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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 reviews
You can find here the most interesting reviews / ratings from the well-known expert sites about the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 Camera. Here are the reviewers:
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- 07 December 2007 - |
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- 0 |
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- 03 December 2007 - |
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- 4.5 |
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- 06 November 2007 - |
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- 4 |
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- 05 November 2007 - |
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- 0 |
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- 25 October 2007 - |
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- 0 |
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- 16 October 2007 - |
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- 4.5 |
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- 14 October 2007 - |
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- 0 |
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- 21 August 2007 - |
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- 4.5 |
Imaging Resource 's conclusion / rating - 07 December 2007 |
“ With Panasonic's no-nonsense approach to long zoom digital camera design, the Panasonic Lumix FZ18 shines most for its excellent 18x zoom lens. If the sensor were better, the Panasonic FZ18 would be our top pick overall in long zoom digicams. As it is, the FZ18's sensor is good, but not as good as we've seen from many competitors with smaller zooms. It brings to mind the performance we saw about two years ago from Panasonic and others. Still, resolution is up, and that means you can now make good quality 11x14-inch prints from the Panasonic FZ18's lower-ISO images, ranging from ISO 100 to 400. If you can stick to that, you'll benefit from the FZ18's excellent corner-to-corner sharpness and reasonable chromatic aberration control from wide to mid-range telephoto. The Panasonic FZ18 is light enough to bring along just about anywhere, and the lens stays in closer than competing 18x designs, a design feature that will likely minimize damage over the life of this fine digital camera. If the lens is the big story with the Panasonic FZ18, the rest is just gravy. Face detect autofocus, multiple aspect ratios, optical image stabilization, white balance fine-tuning, adjustable flash intensity, and live histogram are all good to have with this excellent optic. The Panasonic FZ18 is a clear Dave's Pick thanks to its excellent quality where it counts: the lens... ”
Imaging Resource's rating: |
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- 0 |
Complete review here
PhotographyBLOG 's conclusion / rating - 03 December 2007 |
“ The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 is a bit of a jack of all trades – you can get crisp close ups with the minimum of fuss whether shooting from safe distance away, and also get cracking macro shots with the camera's lens practically resting on your subject matter. Plus, that 28mm wide angle lets you capture the whole scene before you without having to step back too far. The only things putting me off an unequivocal recommendation is that the zoom functionality is disabled when shooting video clips, the joystick that affords quick access to the most important settings in one go is too short, too small and thus tricky to operate, plus – that old argument again – you can now pick up a starter DSLR for round about the same price. That said, you won't have the same focal range, and will need a large and expensive optic to achieve anything near it. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 also allows you to shoot RAW files should you wish to do so, something that many super-zooms fail to offer alongside JPEG, so its features can't really be faulted. Plus, unless going for a particular mood whereby you'll want to override settings, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18's 'auto everything' Intelligent Auto Mode arguably produces results as good as, if not better, than most of us could achieve via hands-on adjustment. Overall though I don't feel as excited about the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 as I feel I should be – perhaps there was too long for expectation to build between the initial announcement and a hands-on with pre-production models UK journalists had back in July, and a review sample becoming available. Or perhaps it's just that I've been lucky enough to get my mitts on the likes of Nikon's P5100 and Canon's S5 IS in the meantime. Admittedly neither of them share the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18's focal range, so if you favour getting up close and personal above all else, this is the super zoom to go for... ”
PhotographyBLOG's rating: |
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- 4.5 |
Complete review here
DPReview 's conclusion / rating - 06 November 2007 |
“ One thing that has become obvious to us as we've looked at the various 18x 'super zoom' models that have appeared since the Olympus SP-550UZ burst onto the scene at the start of the year is that they will always involve a certain degree of compromise, particularly when it comes to image quality. The FZ18 is no exception; it offers all that we loved about the FZ8, plus a genuinely useful extension to the wide end of the zoom (the little extra telephoto is nice too, but nowhere near as important photographically speaking). But the image quality has actually fallen, partly due to the constraints involved in designing a 28-504mm equiv. lens this small, but mainly we suspect due to the painfully inevitable decision to add yet another million pixels to a 1/2.5 inch sensor already straining at the seams. This means that despite Panasonic more or less sorting out the bleeding color issue at higher ISO settings, the noise from the sensor is obviously a lot higher and the net result is images that we would struggle to find a use for at anything over ISO 200.
That all said, there really is much to like here; the FZ18 is a well built camera with a brilliant user interface and a superb range of photographic controls. The excellent quick menu gives you comfortable access to all important settings and the entire menu structure is designed in a way that'll let you know your way around the buttons without any problems after a couple of days or so. There is a very comprehensive range of manual controls, so the choice is yours; you can leave all the thinking to the camera or adjust all settings to your preference. We found the FZ very responsive and quick all around and the efficient stabilization system is a very welcome feature, especially at the tele end of the very long lens.
