If you're shopping for a new digital camera you basically have two options: pick up a toy shooter that can't grow with you; or plunk down a grand for a fancy digital SLR and face its huge learning curve. But there's a third way that's better: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, a high-end point-and-shooter with sweet new-tech features, is really all about one thing: It shoots striking pictures. The DMC-FZ18 contains an 8.1 megapixel sensor and a head-scratchingly powerful 18x zoom on a 28mm wide-angle lens (12x is standard on most rival cameras). With this lens, you can zoom in on the pitcher (or belly itcher) from the bleachers or pan out and shoot the whole field. But the DMC-FZ18's strength is its intuitive interface and friendly presets. The Intelligent Auto Mode combines four great features into one: image stabilization to minimize camera-shake; intelligent ISO for freezing action scenes; automatic subject and scenery adjustment to cut glare and enhance shadows; and face detection for improving portraits. And this camera helps you learn. The Custom mode lets users play with different settings and save them, slowly building confidence, experience, and mature photographic preferences. —Jose Fermoso
WIRED Takes awesome pictures. Very easy to use. The 18x zoom doesn’t sacrifice detail. Great software package with flawless panoramic stitching.
TIRED You can't use the zoom option when playing back video with audio on the LCD screen, which caused us to miss the loud 18X version of a seal chomping on a companion’s nose. And the audio coming out of the speaker was a bit tinny.
$400, panasonic.com
Hands-On: A Few Notes On a Weekend With the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18
You know what's better than a kick ass camera that takes gorgeous pics and combines high-end features with a straight forward, consumer friendly interface? That same camera wrapped up in a package that looks sexier than a super model seen through a set of beer goggles. The
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 is such a camera. Today, everyone knows how to use SD cards and post photos on Flickr, but how fast can normal folk delve into a multi-featured shooter like this one? We took it around the San Francisco bay for a few hours to snap some shots and get closer to mother nature.
Among the features we tested was the Intelligent Auto Mode found in the dial at the top of the camera. The IA combines four top-notch features that make life extremely easy for amateur photographers:
advanced optical image stabilization (or O.I.S.), Intelligent ISO, Face
Detection, and the ambience-correcting Scene Detection feature.
Intelligent Auto is easy to keep as the standard setting because it takes little practice to produce very good pictures. Our pics of an agitated seal on the beach, taken while we walked towards the water and the camera was shaking, show the quality of the O.I.S. with the shutter speed adjustment on-the-fly of the ISO: The seals came out clean and blur-free, and judging by their appearance, noticeably happier than they appeared from afar. (Side note: although cute a cuddly, a gang of seals smell like the inside of a fish rendering plant on a hot day.)
Face and Scene detections performed well when we tried out subjects exposed to different light sources. When posed in front of the sun, the camera immediately found the outline of the face and began to focus on it, even as we shifted uncomfortably on the rocky shore. Once we clicked on the shutter halfway, the exposure changed automatically and brightened the face considerably on the 2.5” screen. The camera is set-up to detect up to 15 faces in a single scene and also picks up 2-D faces as seen in the picture below. For the scene detection of this particular beach session, the visible icon instinctively changed between scenery and portrait, but there are also macro and night options. Among the other features on the dial, there are advanced aperture or shutter priority modes as well as a custom set and manual exposure for more personal control.
The 18X optical zoom on a 28mm wide-angle Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens also proved to be good. We drove up the nearest mountain and came up with some pristine panoramic images, then came down to shoot the depressions in the reef during low tide, and another detailed form came through. Even the frisky anemones seemed to jump out in the screen.
Another positive was the ability to move around the menu with ease as situations changed (see menu pic at the bottom). For example, our SD card was running out of room at one point and we easily switched down to 5-megapixel mode so as to take more pictures. The interface menu was easy to use, though a bit squeezed in, and you always know where you are in respect to the other available features.
The manufacturer pumped up the energy efficiency of the player, as you’re supposed to be able to shoot around 400 pics on one charge. From our take, this proved partially true: When the camera is left on for more than 6 minutes at a time without using it, the set turns itself off, which is fine - it boots up in one second when turned back on. But as we used it throughout the weekend, the battery seemed to die out around 60-70% of the estimate.
The rest of the stats: The camera has an 8.1 megapixel CCD, and the image-processing engine can record at a sensitivity setting as high as
ISO 1600 with full resolution (that’s real good). It also improves noise reduction leading to clear image processing that’s above average.
Full-featured cameras that are easy to use offer photo amateurs the opportunity to enhance his/her camera education in a fairly short time.
The FZ-18’s feature consolidation, where the IA mode is the best example, allows the user to maintain a decidedly basic use of the camera, just pointing and shooting their way through their photographic experience, giving them a higher probability of a good result. But it’s in the consistent exploration of the features by a pro that you’ll really get to see this camera excel. The DMC-FZ18 will be available for purchase in mid-September for about $400.
