Shooting from the sHip: The compact Panasonic Lumix S 28-200mm F4-7.1 Macro zoom is a winner

Sometimes, getting closer to your subject by zooming with your feet is out of the question. For example, when you are on a boat and your subject is on the shore. It’s then time to attach a lens with a longer reach. Anticipating exactly this scenario, I recently splashed out on a Panasonic Lumix 28-200mm f/4-7.1 Macro zoom. It was a winning move.

Like many Macfilos readers, I try to be as efficient as possible when choosing my travel-photography kit. For me, minimising weight, maximizing flexibility, and guaranteeing sharpness are the key objectives. So, when planning a forthcoming cruise along rivers and lakes, I decided to buy a new lens with just that profile in mind.

Choices, choices

As a Leica SL2 shooter, I had the whole L-Mount-lens world from which to pick. I eventually plonked my money down for a Panasonic Lumix 28-200mm zoom, which I described recently. I had high hopes that it might be a single-lens solution for my nautical excursion.

But, just in case, I also took my trusty Panasonic Lumix 20-60mm.  Both are so light and compact, I could mount one on the camera and carry the other in a sling pouch. You never know when that extra-wide 20mm focal length might be useful.

Our itinerary included a stay in Amsterdam, followed by a Rhine cruise to Basel, after which we made stops in Lucerne and Como. Along the Rhine, we would be visiting numerous picturesque locations, both on the river and in the nearby hinterland. I suspected the long end of the Panasonic Lumix 28-200mm f/4-7.1 Macro zoom would also see some action on these excursions.

City slicker

While in Amsterdam, dodging cyclists, cruising canals, and visiting museums, I stuck to the 20-60mm lens. It really is almost perfect for shooting in cities.

The shots of the canal, at 20mm, and the Rijksmuseum’s ‘Night Watch’ restoration project, at 38mm, exemplify its versatility. As discussed in previous articles, a little cropping of an image taken at 60mm, as with the accordion player, can usefully extend the focal length range.

Moving on to its longer-focal-length sibling, I now had the benefit of a significant optical zoom. As a result, I’d be retaining all those lovely pixels, right out to 200mm focal length.

The Lumix 28-200mm f/4-7.1 zoom in action

The first opportunity to try it arose in Cologne, where I was after a photo of its famous cathedral. For this one, I positioned myself to view two of its towering spires, neatly aligned. If you squint, you can see a narrow green ladder, right at the top of the tallest spire. I cannot imagine who would have the necessary head for heights to ascend it.

At the wide-end of its focal length, I was able to capture a shot as we docked. Because berths are limited, river cruise ships ‘parallel park’. Passengers on the outer ship walk through the inner ship to reach land. The ship we docked against appeared to be an exact copy of ours.

Gently docking the ship against its neighbour requires precision steering. Captain Michael used a set of auxiliary controls, allowing him to peer over the side as he undertook the manoeuvre. I think a pair of sunglasses might have helped the cause.

Schlösser, as far as the eye can see

Further south, we sailed through the Middle Rhine Valley. It’s famous for fairy-tale Schlösser, tucked into the wooded hillsides, enjoying commanding views of the river below. Photographing these was both a highlight of the trip, and the principal reason for buying the Lumix 28-200mm zoom.

First out of the gate was Marksburg castle, sitting proudly atop one of those wooded hillsides. With its towers and pointy turrets, it matched perfectly how I imagined a Rhine Schloss would look. At 62mm, you can appreciate its woodland setting and at 95mm you can admire its sandstone brick walls.

Sibling rivalry

Next came Sterrenberg and Liebenstein castles. There is no shortage of folk tales associated with many of the Rhine’s castles, and these two are no exception. Locals refer to them as the “hostile brothers”, a relic from the 16th-century story of their rivalry. Burg Liebenstein, on the right, occupies the highest position of any castle on the river.

I won’t inflict images of every single Rhine castle on you, but here are a few more I would like to share.

Katz castle has been a familiar presence on the Rhine since the 14th century. It was heavily damaged by Napoleon’s forces in 1806. Based upon the guide’s commentary, German inhabitants of the Rhine still apparently hold a grudge against the French for beating up their castles over the centuries. The Katz castle we see now was rebuilt in the Victorian era.

You can see the number 556 painted on the river wall at the lower left of the image. This is a kilometer marker, enabling interested parties, especially tourists, to locate exactly where they are on the river.

Red-brick on the Rhine

When sailing past Schloss Schönburg, you see two historic buildings for the price of one. The castle, built in 966, overlooks ‘The Red Church’, a spectacular place of worship built of red brick, complete with heavily raked, tiled roof and enormous spire.

The castle was burned by French troops in 1689. Are you seeing the pattern here? The reconstructed building is now a restaurant and hotel.

Pfalzgrafenstein might be the most famous Schloss on the Rhine. Unlike most others, it sits on the water’s edge. This is because its occupants used the riverside location to extract a toll from passing ships.

The white castle walls and contrasting black tiled roof, set against those green wooded hillsides, make for a spectacular scene, viewed in person or through a camera lens.

Finally, here is Stahleck castle, overlooking a hill on the other side of a valley, covered in grape vines. Chances are, they are Riesling: ubiquitous, versatile, and the basis of wines for almost every palate. It goes without saying that French invaders wrecked this place back in the 17th century. Today, it is a youth hostel.

