Pros: Great 12X Lens, Great Optical Image Stabilizer, Good Ergonomics
Cons: Goofy Lens Hood, Low Res Movies, Non Tilting LCD, No RAW Format
The Bottom Line: I highly recommend this camera but be sure to purchase an extra battery and at least a 512-megabyte memory card to get maximum pleasure.
wbentt's Full Review: Panasonic Lumix® DMC-FZ20 Digital Camera
The FZ20 is one incredible camera for the money. I have had the camera for two weeks and I can find little to fault on it.
I have done professional videography for many years but I don’t consider myself to be a professional photographer. Everyone tells me that I do take pretty good pictures. I was looking for a super-zoom replacement for my tried and trusted 4 year old Kodak 3900. I researched quite a few cameras but I narrowed my search down to only two; the Nikon 8800; and the Panasonic FZ20. I liked the 8800 but here seemed to be a lot of comments about the speed of storage and some noise in the picture. Three big pluses for the 8800 are the 8 mega pixel pickup, the metal construction and the tilting LCD. But a list price three hundred bucks less makes the FZ a terrific buy!
I liked the compact size of the Kodak but the 2X optics are very limited and the 3x digital zoom is useless. I love taking candid shots of people and I do a lot of nature shooting, particularly of birds and flowers. The incredible 12X lens on the FZ20 is great for both of these applications. And what a lens it is. Very bright across the range and it has a terrific Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS). I feel that the extra 2X over the Nikon 8800 more than makes up for the lower resolution. I very seldom need anything bigger than 8x10 and 5 mega pixel imager more than accomplishes that.
Through my involvement with video equipment, I have never been a big fan of Panasonic. TVs, video cameras, VCRs, etc. performed OK, I just did not like the ergonomics and terminology used on their products. I guess that is more of personal preference than anything. But the FZ20 is much like any other digital camera in ease of use with handy controls and buttons and great menus. I especially like the zoom control at the front of the shutter release button. The manual does a good job of explaining all of the functions and menus but if you are not familiar with at least a SLR you may find the learning curve a bit high. It does how ever take great pictures in point-n-shoot auto modes too!
Now this is a lot larger camera than the Kodak but the capabilities make the extra size and weight very worthwhile. The camera is a bit front heavy with that lens sticking out there but it feels very comfortable in one or two hands. And what a picture. Quality is top notch! And I even found the 4 times digital zoom is pretty usable too in good light. I took some hand held pictures of a flock of pelicans the other day at 48X and was very impressed with the quality. The Optical Image Stabilizer works very well, even in digital zoom mode. I also took some candid street shots in Mexico. I really could have used the capability of a tilting, swiveling LCD display. But the LCD gives a very good display with a fairly wide viewing angle.
The camera comes with a software CD that may be handy for those not already into digital photography. I have a Macintosh PowerBook with Adobe Photoshop so I did not install any of the software. Photoshop can do marvels with digital photos and iPhoto which comes with the Mac, is great for basic editing, viewing and cataloging. My Mac recognized the camera without needing any drivers or other software.
Some Cons: I don’t like the goofy setup for the lens hood. You have to screw a ring off the front of the camera before you can attach the lens hood adapter. Then you attach the lens hood to this adapter. Seems to me that it would have been better to simply attach the hood to the lens itself. Too many parts to look after.
The camera is mostly plastic construction. It feels very solid but metal may be more durable. Time will tell!
The lack of RAW image format may be a shortcoming for serious professionals but then these people would probably be using a digital SLR anyway!
It would have been nice to have at least a 640 by 480 movie format.
If Panasonic were to put an 8 mega pixel imager with a tilting LCD screen, they would steal the market away from all comers! I highly recommend this camera but be sure to purchase an extra battery and at least a 512-megabyte memory card to get maximum pleasure.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 494 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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