Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18K 8.1 Megapixel Bridge Camera - Black

Great for zoomed and wide good light pictures

Strengths: High quality Leica lens, 18x zoom, 28mm wide angle, good quality optical image stabilization, good lens cap, calendar playback mode

Weakness: Zooming into pictures during playback, low light pictures

The camera does a remarkable job for the market it was designed for. Not high level DSLR or low level point and shoot only, and pictures not movies. I like the calendar mode during playback which shows a monthly calendar and highlights the days with a tiny picture thumbnail that pictures were taken. Very cool. Also has dual timezones for when your traveling to keep date/time stamps accurate. Nice...
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The camera does a remarkable job for the market it was designed for. Not high level DSLR or low level point and shoot only, and pictures not movies.

I like the calendar mode during playback which shows a monthly calendar and highlights the days with a tiny picture thumbnail that pictures were taken. Very cool. Also has dual timezones for when your traveling to keep date/time stamps accurate. Nice finshing details like this round out the camera very nicely.

For a small camera bag I'm trying M-Rocks Niagara bag. Just barely fits in sidewise (verticle oriented bag) with the grip up. Plenty of room above the camera in the bag for a strap or equivalent that won't scratch the camera. Has plenty of small pockets for extras like spare batteries, memory cards, filters. A touch big to carry around all day but hey, this isn't a compact camera. That's the price for 18x zoom.

By msgmnw - Jun 19, 2008

Canon and Nikon watch out!

Strengths: Image quality,Cost factor,Big zoom,RAW mode,excellent interface, joystick access to most commonly needed functions, Uses SD/SDHC cards, Good build.

Weakness: Noise reduction induced problems in low light situations, Lens move in and out while zooming and retracts in when powered down, No focus ring, No flash shoe, No tilt LCD, Non standard thread size.

After much research and time, I decided to pick the Panasonic lumix fz18. Among all the bridge cameras, fz18 fit the bill most for the features I was looking for in a camera. Pros - -Cost factor. -Image quality - If you take the shot in nice light, it gives excellent image quality. At its best, it is the best. I dont see much difference in image quality when compared to a canon eos 20D when shots...
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After much research and time, I decided to pick the Panasonic lumix fz18.
Among all the bridge cameras, fz18 fit the bill most for the features I was looking for in a camera.
Pros -
-Cost factor.
-Image quality - If you take the shot in nice light, it gives excellent image quality. At its best,
it is the best. I dont see much difference in image quality when compared to a canon eos 20D when shots were taken in good light.(Also depends on the lens used on the DSLR). Low light shots are a different story though. But I am comparing a full fledged DSLR here. Compared to cameras in its class, the low light shots are not any worse or better.
NO purple fringing even in the corners in extreme zoom! No barrel distortion in wide angle shots. But I suspect that this attribute is more because of the in-camera jpeg processing than the leica lens quality. Taking RAW format will reveal the reason. I didnt try it.
But whatever be it, I doubt if any camera in the same class or even in higher classes has this low purple fringing or barrel distortion.
Accurate color reproduction. I have not tested it widely to see if it has good color reproduction in various light settings.
But anyway, I have white balance control at my fingertips if in doubt. Metering has been pretty much accurate and it has exposure compensation of + or -2EV (1/3 steps) in case you think you need more light than the camera thinks is needed.
-Big zoom - WIDE ANGLE to a very good telezoom. I dont think you will ever need an extra telephoto zoom unless you are into wildlife photography. If you want an equivalent zoom for a DSLR, dont even think about getting this much zoom in one piece. Also be ready to shell out a huge amount of money if you want that much zoom in a DSLR. And the amazing thing about this big zoom is that there is no discernible distortions in the wide and tele ends.
-Nice bokeh (not as much as a dSLR). Even though, the sensor size is small(1/2.5"), it has a narrow enough depth of field if the relative size of the subject on the frame is big enough (even if it is wide macro or tele macro). Large depth of field for taking landscape photography at wide angles.
-Presets - Though I have not used much of the ready made settings, there is a wide array of ready made settings that suits most of the common situations for those who need it.
-Ergonomics-Very nice placement of buttons, EXCELLENT menu user interface, excellent placement of buttons. Joystick at the most convenient location, giving QUICK ACCESS to most used functions while taking shots.
-Accepts the most common and cheapest memory card solution - SD card. Other camera manufacturers force you to buy their proprietory memory cards.
-Better than average build quality.
-Option to record in RAW mode.

