An Evening with the FZ300, Nokomis Beach, the Drum Circle

f2.8 @ 1/100 ISO 100

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Every Wednesday and Saturday night on Nokomis Beach there's a drum circle. The audience is of all ages, but I can't help but feel half the people were either at Woodstock or wish they were - and without question half the drummers!

I took the Lumix FZ300 with me because I love the 25-600mm zoom. Plus, it's light and the perfect camera just to hang out, and people watch.  Like most of the Lumix family, I'm able to quickly switch from single frame to video.

This past Saturday was exceptional because just after we watched the sun go down over the ocean, the moon came up behind us. And, through the entire evening, in between the sun and moon was a celebration of life. Everyone "marching to the tune" of their own drummer...literally.

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f4 @ 1/160 ISO 200

With the water temperature averaging 87 F. throughout July, people are either in the water as the sun sets or at the drum circle.

f2.8 @ 1/80 ISO 200

One push of the video button and I was instantly filming. A big reason why I love Panasonic's Lumix cameras is in the design.

The shutter button is the farthest forward with the zoom control just in front of it at the top of this image. The red button let's me switch to video with virtually no camera movement and the ability to keep filming!

Everything I need to capture the images I want is at my fingertips. As the lighting changed, along with the activity of the dancers and drummers, I found myself switching from "IA" (Intelligent Auto) to Shutter and Aperture priority.

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Nothing beats people watching with an FZ300 in your hands. 

f2.8 @ 1/80 ISO 400

f2.8 @ 1/125 ISO 200

f2.8 @ 1/125 ISO 200

As the sun went down I found myself wishing I'd brought a tripod along, but even without one, this little camera captures everything. It gives me a lot of control over the images I want.

f4.5 @ 1/2000 ISO 100

​The sun had gone completely down when we got that little patch of pink in the sky joining a couple still in the water for a sunset swim. And then the moon decided to join the evening!

f2.8 @ 1/80 ISO 2500

f2.8 @ 1/100 ISO 100

The FZ300 is a $500 camera - it's certainly not at the higher end and with a smaller sensor, it's slightly limited, but it's a lot of bang for your buck! And for me it's the perfect travel camera with most of the features important to me.  
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