Lumix FZ38 to FZ200

[Ian Pratt]

I have just upgraded from the FZ38 to the FZ200 camera and I am having problems uploading RAW images to my PC.
I use a card reader and Lightroom and had no problems uploading RAW images from the FZ38.
Any ideas what the problem may be? Ian

[FISHiEE]

Hi Ian,

If you have an old verasion of lightroom possibly it doesn't support the RAW format for the FZ200. It appears that Adobe lightroom forums are down for maintenance at the moment but from what I can gather Lightroom 3 won't work with them but 4 and later I think will.

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Ian,

Mike may have touched on the answer here: viewtopic.php?t=7459&start=10000#p83508

An upgrade to your RAW converter is probably what is required.

Good luck.

Kind regards. Mark

[Ian Pratt]

Thanks for the replies- very helpful. Ian

[MikeOxon]

I hope that all is now working. While I was tackling the same problem, I made a few discoveries.

One approach is to convert the RAW (RW2) files to the Adobe DNG format, which is supposed to be a RAW 'standard'. I did this and then read the files on a different RAW converter, which revealed a few interesting facts! For example, that the Lumix software applies corrections for lens distortion. When I used a generic RAW converter (UFRAW), I found that wide-angle photos were quite barrel-shaped, whereas both the Adobe 7.4 converter and the Silkypix converter produced rectangular images. This demonstrated to me that these converters are doing rather more than just reading the RAW data, and I have no idea what other image-massaging may be going on

It would appear that RAW is no longer RAW, these days! Having said that, I have been pleased with the results from the Silkypix converter.

Another trick is to edit the list of camera types recognised by a RAW converter, by using a text editor. If you look at, for example, the file Camera Raw.8bi in a text editor, such as Windows 'Write', and search for 'FX150', you can change the numbers to '200' every time this occurs. The plug-in will then read FX200 files. (Only work on a copy and not the original, in case you make a mistake, and make sure you save the result as a text file, with no formatting - the file size must remain the same). The plug-in will probably be found in Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Plug Ins. Both these cameras have the same pixel dimensions but the lens corrections will possibly not work correctly - I haven't tried it, though I have made an earlier converter read D300s files when it only 'knew' about the D300, by using this method.

[Testudo Man]

Good upgrade.
I would be interested if you could possible show a side by side comparison of images, that the FZ38 and FZ200 produce. No pressure/rush on that though, only if you have both the time and inclination to do so

Im also toying with the idea of upgrading from my "Panny" FZ45 to the FZ200.
I have always regretted not getting/trying the FZ38 though! I started with the FZ28, but jumped to the FZ45. My FZ45 is quite capable(in good light) its 14 megapixel sensor is poor in low light conditions though. A few years ago, all the leading companies/brands got caught up in the "more megapixels is better" race. But glad they ceased that race/trend, and went back to a 12 megapixel for the later cameras.
Look forward to viewing your images with the new camera

Cheers Paul.

[Ian Pratt]

My first butterfly with the new camera was a wall- see http://www.flickr.com/photos/lepreskil
Not quite as sharp as I would have liked but there is plenty of time to improve. Ian

[Ian Pratt]

See May 2014 sightings for the latest photos from the camera including a long range Glanville fritillary.
Ian

[Testudo Man]

See May 2014 sightings for the latest photos from the camera including a long range Glanville fritillary.
Ian

Excellent images, looks like the FZ200 has some great capabilities.

[Ian Pratt]

More photos on May 2014 sightings page 7 for comparison. Glanvilles with Canon 7D, blues with FZ200 in windy conditions. Ian

[Ian Pratt]

Next problem appears to be with the video downloading. I have taken some decent Glanville fritillary footage and downloaded all the included software with the camera but the video can not be downloaded. Help- what do I do next? Ian

[MikeOxon]

Help- what do I do next?

The PHOTOfunSTUDIO software should show the videos.

I suspect that you have the video recording mode set to AVCHD. These files have the extension .mts and not many programs can read them. If you want to edit the videos it is probably best to change the video settings in the Set Uo menu, so that the camera records MP4 (mpeg) video.

If you search the web, there are apps. that can convert files in AVCHD format.

I first encountered this with my TZ25 and have set my FZ200 to MP4 as well, since it is compatible with my other video software. Read more on p.42 of your FZ200 manual,

Mike

[jonhd]

Install vlc - http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.en_GB.html - it will play the files, and you can also use it to convert to other formats.

HTH, Jon

[Ian Pratt]

Help- what do I do next?

The PHOTOfunSTUDIO software should show the videos.

I suspect that you have the video recording mode set to AVCHD. These files have the extension .mts and not many programs can read them. If you want to edit the videos it is probably best to change the video settings in the Set Uo menu, so that the camera records MP4 (mpeg) video.

I have changed the format to MP4 but I am having trouble downloading the videos. Any ideas what I am doing wrong? I am using the PHOTOfunSTUDIO software.
Ian

[jonhd]

Ian, when you say you are unable to "download" the video(s), do you mean you're unable to get them off the camera (and on to your computer)? What Operating System is your computer - Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Mac?
On the FZ200's SD card, AVC videos are stored in a completely different folder to the photos. If you can either (USB) plug your camera into your computer, or remove the SD card and plug that direct into your computer (assuming it has an SD card slot, OR you have a separate SD card reader), you should be able to use (Windows) Explorer, or (Mac) Finder to browse to the folder with the video files, and drag them to a folder on your computer. It'll be easier to view / convert them on the computer, rather than direct on the camera. By the way, it's recommended that you don't use your computer to delete files on the SD card - use the camera to delete stuff!

On the SD card, the folders you are interested in are:
.\DCIM
- sub-folder 100_PANA contains the JPEG photos (*.JPG), MP4 format videos (*.MP4), raw photos (*.RW2).
- if you've got a lot of stuff on the SD card, there will be further sub-folders 101_PANA, 102_PANA, and so on.
.\PRIVATE, sub-folder AVCHD, contains the AVC format videos (*.MTS - I think!).

Apologies if I've got hold of the wrong end of the stick, I'm just uncertain as to the exact nature of the problem...

Cheers, Jon

[MikeOxon]

Just checking - you have installed the right version of PhotoFunStudio for the FZ200? Mine is version 8.3PE.

Mike

[Ian Pratt]

Thanks Jon and Mike. All sorted now. I did have the correct version of PhotoFunStudio installed. I have located the files and copied them to my computer.
Many thanks to you both- most helpful.
Ian