Alan Humphries - My First Digital Camera
12th June 2026
In: News, Members' Articles
PANASONIC LUMIX FZ30
My First Digital Camera.
It is hard to think that this year it will be twenty years since I ventured down the digital path of photography. I was celebrating a “special” birthday to which my friend Hein had brought his Lumix FZ30. I was fascinated and asked if I could try it - magic. Two days later he brought some of the photos to the house and I was sold. As soon as he had left I ordered one on line to be delivered to my house in Exmouth for my return.
Prior to this revelation I was aware that Panasonic had entered the camera market using the Lumix brand and more importantly using a Leica lenses. Interesting? Yes, worth a punt? I wasn’t sure because film, coupled with the R and M systems were very much my thing.
The Panasonic’s DMC-FZ30 is an 8 Megapixel ‘bridge’ micro 4/3rds’ camera with a powerful 12x optical zoom Leica Elmarit lens giving the equivalent 35mm range of 35-420mm range. In addition it has a fully articulating screen. A lens hood is supplied and is easy to use with filters as it does not rotate. To ensure the user can take hand held shots at low speeds/maximum focal length the camera is fitted with having Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS) facility plus a very useful built in hand grip.
This FZ30 had its first serious outing when we attended the Fellowship meeting in Alnwick shortly after my return to the UK. Naturally I was a little apprehensive turning up with this non-Leica camera albeit fitted with a Leica lens. The camera turned out to be of great interest to members in fact it transpired that three or four other members had taken the plunge as well.
From the start I found that the camera came readily to hand and even though it was my first digital experience its controls/menu were intuitive. It was not perfect the articulating screen although useful is rather small and like many similar cameras there was a slight time lag between pressing the shutter button and the shutter activation. This, however, has never been a great handicap but I will admit it this could be annoying.
Of course the real test of any camera is the quality of the images it produces. During the last twenty years camera technology, together with the various supporting technologies have changed beyond our wildest dreams, but it should be remembered that, when introduced, the FZ30 was right upon there with the best. Hence I am not going to pretend that is as good or even comes close to an M11, however, I hope you will agree, on viewing the attached images, some taken at Alnwick, even by today’s standards it is not a bad performer.
Alan D.W. Humphries 2026.
The Camera
At Rest
Clay Next The Sea
Great Crested Grebe
Erik
Fisherman's Shed
Amazon Rain Forest?
Rigging
Smoking Joe
My First Digital Camera.
It is hard to think that this year it will be twenty years since I ventured down the digital path of photography. I was celebrating a “special” birthday to which my friend Hein had brought his Lumix FZ30. I was fascinated and asked if I could try it - magic. Two days later he brought some of the photos to the house and I was sold. As soon as he had left I ordered one on line to be delivered to my house in Exmouth for my return.
Prior to this revelation I was aware that Panasonic had entered the camera market using the Lumix brand and more importantly using a Leica lenses. Interesting? Yes, worth a punt? I wasn’t sure because film, coupled with the R and M systems were very much my thing.
The Panasonic’s DMC-FZ30 is an 8 Megapixel ‘bridge’ micro 4/3rds’ camera with a powerful 12x optical zoom Leica Elmarit lens giving the equivalent 35mm range of 35-420mm range. In addition it has a fully articulating screen. A lens hood is supplied and is easy to use with filters as it does not rotate. To ensure the user can take hand held shots at low speeds/maximum focal length the camera is fitted with having Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS) facility plus a very useful built in hand grip.
This FZ30 had its first serious outing when we attended the Fellowship meeting in Alnwick shortly after my return to the UK. Naturally I was a little apprehensive turning up with this non-Leica camera albeit fitted with a Leica lens. The camera turned out to be of great interest to members in fact it transpired that three or four other members had taken the plunge as well.
From the start I found that the camera came readily to hand and even though it was my first digital experience its controls/menu were intuitive. It was not perfect the articulating screen although useful is rather small and like many similar cameras there was a slight time lag between pressing the shutter button and the shutter activation. This, however, has never been a great handicap but I will admit it this could be annoying.
Of course the real test of any camera is the quality of the images it produces. During the last twenty years camera technology, together with the various supporting technologies have changed beyond our wildest dreams, but it should be remembered that, when introduced, the FZ30 was right upon there with the best. Hence I am not going to pretend that is as good or even comes close to an M11, however, I hope you will agree, on viewing the attached images, some taken at Alnwick, even by today’s standards it is not a bad performer.
Alan D.W. Humphries 2026.
The Camera
At Rest
Clay Next The Sea
Great Crested Grebe
Erik
Fisherman's Shed
Amazon Rain Forest?
Rigging
Smoking Joe
Comments
By Nick Richardson: Your photos have a winning quality! Your skill shines through no matter what make of camera & lens is used. The Leica lens has that quality we all love. The lens is really what it is mostly about & a LUMIX is a cheaper way of experiencing Leica photography. I got through 3 LUMIX per year as a property surveyor. They are a light handy camera but I desire a M11 now I’m in retirement. By Keith Walker: Very interesting and a reminder that 8mp is plenty for the internet, and for reasonably large prints. I was very sad to see a guy, Jeff Schewe, who helped me greatly when I made the switch with his books (The Digital Negative and The Digital Print) and videos on Luminous Landscape had passed last week. By Sally Tarlton: Lovely photos Alan especially the ones of our favourite patch in Norfolk! I have had 2 Lumix Panasonics and love them ! Best wishes to you By Tony Tarlton: A lovely article, Alan. (It took me a while to persuade Sally to get a proper camera, ie the phone is for making phone-calls!) She got her 1st Lumix and hasn’t looked back - she’s on her 3rd, the GX9.) I bought Don Morley’s SL2, which he was sorry to part with but it was too heavy for him. I like it very much but I still like my 3g and M4P. But your article takes us all back down memory lane and your accompanying pictures are terrific.
Many thanks, Tony By David Askham: Alan, well done! Unless you were floating about in a boat, it would have been nearly impossible to capture your shot of a great crested Grebe with an 'M' rangefinder camera. By Andrew Cunningham: Super images, Alan. By Don Morley: I have enjoyed and admired you pictures for years now Alan as you probably know, but I found this latest set particularilly sprecial because they also reminded me sucessful photography really as should be. I.E. All about the seeing eye and the photographers talent and never about how many meggapixels or what make of camera or which lens was used, and these pictures just proved it,and that you certainly do that so vital talent, and whats more you have it in spades. Thank you By Alan Humphries: Thank you everyone for you very kind and fullsome comments on my photographs. They mean such alot to me especially as they have been made by photographers I know and respect.
It is the support like this that inspires us all to strive for that "special" image. By Don Morley: I keep coming back for another look at these lovely pictures and thinking especially about the comment above about '8mp being enough for internet use' and I would love to know your opinion about that Alan as I think the quality of those pictures is also more than good enough to print up to A3 from. What do you think?? Whatever I certainly do know I can get good quality A3s from pics I took many years ago from my Digilux 3 and I think it only had 7.1mp