7Dec/091
Does a Panasonic DMC-TZ3 digital camera have a way of changing the f-number?
I'm a beginner photographer and have a Panasonic DMC-TZ3 digital camera. I would like to be able to take some better shots (ex: making waterfalls milkier, and making the area behind a subject out of focus)and was wondering if there is a way to change the f-number on a camera like this. Or can you only do things like that on more high-tech cameras?
Thanks.
December 7th, 2009 - 02:44
You are correct in that you need a camera with manual f/stop and shutter speed controls and the DMC-TZ3 does not have these. You can control the F/stop and shutter speed to a degree by tricking the camera into adjusting these by using the SCENE mode.
To show blur with things in motion such as making a waterfall look milky, you want a slow shutter speed. Set the ISO (page 51 of your manual) to 100. Try “starry sky” or “fireworks” as the scene mode. The fireworks settings can be 1/4 or 2 seconds so you almost have to use a tripod or steady the camera on a rock or log. You can also use the “slow shutter” setting and set the shutter to 1 second and hope that the camera will adjust the f/stop to a small enough aperture to properly expose the scene (page 56).
To blur out the background, you want as wide an f/stop as possible. First of all, don’t use the wide angle setting, zoom in at least 1/3 to 1/2 way toward the maximum zoom. Use sport setting or portrait setting (page 42).
Experiment with these settings and save up for a camera with manual controls. It does not need to be high tech. I have a $100 Sony and a $80 HP camera that does these because I specifically looked for these features when I purchased them. I also have a couple of DSLR’s and yes, they are very easy to control manually, but they are big, bulky and not pocketable.