V Lux- 4 Bridge Camera

[Tim B]

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jstech,

 

I have found that at maximum telephoto the lens is a little soft at maximum aperture, but sharpens up quite nicely at f/4 and f/5.6.

 

Stabilization is amazing but no miracle. I still need a tripod or very steady hand with slower shutter speeds at maximum telephoto. One would never use a handheld 600mm lens on an SLR at any speed slower than 1/500 or even 1/1000 and yet on this little camera I can get fairly sharp results (but not really pin sharp) at 1/125.

 

At maximum telephoto there is loss of micro-contrast as one would expect.

 

ISO settings above 200 do get noisy although for some reason I prefer the noise at 800 to that at 400. I use some NR on almost all shots.

 

All these will degrade image quality

 

It is a great camera and I really like it, but it has a tiny sensor and I find all shots improve a great deal with some sharpening and NR. When I go back to my M8 I realise what a world apart they are in terms of IQ, but I also know that I can do things with the V-Lux 4 that are simply impossible with the M8.

 

I recommend persevering, but in the last resort if you are unhappy and think that there is a fault go back to your dealer and try another example to compare. My first V-Lux had a faulty viewfinder and my excellent dealer changed it at once.

 

Good luck, I really am having fun with this little marvel.

 

Tim