Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1

Overall this is a decent point-n-click camera with the addition of possibly the best all-round lens that has ever been available for 'sensible money'. I have replaced 2 snapshot cameras (inc Cannon Sureshot) and 2 SLR bodies with this. I used 35mm, 50mm, 300mm and 600mm (Sigma Cat) lenses and the DZ1 replaces them all. As the lens maitains its f2.8 through its effective 35-420mm range it is also BETTER! Combine this with the stability feature and you can actually get pretty good shots at full 12x optical zoom + digital zoom (effective 800mm shots are reasonable on highest quality / lowest compression setting). Stability is awesome - you can take shots at effective 800mm in light too dim to use a 150mm for an SLR. Anyone using zoom lenses especially for action subjects, ie. sports, wildlife, will find the combination of digital photography, excellent zoom and burst mode irresistible. Discount the other review from Auckland NZ - why people feel compelled to write a review based on a severe lack of experience is beyond me. For more detailed review of specs see other reviews, which mirror my experience with the camera. I have (unlike the below review) not had any problem with the eye viewer in bright light at all. In fact is unusual to find this excellent feature.

Unique Leica lens. Ability to replace snapshot cameras and range of SLR bodies and lenses with one camera.

... but for those high quality enlargements or professional pics look elsewhere. 2 megapixels and lack of manual override limiting for professional use. But this is NOT a professional camera. Although very cheap ... it is actually very close, especially for action photogrpahy.

Range digital cameras, many SLRs.

Good (NZ)

Please bear in mind that I am not a professional! I'm a home user, so it comes from that perspective. Overall I like the camera. It's easy to use, easy to upload photos, and the software it comes with is really nifty. It even displays the properties of each photo, ie; what the iso setting was etc. I have so far only used it to take photos of people, so judgement on scenery etc reserved.

The movies - I was hesitant at first as they are 10fps, as compared to the other (Olympus) big zoom camera I was considering which was 15fps. but the movies are great, and of course there is no time limit to them as with other cameras - it will keep going until you run out of storage space. Burst mode - depending on your quality setting you can take up to 8 (or is it 7?) photos one after the other, in very quick succession. So when I think my dog is about to do something wickedly entertaining I have a better chance of catching the moment. Bracket mode - will take 3 photos (again, in very quick succession) all with different exposures. So you'll get 1 light photo, one normal (normal as according to the camera), and one darker one. So again, you increase your chances of getting the right photo. White balance - this is a new thing to me so very exciting! I can point the camera at something white and the camera will adjust accordingly - saves from having yellow images.

LCD screen is USELESS in low light. And I do mean useless, you have to guess where to point the camera. It's not backlit, and no, you can't use the viewfinder. Due to the high zoom the viewfinder is just a smaller LCD screen - so also useless. I must admit this surprised me considering the camera has a 'night-time' mode. Flash doesn't carry as far as my friends cameras, so I have to get closer to the subject than they do. Because you can't control shutter speed, taking pictures of fast moving things (like people dancing/spinning) is difficult. Even using the 'sports' mode my photos come out blurry. There may well be a way around that, but I haven't found it yet. The manual - it's obviously been translated, and isn't too bad really. But for someone who has never seen some of these features it hasn't been too handy. In some cases it explains HOW to use them, but not why I would want to. The photos come out a bit noisy for me, (once again as compared to friends photos of the same subject, taken at the same time). I have been told by a friend that I might not have enough light, but whatever the reason I find it a little bit annoying.