Excursions with the Lumix 28-200mm zoom

As mentioned earlier, our cruise included daily excursions into the regions surrounding the towns where we docked each day. Of these, Strasbourg was by far the most picturesque. Home of the European Parliament, in the historic region of Alsace, the city regularly changed hands between the various French and Austro-Hungarian empires.

At its centre is an old town, completely encircled by waterways, in turn crossed by numerous bridges. The old town is dominated by an enormous, sandstone cathedral, built in the gothic style. Surrounding the cathedral are narrow, cobbled streets, filled with shops offering artisanal produce of all kinds.

The Petit France district is especially scenic; you could describe it as picture postcard perfect.

Some like it hot

A final excursion, concluding our cruise, was a trip to the Black Forest. Obviously, we could only sample a sliver of this world-famous region. But our brief visit did offer up an unusual opportunity to use the long end of the zoom range, while visiting a glassblowing exhibition.

The process of creating an ornamental pumpkin required repeated application of a blow torch to keep the glass semi-liquid. I was able to get a couple of shots of the action while remaining far enough away to avoid singeing my eyebrows.

The temperature difference between the blast from the torch, and the heat radiating from the glass, yielded a spectacular colour contrast. The fact that the blue and orange colours complement each other adds even more drama to the image.

The sequence of techniques required to fashion the decorative whirls at the top of the glass pumpkin would take too long to portray. But there is no doubt I was observing the work of a true master.

From river to lake

We hopped on a train in Basel for a few nights in Lucerne, before boarding another train for Como. Lake Como was as gorgeous as I had been led to believe. I can understand why Hollywood celebrities have been tempted to purchase lakeside homes there.

The lake looks like an inverted “Y” when viewed on Google Maps. Como itself sits at the southern end of the western arm. The town of Bellagio sits at the point where the western and eastern arms merge. More on that shortly. A return ferry ride from Como to Bellagio was the perfect way to enjoy the lake’s spectacular natural scenery, as well as snoop on the plethora of mansions crowding the lake shore.

I took this first, wide-angle shot of the harbour at Como, just before joining a very long line to buy ferry tickets. It is a typical Lake Como scene: lakeside buildings, above which are steep, forested hillsides.

The eagle-eyed among you will also see a red construction crane. I found it almost impossible to avoid the inclusion of such cranes in the photographs I took on the lake. There were everywhere. The local construction industry seemed to be in rude good health.

La dolce vita

The next, crane-free picture, which I shot at 200mm from the ferry, was precisely the scene I had expected to see. A sloping peninsula, covered in Italian cypress, cedar deodora, and oaks, leads down to a grand, colour-washed mansion, with shuttered windows and terracotta-tiled roof.

The property has a stone wall, protecting it from high waves on the lake, and a walkway leads down to a dock, unoccupied on this occasion, but a perfect place to moor a fancy speedboat.

The lens delivers a tasteful telephoto compression, while still allowing clear views of hillside villages further along the lake. What a beautiful place!

More cranes

I could include many other photos I took on this ferry ride. But, I will spare you and just share a couple of others.

The next shows one of those fancy motorboats, ploughing through the waves. I was able to track it using continuous autofocus and got a nice, sharp shot, even though the boat and I were moving in opposite directions. You can also see a few more of those ubiquitous cranes.

Bellagio and the Swiss Roll

The destination of my ferry ride, Bellagio, enjoys a remarkable connection with Macfilos.

Long term readers will recall the most-famous, and most-viewed, article ever posted on the site – The Swiss Roll story. It concerns a 70-year-old brass Leica film cassette, acquired by regular contributor and Leica historian, William Fagan.

When he had the roll developed, the photographs revealed an account of a trip through Europe made by a young couple. Their identities remain unknown to this day, despite world-wide interest in the story and amateur detective work by many readers.

One of the stops they made was in Bellagio. We know this because one of the photos, reproduced below, had been taken on Via Giuseppe Garibaldi looking towards Basilica di San Giacomo.

Bell tower

While visiting, I sat in the square, just in front of the Basilica. I even took a photograph of the bell tower, as its bell rang out a call to afternoon mass. It is, of course, the same bell you can see in the Swiss Roll photograph.

Finally, here is a shot I captured from Via Giuseppe Garibaldi. This man stepped out onto his balcony to adjust the Italian flag he had hung, just as I was looking down the narrow lane towards the lake. You can tell it’s a telephoto shot (180mm) by the compression.

I have formatted it in a vertical 16×9 to emphasise the narrowness of the lane. As with the earlier 16×9 portrait-mode images, you might have to reorient your iPad to see the entire image.

Final thoughts on the Panasonic Lumix 28-200mm f/4-7.1 Macro

The Lumix 28-200mm zoom might be the perfect travel lens for L-Mount shooters. As discussed in my previous article, it is light in weight, small in form, and offers sharpness at all apertures. These attributes more than make up for its relatively slow, variable aperture.

It weighs in at just 413g, and like other Lumix S-series lenses, uses 67mm filters. It possesses in-lens image stabilisation, with an on/off switch on the lens barrel, along with an Auto/Manual focus switch. The lens is also weather-sealed.

There are other wide-focal length-range zooms available for L-Mount, one of which will be the subject of a Macfilos review quite soon. However, this Lumix option hits the spot for me, and is likely to spend a lot of time on my SL2, whether I am on dry land or aboard a ship of some kind.

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More on the Lumix 28-200mm	More on the Lumix 20-60mm
More European travel photography	More on travel photography in Italy
The Swiss Roll article

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