus sign) at the top of the page.  Double check to make sure the video and audio in the "Output" box that pops up shows that they are both listed as "copy."

7.  Click encode button at the top of the page to get the muxing started.

*A five minute 4K video will usually take around two minutes to mux.

Thanks for the suggestion. It doesn't look like this program works for mac though. Is there a quality issue with the way I did the last videos or is it more of a time saver to do it the way you are suggesting?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on March 15, 2020, 10:10:58 AM
Is there a quality issue with the way I did the last videos or is it more of a time saver to do it the way you are suggesting?

The bottom line is that re-encoding will never improve the quality of the video; it will only degrade it.  So if you can preserve the raw video, it's best to do so.

Your videos look fine on Youtube, but that's not really a fair test (especially since Youtube also re-encodes the video).  To me, the true test is watching the video on a big screen tv.  I take the mkv file I make with XMedia Recode that contains the original video muxed with 24 bit audio and watch those on a 65" tv. 

Regarding saving time -- in my experience with my PC-based video work station, encoding video does take a lot more time than muxing with XMedia Recode.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: jerryfreak on April 11, 2020, 10:41:52 AM
re: ZS100

how durable are these

i see used ones for $200ish

is that a risk vs a new one with warranty for $350-$400?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on April 11, 2020, 02:09:25 PM
re: ZS100

how durable are these

i see used ones for $200ish

is that a risk vs a new one with warranty for $350-$400?

They are still kind of new (came out in 2016) and since they are digital, you don't really have much in the way of moving parts to worry about.  So it's hard to say how durable they are.

I've got two of them -- one that I bought new, and a second that I bought used (although it looked new when I got it).

It's one of the few (only?) point-and-shoot cameras that records unlimited 4K video (after hacking it).  That in and of itself, puts this camera in a rather unique category.  And if you use all the information that has collectively been gathered here in this thread, you can really shoot some nice video with this cam.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: jerryfreak on April 12, 2020, 08:01:57 AM
just asking as i see a hanful of 'for parts not working' on ebay which generally points to a non-serviceable design with a finite life

for consumer electronics i try to buy new with my CC that doubles the warranty

it seems that 399 with a bundle of accessories is the new normal price so i can hope to find something on sale for 350ish at some point and pull the trigger
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on April 12, 2020, 10:08:54 AM
just asking as i see a handful of 'for parts not working' on ebay which generally points to a non-serviceable design with a finite life

it seems that 399 with a bundle of accessories is the new normal price so i can hope to find something on sale for 350ish at some point and pull the trigger

I just checked and out of several dozen for sale, only two were "for parts/as is."  From my anecdotal experience of shooting around 100 full concerts, I have concluded that this camera is solid as a rock.

$399 has been the going price for quite some time.  I doubt it will go down anytime soon because it's been out of production for four years and the ZS200 has been out for a few years, and if Panasonic follows its pattern, a ZS300 will likely be coming on the market soon.  So there simply aren't that many new ones left in the inventory.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: jerryfreak on April 12, 2020, 10:43:06 AM
thanks! useful info
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on April 12, 2020, 01:45:26 PM
It's solid as far as point and shoots are concerned.

Most likely those being sold as Parts/Not working have been dropped.

I bought one off ebay and it was immaculate....even had all that grip tape on it exactly like Guitards has .
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Teen Wolf Blitzer on April 19, 2020, 04:38:53 PM
FYI...you can pick up a GH4 body for $350-4  I own six with a Sony A7 and and Canon XF105.  Don't waste your money on P&S.  MANUAL ALL THE TIME.  JMO

just asking as i see a hanful of 'for parts not working' on ebay which generally points to a non-serviceable design with a finite life

for consumer electronics i try to buy new with my CC that doubles the warranty

it seems that 399 with a bundle of accessories is the new normal price so i can hope to find something on sale for 350ish at some point and pull the trigger
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: lerond on April 19, 2020, 04:53:41 PM
P&S can be way easier to get into a show that has metal/bag search...
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: jerryfreak on April 19, 2020, 05:25:45 PM
P&S can be way easier to get into a show that has metal/bag search...

this

i already have a DSLR. not looking for that, ans many (most?) venues specifically prohibit "professional" cameras, and detachablre lens is usually the ba for 'professional'
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on April 20, 2020, 11:41:49 AM
P&S can be way easier to get into a show that has metal/bag search...

this

i already have a DSLR. not looking for that, ans many (most?) venues specifically prohibit "professional" cameras, and detachable lens is usually the ba for 'professional'

For sure -- with only a few exceptions, you don't even have to hide a P&S camera when entering.  Not to mention, since you can film openly with a P&S, you don't have to hide in the cheap seats to avoid security -- you can film from right up in the front.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: robeti on April 24, 2020, 05:43:19 PM
Not always. Depends on the show,the venue and on how much you film.

But in general, yes. Whole lot easier than a camcorder for all of those reasons.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: tapeheadtoo on April 25, 2020, 07:38:08 AM
I've been lurking in this thread for a while.

I love my ZS100 for all the reasons detailed here... the manual settings, the ease of carry-in for most (but not all) bands/venues, the unlimited recording hack.  That being said there's one thing it lacks which a camcorder (or at least a good/prosumer one) has:  A smooth and precise controllable zoom.  There's no substitute for a nice slow zoom in or out especially in combination with panning.  I find that jerky "stepwise" effect of P&S's to be jarring.  I do understand that given the limited real estate there's just no space for a more complex mechanism.

Of course that's only if you're looking for that sort of effect.  For a fixed shot the ZS100 can't be beat.  And for multi cam projects it's simple enough to edit close and wide shots together. 

I like having multiple cameras in my arsenal; they each have their pros and cons. For sure, there are places where a camcorder won't fly and the ZS100 is perfect.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on April 25, 2020, 08:33:40 AM
there's one thing it lacks which a camcorder (or at least a good/prosumer one) has:  A smooth and precise controllable zoom.  There's no substitute for a nice slow zoom in or out especially in combination with panning.  I find that jerky "stepwise" effect of P&S's to be jarring.  I do understand that given the limited real estate there's just no space for a more complex mechanism.

Have you tried using the zoom slider bar on the LED screen (that you control by vertically sliding up and down with your right thumb)?  Once you get the hang of it, you can get a fairly smooth zoom in/out with minimal jerky stepping effect.  I originally posted this picture to show how to focus by tapping the auto-focus button while filming in manual mode (red circle).  But you can see the slider bar to which I'm referring -- it's on the right side of the LED (white rectangular button in the middle of it).  It has two speeds -- single white triangle is slow, and double white triangle is fast.  To get the camera to display it, tap the camera icon/tab (top tab) and then tap the TW button (top right corner). 

I'm not trying to suggest this is anywhere close to a quality camcorder's zoom function; because it definitely isn't.  But it's a lot better than a typical P&S's zoom rocker (which the ZS100 also has -- co-located with the on/off button -- the use of which can lead to accidentally turning the camera off in the middle of shooting a show).

(https://i.imgur.com/8xeNQAil.jpg)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on April 25, 2020, 10:48:02 AM
I just can't get it to respond properly when using the touch screen zoom function,i tried many times.

To bad there is no focus limiter on this camera.

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: tapeheadtoo on April 25, 2020, 06:16:07 PM


Thank you for pointing out this out. You're right, the touch screen zoom offers a bit more control.  I find that pressing and holding (rather than sliding) on the single triangle works better.  The hard rocker control seems to have the speed of the double triangles which is way too fast.  I'll try to remember this next time.

I'm mourning the loss (due to postponement) of over two dozen shows I was planning to attend in the next few months, a few of which I was going to video.   :(


 

there's one thing it lacks which a camcorder (or at least a good/prosumer one) has:  A smooth and precise controllable zoom.  There's no substitute for a nice slow zoom in or out especially in combination with panning.  I find that jerky "stepwise" effect of P&S's to be jarring.  I do understand that given the limited real estate there's just no space for a more complex mechanism.

Have you tried using the zoom slider bar on the LED screen (that you control by vertically sliding up and down with your right thumb)?  Once you get the hang of it, you can get a fairly smooth zoom in/out with minimal jerky stepping effect.  I originally posted this picture to show how to focus by tapping the auto-focus button while filming in manual mode (red circle).  But you can see the slider bar to which I'm referring -- it's on the right side of the LED (white rectangular button in the middle of it).  It has two speeds -- single white triangle is slow, and double white triangle is fast.  To get the camera to display it, tap the camera icon/tab (top tab) and then tap the TW button (top right corner). 

I'm not trying to suggest this is anywhere close to a quality camcorder's zoom function; because it definitely isn't.  But it's a lot better than a typical P&S's zoom rocker (which the ZS100 also has -- co-located with the on/off button -- the use of which can lead to accidentally turning the camera off in the middle of shooting a show).

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on April 26, 2020, 12:14:16 PM
I'm mourning the loss (due to postponement) of over two dozen shows I was planning to attend in the next few months, a few of which I was going to video.   :(

Back in February, I thought my light March concert schedule (only one show) was going to be the only casualty ... but as everyone now knows, we'll be lucky to see any shows through the end of May.  Who knows how it's going to turn out, but one venue I go to a lot has recently scheduled a show for June 19 (not a rescheduled date - but a new date).  Fingers crossed~!!

One thing that I find really annoying are the shows that now are listed as "New 2021 date to be announced -- keep your tickets."  I want the option of getting a refund instead of waiting for a year and then maybe not being able to go because of a scheduling conflict, etc.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: robeti on June 23, 2020, 05:10:56 PM
Ordered a zs100 this week. Can't wait to do the hack and film a show with it!
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on June 23, 2020, 05:43:07 PM
Ordered a zs100 this week. Can't wait to do the hack and film a show with it!

Here's a clamp that I use with mine. It works quite well.

https://tinyurl.com/yamjw3se


Not sure if I shared this or not, but here's a set from a show I filmed using the settings shared in this thread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH4epL05h9I
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Papaphunk on June 25, 2020, 03:47:31 PM
Ordered a zs100 this week. Can't wait to do the hack and film a show with it!

Same here! Just arrived yesterday. Haven't really dabbled in video much except for Phone Vid's at Shows - looking forward to getting up to speed here.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Papaphunk on June 25, 2020, 03:51:47 PM

Here's a clamp that I use with mine. It works quite well.

https://tinyurl.com/yamjw3se


thanks! Just grabbed one.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: edtyre on June 26, 2020, 10:52:16 AM
Ordered a zs100 this week. Can't wait to do the hack and film a show with it!

Same here! Just arrived yesterday. Haven't really dabbled in video much except for Phone Vid's at Shows - looking forward to getting up to speed here.

Good luck, worse move i ever made buying a decent camera :-)
Now i'm addicted to audio and video!
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on June 26, 2020, 11:19:56 AM
Ordered a zs100 this week. Can't wait to do the hack and film a show with it!

