There’s a unique thing about a LUMIX camera that puts power in the photographer’s hands and makes us think photographers rather than outsourcing tons of tasks to our devices. They focus on the critical matters to ensure that no photographer will make a photograph they’ll dislike. They also pack great reliability, versatility, and some unique features that the rest of the industry doesn’t really have. Now that you have bought a new LUMIX camera, we will look at what it can do that stands out from all the rest.
This article is presented in partnership with LUMIX.
The Magazine Look
When we use LUMIX cameras, we tap into a power they possess, and few others do: Real-Time LUT. With a camera like the LUMIX S5II, LUMIX S5IIx, and G9II, you can load up the same LUT files that video editors would use when editing video — except that you can apply it to still images. Personally, I apply looks that simulate my favorite film emulsions. Finding the right one for you takes some time. But you can theoretically make your images look like old-school Nat Geo Kodachrome images in the magazines you knew growing up.
There are lots of LUTs out there that look like print film, for example. We’ve got a whole tutorial on how to make those work for you at this link here. But in addition to that, we recommend that when you’re working with them to not work with the auto white balance setting. With the way that many of the LUTS work, they don’t really adhere to the LUMIX color principles innately built into the camera. For example, the auto white balance warm setting won’t necessarily look that way.
What I end up doing is either setting my white balance to Daylight, Cloudy, or Tungsten. I truly like also manually dialing in the kelvin to 5500 or 3200K. If you like CineStil film, you might really appreciate this.
Can you do this in post-production? Sure. But what’s the point if you can do it in-camera? The last thing I want to do after I’m done shooting is look at the images on a computer. The reason for that is because I work really hard to get the images right in-camera. All I often want to do is export them and beam them to social media. If I’m putting the images on my website though, then I’ll edit. The same goes for paid gigs, to an extent.
What’s also really nice is that in-camera, LUMIX will apply the LUT to your RAW file. But that changes once it’s uploaded to a computer and into your favorite editing software. With the RAW processing option, you can edit the images in-camera and then export them as a final JPEG. Here’s our tutorial on how to do that.
Super Precise Photography: AF Scope
With new additions like the LUMIX 100mm f2.8 Macro and LUMIX 14-28mm f4-5.6 Macro lenses, precise autofocus is insanely important. Most LUMIX camera users are bound to leave the camera on the continuous autofocus setting. But when you really need very precise autofocus, LUMIX has a quick way to do it. It’s through the AF Scope function. This briefly sets the camera to the AF-S setting and has it focus very carefully on a specific area of the frame. For the best result, you should carefully select exactly the place you want the camera to focus on.
With over 14 years of experience testing lenses, we can tell you for a fact that focusing at macro ranges for most camera systems is an utterly painful process. But with the new 100mm f2.8, that’s not the case — especially with the AF scope function added in.
In-Camera Astrophotography
Even if you’re not a fan of shooting landscapes and such, astrophotography can still be an incredibly fun hobby. It doesn’t get much better than setting up a camera, tripod, and lens to photograph the night sky and capture star trails. We’re based in NYC, and it’s even possible here. This is done through LUMIX’s Live Composite mode. And it’s pretty much a set-it-and-forget-it type of affair. You’re in control of the exposure, the amount of time captured, and a few other parameters. This feature is exclusive to LUMIX full-frame cameras — meaning that there are specifically no other full-frame cameras on the market that can do this.
Better yet, you can combine it with Real Time LUT. Before shooting, you can set the focus carefully using the AF-scope function. It’s really nice how the brand ties all of these things together much better than any other camera manufacturer out there does.