Cons -

-No manual focus ring or zoom ring. You have to use the zoom lever and joystick(focussing). Though not quite difficult, I would have preferred a focus ring on the lens barrel.
-Smearing, smudging, blotching... side effects of noise reduction algorithm used in low light situations. Even if you turn noise reduction by 2 notches, it is still there. I really hope that Panasonic releases a firmware later on that gives an option to completely turn it down in jpeg mode. You could potentially use RAW mode and do noise reduction with some other software ... who has the time.
For an advanced P&S, it should have had a 1/1.8" image sensor instead of small 1/2.5" sensor.
-Lens physically extends during zooming out. Therefore, if you want to attach a telephoto lens or wide angle lens, you have to use a special adapters which fits on the outer 55.8 thread ring. Even with panasonic la3 adaptor, it will vignette at the wide end. There is a 3rd party adaptor available which solves the problem, though not very satisfactorily.
Lens retracts into the barrel when powered down, therefore if you fit a 46mm telephoto or wide angle lens on the inner ring, if you accidentally power it down before taking the extra lens or filter out (and if the diameter of the extra lens is more than 46mm in the main body), it will get stuck in the barrel potentially damaging the lens mechanism. You need atleast around 6 mm extension from the 46mm inner thread to be safe.
-No tilting lcd display. There is an option for high angle viewing with lcd (for taking pics above head level).
-No flash shoe.
-No external trigger release options.
-No zooming while shooting video - Is it possible with a firmware change? I hope so.
-Non standard thread size on the outer barrel - 55.8mm!
-No AC adaptor supplied with the package!
-Weight is a little too low. Some prefer it that way, but I like it a little more heavier.

In general, I am happy with the purchase. If they continue the trend in the quality and pricing and improve on the above mentioned areas, I think the panasonic lumix line P&S will seriously pose a challenge to the super expensive DSLR giants.

By neoman700 - May 3, 2008

Excellent Camera

Strengths: Optical Zoom

Weakness: Lack of shoe for an external flash

I've had this camera about 2 months. I was looking for a camera with better quality than a compact, but less expensive than a DSLR. I am convinced that this was the right choice. The great feature for me is the 18X OPTICAL zoom - as I think that digital zooms are useless. Picture quality is excellent, noticeably better than my previous Olympus camera. Focusing is very accurate and also much...
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I've had this camera about 2 months. I was looking for a camera with better quality than a compact, but less expensive than a DSLR. I am convinced that this was the right choice.

The great feature for me is the 18X OPTICAL zoom - as I think that digital zooms are useless. Picture quality is excellent, noticeably better than my previous Olympus camera. Focusing is very accurate and also much faster than my Olympus, especially with low light conditions (in which my current Olympus camera is very slow). The image stabilization works well and is very important for high zoomed pictures. The face detection feature also works surprisingly well.

The flash is just passable (up to about 15 ft) and the lack of a shoe for an external flash is the main drawback of this camera, in my opinion.

In summary, this camera is simple enough to be used as a point-and-shoot, but also has the versatility to control speed, aperture, ISO, etc. Strongly recommended purchase!

By cenglerp - Feb 12, 2008

Fantastic 18X Optical Zoom Camera; 8.1MP, 2.5

Strengths: Great color rendition, excellent lens, EVF with diopter focus adjustment; very good "auto" system for point-and-shoot, but easy manual override. Uses SD or SDHC cards

Weakness: nothing especially fancy in the included software; does not have hot shoe or external sync for flash; auto mode limits ISO to 100-200 range altho manual adjustment goes 100-1600 and w/hi-ISO to 6400

Used this for garden shots and then at the San Diego Red Bull Air Races (on SD Bay); got excellent shots at 18X zoom w/auto settings. Can even easily read Honda name on outboard over 2100' away (~0.4 miles). Has face recognition and selective aspect ratio. Very impressed so far!

By RTB - Sep 24, 2007

Panasonic's Lumix DMC-FZ18

Strengths: Light weight, powerful zoom, many features, This is one of three 18x zoom cameras and after reading all the reviews I chose this one. It is rated the best of the three and it is!!!

Weakness: None

I bought this camera for the ultra zoom which is impressive. It has so many other features it will take me hours to learn them all but I can take pictures and just leave it on auto. Overall a great camera. This camera zoom is why I bought it and after having it for a couple weeks and playing with it I am even more impressed. The zoom, 18x, and the 8mp really makes my 10mp Exisllim camera look...
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I bought this camera for the ultra zoom which is impressive. It has so many other features it will take me hours to learn them all but I can take pictures and just leave it on auto. Overall a great camera. This camera zoom is why I bought it and after having it for a couple weeks and playing with it I am even more impressed. The zoom, 18x, and the 8mp really makes my 10mp Exisllim camera look poor. If you are looking for a powerful zoom, plenty of pictures and a reasonable price this is the camera for you.

By jab862 - Feb 28, 2008