Same here! Just arrived yesterday. Haven't really dabbled in video much except for Phone Vid's at Shows - looking forward to getting up to speed here.

Good luck, worse move i ever made buying a decent camera :-)
Now i'm addicted to audio and video!

I started out as video only and then started recording audio also; because even if you know someone else is going to record audio, you never know how it's going to turn out.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Papaphunk on June 26, 2020, 03:00:13 PM
Ordered a zs100 this week. Can't wait to do the hack and film a show with it!

Same here! Just arrived yesterday. Haven't really dabbled in video much except for Phone Vid's at Shows - looking forward to getting up to speed here.

Good luck, worse move i ever made buying a decent camera :-)
Now i'm addicted to audio and video!

thx for the "hack" video. I got it to work, hoping to test out some extended 4K video options this weekend.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: robeti on June 26, 2020, 03:53:06 PM
Ordered a zs100 this week. Can't wait to do the hack and film a show with it!

Same here! Just arrived yesterday. Haven't really dabbled in video much except for Phone Vid's at Shows - looking forward to getting up to speed here.

Good luck, worse move i ever made buying a decent camera :-)
Now i'm addicted to audio and video!

haha nice. For me it all started with video. Now that I have pretty decent mics, my videos are so much better.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Papaphunk on July 18, 2020, 01:00:34 PM
Used the Settings someone mentioned here a few pages ago, 2nd 4K Video upload using the camera with the internal mics for right now.

So Nice to be able to capture a 90 Minute Outdoor Performance. Will need to clear some stuff off my older laptop before I mix these with my Mic Sources. Fun to work with for now.

Wind kicks up from time to time in between songs, but enjoyable sound and views when the band is playing...

Local Band - playing together for 35 years - Mighty Manatees Band - Upper Salford Park, PA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC--RHbMnNo&feature=youtu.be

O0

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Papaphunk on July 19, 2020, 08:54:04 AM
Here's 2 more Recent Uploads Using the Internal Camera Mics in 4K.

Serene Green Acoustic Duo - Traditional Bluegrass - Bethlehem, PA Based

Set 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPUDU9eQzqk&t=299s

Set 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdQJNilXpx0&t=237s
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on July 20, 2020, 07:49:59 AM
Looks good! What software are you using?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Papaphunk on July 20, 2020, 04:13:32 PM
Looks good! What software are you using?

Uploading straight from the SD Anker Card Reader to YouTube when I get home. They are usually processed by the morning I have found.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: jerryfreak on July 21, 2020, 07:30:39 AM
on the team... got my (new to me) ZS100 yesterday!
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: capnhook on July 21, 2020, 11:06:06 AM
Used the Settings someone mentioned here a few pages ago, 2nd 4K Video upload using the camera with the internal mics for right now.

So Nice to be able to capture a 90 Minute Outdoor Performance. Will need to clear some stuff off my older laptop before I mix these with my Mic Sources. Fun to work with for now.

Wind kicks up from time to time in between songs, but enjoyable sound and views when the band is playing...

Local Band - playing together for 35 years - Mighty Manatees Band - Upper Salford Park, PA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC--RHbMnNo&feature=youtu.be

O0

Niiiiiice, Rich.  Are you going to use PluralEyes later, or something like that?  4k wow I can see nosehairs  :bigsmile:

Sounds like there is some kind autolevel going on on the camera audio.

I like the sound of the fountain between songs.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on July 21, 2020, 01:46:18 PM
on the team... got my (new to me) ZS100 yesterday!

Just in case you missed it - here is a short presentation I made that walks you through the hack for unlimited recording time:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JDEBby1zOT1FIkVMN321RLPNlICRcZJ2zXaMVaJqGNw/edit?usp=sharing
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Papaphunk on July 21, 2020, 02:13:15 PM
Used the Settings someone mentioned here a few pages ago, 2nd 4K Video upload using the camera with the internal mics for right now.

So Nice to be able to capture a 90 Minute Outdoor Performance. Will need to clear some stuff off my older laptop before I mix these with my Mic Sources. Fun to work with for now.

Wind kicks up from time to time in between songs, but enjoyable sound and views when the band is playing...

Local Band - playing together for 35 years - Mighty Manatees Band - Upper Salford Park, PA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC--RHbMnNo&feature=youtu.be

O0

Niiiiiice, Rich.  Are you going to use PluralEyes later, or something like that?  4k wow I can see nosehairs  :bigsmile:

Sounds like there is some kind autolevel going on on the camera audio.

I like the sound of the fountain between songs.

Hey Bud, yeah that will be phase 2 to add my audio to the video. I currently have between 5 and 18 GB Space on my old laptop and these files run 45 - 75 GB depending on the time. Newer laptop with more space to play around with combining sources will be up next.

Fun new tool to add to the arsenal.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on July 21, 2020, 03:38:18 PM
FYI - Davinci Resolve will autosync the two sources and is a very capable FREE software. I highly recommend it although there's a bit of a learning curve.

I used the camera and Davinci Resolve for this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH4epL05h9I

I've only attempted to sync a single stereo source (2 ch aud + LR SBD mixdown) to the camera audio, so if anyone has suggestions on how to sync more than one source, it could be useful in the future.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: jerryfreak on July 21, 2020, 03:51:08 PM
on the team... got my (new to me) ZS100 yesterday!

Just in case you missed it - here is a short presentation I made that walks you through the hack for unlimited recording time:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JDEBby1zOT1FIkVMN321RLPNlICRcZJ2zXaMVaJqGNw/edit?usp=sharing

i didnt get the yellow triangle, but my recording time shows 20m20s (i only have a 16GB card handy)

perhaps the previous owner already unlocked it?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on July 21, 2020, 05:10:41 PM
on the team... got my (new to me) ZS100 yesterday!

Just in case you missed it - here is a short presentation I made that walks you through the hack for unlimited recording time:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JDEBby1zOT1FIkVMN321RLPNlICRcZJ2zXaMVaJqGNw/edit?usp=sharing

i didnt get the yellow triangle, but my recording time shows 20m20s (i only have a 16GB card handy)

perhaps the previous owner already unlocked it?


The yellow triangle appears everytime you power off if hack was successful.

Hopefully they didn't exclude this hack with some software revision.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: jerryfreak on July 21, 2020, 06:56:25 PM
yeah it shows the yellow triangle now, and give me 41 minutes on a 32GB card in 4K
in FHD it wants to do 20m20s which would put me right at the 4GB limit
4K shows longer recording time (~41 min which is the full card), it records continuously but auto-splits at 4GB - i assume it splits seamlessly

the 32GB SDHC card formats as FAT32 in camera and if i format it as exfat on my computer it doesnt like it and wants a reformat
if i used a larger card would it format it as exfat and make longer files? or is it safer to autosplit at 4GB?

what do you guys like for cases? none of my other camera cases accommodate the lens thickness

not really a case but this looks appealing as extra protection

https://www.amazon.com/BolinUS-Fullbody-Ultra-thin-Lightweight-Panasonic/dp/B077L1ZC53

im assuming the touchscreen can accommodate self-adhesive phone screen protectors without issue?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on July 21, 2020, 07:19:58 PM
yeah it does it now

what do you guys like for cases? none of my other camera cases accommodate the lens thickness

not really a case but this looks appealing as extra protection

https://www.amazon.com/BolinUS-Fullbody-Ultra-thin-Lightweight-Panasonic/dp/B077L1ZC53

im assuming the touchscreen can accommodate self-adhesive phone screen protectors without issue?

I'm using the   Lowepro Tahoe cs20, camera fits nicely usb cable,extra battery.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on July 21, 2020, 08:30:06 PM
yeah it shows the yellow triangle now, and give me 41 minutes on a 32GB card in 4K
in FHD it wants to do 20m20s which would put me right at the 4GB limit
4K shows longer recording time (~41 min which is the full card), it records continuously but auto-splits at 4GB - i assume it splits seamlessly

Kind of odd that it's like this, but I'm pretty sure that hack does not also make it possible to record unlimited in some of the other formats in which you can shoot video.

the 32GB SDHC card formats as FAT32 in camera and if i format it as exfat on my computer it doesnt like it and wants a reformat
if i used a larger card would it format it as exfat and make longer files? or is it safer to autosplit at 4GB?

I just checked the properties of my SD card, and my camera (by default) formats it as EXFAT.  I didn't even know you could get it to format as FAT32.  I did a Control-F search in the manual for "FAT32" and there were no results.  You asked about 4GB autosplits.  Personally, I'd never do that, so I'm happy to simply let it create huge files (upwards of 70GBs sometimes).  For editing and audio syncing purposes, I find it way easier to have the entire show as one video file (unless the show goes over 90 minutes, then I would have a second file). 

As per the manual:  Always format cards with this camera. Please reformat the card with this camera if it has already been formatted with a computer or another device.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: jerryfreak on July 21, 2020, 09:01:04 PM
thats an sdhc/sdxc thing

all sdxcs are formatted as exfat by default to address volumes over 32GB
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Papaphunk on July 27, 2020, 09:26:50 AM
Here's a new one I experience the last 2 weekends. Ever have your ZS100 shut off automatically in extended video mode ?

Happened to me the past 2 Saturday's and I think it was due to near 100 degree heat in the sun. First set hit record, went off to do stuff, came back and the unit was turned off. No picture. I turned it off and then on again, and was able to capture the Full Second set no issues. Weird and has me thinking might need to toss an umbrella over it to protect a little from the direct sunlight overheating the unit. Batteries were at full charge each time. Just curious, will keep working with it, and the 2nd sets came out stellar both times.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on July 27, 2020, 05:50:47 PM
Here's a new one I experience the last 2 weekends. Ever have your ZS100 shut off automatically in extended video mode ?

Happened to me the past 2 Saturday's and I think it was due to near 100 degree heat in the sun. First set hit record, went off to do stuff, came back and the unit was turned off. No picture. I turned it off and then on again, and was able to capture the Full Second set no issues. Weird and has me thinking might need to toss an umbrella over it to protect a little from the direct sunlight overheating the unit. Batteries were at full charge each time. Just curious, will keep working with it, and the 2nd sets came out stellar both times.

It's happened to me a few times.  I chalked it up to heat.  Same result - I was able to get it restarted and started recording again with no problems.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Papaphunk on July 28, 2020, 09:40:45 AM
Here's a new one I experience the last 2 weekends. Ever have your ZS100 shut off automatically in extended video mode ?

Happened to me the past 2 Saturday's and I think it was due to near 100 degree heat in the sun. First set hit record, went off to do stuff, came back and the unit was turned off. No picture. I turned it off and then on again, and was able to capture the Full Second set no issues. Weird and has me thinking might need to toss an umbrella over it to protect a little from the direct sunlight overheating the unit. Batteries were at full charge each time. Just curious, will keep working with it, and the 2nd sets came out stellar both times.