I own many digital cameras, ranging from P&S to a digital SLR. The FZ1 delivers more sheer fun and creative inspiration than any of the others. There are several reasons why: (1) It's the lens -- The FZ1 is king of the hill when it comes to zoomability. A 12x OPTICAL zoom, (35mm film equivalent focal lengths of 35-420mm. Add an image stabilizer, and did I mention the lens has a constant aperture of f/2.8 throughout the entire focal length range? In the film world, such a lens cannot be found at any price. But Leica has pulled it off. Yes, LEICA. You've heard of them before? All this means your images will be crisp and vivid. Do not concern yourself with the comparateively low megapixel count. The images are gorgeous. There is more to image quality than just the megapixels --the lens and sensor quality are also very important. (2) MegaBurst -- the FZ1 has a high-speed mode wherein 4 images are taken inside of 1 second. In highest quality mode, you can maintain that speed for at least 4 frames. That's about the same speed as my Canon 10D digital SLR, which cost $1,600 without a lens. (3) The viewfinder is much larger than other cameras, and includes a display of the info found on the LCD (shutter speed and aperture setting, battery life remaining, number of images remaining, etc). It has an adjustable diopter. You can review your images and movies in it. This is important when shooting outdoors in bright light. (3) Sound movies can be taken, and the only limitation in length is the amount of memory available on the SD card. No fixed maximum lengths. The FZ1 also has a speaker for audio playback from the camera. (4) While the FZ1 is not truly pocketable, it does come with a neck strap. As the body only weighs 12 oz, you'll forget it's even there. The FZ1's specs are very impressive. For the sake of saving space, I'll not list them all out here, but I would encourage you to check them out at www.panasonic.com. The body is ergonomic, though slightly front heavy, owing again to the comparatively large lens. Controls are straightforward and convenient. Menus are uncomplicated, efficient, and intuitive. Shutter lag time is remarkably short, and far superior to the Canon and Nikon cameras I have. You also won't be waiting long for the FZ1 to write out each image to the card. This camera will especially appeal to those of us who really like to zoom. I can hardly imagine a photo opportunity the FZ1 would not be capable of respondng to. Macro focusing is down to 1.9", yet the same camera is capable of zooming in 12x. Versatility! The FZ1 uses a proprietary battery. It charges fully in 90 seconds, and I'm getting about 1.5 hours out of a charged battery, with liberal use of the LCD and an occasional flash exposure. You are not able to manually set aperture or shutter speed. There is provision for exposure compensation, and exposure bracketing. There are also creative picture modes for portrait, night portrait, sports, panning, macro. A means of pre-focusing is available when photographing fast-moving subjects that challenge auto focus systems. The auto focus is fast and accurate in good to medium lighting conditions, with performance degrading in dimmer light. Typical for such cameras. The auto white balance has been effective about 95% of the time. On one shoot, I was getting bluish casts to my images. It was a cloudy day, but the white balance didn't seem to be picking up on that, so I manually set the white balance to "cloudy" and the images regained color accuracy. The control knobs and buttons are efficiently and conveniently laid out. The menu structure is intuitive. I would recommend this camera, especially to zoom fans, without hesitation. If you feel you cannot live without manually setting the shutter speed and f-stop, you'll have to look elsewhere.

Highest quality Leica lens with a 12x optical zoom and image stabilization, outstanding image quality, electronic viewfinder in addition to LCD, intuitive controls and menu systems, ergonomic control layout.

We could always use more megapixels ;-}

Sony Mavica FD91, Nikon Coolpix 885, Nikon Coolpix 995, Canon Digital Elph, Panasonic Lumix LC33 (also not similar, but I own a Canon 10D digital SLR).

Have not needed.

I purchased the DMC-FZ1 because I already had a LC-40 4 mega pixel camera and was extremly happy with it. Now having the DMC-FZ1 which I use for taking photos of cars that I sell internationally I am very satisfied with the ease of use and the features offered especially for the price. My camera came packaged with a 128 Meg pana SD card :-) DOn't be put off by the low pixel count as you will be amazed by how good the pictures turn out.

the camera has many strengths they are: the 36 times digital zoom, 12 x optical 3 times digital. The colour TTL view finder as well as having a colour screen on the back is an excellent mix of choices. The Stabiliser function that helps against shaky hands. The rechargable battery giving you 110 mins of shooting using the view finder 50% of the time. Very fast focus locking, Shutter response is instant and superb for motorsport or fast moving objects. Leica Lens is just special..Colours are so rich and deep very little fringeing for a 2.1 Mega pixel camera. I would be close in saying this is the best camera of its type on the market.

Hardly any manual overides. You cannot use the camera as a web cam which would have been nice. replacement Batteries are expensive. The internal Flash is very acute and limited in range, there is no where to attach a more powerful aftermarket version as there is no hot shoe.

I also have a LC40 that the cheese and kisses uses as we are both in the Multimedia industries .. I have also used Sony Mavicas in the past but I have converted to panasonic Leica Lensed Cameras findi

I have found panasonic in Hong Kong to be a hell of a lot better than Sony for aftersales service no complaints from me here

The Leica 12x optical zoom lens with image stabilization, plus fast f2.8 aperture all the way through the zoon range, is well worth the price of the camera alone. Try to find such a lens in 35mm. You can't. I know the small size of CCD's gave the design a bit of an advantage, but 12x optical zoom is 12x of zoom, whichever way you put it. The freedom of using such a flexible lens has to be tried to be appreciated. With the image stabilization, I can hand hold at max zoom even at 1/30s shutter and get a reasonably sharp picture. With others even at 3x zoom, you would usually just get a blur, or have to use a tripod. The advantage is almost unfair.

The lens obviously. The quality of the images are also quite good.

The flash is weak. The autofocus doesn't work too well under low light. No manual controls on aperture and shutter. You will have to accept the fact that at this price, you're not going to expect professional level controls. This is strictly a point-n-shoot camera. However some preset programs will let you play with the shutter and aperture values to some degree. The 2M pixel CCD doesn't bother me, since I do most of my image viewing on-screen. However if you frequently print bigger than 4"x6", you might want to skip this camera.

Canon A200

Never tried.