And in good light at ISO 100 the output is - as long as you don't spend too much time peering at the pixels - actually very good; highlight clipping, though still an issue in very bright conditions, is less prevalent than many camera's we've tested, thanks to an exposure system that gets it right far more often than it gets it wrong. Color is pleasing without being too 'in your face' and the focus system fast and reliable as long as there's enough light around. I'm sure for many potential users the combination of such an impressive zoom range and such a reliable focus/exposure system - all in a package that won't break your back if you carry it round all day - will more than outweigh the less than stellar pixel-level performance... ”
Complete review here
Steves Digicams 's conclusion / rating - 05 November 2007 |
“ We have loved Panasonic's "FZ" series since we reviewed the DMC-FZ1 back in 2003. The Lumix DMC-FZ18 continues their tradition of offering outstanding shooting performance, excellent image quality, loads of useful exposure settings, and a Very powerful zoom range (with O.I.S.), all packed in a stylish shell. This camera will make a great choice for anyone in the market for a versatile 8-megapixel digicam, especially if they are planing on a vacation that entails lots sport, wildlife, or portrait photography. That said, with a street price of US$399 or less, we feel the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 offers great "bang for your buck", and is sure to be a very popular model this 2007 holiday season... ”
Steves Digicams's rating: |
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- 0 |
Complete review here
DigitalCameraInfo 's conclusion / rating - 25 October 2007 |
“ The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 is much improved from the FZ8. It has more resolution, a longer and wider 18x optical zoom lens, and adds features like face detection. The Panasonic FZ18 outperforms its predecessor in almost every way. Its pictures have much more accurate colors and greater dynamic range. The FZ18 retains some of the best aspects of the FZ8, such as the optical image stabilization. These improvements, particularly in image quality and performance, make the $399 price well worth it... ”
DigitalCameraInfo's rating: |
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- 0 |
Complete review here
Megapixel.net 's conclusion / rating - 16 October 2007 |
“ To any user of a Panasonic FZ series camera, the DMC-FZ18 is familiar territory. In the positioning of the external controls, the design of the body, and its ergonomics, the FZ18 is faithful to the excellent design of its predecessors. The FZ18 is a light but well-constructed camera that offers powerful abilities... ”
Megapixel.net's rating: |
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- 4.5 |
Complete review here
DCResource 's conclusion / rating - 14 October 2007 |
“ If the slew of 10X and 12X ultra zooms on the market just don't give you enough telephoto power, then you'll definitely want to have a look at the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18. It packs a whopping 18X, 28 - 504 mm lens into a body that's not much larger than your typical 12X ultra zoom. Panasonic has stuffed nearly every conceivable feature into the FZ18, and the camera performs quite well. Once again, however, the image quality isn't as good as it should be, with heavy noise reduction reducing detail, even at the lowest ISO settings. Thankfully there's a workaround for those who are bothered by this, and that's shooting in RAW mode. The FZ18 is only the second mega zoom camera I've tested (the other being the Olympus SP-550UZ) and it's definitely the better of the two. That may change when I get my hands on the SP-560UZ or the Fuji FinePix S8000fd, but for now, the DMC-FZ18 is the best camera for those of you who can't get enough zoom.
At first glance, you'd have a hard time differentiating the FZ18 with its little brother, the FZ8. The cameras have a nearly identical design, so if you've used the FZ7 or FZ8 you'll have no problem with the FZ18. The camera is on the large side compared to other ultra zooms, but don't forget that most of those have smaller lenses. The FZ18 is made of a mix of metal and plastic, and it's well put together. The camera is easy to hold, with a large grip for your right hand, and plenty of room for your left under the lens barrel. Speaking of lens barrels, it's there where you'll find two of the FZ18's stand-out features: it's 18X lens and optical image stabilizer. Not only does the lens have incredible telephoto power, but it has a nice, wide-angle starting point of 28 mm, as well. If the 504 mm top end of the focal range doesn't do it for you, then you can expand it to a whopping 856 mm with the optional teleconverter. Inside the lens is the camera's optical image stabilization system, which effectively reduces camera shake from both photos and movies. On the back of the camera you'll find a sharp 2.5" LCD display which can be seen both in bright outdoor light and dimly lit rooms. The LCD also has a unique "high angle" function that lets you hold the camera above you and still see what's on the screen.
The DMC-FZ18 has almost every feature imaginable on it. On the beginner side, you've got regular scene modes, advanced scene modes, and mode that will even pick the scene for you automatically. Photos taken in these scene modes are automatically put into categories for easy filtering later. The camera has an Intelligent ISO mode as well, which will increase the sensitivity as needed (even taking subject motion into account) in order to take a sharp photo. You might want to be careful with that one, though, as photos can have a lot of noise reduction artifacting. If you want manual controls, the FZ18 has plenty of those, too. They include shutter speed and aperture, white balance (including fine-tuning), and focus. The manual focus feature is well implemented, offering the ability to move the frame-enlargement area around. You can also move focus points, whether in multi-area or spot focus mode. The DMC-FZ18 supports the RAW image format, and it's really the way to get the best image quality out of the camera. Panasonic includes very capable RAW editing software (SilkyPix), but the interface looks like something from the 1970's. Whether you're a beginner or a pro, you'll like the FZ18's movie mode, which lets you record widescreen 848 x 480 video at 30 frames/second, for up to 20 minutes per clip... ”
Complete review here
TrustedReviews 's conclusion / rating - 21 August 2007 |
“ The Lumix FZ18 is a very nearly the ultimate super-zoom camera, with good performance and handling, an excellent range of features and a simply astonishing lens, made usable by an equally superb image stabilisation system. However it falls just short of greatness due to the inexplicably small sensor, which in turn leads to image noise and dynamic range issues. It's still the best 18x super-zoom out there though, at least until September... ”
TrustedReviews's rating: |
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- 4.5 |
Complete review here
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