It's happened to me a few times.  I chalked it up to heat.  Same result - I was able to get it restarted and started recording again with no problems.

Good to know - thx. Love the unit besides this little issue.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: goodcooker on July 28, 2020, 11:23:04 AM

Anyone have experience with the LX10?

I have a line on a really cheap one locally and the specs are comparable for the most part.

The idea is to use it for a fixed angle video shot at open taping shows, live video streaming in conjunction with an HDMI switcher and in the pocket for snapshots.

I have a Nikon DSLR and a decent prime lens for more serious stuff and a second video angle.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on July 29, 2020, 09:10:16 AM
Here's a new one I experience the last 2 weekends. Ever have your ZS100 shut off automatically in extended video mode ?

Happened to me the past 2 Saturday's and I think it was due to near 100 degree heat in the sun. First set hit record, went off to do stuff, came back and the unit was turned off. No picture. I turned it off and then on again, and was able to capture the Full Second set no issues. Weird and has me thinking might need to toss an umbrella over it to protect a little from the direct sunlight overheating the unit. Batteries were at full charge each time. Just curious, will keep working with it, and the 2nd sets came out stellar both times.

It's happened to me a few times.  I chalked it up to heat.  Same result - I was able to get it restarted and started recording again with no problems.

Good to know - thx. Love the unit besides this little issue.

Although I said I chalked it up to heat, the weird thing is that it has recorded 4K video just fine for over 90 minutes in a really hot venue; and then had problems in a place where the temperature was normal.  The REAL issue for me is that it has stopped recording a few times (presumably because of the heat) and I didn't realize it and missed a big chunk of video -- that is super frustrating.  I have two ZS100s now, so I keep the second one handy and ready to go for this exact situation.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: jerryfreak on July 31, 2020, 06:23:10 AM
Although I said I chalked it up to heat, the weird thing is that it has recorded 4K video just fine for over 90 minutes in a really hot venue; and then had problems in a place where the temperature was normal. 

maybe the difference is sunlight? a venue can feel warm but direct sunlight on a black camera gives it almost no chance of dissipating heat
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on July 31, 2020, 10:24:45 AM
Although I said I chalked it up to heat, the weird thing is that it has recorded 4K video just fine for over 90 minutes in a really hot venue; and then had problems in a place where the temperature was normal. 

maybe the difference is sunlight? a venue can feel warm but direct sunlight on a black camera gives it almost no chance of dissipating heat

The sun wasn't the culprit for me, as it's only happened in indoor venues, and if I recall correctly, mostly during the winter.  The last time it happened was at the last show I attended before everything shutdown (Eric Johnson on 23 Feb).
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: jerryfreak on July 31, 2020, 03:28:41 PM
Although I said I chalked it up to heat, the weird thing is that it has recorded 4K video just fine for over 90 minutes in a really hot venue; and then had problems in a place where the temperature was normal. 

maybe the difference is sunlight? a venue can feel warm but direct sunlight on a black camera gives it almost no chance of dissipating heat

The sun wasn't the culprit for me, as it's only happened in indoor venues, and if I recall correctly, mostly during the winter.  The last time it happened was at the last show I attended before everything shutdown (Eric Johnson on 23 Feb).
i wonder if a 50mm computer fan run off a 9V pointed up the stand at it would make the difference?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on August 01, 2020, 03:25:14 PM
Has the shutdown issue been experienced using a USB > Power Bank?

I've yet to use my camera outdoors but haven't had a problem with this setup (yet)  :smash:

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 02, 2020, 08:58:01 AM
Although I said I chalked it up to heat, the weird thing is that it has recorded 4K video just fine for over 90 minutes in a really hot venue; and then had problems in a place where the temperature was normal. 

maybe the difference is sunlight? a venue can feel warm but direct sunlight on a black camera gives it almost no chance of dissipating heat

The sun wasn't the culprit for me, as it's only happened in indoor venues, and if I recall correctly, mostly during the winter.  The last time it happened was at the last show I attended before everything shutdown (Eric Johnson on 23 Feb).
i wonder if a 50mm computer fan run off a 9V pointed up the stand at it would make the difference?

It generally isn't enough of an issue for me, especially since I have a second ZS100 that I keep ready for a switch off; so I haven't tried anything like that.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 02, 2020, 08:59:36 AM
Has the shutdown issue been experienced using a USB > Power Bank?

I film standing up in the audience at most shows, so having the power bank would be too cumbersome for me.  Having said that, I don't think the issue is power related - I think it's just internal heat.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Papaphunk on August 05, 2020, 10:27:54 AM
Used it twice outside over the weekend, no issues. Was setup under a pop up tent, and then over to the side in the shade.

So I think setting it up in the direct sunlight - 95 degree temps - is not a good idea, just fyi.

Haven't tried if with a portable usb bank, as I set it up on a stand alone Mic stand. Hope this helps.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: ol' dirty taper on September 13, 2020, 04:33:37 PM
I recently picked up a silver ZS100 brand new on ebay.

Thanks to everyone in this thread for helping me with the settings to get this running properly for video. We still have no shows here on the central coast of California, but I'm excited to use this when the time comes.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: ol' dirty taper on September 13, 2020, 10:12:38 PM
Been playing with the phone all day getting used to the settings, has anyone used the camera with the built in WiFi connection to their phone? You have the same ISO and F-stop/SS controls at hand as well as focus control. Just downloaded it and playing around a bit with the controls. I found it in the app store under Panasonic Image App.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on September 13, 2020, 11:03:01 PM
Been playing with the phone all day getting used to the settings, has anyone used the camera with the built in WiFi connection to their phone? You have the same ISO and F-stop/SS controls at hand as well as focus control. Just downloaded it and playing around a bit with the controls. I found it in the app store under Panasonic Image App.

It works intermittently with my s9+. When it works, it does very well.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on January 19, 2021, 01:09:35 PM
Has anyone been able to limit ISO when shooting in shutter priority mode? The option is there in manual on the click wheel but when going to movie manual on the wheel, there is no option.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on January 19, 2021, 03:04:43 PM
Has anyone been able to limit ISO when shooting in shutter priority mode? The option is there in manual on the click wheel but when going to movie manual on the wheel, there is no option.


I doubt it.

In Shutter Priority you pick the shutter speed.And the Aperture and ISO are changed automatically to get the correct exposure.


You have to go full manual mode.It's not hard at all.

What do you want to limit it to?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on February 25, 2021, 12:57:34 PM
Has anyone been able to limit ISO when shooting in shutter priority mode? The option is there in manual on the click wheel but when going to movie manual on the wheel, there is no option.


I doubt it.

In Shutter Priority you pick the shutter speed.And the Aperture and ISO are changed automatically to get the correct exposure.


You have to go full manual mode.It's not hard at all.

What do you want to limit it to?

Thanks for the reply. I usually limit it to 800 on my M50 because low light performance is really bad but my a6400 looks fine at 3200...I guess I need to play around with this camera but I really only use it for filming shows and there's not many to go around currently.

Otherwise, I bought a Lowepro Tahoe 25 ii case for the camera at Target for $3.99 on clearance and it fits perfectly with room for an extra battery or dummy battery + cord.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 06, 2021, 12:09:23 PM
For the life of me, I can't seem to figure out how to adjust the mic level for the ZS100.  Of course, I don't normally use camera audio, but there have been a few times when my audio rig didn't work out, so camera audio was all I had.  I have two ZS100 cameras.  The mic level in one is fine, but the other one is super low and I want to raise it ... but can't figure out how.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on August 07, 2021, 01:13:38 AM
For the life of me, I can't seem to figure out how to adjust the mic level for the ZS100.  Of course, I don't normally use camera audio, but there have been a few times when my audio rig didn't work out, so camera audio was all I had.  I have two ZS100 cameras.  The mic level in one is fine, but the other one is super low and I want to raise it ... but can't figure out how.

I'm pretty sure these cameras use an auto gain function. I just looked through the manual and the camera and couldn't find any way to adjust gain.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 12, 2021, 12:54:23 PM
I changed something in the settings, so now when I tap the MF button on the back of the ZS100 to change to manual focus, the box with the yellow lines (see image) for the direct focus area appears - but not the option to switch between MF, AF, etc.  I have been through the various camera menus several times trying to figure it out, but haven't had any success.

Can anyone help out?  Thanks!

(https://i.imgur.com/lrB2gis.jpg?1)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on August 13, 2021, 07:20:24 PM
I changed something in the settings, so now when I tap the MF button on the back of the ZS100 to change to manual focus, the box with the yellow lines (see image) for the direct focus area appears - but not the option to switch between MF, AF, etc.  I have been through the various camera menus several times trying to figure it out, but haven't had any success.

Can anyone help out?  Thanks!

(https://i.imgur.com/lrB2gis.jpg?1)


On the back of the camera to the left of the center Menu button is the MF button.
If when you press this the yellow focus square pops up(such was the case for me)You need to go into the Menu>Custom Wrench screen>Page 3 DIRECT FOCUS AREA -OFF-.
Now when you press the MF button on back of camera you get your choices of AF.MF
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 14, 2021, 11:12:24 AM
You need to go into the Menu>Custom Wrench screen>Page 3 DIRECT FOCUS AREA -OFF-.
Now when you press the MF button on back of camera you get your choices of AF.MF

I would have bet my last penny that I already tried this and it didn't work ... but after reading your post, I tried it again -- and bingo!  WTF?!  Thanks for setting me straight.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 26, 2021, 08:58:29 AM
After largely going unused for a year and several months because of the pandemic, I noticed my ZS100 batteries don't hold juice like they used to.  The OEM Panasonic DMW-BLG10PP batteries that used to easily go for 90 minutes (one time I shot for 104 minutes continuously) were dying at 75 minutes.  I bought two new DMW-BLG10PP batteries ($44.95 on Amazon) and I'm back to 90-100 minute runs.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on August 31, 2021, 11:28:56 AM
Image stabilization in 1080 video mode........i don't see any ICON indicationg that this is working.

Anyone have any info about this.

Top dial set to M i can select Image Stabilizer in the menu but no evidence it is actual on in Video mode.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: OrionMan on August 31, 2021, 04:04:34 PM
Hi,  I just joined yesterday after reading this entire thread and here are some things I wanted to add. (I have the ZS100) Hope I remember it all!

Image Stabilization:
It works in 1080 as well as 4k (people were stating it doesn't work in 4K).
The setting is shown in the menu when the top dial is set to the Still photo "M" mode (I never user the other 'still photo' setting modes,  but I a quick look in "S" mode and it is there so I'm confident it is there in the other still photo modes too). 
BUT, it is not displayed/avilable in the menu when the dial is in the Video mode.
When you have the dial in the M mode, don't go the the side menu showing the movie camera.  Instead, go to the side menu showing the still camera and set the stabilization on or off there.
Once you set it, it will work that way for both stills and movies, not matter what shooting mode the top dial is set to.
You might not think it is working when just monitoring the screen (or EVF) because the stabilization only works during the recording, not when just monitoring. (Same thing with certain focus mode - with continuous auto focus set to off, it will still continuously auto focus during monitoring but not after pressing the record button - which sometimes makes me question which settings I made).
To verify this works, zoom all the way.  Have your focus box small and on a particular object (I used a corner of a distant roof to place it in the corner of the focus box to make it easy to see if it drifts).  Monitor it and note the jitter, then hit record and see the jitter disappear!
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: OrionMan on August 31, 2021, 04:09:53 PM
And now my experience about ISO settings while recording.

