Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ15 Digital Camera - An Excellent Camera with Leica Optics
Written: Nov 22 '04 (Updated Aug 10 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent optics, maximum aperture, optical zoom and image stabilization, features, performance
Cons: Could be cheaper, large camera body and lens, no hot shoe
The Bottom Line: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ15 is an excellent 4-Megapixel camera with great flexibility. It is not targeted to a complete beginner, but people familiar...
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| dkozin's Full Review: Panasonic Lumix® DMC-FZ15 Battery, Starter Ki... |
Perhaps the best kept secret, Panasonic FZ digital cameras are not something people consider when shopping for a digital camera. People mostly shop for well-known names like Canon, Olympus, Nikon, Sony. Not considering Panasonic FZ camera in general and this Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ15 is a mistake.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ15 belongs to the Lumix "FZ" line of cameras and features Leica lens by Leica Camera AG with optical image stabilization (OIS), powerful 12x optical zoom and impressive maximum aperture of f/2.8 throughout the zoom range.
The FZ15 features a 4-Megapixel resolution and manual focus via a ring around the lens, in addition to the auto focus. Unlike some other models in the FZ line (which are available in black or silver), it is available in black color only (FZ15K). Black finish looks more professional and I personally like black cameras better, but silver reflects more light and helps keep the camera cool in hot weather and sunlight.
You can get the 5-Megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 (same features and specifications, but it uses an ED glass and has a hot shoe for an external flash) for about $80-100 more. The FZ20 is available in either black or silver.
Body
The camera is relatively large. Make sure that the camera fits in the camera bad before buying a camera bag – it will not fit in a compact bag and even some moderately sized bags will be too small, especially if you attach the supplied lens hood or want to keep the camera and accessories (e.g. filters) in one bag.
The camera body itself is larger that that of the many digital cameras and the lens is substantially larger than most, both in diameter and the length when off (and especially when the camera is on). Even in the powered off state, the lens barrel is relatively long and is made even longer by the adaptor ring with a filter or a lens hood.
The back of the camera houses the 2-inch LCD screen with 130K pixels, the menu control buttons, the sliding power switch, several other buttons and an electronic viewfinder (EVF) with diopter adjustment. The top deck has a rotary mode switch, shutter release button, zoom control, flash and a burst mode button.
Lens
The lens is probably the most important component of any camera, digital included. Forget megapixels; if the lens is not up to the task, no amount of megapixels will help. The FZ15 has excellent optics. The lens features 13 elements in 8 groups, including 3 aspherical lenses.
The lens has 12x optical zoom (36-432 mm in 35-mm equivalent) and has fast f/2.8 maximum aperture throughout its impressive zoom range as well as the optical image stabilization (OIS).
The camera’s powerful 12x optical zoom is especially useful for sporting events or wildlife shooting (where you cannot get close to the action) and is practical in this application because the image stabilization really keeps unintended camera shake at bay when shooting handheld. It works very well, unless you move the camera substantially while pressing the shutter release button.
You can zoom in optically instead of having to rely on the digital zoom of lesser cameras or cropping. Majority of compact digital cameras use only about 3x optical zoom and then switch to digital zoom, removing any advantage of their higher-resolution imaging sensors.
I can give you an example of using a camera, not designed for high optical zoom, in a situation where it is called for. An, otherwise capable, Olympus D-580 camera that has 3x optical and 4x digital zoom and 4-Megapipxel resolution. If you use the D-580 to get 12x combined zoom, the real resolution drops to just 0.25MP. When using digital zoom, the resolution drops proportionatly square of the digital zoom factor. This means that resolution drops 16 times if using 4x digital zoom (linear resolution drops 4 times both horizontally and vertically).
This means that for situations that require good zooming power, the real optical zoom is much better than the combined optical/digital zoom.
The FZ15’s optical image stabilization (OIS) lets you shoot with several stops slower shutter speed with no blur. You will be able to shoot at shutter speeds, which would have consistently produced blurry images without the use of OIS. This helps in low light situations as well as at high zoom levels.
The lens features excellent f/2.8 maximum aperture throughout the zoom range and can be stopped down to f/8 minimum aperture (also throughout its zoom range). This powerful lens is relatively large, but certainly not as large as an SLR with comparable set on lenses. To approach this kind of flexibility and maximum aperture, you would have to get several SLR lenses (that would cost a lot, be heavy to carry and you would have to change them).
The FZ15’s lens is very flexible, sharp and fast in operation (zooming). The camera also has the ring around the lens, which lets you focus manually when you need to. Combine it with optical image stabilization and you get a great, flexible camera.
