I don't recall if this has been discussed here or not, but I see that
the Panasonic FZ50 uses the E-system flash hotshoe. Yes, Virginia,
that means that the Olympus, Metz and Panasonic flashes are all
usable on the Panasonic and Olympus cameras.
BTW, The Metz is one VERY NICE flash. I tested it out on a FZ50 and
couldn't believe how incredibly accurate the system was. By using a
bounce card (better bounce card) the system provided dead-on
exposures from inches all the way to about 20 feet (didn't test any
farther) and also worked perfectly well outdoors in bright sunlight
doing fill-flash.
The FZ50 is a slick camera and worthy of checking out. There are
some serious UI blunders like no facility for AF+MF, but the focus
was fast and accurate. Also, the camera is unable to chew gum and
walk at the same time--only one RAW shot at a time, which is a
disappointment because in-camera JPEGs suffer from noise-reduction
smearing.
I also had difficulties with the grip shape. It's fine if the camera
is by itself, but when adding a flash, the camera is a little awkward
as only 1/2 of your hand is able to grip the camera.
The center-spot focus assist is off-the-charts good. I love it. That
is one very easy camera to manual focus with--probably the best
live-view manual-focus I've ever seen.
The lens is really good too, but doesn't go very wide. Long, yes,
wide, no.
Overall, I think the camera is worth considering as a travel/backup.
If I were to replace my Minolta A1 with anything of that category
right now, it would probably be this camera.
Now about that Metz.... :)
AG
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