I customized my lens ring to adjust ISO.
But to use it WHILE recording is in progress, the top mode dial must not be in Video Mode.  I put it in stills mode (M) and it works perfectly. In video mode it can only be adjusted when not recording.

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: OrionMan on August 31, 2021, 04:46:29 PM
Shooting video in Video or Stills Mode?

The top dial lets you choose a Stills mode or a Video mode. 
In both modes you can do video.  I see advantages for both, but customizing my be able to make one or the be the best of both.

First, let me tell you how I set my Focus mode.
I set it to:
-1 spot AF mode.
-Continuous AF turned off.
This way, whatever object the 1 spot box is on, the camera will NOT focus on it unless I half push the shutter button. 
I do a 1/2 push, and wait for the box to turn green (green indicates it locked focus) and then release the button.
If there is ok light and ok contrast on the object, this just takes a split second to turn green.
I like this procedure because if I want to record a person on stage, and an audience member (or anything else) gets in my way, the camera will not move focus away and onto the audience member.
Continuous AF would interrupt focus also when panning from one performer another if the gap between them has and object further away (the back of the stage) or closer to the camera (again, audience members).
Continuous AF can also reduces battery life.
If you are far enough away from the stage and centered, once you have focus set this way, there is no need to refocus again unless you zoom in an out a lot.  I find that if you lock focus when zoomed in all the way, it will stay in focus when you zoom back in all the way again (I have to repeatedly zoom in/out in 1 recording to see how well it is retained).  I find that if focus is made when zoomed all the way in, that focus will still hold ok without need to refocus after zooming out (I have to test this some more in order to confirm).

Video mode (top dial mode):
I can 1/2 press the shutter button to lock focus during a recording.
-BAD thing in this dial mode is that if I accidentally push too much, I also accidentally end the recording short.  This is NOT the case if I accidentally push too hard in Stills (M) mode.
This issue might be because I customized the shutter button to record/stop record video - it's been a while since I made most of my customization).
-GOOD thing in this dial mode is that I can change my ISO WHILE recording using the lens ring.  But I can't in Stills mode (M). 
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: OrionMan on August 31, 2021, 05:25:10 PM
Dimming while Zooming In.

Someone mentioned that as they zoom in that the video got dimmer and would, if I recall correctly, like a way to keep the aperture constant (or maybe it was ISO constant, or simply exposure?). 

One option would be to set the aperture to F5.6 when zoomed to the widest zoom.  F5.6 is the lowest F setting (lower F # lets in more light) when the lens is zoomed all the way in.  Bad thing is when the lens is wide, your image won't let in as much light as it could get.

I already mentioned in my post above that I set the ring to allow me to adjust ISO during recording.  I prefer that method.  It needs to be in Stills mode (M), not Video Mode.

I also noticed just now that in Stills (M) mode, the exposure is compensating for the dark environment, even if I don't have ISO set to Auto.   In video mode, my recording remains dark.
In either mode, monitoring looks dark, but only once I start recording does it look corrected (brighter). 
In Video mode, I see the Video Camera's menu "Exposure Mode" set to Manual, so I am sure that is the reason, but I do not see the option in the Camera menu.  And I am sure I can spend time trying to figure it out but I am fine with it (or if anyone needs to know to help them out, I will continue researching to help you out).  I know for sure that getting out of M mode would work too.

I'm fine with it because I always prefer either Video more or Manual mode.  I always want as much light as possible so I keep the Aperture (F) as low as possible.  I definitely want the shutter speed to remain 1/(2XFPS) and then ISO I usually leave at whatever gives me the best lighting (but also can set it on the fly during recording using the lens ring).  So ISO is really the only thing I might change (hardly ever, and usually only when super bright lights turn on at the end of the show as the band bowes at the end or lights up the crowd).

I know you guys had this camera for a while (threads been out for a few years) and probably figured this stuff out by now, but thought I'd share my experience in case it could help.  I learned a lot from just one day of reading in this website so would like to help too if possible.  I think I had more to write but forgot, lol.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: OrionMan on August 31, 2021, 05:57:18 PM
Now I remember...

FOCUS Hunting:

Someone mentioned about when they focus, the camera will look like it is hunting (focusing back and forth).

All Panasonic camera use "Contrast Detection" AF.

Sony, Canon, Nikon and others use this technology on some other their cameras, but most other their cameras also have a "Phase Detection" type of AF.  A much better AF technology.

Contrast AF will estimate the distance of an object, overshoot and undershoot the focus distance and then redo it over an over again, in nanoseconds (?) but each time over/undershot less and less of a distance from the object until it nails it.  That is why you see that weirdness as it focuses.

Canon uses dual pixel AF (a type of Phase Detection).  Each pixel has 2 sides (a diode in each) that samples object (and I am guessing uses parallax angle measurement) to figure out the distance it needs to focus at and WAH-POW! - it just focuses just once, right to that distance. 

I may not have explained all this 100% correctly, but you can google "Phase Detection Auto Focus", and "Contract Detection Auto Focus" and "Canon Dual Pixel Auto Focus" to get it more accurately explained.  On the camera forums, video guys LOVE the Panasonic camera, as long as their workflow doesn't rely too much on Auto Focus.

I have at least 2 cameras from each brand and feel:
Sony: Great technology, bad ergonomic and menus and not fun to use.
Canon: great tech (pretty close, some say as good), great ergonomic, great menu system, fun to use.
Panasonic: bad AF, great menu system, best options for changing size of one spot focus (but again, not so good AF). I have to use the EVF to make sure I got focus nailed.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: OrionMan on August 31, 2021, 11:36:22 PM
Mic Recording Level.

I mostly only use this camera only for concerts (loud rock concerts) so this is what I would suggest...
Unfortunately there is no way to adjust the recording level.
Someone in this thread mentioned to place the Wind Noise Canceller to High.  I have not tried that yet (I have mine set to Medium). 
I have learned and experienced that "Zoom Mic" set to ON is not a good thing.  This amplifies the sound the more you zoom in.  It's already loud at the concerts I go to so no need to amplify audio. Turning it off, it sounds much cleaner. 
The audio recording on this camera is atrocious.  Even my older and much cheaper pocket Panny cameras sound better.  If I recall correctly, the M4/3 and larger sensor Panasonic cameras are pretty good with their mics and have much cleaner preamps.  Of course, still nothing like external mics/preamps/recorder.

Anyone do an audio comparison with this camera and the 1" sensor pocket Sony RX100VII?  I have interchangeable lens cameras by Sony and it sounds so much better, but not sure how the compact Sony's are.  RX100VII doesn't have the same zoom range, but the lens is sharper so you can crop in even more than the equivalent to the ZS100 and it will be sharper.  Works a little better in low light too. Plus has a mic input. Has so much more that is better about it for me (and a lot of other things that are better, but they don't all matter much because I only use it for 1 purpose), but it cost about 3X as much as I got the ZS100 new.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on September 01, 2021, 04:10:34 PM
Hi,  I just joined yesterday after reading this entire thread and here are some things I wanted to add. (I have the ZS100) Hope I remember it all!

Image Stabilization:
It works in 1080 as well as 4k (people were stating it doesn't work in 4K).
The setting is shown in the menu when the top dial is set to the Still photo "M" mode (I never user the other 'still photo' setting modes,  but I a quick look in "S" mode and it is there so I'm confident it is there in the other still photo modes too). 
BUT, it is not displayed/avilable in the menu when the dial is in the Video mode.
When you have the dial in the M mode, don't go the the side menu showing the movie camera.  Instead, go to the side menu showing the still camera and set the stabilization on or off there.
Once you set it, it will work that way for both stills and movies, not matter what shooting mode the top dial is set to.
You might not think it is working when just monitoring the screen (or EVF) because the stabilization only works during the recording, not when just monitoring. (Same thing with certain focus mode - with continuous auto focus set to off, it will still continuously auto focus during monitoring but not after pressing the record button - which sometimes makes me question which settings I made).
To verify this works, zoom all the way.  Have your focus box small and on a particular object (I used a corner of a distant roof to place it in the corner of the focus box to make it easy to see if it drifts).  Monitor it and note the jitter, then hit record and see the jitter disappear!

How do i change the size of the focus square?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on September 01, 2021, 04:44:06 PM
I  found it.....

I'll try the smallest focus box next time.

In great lighting the normal focus box was the worst experience i've had with any camera so far.

The real problem is on the Canon dslr like the 7d and 1d.

On those cameras in custom functions you can set the AF speed from slowest to fastest.

Slowest being the best because it waits a second before trying to instantly refocus.

If we can find away to hack the zs100 the sames than we have something going.


EDIT::
So some pannys  do  have this...is it hidden on the zs100? :help:

https://support-uk.panasonic.eu/app/answers/detail/a_id/4413/~/how-to-customize-the-auto-focus-settings-for-video-recording.---dc-gh5%2C-dc-gh5s
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: OrionMan on September 01, 2021, 05:55:25 PM
"Slowest being the best because it waits a second before trying to instantly refocus."

I don't think it "waits" (at least not on the ones that came out the last 3 or so years).  From what I've been reading, the slow/fast feature is the speed that the focus takes place.  With a slow setting, you will slowly see the object you are focusing on become less and less blurry and more and more in focus. Both slow and fast start at the same time to focus, but the focus motors move slower.  Not sure if it's hidden in the ZS100...

I like the focus box in the Panasonic more than my Sony and Canons.  I can used the touch screen to pinch it to more than 2 different sizes, but the Canon and Sony (that I own) I can only set it to 2 different sizes and only from the menus.  And the Sony's box is a light gray color that, in any kind of light, is often incredibly hard to see where it is.

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on September 01, 2021, 09:39:04 PM
The slow ,fast AF tracking sensitivity is there for sports and birds in flight photographers.

If the photographer is tracking a football player down the field on the fastest setting if he missed the player for a second or something came in between that player and the lens.The focus would instantly grab focus on that interruption.Missing the key player or goal.

Or for birds in flight especially with a long 600mm prime lens(and focus limiter of course.)It really works i have used it for years.

The slowest setting actual prevents this and does pause for a moment before snapping into focus.

Here's a short video from Canon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBExH5wgoVY
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: OrionMan on September 02, 2021, 02:39:29 AM
OK, I didn't know you were talking about features that were for taking photos.  (EDIT:  or does that feature work for video too?)