The use of 12x zoom lens makes the use of the electronic viewfinder (EVF) instead of the optical one a necessity.
EVF
The electronic viewfinder (EVF) is fluid (more so than the 2-inch LCD), has diopter adjustment and is much more visible in the sunlight than the LCD. For ease of manual focusing, the central portion of the image (on the EVF or LCD) gets enlarged 3x – no substitute for the SLR’s etched glass, but a good help nonetheless.
OIS – Optical Image Stabilization
Like other cameras in the Panasonic Lumix FZ lineup, the FZ15 has a couple of sensors that detect camera motions and move a lens element inside the camera to compensate for this unintended motion. Similar systems are used by other manufacturers in some products. Canon calls its system IS for image stabilization, Nikon calls its VR for vibration reduction.
For the Panasonic FZ15, having such a powerful zoom, the optical image stabilization comes in handy and lets you shoot with several stops slower shutter speed than you would be able to use otherwise. This is useful not only at high zoom levels, but in the darker environments with no flash as well, since darker environments require slower shutter speeds.
The optical image stabilization, combined with the f/2.8 maximum aperture throughout the zoom range lets you shoot handheld in situations that would otherwise have required a tripod. Keep in mind that it is recommended that you disable the OIS if you are shooting using a stable tripod.
The OIS also lets you select lower ISO than you would be able otherwise and thus avoid noise. Also, you can shoot handheld at slow shutter speeds in the camera’s shutter priority mode, if you want to create some motion blur (e.g. when shooting the river or a waterfall).
Flash
The camera has a built-in flash, which is invisible and extends if you push the “Flash” button on the rear of the camera. After the flash is extended, you can select the flash mode using “right arrow” menu control button. I find the fact that the flash has to be activated manually a good thing, since some other cameras make the flash pop up whenever they please, sometimes ruining the shot.
The popup flash in this camera is necessary because the lens barrel is long and the flash on the body of the camera would be blocked by it, plus it helps with the red-eye problem if you move the flash away from the lens’s optical axis. You can adjust the flash output +/- 2EV in 1/3 EV steps. There is no hot shoe for an external flash.
Some Features and Specs
The FZ15 has shutter speeds of 8-1/2,000 sec. The camera has live histogram, which is very helpful when assessing the exposure. This is unlike some cameras that have no histogram whatsoever and you have to rely on what you can see on the LCD as far as -detail in shadows and highlights goes (usually not much). The only way to make sure your shots are perfectly exposed in this case is to take multiple shots with different exposures and then open the files in Photoshop or other editing software.
And some cameras have histogram in review mode only (e.g. Canon Powershot S410). With that camera, only after I took the pictures, switched to review mode and hit a button twice, was I able to see the histograms on the photos already taken. Not surprisingly, it was immediately visible from the histogram that several of them were underexposed, which was pretty difficult to see on the LCD.
With FZ15, you see the live histogram and can use exposure compensation (+/- 2EV in 1/3 EV steps) to correct for under or overexposure. The camera also has auto exposure bracketing, which lets you take three consecutive shots at the selected exposure, slightly overexposed and slightly underexposed (in 1/3, 2/3 or 1 EV steps). The exposure bracketing centers around the value set when selecting exposure compensation.
The camera has automatic white balance as well as presets for Daylight, Cloudy, Halogen, Flash and White Set (using white or gray card). The custom white balance using a white card is very useful, especially in incandescent light as there is no Tungsten preset. You can also adjust the white balance manually between -1500K and +1500K in 150K steps, unless the white balance is set to automatic.
This not only lets you adjust the white balance to the proper setting, but also to adjust it to get slightly “warm” or “cold” effect. Example: I sometimes use “warmer” settings for autumn foliage and colder settings for snow. Of course, some correction or adjustment can be made later in Photoshop or a similar image editing software using Color Balance or Selective Color.
Sensitivity
The FZ15 has Auto ISO mode as well as ISO 64, 100, 200 and 400 presets. The ISO 400 setting (as well as Auto in dimly lit environments) is quite noisy, but with optical image stabilization you can use lower ISO and slower shutter speeds. It is useful to have ISO 64 for such situations.
Storage
The camera’s 4-Megapixel sensor lets you shot (and store) at the following resolutions: 2304x1728, 1920x1080, 1600x1200, 1280x960 and 640x480. The JPEG format can be utilized with Fine or Standard quality settings and there is a mode in which the pictures are stored in TIFF format. The camera can also record video at 320x240 resolution. Keep in mind that TIFF images are large and take a while to write to the memory card.
