I am considering buying this camera how well does it take pictures in low light settings? My son plays in several orchestras so lights are down.
1058502
It has an APS-C size sensor, so if you are comparing it to a small point-and-shoot, it is much, much better at low light. The ISO can be cranked up pretty high, though I try not to use anything over 6400. With the kit lens at f/3.5 (or f/5.6 full tele), low light performance is decent, though a faster lens like the SMCP-DA 50mm f/1.8 would increase the performance even more.
1058503
With the high film speed you can take good pictures. You will love the camera.
2086679
It takes decent pictures w/o flash but not in super low lighting conditions.
17792
It works very well in low light if you use the right settings, which take a little experimenting. I used it in the rides at Disneyland (Snow White, Peter Pan) and it did amazingly well; very little noise and great colors with great, clean blacks.
671656
This camera is great in low light if you use the flash. Without the flash the photo will come out a little dark. Trust me; you'll love this camera :)
372072
Yes, the pictures it takes are great, provided there is enough light. If you purchase I would advise buying an extra higher capacity battery. The battery it comes with won't last longer than 2 hours. Otherwise it is a good, inexpensive video camera. I would recommend it.
2265613
After proper setting they are good. However, flash of my camera broke and this is the most common problem with this camera. Google it. The problem was with main board of camera and panasonic customer support was not helpful at all. However, sticking to your question - you need to play with aperture and shutter - it can take good pictures without flash in low light.
1647720
I love my camera. I just had twins, so I take picture all the time. I haven't had any light issues. I would recommend this camera.
86102
Hi. I have been playing with this camera a good deal the last couple of weeks but mostly on how well it does bracketing and comparing the exposure control settings vs a true representation of the scene at low light. I will keep a hold of the question and test out the GPS this weekend and let you know. Hope that helps. (Great little camera by the way).
1771280
It does well in low light, and its macro is good. It also adjusts focus and brightness automatically. Its not as fast as a dedicated video camera, but it does the job well. The built in stereo microphone is also very good. I hope that helps
1290789
You could probably change the ISO/shutter/aperture settings to compensate for low lighting, but I usually set it to Auto mode, and I feel it's not bad. I can still see relatively well although it's rather noisy/fuzzy (it hardly bothers me, but I usually try to avoid low lighting anyways).
1343484
Unfortunately I don't know the answer. We have just started using it and haven't had the chance to use it in low light. We do think it's a really cool camera though.
762228
None. Lol. If you're looking for crisp pics, this isn't the camera for you. I bought this for a brilliant four year old boy and with natural light, his pics came out pretty good. With low light in the home, it's ok as well. Definitely not crisp, but clear enough to see what he took a pic of. For the record, he loves it and figured out how to work it in a few mins.
801688
This is an excellent camera. I have been using it since it was first launched. It can definitely handle low light, however I would recommend a fast lens. That will be the key to keeping the the dreaded noise out of your pictures with higher ISO. Aa far as documents. I would definitely think this would be a great camera to use. I would invest in a tripod though and possibly a macro lens.
1148633
Hi David. Can you explain why so many reviewers have said there are bad problems with visual "noise" at so many settings, and even worse in low light? I really want to buy this camera for every other reason, but worried about image quality. Your experience seems quite difference. I also read a pro review that said all the images were soft/not finely detailed because of the Venus processor's over-suppression of the images. What do you think?
1352345
I have had the FZ70 for about 3 months but I have had great results from taking available low light shots (dimmed incandescent ambient light, indoors on very cloudy days, shadows, evening, darkened rooms at night, etc., no flash) in the iA and iA+ (automatic exposure) modes. I checked after and according to the file properties for those pictures the camera used ISO speeds in the 400-800 range. The pictures are very well exposed and lighting is even, and noise is not an issue. When necessary in iA or iA+ modes, in some low light situations the camera will take multiple exposures automaticallly (HDR) and combine them internally produce a great shot with balanced exposure levels. In the iA+ mode there is a wheel on the back of the camera that allows you to adjust the lightness of the exposure. Plus as you get acquainted with the many capabilities and menus on this camera you can set the shutter, aperture, ISO limits, etc. For those few people who have negative comments about this camera in low light situations, I'm not sure they are using the camera properly. There are MANY ways to adjust the settings for brightness even in the iA and iA+ and other modes.
1184895
Hi Dennis, Low-light scenarios is a general issue with personal video cameras. Simply put, you can not expect the same video quality for low light conditions as for sunshine day recordings. I have Canons HF11 and am actually quite impressed how good the quality of the low light sensitivity became nowadays (I am recording fireworks). Under which conditions are you taking a video, whats the object ?
182600
The camera is very compact. Takes very nice pictures when there is good light. Battery life is good. The camera is horrible during late afternoon, night and low light conditions.