I was thinking on the video end.
The newer mirrorless Canon cameras (R5/R6) have a "Movie Servo AF Speed" menu page with options "AF Speed" and similar Slow/Fast slider as the one in your video for the Stills photo.
This would work (for Video) as I mentioned previously.

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: phil_er_up on September 03, 2021, 07:55:35 AM
Bought my second one of these cameras for when my breaks or or could run 2 of them...
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Teen Wolf Blitzer on September 04, 2021, 02:48:43 PM
Cannot get over the love of this camera.  Used em.  Meh.  Just get a GH4.  I don't get it.  And you should NEVER shoot any video with auto anything!
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on September 04, 2021, 03:06:08 PM
Cannot get over the love of this camera.  Used em.  Meh.  Just get a GH4.  I don't get it.  And you should NEVER shoot any video with auto anything!

Good luck getting a GH4 into an arena show.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: OrionMan on September 04, 2021, 04:19:43 PM
Cannot get over the love of this camera.  Used em.  Meh.  Just get a GH4.  I don't get it.  And you should NEVER shoot any video with auto anything!

Cannot get over how people cannot understand that when a GH4 (or any interchangeable lens camera) is prohibited from being allowed into a show, that uses metal detectors and requires all bags to be clear, that this DC-ZS100/200 is one of the few cameras that would be allowed that has a 1" or larger sensor with at least an 8X zoom range (10X for the ZS100).

When a clear bag is not required, I get my APS-C camera in with a detachable lens. (I would never try to sneak in my FF with a 70-200 2.8 lens)
But when a clear bag is required and they scan your ticket 1st and THEN scan you and your bag, you cannot got back to your car and leave your nice GH4 there and "re-enter".
DC-ZS100 is a backup camera - nobody that is really into photography/videography really "loves" this camera. Most likely everyone in this thread only got it because it is allowed in.

If you know how to get a GH4 through security every time, in a 12" clear bag, then do share with us.  Otherwise I don't understand why at least 2X now you have posted in this thread the dislike for this camera but have not offered any solution on how to successfully get a GH4 and a 200mm FF equivalent lens into a 12" clear bag past security.

(https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/8cd00f19-8ffb-4d7e-a48b-79421bef975b_1.480ab2529d16c4f319a273d9e4da3470.jpeg?odnWidth=612&odnHeight=612&odnBg=ffffff)

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Teen Wolf Blitzer on September 04, 2021, 06:57:54 PM
So yer bootleg videoing.  BYE!  So now we discuss bootleg videoing of shows?  This site has gone downhill....If I see ya at a show I'm filming I'll bust yer ass.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: DavidPuddy on September 04, 2021, 07:02:54 PM
Ignore the troll
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on September 06, 2021, 11:07:48 AM
So yer bootleg videoing.  BYE!  So now we discuss bootleg videoing of shows?  This site has gone downhill....If I see ya at a show I'm filming I'll bust yer ass.

You've been a member at this site for 17+ years and have 5K+ posts and you don't understand that bringing a camera into a show ≠ bootlegging?  WTF??
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on October 19, 2021, 04:34:40 PM
Not sure if this was discussed earlier BUT...

If you change your focus mode to Macro Zoom this limits the focal range from 28-280  to 28-84mm In this mode you can set your aperture to F2.8 and retain F2.8 throughout the zoom.


 :coolguy:

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on February 23, 2022, 05:33:01 PM
Not sure if this was discussed earlier BUT...

If you change your focus mode to Macro Zoom this limits the focal range from 28-280 to 28-84mm In this mode you can set your aperture to F2.8 and retain F2.8 throughout the zoom.

:coolguy:

What does all this mean in real terms when you're filming a show?  In other words, what is the benefit?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on February 23, 2022, 05:41:33 PM
I've noticed something lately and I wonder if anyone else has noticed this; and if so, have they found a fix.

I like to film shows in manual focus as I think it gives me a little more control.  Typically, I zoom all the way in on the main or center player, set the focus, and use that for much of the show. 

I have noticed, however, when I zoom all the way out, the people on the stage will go out of focus.  This is especially true if the stage isn't brightly lit.  And I've also noticed that if there are people in front on me (between me and the stage) who are well lit, my camera seems to focus on them when it's zoomed out.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on February 23, 2022, 08:08:46 PM
Not sure if this was discussed earlier BUT...

If you change your focus mode to Macro Zoom this limits the focal range from 28-280 to 28-84mm In this mode you can set your aperture to F2.8 and retain F2.8 throughout the zoom.

:coolguy:

What does all this mean in real terms when you're filming a show?  In other words, what is the benefit?



At f2.8 you gain 2 and a half stops of light from f6.3 approximately ,so you could lower your gain(iso) by 2 and a half stops .

This lowering of the ISO would give a cleaner less noisy image.

But you would need to be up front to stage as your zoom range is shorter.

Always good to have some more options.

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: webvan on February 24, 2022, 01:02:24 PM
Mic Recording Level.

I mostly only use this camera only for concerts (loud rock concerts) so this is what I would suggest...
Unfortunately there is no way to adjust the recording level.
Someone in this thread mentioned to place the Wind Noise Canceller to High.  I have not tried that yet (I have mine set to Medium). 
I have learned and experienced that "Zoom Mic" set to ON is not a good thing.  This amplifies the sound the more you zoom in.  It's already loud at the concerts I go to so no need to amplify audio. Turning it off, it sounds much cleaner. 
The audio recording on this camera is atrocious.  Even my older and much cheaper pocket Panny cameras sound better.  If I recall correctly, the M4/3 and larger sensor Panasonic cameras are pretty good with their mics and have much cleaner preamps.  Of course, still nothing like external mics/preamps/recorder.

Anyone do an audio comparison with this camera and the 1" sensor pocket Sony RX100VII?  I have interchangeable lens cameras by Sony and it sounds so much better, but not sure how the compact Sony's are.  RX100VII doesn't have the same zoom range, but the lens is sharper so you can crop in even more than the equivalent to the ZS100 and it will be sharper.  Works a little better in low light too. Plus has a mic input. Has so much more that is better about it for me (and a lot of other things that are better, but they don't all matter much because I only use it for 1 purpose), but it cost about 3X as much as I got the ZS100 new.

In case you're still looking for an answer if you think the ZS100's audio is bad then don't even touch a compact Sony camera, they (HX5, HX20, HX30, HX90, RX100III) distort horribly at even the lowest of sound levels, something I never got on the ZS100 or any other Panasonic camera.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Papaphunk on February 25, 2022, 11:27:41 AM
I Use this camera all the time. Have a clamp, will put it up on my Mic Stand and capture Full Sets at my fav local vanues.

Here's a few examples with the on board Camera Audio utilized.

Splintered Sunlight - Full First Set

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuZIw4jOJZ4&t=251s

Local SuperJam - Philly Burbs w Ron Holloway

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuZIw4jOJZ4&t=251s

Cabinet - Bluegrass - Full Set

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRstvAG0H5c&t=1769s

Perpetual Groove

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N5ANiTX4eM

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on February 26, 2022, 08:42:02 AM
I Use this camera all the time. Have a clamp, will put it up on my Mic Stand and capture Full Sets at my fav local vanues.

Here's a few examples with the on board Camera Audio utilized.

I checked out your samples - they look great.

I'd like to offer a suggestion - try switching to manual focus.  Since you don't zoom in and out, you'd just have to focus the shot once (by tapping the "AF" icon on the screen) and you'd be done.  That will stop the camera lens from "searching" around at times for something to focus on.  The two benefits are 1) the shot is in focus 100% of the time and 2) the camera battery will last longer because when the lens is "searching" for something to focus on, it's using up juice.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Papaphunk on February 28, 2022, 09:04:52 AM
I Use this camera all the time. Have a clamp, will put it up on my Mic Stand and capture Full Sets at my fav local vanues.

Here's a few examples with the on board Camera Audio utilized.

I checked out your samples - they look great.

I'd like to offer a suggestion - try switching to manual focus.  Since you don't zoom in and out, you'd just have to focus the shot once (by tapping the "AF" icon on the screen) and you'd be done.  That will stop the camera lens from "searching" around at times for something to focus on.  The two benefits are 1) the shot is in focus 100% of the time and 2) the camera battery will last longer because when the lens is "searching" for something to focus on, it's using up juice.

Cool, thanks! I will give that a shot next time out.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on February 28, 2022, 10:52:12 AM
Mic Recording Level.

I mostly only use this camera only for concerts (loud rock concerts) so this is what I would suggest...
Unfortunately there is no way to adjust the recording level.
Someone in this thread mentioned to place the Wind Noise Canceller to High.  I have not tried that yet (I have mine set to Medium). 
I have learned and experienced that "Zoom Mic" set to ON is not a good thing.  This amplifies the sound the more you zoom in.  It's already loud at the concerts I go to so no need to amplify audio. Turning it off, it sounds much cleaner. 
The audio recording on this camera is atrocious.  Even my older and much cheaper pocket Panny cameras sound better.  If I recall correctly, the M4/3 and larger sensor Panasonic cameras are pretty good with their mics and have much cleaner preamps.  Of course, still nothing like external mics/preamps/recorder.

Anyone do an audio comparison with this camera and the 1" sensor pocket Sony RX100VII?  I have interchangeable lens cameras by Sony and it sounds so much better, but not sure how the compact Sony's are.  RX100VII doesn't have the same zoom range, but the lens is sharper so you can crop in even more than the equivalent to the ZS100 and it will be sharper.  Works a little better in low light too. Plus has a mic input. Has so much more that is better about it for me (and a lot of other things that are better, but they don't all matter much because I only use it for 1 purpose), but it cost about 3X as much as I got the ZS100 new.

In case you're still looking for an answer if you think the ZS100's audio is bad then don't even touch a compact Sony camera, they (HX5, HX20, HX30, HX90, RX100III) distort horribly at even the lowest of sound levels, something I never got on the ZS100 or any other Panasonic camera.

I have two ZS100 cameras and the audio recording levels are vastly different.  One of them records at a 'normal' level and the other records at a much lower level and is somewhat muffled sounding.  I have double and triple checked, and every last setting is identical in the menus.  As far as I know, there is no volume control for recording audio; although you can adjust the volume of a recorded video's audio while viewing the video on the camera's LED screen.

Regarding camera audio quality - I always record audio separately with my Schoeps; so the camera audio is mostly just a reference for the Schoeps audio.  But there have been a few times that something went wrong with the rig audio and all I had was camera audio.  Here is one such example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8rFh204mhc

It isn't great audio by any measure; but it's not so bad that it makes the video not worth watching (IMHO).  BTW - I recorded this video with the ZS100 that records audio at what I think of as a 'normal' level.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: phil_er_up on March 03, 2022, 07:30:22 AM
Hi all,

Did the upgrade for the camera to be able to bypass the 29 minute limit on video recording. Though recently it went back to the 29 minute recording limit though I have not reset the camera. Have gone back through this thread and copied sections of it into a text file and tried to reset the camera to the way it was. I still get the yellow triangle when I turn it off so I know the hack to bypass the 29 minute limit is still on the camera.