The FZ15, as other Panasonic digital cameras (and cameras of some other manufacturers), uses Secure Digital memory cards. It can also use MultiMedia cards, but they have slower data transfer rates, are difficult to find and I do not recommend them. The camera comes with an 8-Mb SD Card and you can buy a 512-Mb SD card for about $40-60. Such capacity will let you store hundreds of pictures (at least in JPEG format).
The SD cards are small and light. They are not as cheap as Compact Flash cards, but close to them in price.
Battery
The camera uses a proprietary (also used in other cameras of FZ line) 680mAh Li-Ion rechargeable battery, which is charged outside the camera. It is slightly inconvenient that you have to remove the battery every time you want to charge it, but it makes it easier to charge a spare battery wile keeping the original in the camera and replace them when needed. The battery is compact and lightweight.
The supplied charger charges the battery fully in about 90 minutes and lets you take a couple hundred pictures on one charge. In cold weather, the number of pictures you can take on one charge decreases.
The OEM Panasonic batteries are relatively expensive ($70-80), but “aftermarket” batteries (other than Panasonic) are available if you need spares and cost much, much less.
Computer Connectivity
One of the ways to transfer photos to your computer is to get a card reader that supports SD cards and remove the card from the camera to be read using it. Alternatively you can use the USB cable supplied with the camera to connect it to your computer. The computer connectivity is easy and fast, unlike some other cameras (e.g. Canon PowerShot S410).
The camera appears as a removable drive when powered on and you can simply copy or drag-and-drop files from it. For Windows 2000 or later, there is no need to install the USB driver. But if you have an older version of Windows (e.g. Windows 98), you might have to install it from the supplied CD.
The software that comes on the CD includes an SD Viewer - a utility that lets you see not only the thumbnails of the pictures that are on the SD card, but the EXIF information about the photos as well - date/time, aperture, shutter speed, camera model and other information.
Make sure you Unplug/Eject the device programmatically before disconnecting the cable or powering the camera off. Nothing bad will happen if you don’t, but it is recommended that you do so.
Supplied
The camera comes with a cool lens hood you can attach (a very useful gadget for reducing flare), lens cap with a string (making it more difficult to loose), an 8-Mb SD card (you can buy a 512-Mb SD card online for $40-60), a CD-ROM with software, a USB cable, a battery and a charger/power adaptor, AC and DC cables, A/V cable, camera strap, manuals, etc. The A/V cable lets you connect the camera to a TV set and view pictures on its screen.
Usage
The camera has a no-nonsense main rotary switch with P (Program mode), A (Aperture Priority), S (Shutter Priority), M (Manual mode), macro, review, movie mode and a couple of modes, which let you select among the multitude of pre-programmed auto exposure modes in the menu (Portrait, Landscape, Fireworks, Sports, Snow, Night Portrait, etc.)
You can see that the camera is not targeted to complete beginners by the fact that it has no easily accessible “Easy” mode – the mode that less expensive FZ1, FZ2 and FZ3 cameras have on their main rotary mode switch (the easy mode on those cameras is marked with a red heart icon).
The power switch on the rear of the camera is a simple sliding type with a LED that stays lit when the camera is on. Once the switch is moved to the “on” position (and provided the mode switch it not in “review” mode), the camera’s lens extends within about 4 seconds and you are ready to shoot.
The zooming is smooth and precise as well as almost silent. The zoom is very responsive. The camera’s shutter lag is short, when prefocused by pressing the shutter release button halfway. The focusing itself is by TTL contrast detection, which is a bit slow in the dim environments. There is an auto focus assist light, which helps camera focus faster in the dark, if the subject is up to ten feet away.
In the dark, the camera seems to select smaller apertures and longer shutter speeds to keep everything in focus. The camera’s optical image stabilization helps a lot when the slower shutter speeds are used. While the camera tries to find the correct focus, the LCD (or EVF) get blurry and you have to wait until the focus is regained to recompose your shot.
The FZ15's menus have pleasing colors and are very easy to use. I find that Panasonic makes the easiest-to-use interfaces and this camera is no exception. I find the menus on this cameras much easier to use than Canon S410's menus, for instance. The 2-inch LCD is well-visible and sturdy, but visibility in sunlight suffers. It seems to be a compromise – the LCDs that are better visible in sunlight do not provide as good of picture quality as the ones that do not work well in sunlight. So in the sunlight, you may want to switch to the EVF, which is fluid and lets you see the camera information as well.
