New Camera - Panasonic Dmc-tz7 Vs. Canon Powershot Tx1

[Goshawk]

Do you like my Monty P. avatar? I made it myself!

how ? what software u use ?

[JetsetBkk]

Do you like my Monty P. avatar? I made it myself!

how ? what software u use ?

Did you get up early, or haven't you gone to bed yet (like me? )

1. I got an .avi file of an episode,

2. loaded it into M$'s "Windows Movie Maker",

3. trimmed it by dragging the ends (not easy - takes a lot of goes to get it to work and a lot of CPU/time too),

4. saved the clip as "High quality video (large)" - a .wmv file

5. loaded it into "Super" http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

6. trimmed a few extra frames off

7. saved it as output container "gif (for making avatars)", output video codec "Animated Gif", FFmpeg, Direct Show Decode, 96 x 96, 23.976 frames/sec, 29040 bit rate, disable audio.

I'll have to check the settings in ^7. as that is what they are currently set to in "Super" and I believe it remembers what you last did.

Then upload the .gif to a hosting site, copy the URL they give you and stick it in your avatar setting in your profile.

Have fun!

[JetsetBkk]

Correction:

Change Direct Show Decode to OFF:

7. saved it as output container "gif (for making avatars)", output video codec "Animated Gif", FFmpeg, Direct Show Decode unchecked, 96 x 96, 23.976 frames/sec, 29040 bit rate, disable audio.

I used "Easy Gif Animator v3.0.3" to clean up the .gif file.

[Goshawk]

Do you like my Monty P. avatar? I made it myself!

how ? what software u use ?

Did you get up early, or haven't you gone to bed yet (like me? )

1. I got an .avi file of an episode,

2. loaded it into M$'s "Windows Movie Maker",

3. trimmed it by dragging the ends (not easy - takes a lot of goes to get it to work and a lot of CPU/time too),

4. saved the clip as "High quality video (large)" - a .wmv file

5. loaded it into "Super" http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

6. trimmed a few extra frames off

7. saved it as output container "gif (for making avatars)", output video codec "Animated Gif", FFmpeg, Direct Show Decode, 96 x 96, 23.976 frames/sec, 29040 bit rate, disable audio.

I'll have to check the settings in ^7. as that is what they are currently set to in "Super" and I believe it remembers what you last did.

Then upload the .gif to a hosting site, copy the URL they give you and stick it in your avatar setting in your profile.

Have fun!

nice !

i did mine on adobe imageready, i could make similar to yours (smooth animation) with it too, but it would take 1000's of stills.. and many hours to do

thnx for the link to the GIF converter. I may dabble..

[JetsetBkk]

nice !

i did mine on adobe imageready, i could make similar to yours (smooth animation) with it too, but it would take 1000's of stills.. and many hours to do

thnx for the link to the GIF converter. I may dabble..

Adjusted the procedure: item 6 should be item 8 - trimming the Gif file with "Easy Gif Animator" comes AFTER you have created it using "Super" And I just updated to "Easy Gif Animator Pro" v4.81.

So this is the full procedure:

1. Get an .avi file containing the clip you want as a GIF.

2. Load it into M$'s "Windows Movie Maker".

3. Trim it to contain only the bit you want by dragging the ends (not easy - takes a lot of goes to get it to work and a lot of CPU/time too).

4. Save the clip as "High quality video (large)" - a .wmv file.

5. Load it into "Super" http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

6. Encode it as: output container "gif (for making Avatars)", Output Video Codec "Animated Gif", FFmpeg, Direct Show Decode off, 96 x 96, Aspect !:!, 23.976 frames/sec, 29040 bit rate, disable audio.

7. Load into "Easy GIF Animator" to trim off unwanted frames.

8. Upload the GIF to a hosting site (eg. Photobucket), copy the URL they give you and stick it in your avatar setting in your profile in "Enter a URL to an online avatar image".

[Goshawk]

Yes, I've read more than one report about how sluggish the auto-focus is while zooming on the TZ7. It's definitely a problem that I don't want to have. I get the impression that the "no-zoom video" problem of the TZ3 was a top priority fix for the TZ7, but they had to compromise and came up with a poor solution.

cameralabs have just posted a video review of the TZ7 showing this flaw.. although he does show a round it to achieve better zooming.

one feature i like is the face recognition on this cam.. it recognises individuals !

see the review

[bkkjames]

I was looking at the Panasonic mentioned here but opted for the Samsung NV 100 HD including docking station, hdmi cables and a tripod from Powerbuy for 11,400 Baht.

doesnt have a 12x zoom but at my age I have a hard time keeping a 5x zoom steady.

thus far - first images taken look spectacular on my 42 inch tv.

http://www.samsungcamera.com/product/pro_v...&cat_uid=75

[JetsetBkk]

Yes, I've read more than one report about how sluggish the auto-focus is while zooming on the TZ7. It's definitely a problem that I don't want to have. I get the impression that the "no-zoom video" problem of the TZ3 was a top priority fix for the TZ7, but they had to compromise and came up with a poor solution.

cameralabs have just posted a video review of the TZ7 showing this flaw.. although he does show a round it to achieve better zooming.

one feature i like is the face recognition on this cam.. it recognises individuals !

see the review

Thanks for the link - just watched it. That sluggish focus while zooming during videoing would be a problem for me, I'm think. But that face recognition feature is interesting - not just detecting a face but actually recognising a particular face! Amazing.

I also checked the Canon PowerShot SX200 IS review there. What a pity they lock the optical zoom while videoing - that's the main gripe I have with the TZ3.

Decisions, decisions....