Any ideas on what I need to try to figure this out?

Here is the camera setting I am using:

===============================================

ZS100 Camera Settings:


SET TOP DIAL ON CAMERA TO THE VIDEO CAMERA ICON/M mode:

Video Camera Icon Menu:

screen 1: Record format > MP4 for PC or Other for MAC
Screen 2: Record quality > 4k/30 p
     AF mode > facial recognition
Screen 3: AFF
     Continue AF > on
Screen 4: No change
Screen 5: Silent operation > on
     Wind noise canceller > high
   

Wrench/C Menu:

Screen 1: Silent mode > on
Screen 2: No Change
Screen 3: Direct focus area > on
Screen 4: Gridline > on
Screen 5: Highlight > on
     zebra pattern > on
Screen 6: No Change
Screen 7: FN Button Set >
     Settings in Record Mode >
     F1 Button (Exposure compensation: on screen #12)
     F2 Button  ISO (On Screen #5)
Screen 8: Eye sensor > LVF/Monitor switch > Monitor



PUT TOP DIAL ON CAMERA ON (M) MANUAL MODE:

Screen 1: Aspect ratio > 3.2
     Picture Size > L20
     Quality > RAW + .JPG SF
Screen 2: AF Mode > Facial Recognition
     AFF
Screen 3: No Change
Screen 4: No Change
Screen 5: No Change
Screen 6: ISO Increments > 1/3
Screen 7: No Change
Screen 8: Stabilizer > ON

===============================================

Thank in advance.

Regards,
Patrick
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: phil_er_up on March 07, 2022, 07:28:39 AM
Has anyone reset the camera then redid the mod on the camera?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on March 07, 2022, 09:46:17 AM
Has anyone reset the camera then redid the mod on the camera?

Yes.  And I had no issues re-hacking it and getting it all set up again.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: OrionMan on March 10, 2022, 04:20:17 AM
Mic Recording Level.

I mostly only use this camera only for concerts (loud rock concerts) so this is what I would suggest...
Unfortunately there is no way to adjust the recording level.
Someone in this thread mentioned to place the Wind Noise Canceller to High.  I have not tried that yet (I have mine set to Medium). 
I have learned and experienced that "Zoom Mic" set to ON is not a good thing.  This amplifies the sound the more you zoom in.  It's already loud at the concerts I go to so no need to amplify audio. Turning it off, it sounds much cleaner. 
The audio recording on this camera is atrocious.  Even my older and much cheaper pocket Panny cameras sound better.  If I recall correctly, the M4/3 and larger sensor Panasonic cameras are pretty good with their mics and have much cleaner preamps.  Of course, still nothing like external mics/preamps/recorder.

Anyone do an audio comparison with this camera and the 1" sensor pocket Sony RX100VII?  I have interchangeable lens cameras by Sony and it sounds so much better, but not sure how the compact Sony's are.  RX100VII doesn't have the same zoom range, but the lens is sharper so you can crop in even more than the equivalent to the ZS100 and it will be sharper.  Works a little better in low light too. Plus has a mic input. Has so much more that is better about it for me (and a lot of other things that are better, but they don't all matter much because I only use it for 1 purpose), but it cost about 3X as much as I got the ZS100 new.

In case you're still looking for an answer if you think the ZS100's audio is bad then don't even touch a compact Sony camera, they (HX5, HX20, HX30, HX90, RX100III) distort horribly at even the lowest of sound levels, something I never got on the ZS100 or any other Panasonic camera.

I don't come here often anymore, so just seeing this now.

I did get the Rx100vii.   Audio is way better than the ZS100.  My batteries died in my portable recorder during a show right in the middle of the one song I really wanted to video tape so I used the cameras recording and it was decent.  Decent as in Much better than I could ever get out of the Panasonic.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: OrionMan on March 10, 2022, 04:50:15 AM
Not sure if this was discussed earlier BUT...

If you change your focus mode to Macro Zoom this limits the focal range from 28-280 to 28-84mm In this mode you can set your aperture to F2.8 and retain F2.8 throughout the zoom.

:coolguy:

What does all this mean in real terms when you're filming a show?  In other words, what is the benefit?



At f2.8 you gain 2 and a half stops of light from f6.3 approximately ,so you could lower your gain(iso) by 2 and a half stops .

This lowering of the ISO would give a cleaner less noisy image.

But you would need to be up front to stage as your zoom range is shorter.

Always good to have some more options.

Why not just leave it in normal mode (macro off) and not zoom in so much? If you have it in macro mode, then you won't have the option to zoom in more in case there suddenly is a need for it.  The max aperture (lower F number) at any specific focal length is still the same whether the macro mode is on or off.

The macro mode is meant for macro use, meaning being able to focus on subjects that are closer than when not using macro mode.  So best for close up subjects such as flowers and insects.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on March 10, 2022, 09:01:29 AM
Not sure if this was discussed earlier BUT...

If you change your focus mode to Macro Zoom this limits the focal range from 28-280 to 28-84mm In this mode you can set your aperture to F2.8 and retain F2.8 throughout the zoom.

:coolguy:

What does all this mean in real terms when you're filming a show?  In other words, what is the benefit?



At f2.8 you gain 2 and a half stops of light from f6.3 approximately ,so you could lower your gain(iso) by 2 and a half stops .

This lowering of the ISO would give a cleaner less noisy image.

But you would need to be up front to stage as your zoom range is shorter.

Always good to have some more options.

Why not just leave it in normal mode (macro off) and not zoom in so much? If you have it in macro mode, then you won't have the option to zoom in more in case there suddenly is a need for it.  The max aperture (lower F number) at any specific focal length is still the same whether the macro mode is on or off.

The macro mode is meant for macro use, meaning being able to focus on subjects that are closer than when not using macro mode.  So best for close up subjects such as flowers and insects.

You seem quite skeptical about the possibilities of the macro mode.  I've never tried it before.  However, I shoot from up close at times - literally right next to a low stage where I'm only five feet away from the performer(s).  So I'm willing to at least give it a shot.  You never know ...  you could try it and realize that you've been missing out on something that could really be useful in certain settings.

Just my 2¢'s worth.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: OrionMan on March 10, 2022, 06:51:11 PM
Not sure if this was discussed earlier BUT...

If you change your focus mode to Macro Zoom this limits the focal range from 28-280 to 28-84mm In this mode you can set your aperture to F2.8 and retain F2.8 throughout the zoom.

:coolguy:

What does all this mean in real terms when you're filming a show?  In other words, what is the benefit?



At f2.8 you gain 2 and a half stops of light from f6.3 approximately ,so you could lower your gain(iso) by 2 and a half stops .

This lowering of the ISO would give a cleaner less noisy image.

But you would need to be up front to stage as your zoom range is shorter.

Always good to have some more options.

Why not just leave it in normal mode (macro off) and not zoom in so much? If you have it in macro mode, then you won't have the option to zoom in more in case there suddenly is a need for it.  The max aperture (lower F number) at any specific focal length is still the same whether the macro mode is on or off.

The macro mode is meant for macro use, meaning being able to focus on subjects that are closer than when not using macro mode.  So best for close up subjects such as flowers and insects.

You seem quite skeptical about the possibilities of the macro mode.  I've never tried it before.  However, I shoot from up close at times - literally right next to a low stage where I'm only five feet away from the performer(s).  So I'm willing to at least give it a shot.  You never know ...  you could try it and realize that you've been missing out on something that could really be useful in certain settings.

Just my 2¢'s worth.

I was writing a reply, but then re-read yours and beatkilla's posts so I deleted my original reply.  Because I mistook where he wrote "Macro Zoom"  as "AF Macro".  My bad.   Yeah, that would work.  But picture quality would be degraded since it is a Digital zoom. So I would only do that with 4K, not 1080.  And only up to 2X zoom (quickly looking at the user's guide, it goes up to 3X Digital).  I sometimes do a digital zoom myself, but only in post (using Davinci Resolve) and only in 4K up to 2X.  2X crop is similar to 1080, so it will still look real good.  One main reason I do it only in post, is that this way, I can punch in out for different segments of the video.  If I am recording 2X digital zoom, I can not edit it to show what I did not record, so if I ever did want to have my end result wide, or  even punched in on a subject that was off screen to the left or right, I could still do that in post.

Here is the manual, in case you want to verify about the 3X zoom and degradation.   After you open it, just search for "Macro".  It' easy to find that section since it's not mentioned often. 
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/lit_files/248659.pdf (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/lit_files/248659.pdf)

Again, sorry for misreading.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: beatkilla on March 10, 2022, 09:15:50 PM
Not sure if this was discussed earlier BUT...

If you change your focus mode to Macro Zoom this limits the focal range from 28-280 to 28-84mm In this mode you can set your aperture to F2.8 and retain F2.8 throughout the zoom.

:coolguy:

What does all this mean in real terms when you're filming a show?  In other words, what is the benefit?



At f2.8 you gain 2 and a half stops of light from f6.3 approximately ,so you could lower your gain(iso) by 2 and a half stops .

This lowering of the ISO would give a cleaner less noisy image.

But you would need to be up front to stage as your zoom range is shorter.

Always good to have some more options.

Why not just leave it in normal mode (macro off) and not zoom in so much? If you have it in macro mode, then you won't have the option to zoom in more in case there suddenly is a need for it.  The max aperture (lower F number) at any specific focal length is still the same whether the macro mode is on or off.

The macro mode is meant for macro use, meaning being able to focus on subjects that are closer than when not using macro mode.  So best for close up subjects such as flowers and insects.

You seem quite skeptical about the possibilities of the macro mode.  I've never tried it before.  However, I shoot from up close at times - literally right next to a low stage where I'm only five feet away from the performer(s).  So I'm willing to at least give it a shot.  You never know ...  you could try it and realize that you've been missing out on something that could really be useful in certain settings.

Just my 2¢'s worth.

I was writing a reply, but then re-read yours and beatkilla's posts so I deleted my original reply.  Because I mistook where he wrote "Macro Zoom"  as "AF Macro".  My bad.   Yeah, that would work.  But picture quality would be degraded since it is a Digital zoom. So I would only do that with 4K, not 1080.  And only up to 2X zoom (quickly looking at the user's guide, it goes up to 3X Digital).  I sometimes do a digital zoom myself, but only in post (using Davinci Resolve) and only in 4K up to 2X.  2X crop is similar to 1080, so it will still look real good.  One main reason I do it only in post, is that this way, I can punch in out for different segments of the video.  If I am recording 2X digital zoom, I can not edit it to show what I did not record, so if I ever did want to have my end result wide, or  even punched in on a subject that was off screen to the left or right, I could still do that in post.