The camera has exposure compensation, exposure bracketing, continuous AF (when needed) and self timer. The aperture and shutter priority modes are selected by the main mode switch, but the modes like portrait, scenery, party, etc. are selected from the menu.
When white balance is set to any mode other than Auto, pressing the "arrow up" button also brings the option to change white balance from the current value towards red or blue. In fact, the arrow up button is loaded with a lot of functions and scrolling through them to get to the ones you need is a bit annoying. Provided you selected settings other than automatic, you can use this almighty button to get to the exposure compensation, exposure bracketing, white balance, flash compensation.
The “arrow down” button helps you review the last taken photo without going to the “review” mode. In fact, you can view other photos on your SD card as well, all without rotating the main mode switch to review. To do so, you use left and right arrow buttons after pressing the arrow down button. You can zoom in and out in this (pseudo-review) mode or review mode by using the zoom control on the camera.
The optically stabilized lens works well at wide angle and at telephoto. The OIS is no magic bullet however – it is difficult to shoot at full magnification while holding the camera steady, but it is still feasible.
You can also focus manually by sliding the focus switch on the side of the lens from Auto to Manual position and rotating the ring around the lens barrel. Since the EVF and LCD don’t have the resolution similar to the ground glass of the SLR, the central part of the image gets magnified 3x to help you focus.
The camera, in the “regular” mode can take and store a picture in less than a second (unless you are using TIFF mode). There is also a burst mode that lets you take 7 (standard) or 4 (fine mode) pictures at 2 or 4 fps. This mode is activated by the button on the top deck of the camera. The automatic exposure bracketing is very fast too.
You can use direct printing with printers that support PicBridge – direct printing from the camera to a printer without computer.
Performance
Obviously, the FZ15 has impressive specifications and features. And it does not disappoint – the pictures it takes (provided you don’t screw up the exposure or focus, of course) have amazing sharpness with excellent color rendition. The colors are true to life. The camera has manual adjustments for contrast, sharpness as well as saturation. Using saturation control, you can adjust the colors to be more or less saturated. Reducing saturation will make colors less vivid.
There is no vignetting - the corners of the photos are as bright as the center. There is also no noticeable purple fringing (chromatic aberrations) at all - the purple fringing is effectively suppressed by the camera's Venus II engine. The lens does not exhibit any noticeable pincussion distortion at telephoto end. There is slight barrel distortion at wide angle, but it is minor.
The live histogram is very useful for judging exposure and if you are Photoshop-proficient, you can make your photos shine even more (even simply by using Levels and Saturation, let alone Selective Color).
The camera's fast (throughout the zoom range) f/2.8 lens is very sharp and the optical image stabilization helps when shooting handheld - you can shoot several stops slower than you would be able to without the OIS.
Bottom Line
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ15 is an excellent 4-Megapixel camera with great flexibility. It is not targeted to a complete beginner, but people familiar with things like aperture priority will find it an excellent tool of self-expression as well as a great tool to keep memories. Its high-powered zoom, great optics and optical image stabilization are indispensable if you want to take pictures from afar. This camera also has easy to use controls and is user-friendly. Highly recommended.
My Reviews of Other Digital Cameras
Canon:
Canon Powershot S2 IS Digital Camera Review
Canon Powershot S1 IS Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot A520 4-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot A510 3.2-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot S500 5-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot S410 / Digital IXUS 430 Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot SD400 5-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Panasonic:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5 5-Megapixel Digital Camera with 12x Optical Stabilized Zoom Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 5-Megapixel Digital Camera with 12x Optical Stabilized Zoom Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 4-Megapixel Digital Camera with 12x Optical Stabilized Zoom Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ15 4-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ3 Digital Camera Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2 Digital Camera with 12x Leica Lens and Optical Image Stabilizer Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1 Digital Camera with Optical Image Stabilizer and 12x Leica Lens Review
Olympus:
Olympus Camedia C-765 4.0-Megapixel Digital Camera with USB and ED Lens Review
Olympus Stylus 410 4-Megapixel All-Weather Digital Camera Review
Olympus Camedia D-580 / C-460 4.0-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Olympus D-565 Zoom Digital 4-Megapixel Camera Review
Olympus D-575 Zoom Digital Camera Review
Sony:
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T1 Digital Camera Review
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T33 Digital Camera Review
Others:
Minolta DiMAGE Z2 Digital Camera Review
Pentax *istD Digital SLR Camera Review
Recommended:
Yes
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dkozin
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I love to push buttons on electronic (audio and video) equipment. It makes me happy.
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