A mess of photos from my first days with the Panasonic #Lumix G5

A new toy showed up at my door this week! A toy that makes a geek, such as myself, run around doing the happy dance all over the kitchen!

The Panasonic Lumix G5 is a Digital Single Lens Mirrorless (DSLM) camera and my very first step away from the point and shoot. I have no idea what I’m doing with this fancy piece of equipment but I plan on having fun while I learn to use my Lumix properly! 

To start to get a feel for the new camera, I walked around the house and yard today — snapping  a few photos as I went. Here’s what happened!

The chickens were out scratching underneath the bird feeder as usual. I zoomed in on them from the living room window and used the “Freeze Animal Motion” filter.

Throughout my photo taking session, I used several of the different Scene Guide filters and Creative Control Mode filters while snapping. Here’s the extensive list of filters the Lumix G5 boasts:

23 Scene Guide Filters: Clear Portrait, Silky Skin, Backlit Softness, Clear in Backlight, Relaxing tone, Sweet Child’s Face, Distinct Scenery, Bright Blue Sky, Romantic Sunset Glow, Vivid Sunset Glow, Glistening Water, Clear Nightscape, Cool Night Sky, Warm Glowing Nightscape, Artistic Nightscape, Glittering Illuminations, Clear Night Portrait, Soft Image of a Flower, Appetizing Food, Cute Dessert, Freeze Animal Motion, Clear Sports Shot, Monochrome.

14 Creative Control Mode Filters: Expressive, Retro, High Key, Low Key, Sepia, Dynamic Monochrome, Impressive Art, High Dynamic, Cross Process, Toy Effect, Miniature Effect, Soft Focus, Star Filter, One Point Color

I’m not certain exactly which filter I used for which photo, but I will share the ones I do remember. There are some amazing filter features!

Finally, I was able to get a photo of sweet old Ginger’s face without a huge glare on her eyeballs!

Awww, puppy dog eyes!

To be honest, I’m impressed with the Lumix G5, so far.

The shots in this post are all straight out of the camera. I think they turned out fairly well for my first time using this type of hybrid camera.

The “Soft Image of a Flower” Scene Mode that I used to shoot a quick photo of my African Violet flowers is going to be one of my favorites. I want to experiment and see if I can figure out how to get the flowers more in focus. For now though, I think this photo is lovely.

Our old ornery cockatiel, Kooky, does not enjoy having his photo taken.

I did manage to get a fairly clear shot of him anyway. 

Or at least his beak! As I mentioned, I do need to work on my focusing skills! I believe I used “Backlit Softness” for this one.

Then, I just decided to get silly and took a bunch of random photos to see how they turned out.

Fuzzy Socks – a must have for NW PA! Love the bright pink in this shot.

I wish it was warmer outside, it’s too cold for outdoor photo taking today.

Me in Monochrome.

My daughter’s mirror and my new camera!

I love how the Lumix G5 fits so naturally in my hands.

Ugh, she has her walls plastered in “boy band” posters.

Great colors though! I think I used the “Expressive” filter for this one.

It seems like just last year she was all about these instead.

Oh wait, for several of them, it was! Stop growing girl!

Since I wasn’t quite ready to publish this post this on the day I started it, I decided to add a few more photos! We had a beautiful sunny day and I wanted to get outside to try some of the other filters. I couldn’t be more pleased! 

Check out the photo I took using the “Glittering Illuminations” filter — so cool! This is one of my guy’s old motorcycles. Love how the filter adds all of the sparkles to the guard!

My hubby’s other bike is hiding in the garage. I took two quick photos, one in Auto mode and one with the “Retro” filter. Which one do you like best?

I have an idea to get hubs dressed up in all his biker gear then take a few shots of him in the Retro filter. It could turn into a fun photo shoot!

The “Retro” Creative Control filter is way cool! I could take photos of the chickens using this filter all day! I love how it makes their feathers look all soft and fluffy! I’m going to practice with this one to see if I can get a frame-worthy shot of my flock.

Not there just yet!

All of the dried wildflowers add a pretty backdrop to the chicken shots I took.

But, they are also gorgeous on their own, especially when using the “Soft Image of a Flower” filter — beautiful! I really like the light in this photo.

When I peeked inside the chicken coop, I had to share a photo of the pretty feathers surrounding a few fresh eggs.

This is either the “Expressive” or “Dynamic Art” filter, I can’t recall which. I like the contrast the filter adds to the photo — do you see the hidden egg?

All of the little flowers and buds on my miniature fairy rose are dried up from the frost.

They still look pretty in both Auto Mode and the “One Point Shot” Creative Control Mode. I really like how the green leaves stand out against the monochrome roses in the second one.

Before I headed back to the house, I thought why not take a few shots of hubby’s old Mustang. He has been very slowly working on fixing it up, she’s going to be a beauty!

For comparioson, the first shot was taken in straight Auto mode, then the next two shots are with the “Sepia” creative control filter, while the third shot was taken with the “Cross Process” filter. I love how different each shot looks!

It’s really fun to use all of the different filters on the Lumix G5. I like that I can even see what the photo will look like on the screen before I take the shot!

The flower pots on my front steps still have a bit of green left in them. And this one lonely chrysanthemum!

Somehow, the “Low Key” filter made this very shady spot turn into a gorgeous shot.

Experimenting with the filters and sky shots is going to be so much fun! I like the way the Impressive Art filter makes the details of the clouds stand out more. Though, the Auto Mode one is pretty too!

I think I’m going to have a hard time choosing which filters to use for the photos I take! They all make the photos look beautiful, in different ways.

My sweet little kitty, KiKi, needed a bit of attention before I headed indoors.

Oh how I love the way her whiskers catch the light in this photo taken with the “High Key” filter!

I think that’s enough photos for now! As you can see, I do need more practice. What I’m really surprised by is how true to life the colors are on all of the photos I’ve taken with my Panasonic Lumix G5. And by how clear they are, even though I am basically just snapping away with no clue.

Usually I have to spend 10 or more minutes on a photo trying to get the color and sharpness to be realistic looking. Not so with this new camera! For my next post, I hope to show some improvement in my use of the awesome filters the G5 features.

Now, I do need a bit of help to learn how to improve. Besides reading the manual, where should I look for some great photography tutorials?

Do you have a favorite photo tutorial that would work for a beginner like me? I’d love to hear about it!