Here is the manual, in case you want to verify about the 3X zoom and degradation.   After you open it, just search for "Macro".  It' easy to find that section since it's not mentioned often. 
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/lit_files/248659.pdf (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/lit_files/248659.pdf)

Again, sorry for misreading.


Always leave Digital Zoom OFF if your goal is the best image quality possible.


Happy Filming :coolguy:
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: phil_er_up on March 11, 2022, 01:42:34 PM
Has anyone reset the camera then redid the mod on the camera?

Yes.  And I had no issues re-hacking it and getting it all set up again.
Thanks quitard.

Fixed my first hacked camera with menu's that were improperly set. Pilot Error...ARG!

Also took my second new XS100 camera and set it with the hack. Need a bigger SD card. Tested each camera running for 1.25 hours (Batteries were down to one bar) and looked at video and all seemed correct and both cameras ran the whole time. Nice to have both cameras ready to go.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on March 11, 2022, 02:13:53 PM
Tested each camera running for 1.25 hours (Batteries were down to one bar) and looked at video and all seemed correct and both cameras ran the whole time.

Just FYI - the best I've ever gotten with a Panny OEM battery was 1 hr 44 mins.  I mostly shoot in manual focus, so my battery lasts a little longer than it would if shooting in auto-focus mode (because the lens doesn't do any "searching").
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: webvan on March 15, 2022, 05:10:22 AM
I Use this camera all the time. Have a clamp, will put it up on my Mic Stand and capture Full Sets at my fav local vanues.

Here's a few examples with the on board Camera Audio utilized.

Splintered Sunlight - Full First Set

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuZIw4jOJZ4&t=251s

Local SuperJam - Philly Burbs w Ron Holloway

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuZIw4jOJZ4&t=251s

Cabinet - Bluegrass - Full Set

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRstvAG0H5c&t=1769s

Perpetual Groove

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N5ANiTX4eM

Not bad at all indeed, especially since the last one seemed pretty loud.


In case you're still looking for an answer if you think the ZS100's audio is bad then don't even touch a compact Sony camera, they (HX5, HX20, HX30, HX90, RX100III) distort horribly at even the lowest of sound levels, something I never got on the ZS100 or any other Panasonic camera.

I don't come here often anymore, so just seeing this now.

I did get the Rx100vii.   Audio is way better than the ZS100.  My batteries died in my portable recorder during a show right in the middle of the one song I really wanted to video tape so I used the cameras recording and it was decent.  Decent as in Much better than I could ever get out of the Panasonic.

Well that would mean that Sony finally fixed the crappy audio recording on their super expensive RX series, good news I suppose, do you have an example of such a recording that sounds "way better" ? Was it quite loud ? Something no Sony compact camera had been able to handle so far.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: OrionMan on March 19, 2022, 02:43:37 PM
I Use this camera all the time. Have a clamp, will put it up on my Mic Stand and capture Full Sets at my fav local vanues.

Here's a few examples with the on board Camera Audio utilized.

Splintered Sunlight - Full First Set

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuZIw4jOJZ4&t=251s

Local SuperJam - Philly Burbs w Ron Holloway

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuZIw4jOJZ4&t=251s

Cabinet - Bluegrass - Full Set

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRstvAG0H5c&t=1769s

Perpetual Groove

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N5ANiTX4eM

Not bad at all indeed, especially since the last one seemed pretty loud.


In case you're still looking for an answer if you think the ZS100's audio is bad then don't even touch a compact Sony camera, they (HX5, HX20, HX30, HX90, RX100III) distort horribly at even the lowest of sound levels, something I never got on the ZS100 or any other Panasonic camera.

I don't come here often anymore, so just seeing this now.

I did get the Rx100vii.   Audio is way better than the ZS100.  My batteries died in my portable recorder during a show right in the middle of the one song I really wanted to video tape so I used the cameras recording and it was decent.  Decent as in Much better than I could ever get out of the Panasonic.

Well that would mean that Sony finally fixed the crappy audio recording on their super expensive RX series, good news I suppose, do you have an example of such a recording that sounds "way better" ? Was it quite loud ? Something no Sony compact camera had been able to handle so far.

It sounds much better than the Panasonic, to me. But like I said, just decent, so still not good. It does have mic inputs, so that will definitely help.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on July 22, 2022, 11:23:09 AM
I have two ZS100s and get a lot of use out of them (one or two concerts a week).  One fell from my lap and hit the cement below my seat pretty hard recently.  This resulted in the motion picture button (black button with red dot in it) becoming inoperable.  I tried to use this camera at a show last night and that's when I found out it wasn't working.  Fortunately, I had my second camera with me and was able to get it out quickly; and only missed the first minute of the show.

Today I was poking around with it trying to see if I could get the motion picture button to work (notice little marks around the edges of the button), but it became clear that it was dead in the water.  I was getting ready to mail it to a camera repair shop and was checking to see if there was anything else wrong with it. 

That's when I discovered that as long as the mode dial is turned to "Creative Video Mode" (little camera icon with an M next to it), you can start and stop video shooting using the shutter button. 
Usually a inoperable button on a camera means you can't use the camera anymore.  So what a relief to know there is a work around for this.

I realize that some (many? most?) of you probably already know about this.  But just in case, I'm posting it here.

(https://i.imgur.com/qnAq90bl.jpg)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: yug du nord on July 22, 2022, 12:27:17 PM
I don’t have a ZS100/200.. but am a LUMIX user.
With my experiences with LUMIX.. when you are in Video Mode on the dial, it gives you more adjustment options than with the red ‘quick video’ button.  YMMV.
..I do have an older ZS30 though, but is nothing like the newer ZS cameras.

Edit:
In my experience with LUMIX.. when video recording with red quick video button, you can also take still photos (simultaneously) while video recording by pressing shutter button.
But when in Video Mode on the dial, you can not do that.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 16, 2022, 10:09:47 AM
Usually security at fair concerts is very chill, but I Got shut down recently at a local county fair because I was shooting video with my ZS100.  Security guy comes over and (politely) said no video is allowed.  I wanted to say something about the dozens of people in my immediate surroundings video taping with their phones ... but knew that never turns out well, and decided to just put my ZS100 away and shoot the rest of the show on my iPhone.

Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Papaphunk on August 19, 2022, 09:21:32 AM
Going through the options today on the Camera, I noticed a "Zoom" Mic option - this was turned off on mine, anyone know the benefits if it is turned to the "On" position ? Better Audio from far away ?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: jcable77 on August 19, 2022, 06:09:52 PM
Going through the options today on the Camera, I noticed a "Zoom" Mic option - this was turned off on mine, anyone know the benefits if it is turned to the "On" position ? Better Audio from far away ?
I tried it recently. Its just as shitty as the regular audio.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 20, 2022, 04:20:58 PM
Going through the options today on the Camera, I noticed a "Zoom" Mic option - this was turned off on mine, anyone know the benefits if it is turned to the "On" position ? Better Audio from far away ?
I tried it recently. Its just as shitty as the regular audio.

I have two ZS100s - one records typical (shitty) camera audio, that is still audible.  The other records terrible audio, even for a camera; and one channel is mostly missing.  It has been that way since I took it out of the box.  As far as I can tell, other than the aforementioned "zoom" option, there is no way to adjust the audio recording levels for the ZS100.

I always record separate audio and sync it, so the shitty camera audio isn't an issue for me.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: jcable77 on August 21, 2022, 08:34:23 AM
Going through the options today on the Camera, I noticed a "Zoom" Mic option - this was turned off on mine, anyone know the benefits if it is turned to the "On" position ? Better Audio from far away ?
I tried it recently. Its just as shitty as the regular audio.

I have two ZS100s - one records typical (shitty) camera audio, that is still audible.  The other records terrible audio, even for a camera; and one channel is mostly missing.  It has been that way since I took it out of the box.  As far as I can tell, other than the aforementioned "zoom" option, there is no way to adjust the audio recording levels for the ZS100.

I always record separate audio and sync it, so the shitty camera audio isn't an issue for me.
Same. The "zoom" option seemed to make it worse if that was even possible.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: TheBang on August 30, 2022, 04:44:50 AM

 A super easy "push a few buttons" hack will give you until your card runs out or your battery dies for the ZS100 all in 4K - One big 70+ GB file.

This basically the hack. I can PM you the fine tuned version for the ZS100
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxmVDdU1xf0

does it work for the zs200 as well?

I just wanted to report that the same hack worked fine on my ZS200 to remove the video recording time limit.

There's a video here that explains it for ZS100 specifically, and the instructions work well for ZS200 also:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEalk5Xim_A
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: guitard on August 30, 2022, 11:49:05 AM

 A super easy "push a few buttons" hack will give you until your card runs out or your battery dies for the ZS100 all in 4K - One big 70+ GB file.

This basically the hack. I can PM you the fine tuned version for the ZS100
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxmVDdU1xf0

does it work for the zs200 as well?

I just wanted to report that the same hack worked fine on my ZS200 to remove the video recording time limit.

There's a video here that explains it for ZS100 specifically, and the instructions work well for ZS200 also:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEalk5Xim_A

As of mid-2019, the consensus was that the hack didn't work for the ZS200 (as noted earlier in this thread).  In fact, that's why I didn't buy the ZS200.

I wonder what changed?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: edtyre on September 06, 2022, 10:35:58 AM
I bought a ZS-200 and could not hack it, so i sold it on ebay.
I have hacked dozens of ZS-100's even ones that are BRAND new right now.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on October 02, 2022, 12:19:03 PM
So I experienced the new Evolv security system for the first time a few nights ago.  See more about that system in this thread:

https://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=199591.0

I had two ZS100s with me; they were together in the same pocket.  I got flagged because one or both of them.  Security approached me and ask if I had anything metal in my left pocket.  I pulled out one of the cameras, and they said, "OK" and let me in.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200
Post by: TheBang on October 24, 2022, 10:05:18 PM
As of mid-2019, the consensus was that the hack didn't work for the ZS200 (as noted earlier in this thread).  In fact, that's why I didn't buy the ZS200.

I wonder what changed?

Well, the reply to that post said "no known hack".  But the video I linked said it should work for the ZS200 also, and I tried it, and it did.  I did update to the latest ZS200 firmware, but I'm pretty sure I actually did that after applying the service mode hack.

So, I'm not sure what to say, or why edtyre (who seems to have no lack of experience with the hack) couldn't get it to work.  I'm happy though that I don't have to record shows in 15 minute increments anymore.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: tjj5036 on October 25, 2022, 07:53:16 PM
I was at a rowdy show, my camera got kicked, I think I toggled something, and now it'll show an audio wavelength looking box in the middle of the screen when recording. It'll turn off if I hit the display button though. Anyone know how to permanently turn this feature off?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: ol' dirty taper on October 25, 2022, 07:59:09 PM
I was at a rowdy show, my camera got kicked, I think I toggled something, and now it'll show an audio wavelength looking box in the middle of the screen when recording. It'll turn off if I hit the display button though. Anyone know how to permanently turn this feature off?

