The new 8.1 MP (megapixel) Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 digital camera has an impressive 18x optical zoom that goes from 28mm to 504mm, rivaling the Olympus SP550 UZ.
Highlight features are face detection (auto focus that’s activated before even pressing the shutter, and automatic exposure), 1cm macro, AE / AF-L (you can lock automatic exposure and focus with the press of a dedicated button found on the back of the camera just below the shutter button), optical image stabilization and RAW capture (a feature which is noticeably absent among other high-end prosumer cameras released by Canon, Nikon and Sony).
Here’s an excellent video showing off the Panasonic FZ18 from all angles. You’ll also get a good idea of the operation and options available on the LCD.
Head over to dc.watch.impress.co.jp for larger views of the camera — the thumbnails are displayed half-way down the page.
Updates
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 Journal — Links to Panasonic FZ18 Reviews, Samples, Tips, Resources and Amazing Photography
Reviews
First look at PopPhoto.com
The writeup indicates that they’re very happy with the low-light and exposure performance of the FZ18, areas which the Olympus SP550 isn’t particularly strong at. I personally find the photo samples (reduced in size) of an indoor stage performance to be quite impressive in terms of color and exposure.
FZ18 Review at dc.watch.impress.co.jp
It’s a Japanese camera review site, but that won’t stop you from viewing the original, full-sized images they’ve got there — just click the thumbnails to access the larger version.
There’s a lab test for ISO performance, and the FZ18 is put through its paces, shooting test photos at ISO 100, all the way to ISO 1600, 3200 (!) and 6400 (!!!).
Pixel-peeping at this image, it’s obvious the Lumix continues the tradition of leaving behind smearing artifacts in areas of sooth tonality.
ISO 1600 is pretty good, in my opinion. Print it out at 4 x 6 and you’d be hard-pressed to see the noise. A better way to judge high ISO performance though, would be to shoot a scene under low light — this is not made available at the site, unfortunately.
You can read a related forum thread discussing this review.
Image samples
Official image gallery
Three full-resolution images are provided, a male lion, a portrait and some leaves. Detail and all-round sharpness are quite good (the lion image is particularly impressive), but pixel-peepers will be able to detect a tiny bit of smearing in the darker portions of the images. There is also a notable and welcome absence of any blooming or purple fringing in the portrait photo which was shot at f/3.6 and 261mm focal length — see a chart showing the relationship between focal length and maximum aperture that was built from EXIF data extracted from several image samples.
FZ18 test photo gallery at LetsGoDigitial.org
You get to see how the camera performs at various ISO settings. Too bad the photos taken are not displayed at full-size.
Camera comparisons
Compared with the FZ8
• FZ18 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 — Pixinfo.com summarizes the important differences between both models (mainly the zoom range and the availability of face detection on the FZ18; macro is also better on the FZ18).
• Terry’s list of features the FZ18 has over the FZ8.
• Dimensions (FZ18 is the bigger camera):
— DMC-FZ18 — 117.6 x 75.3 x 88.2 mm (4.6 x 3.0 x 3.5 in)
— DMC-FZ8 — 112.5 x 72.2 x 79.0 mm (4.43 x 2.84 x 3.11 in)
Panasonic FZ18 vs Canon Powershot S5 IS
Chakravarthi wrote up a nice summary comparing the features of both cameras in this forum thread.
Compared with the Olympus SP550 UZ
Will the FZ18 have reliable autofocusing at full zoom, something the SP500 has problems with regardless of light levels?
Compared with FZ30 / FZ50
Features found in the top of the range Lumix DMC-FZ30 and DMC-FZ50 but not in the FZ18 are a dedicated flash hotshoe and zoom / focus rings. Minimum aperture on FZ18 goes to f/8 only, while on the FZ30 / FZ50, you get to stop it down all the way to f/11.
Related resources:
• Read the July 24th, 2007 press release for details and specifications.
• The official FZ18 site can be found at Panasonic.co.jp.
• Amazon.com carries both the black