Offhand I do not recall exactly but I think it was hidden in the menu>recording modes section
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: tjj5036 on December 05, 2022, 12:11:38 PM
FYI B&H has a deal on these right now: 400 w/ a SD card + bag: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1242597-REG/panasonic_lumix_dmc_zs100_digital_camera.html?sc_src=email_32217&sc_lid=3241834&sc_uid=eoNdVDSbjO&sc_llid=2975797&sc_customer=9BBE99EBBF60989CEC61D9C06227AE56DF2AD03352F6A43AD7D8F7985D3E4189&utm_medium=Email%2032217&utm_campaign=Holiday%202022&utm_source=221205_HLD_HLD_Holiday%2020221205&utm_content=&utm_term=IMAGE%20md_749.png
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on December 05, 2022, 06:17:59 PM
FYI B&H has a deal on these right now: 400 w/ a SD card + bag: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1242597-REG/panasonic_lumix_dmc_zs100_digital_camera.html?sc_src=email_32217&sc_lid=3241834&sc_uid=eoNdVDSbjO&sc_llid=2975797&sc_customer=9BBE99EBBF60989CEC61D9C06227AE56DF2AD03352F6A43AD7D8F7985D3E4189&utm_medium=Email%2032217&utm_campaign=Holiday%202022&utm_source=221205_HLD_HLD_Holiday%2020221205&utm_content=&utm_term=IMAGE%20md_749.png

Available for same price at Amazon, but you don't get the 64GB card or case.  I get free shipping and 5% back from Amazon, so I'm going that route.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010NU5AX8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: phil_er_up on May 22, 2023, 10:31:47 AM
Have a Panasonic ZS100 and tried to use it yesterday and received the following error:
"Try Another Card, Insert SD Card Again" error message.

1) Took SD card out and formatted it in the PC and tried the newly formatted SD card from the PC and received the same error again.
2) Had a brand new Sandisc 128 GB SD card and inserted it and received the same error. You can not format the card if your receiving the error.
3) Finally got the new  Sandisc 128 GB SD card to work so reformatted it in the camera. Though took one pic and received the same error again.
4) Got out isopropyl alcohol and cleaned contacts inside camera and contacts on SD card. Put back in new/old SD cards and same error.
5) Searched online and could not find any useful info.

Anyone have ideas/comments on how to fix this issue?

Camera is about 5 years old. Lucky bought a second replacement Panasonic ZS100 camera a couple years ago in case something went wrong with the first camera. Had second Panasonic ZS100 camera all set up so have the new camera working though would like to fix the old one.

Thanks in advance.

-p




Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on May 23, 2023, 08:48:29 AM
would like to fix the old one.

I'm sorry, I don't know of a fix for that error.

In my anecdotal experience with digital cameras, once they start having problems like this; unless it's an easy software (upgrade) fix, it's pretty much game over.  I say this due mainly to how high repair costs are (along with added on shipping costs, etc.).  It's usually easier to find a used replacement for less than the cost to repair the original camera.

I have three ZS100s.  One is really beat up, but still works.  The other two are fairly new.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Derp1 on May 23, 2023, 09:45:09 AM
Guitard, do you have any advice for a wider angle lens for the zs-100?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on May 23, 2023, 09:56:00 AM
Guitard, do you have any advice for a wider angle lens for the zs-100?

I don't know of any such lens attachments for the ZS100.  But I haven't ever looked for one until just now (quick google search); and didn't find anything.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: Derp1 on May 23, 2023, 10:17:17 AM
Guitard, do you have any advice for a wider angle lens for the zs-100?

I don't know of any such lens attachments for the ZS100.  But I haven't ever looked for one until just now (quick google search); and didn't find anything.
Yeah, Ive looked and it was a confusing search. I couldnt pinpoint anything that was guaranteed to work with the zs100. I have a couple sony's, similar to action cams I use on stage or close up, but the fish eye thing gets obnoxious after a while.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: phil_er_up on May 23, 2023, 11:05:39 AM
would like to fix the old one.

I'm sorry, I don't know of a fix for that error.

In my anecdotal experience with digital cameras, once they start having problems like this; unless it's an easy software (upgrade) fix, it's pretty much game over.  I say this due mainly to how high repair costs are (along with added on shipping costs, etc.).  It's usually easier to find a used replacement for less than the cost to repair the original camera.

I have three ZS100s.  One is really beat up, but still works.  The other two are fairly new.
Thanks for your answer. Tried again today and camera was starting this weird blinking and still could not see the SD card. Had a hard time getting the camera to close...it got caught in a loop. Think camera is toast. Probably recorded over a 1000+ hours on it so got good use out of it. Bought another second backup one today from amazon for $388.

First ZS100 is all black.
Second ZS100 is all black and has a red line on it.

Is there a difference between the two?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: ol' dirty taper on May 23, 2023, 11:41:50 AM
Thanks for your answer. Tried again today and camera was starting this weird blinking and still could not see the SD card. Had a hard time getting the camera to close...it got caught in a loop. Think camera is toast. Probably recorded over a 1000+ hours on it so got good use out of it. Bought another second backup one today from amazon for $388.

First ZS100 is all black.
Second ZS100 is all black and has a red line on it.

Is there a difference between the two?

No difference I can tell, my first camera was a silver model with a red stripe, the replacement I got is all black, both function identically. The lens on my first camera got stuck zoomed out and I could not fix it. Would turn on then just give me a "zoom error" screen. Sold it for parts and replaced it earlier this year. Something inside broke and you could hear it rattling around.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on May 24, 2023, 12:23:54 PM
First ZS100 is all black.
Second ZS100 is all black and has a red line on it.

Is there a difference between the two?

I also have one of the ZS100s with the red lines (the other two are all black).  And as ol' dirty taper said, there is no difference. 

I like having distinctly different looking ZS100s because I almost always bring two cameras to a show so I can switch over to a second cam to avoid overheating issues (usually around the 90 minute mark).  My modus operandi is to also switch the SD card in these situations, so that all the videos I shot that night are on one card.  In the heat of the moment when I'm switching cameras and SD card (as quickly as possible) in the dark during the middle of a show - it's nice having cameras that are easy to tell apart.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: phil_er_up on May 28, 2023, 07:37:32 AM
Thanks for the reply ol' dirty taper and guitard. It is appreciated.

Received the new ZS100 yesterday and it is all black which I prefer so its not so visible. Now have to set it up with the hack and all my setting.

Love this camera!!!!!
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: AdamHuston on June 04, 2023, 08:34:10 AM
Just ordered one, looks like I have some reading to do so I can figure out settings and hack.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 06, 2023, 02:41:37 PM
Uggg ... one of my ZS100s fell out of my pocket and hit the cement floor from about 1.5 - 2 feet.  It turned on and looked normal.  But never turned on again.

The stockpiles must be starting to dwindle, because the going rate at the usual places (B&H, Amazon, etc.) is now $597.99.  I last bought one new on Amazon in Dec 2022 for $397.99.  I ordered one in March 2019 for $498, but that included an accessory pack (battery charger, 64GB SD card, etc.).
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: phil_er_up on August 19, 2023, 09:51:03 AM
guitard sorry about your camera.

=====================================================================

Have a question - Have a border now around the movie that I did not have on my old camera.
Went through many screens on the camera to try an figure out what setting I needed to change to get rid of the border when shooting video.

Any ideas on how to get rid of the border while shooting a movie?

Thanks in advance.

-p
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 19, 2023, 11:23:38 AM
Have a question - Have a border now around the movie that I did not have on my old camera.
Went through many screens on the camera to try an figure out what setting I needed to change to get rid of the border when shooting video.

Any ideas on how to get rid of the border while shooting a movie?

Thanks in advance.

-p

Can you post a screenshot?
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: phil_er_up on August 19, 2023, 02:44:38 PM
Here is a screen shot:

setting on camera:
Rec Format: AVCHD
Rec Quality: 17M 60i
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 19, 2023, 05:14:23 PM
Here is a screen shot:

setting on camera:
Rec Format: AVCHD
Rec Quality: 17M 60i

Is this an upload of your raw video?  I ask because, I see the text scroll ("TY Cooper performing the song "Holland Sensor") appears at the top of your screenshot.  If you added that in post, that means you had to re-encode your video.  And if that's the case, the way you re-encoded it dictates how it will appear on a platform like Youtube.  Once again, if this is not your raw video; try uploading the raw video clip to Youtube and compare the two.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: phil_er_up on August 20, 2023, 07:54:13 AM
Here is a screen shot:

setting on camera:
Rec Format: AVCHD
Rec Quality: 17M 60i

Is this an upload of your raw video?  I ask because, I see the text scroll ("TY Cooper performing the song "Holland Sensor") appears at the top of your screenshot.  If you added that in post, that means you had to re-encode your video.  And if that's the case, the way you re-encoded it dictates how it will appear on a platform like Youtube.  Once again, if this is not your raw video; try uploading the raw video clip to Youtube and compare the two.
Thanks for your reply. It is appreciated.

Yes it is the upload of processed video. Will take a look at the raw video and see what it looks like. Have another gig today so not sure I will have time to take a thorough look at it today or not.

Thanks again.

PS: Love the pic of your daughter and her finger in her nose with the dog...Classic!!! Thanks for sharing that!

Also thanks for the heads up on the price and finding the camera might not be as easy in the future. Thinking if I should buy a third one...
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: phil_er_up on August 21, 2023, 10:47:35 AM
Updated setting from:

setting on camera:
Rec Format: AVCHD
Rec Quality: 17M 60i

To:
setting on camera:
Rec Format: AVCHD
Rec Quality: 28M 60P

The Above fixed my border problem. Thought I would let you guys know.
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on August 27, 2023, 04:48:05 PM
My repair bill for when I recently dropped my ZS100.  Not cheap, but half the price of a new camera.  And this camera is still fairly new (less than a year old).  So I bit the bullet.  I am very pleased with the service this repair shop did.  As noted in the invoice, they received the camera on 14 Aug, sent me an estimate on 18 Aug, I approved the estimate on 19 Aug, and they repaired it and mailed it out on 25 Aug.

(https://i.imgur.com/vmrS2RUl.jpg)
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: RyanJ on January 11, 2024, 10:50:47 AM
Question for y'all. I'm tired of swapping batteries after about 90 minutes. What do you use for external power if you can? Thanks!
Title: Re: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (edit: mostly about ZS100 though)
Post by: guitard on January 12, 2024, 06:33:03 AM
Question for y'all. I'm tired of swapping batteries after about 90 minutes. What do you use for external power if you can? Thanks!

Edtyre started a discussion about external battery packs on pg4 in this thread:

https://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=189720.msg2308525#msg2308525