Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2 Digital Camera with 12x Leica Lens and Optical Image Stabilizer
Written: Nov 03 '04 (Updated Aug 02 '05)
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Pros: Awsome Leica 12x f/2.8 optically stabilized zoom lens, easy to use, performance
Cons: No manual focus, have to set exposure bracketing for every shot where you want it
The Bottom Line: If you want a camera with high optical stabilized zoom, which is easy to use, yet takes excellent pictures, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2...
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| dkozin's Full Review: Panasonic Lumix® DMC-FZ2 Digital Camera |
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2 is virtually identical to the Panasonic DMC-FZ1, but adds more manual control (through different software programming) and less compression to produce better picture quality. The FZ2 has amazing 12x optical zoom, Leica optics with f/2.8 maximum aperture throughout the 12x zoom range, optical image stabilization and is easy to use. The only issue is the 2-Megapixel resolution, which pales in comparison to the currently accepted 4-5 Megapixel cameras. Is 2-Megapixel resolution insufficient?
Resolution
The 2-Megapixel resolution is definitely not a problem, unless you are going to crop parts of the image and enlarge them. The 2-Megapixel resolution is more than enough for your standard 4-by-6 inch prints and even mild enlargements. Although the marketing machine makes you think that the more megapixels your camera has, the better the picture is; this is simply not necessarily true.
The picture quality (provided the resolution is sufficient for your purpose) depends mostly on the optics and the camera’s image processing (image sensor and software). I will choose a camera with better optics, CCD and electronics over a camera with higher resolution but lesser optics, CCD or electronics. This is especially true if you intend to use high zoom levels (e.g. for sporting events or wildlife shooting).
In the aforementioned cases, 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 3x optical zoom and then switch to digital zoom, removing any advantage of their higher-resolution CCDs.
For example, the Olympus D-580 has 3x optical and 4x digital zoom and 4MP resolution. If you use it 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 2MP camera with 12x optical zoom is much better than the 4MP camera with 3x optical zoom. Let alone the fact that the optical image stabilization lets you shoot with up to three stops slower shutter speed with no loss of resolution.
Body
The camera weighs just enough to feel solid and well-built, but not too heavy (350g with battery and SD card). The size of the camera body itself is slightly larger that that of the majority point-and-shoot digital cameras and the lens is substantially larger than most, both in diameter and the protrusion when off (and especially when the camera is on).
Even in the powered off state, the lens barrel is relatively long. The camera is definitely not the kind you can put in the shirt pocket; expect to have to buy the case for it. Overall, the camera looks like a compact version of the old-school rangefinder. The top deck houses an old-fashioned round exposure mode switch, which feels sturdy and solid.
The handgrip is convenient to hold. It and the shutter release button have just the right feel to them. The back of the camera has the 1.5-inch LCD screen (does not swivel), the menu control buttons, power switch, several other buttons and an electronic viewfinder (EVF) with diopter adjustment.
The flash extends if you push the “Flash” button; otherwise the flash is invisible. 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.
Making FZ2 out of FZ1
I got my FZ2 by buying the FZ1 model and flashing the camera’s firmware to the FZ2 version. The updated firmware was given to FZ1 owners in Japan by Panasonic, but in the US it is only available online (and can void the warranty). You can download the updated firmware online, copy it on the SD card (to the root directory) and flash the camera’s firmware by powering it on with the SD card in it. Keep in mind though, that if power is disconnected during the update process, the camera may stop working (make sure the battery is fully charged) and flashing the firmware voids the warranty.
The only thing my FZ2 (made from FZ1) does not have is the updated icon on the mode rotary switch for the (P/A/S) instead of (camera icon). But I have access to the FZ2-specific functions (aperture and shutter priority modes, improved 1600x1200 JPEG images by reducing compression, camera stays at max ISO and aperture until you depress the shutter button, helping you frame and focus in low light).
Lens
The coolest feature of this camera is its lens. It is Leica DC Vario-Elmarit by legendary Leica – historically the producer of some of the best lenses, by which others were measured. Some cameras (e.g. Canon Canonet QL 1.7) were called “Poor man’s Leica” and highly regarded as such.
The lens has 12x optical zoom with focal range of 4.6-55.2 mm (35-420mm in 35mm-equivalent) with amazing f/2.8 maximum aperture throughout the zoom range! You would have to get several SLR lenses (that would cost you a fortune) to approach this kind of flexibility and maximum aperture. Not only it would be expensive to buy these lenses and will they be heavy to carry, you would have to change them, which is inconvenient. I am not suggesting that this camera is better than a digital SLR system – SLR has its advantages. But the lens on the FZ2 is extremely flexible, sharp and fast.
The lens has 13 lenses in 8 groups, uses ED (extra-low dispersion) glass and aspherical elements (3 aspherical lenses and a total of 4 aspherical surfaces) as well as optical image stabilization - the feature that makes the handheld shooting at full 12x telephoto possible.
A couple of sensors detect camera motions and move a lens element inside the camera to compensate for this unintended motion. Having such a powerful zoom, the optical image stabilization comes in handy and lets you shoot with up to 3 stops slower shutter speed than you would be able to use otherwise.
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, be it in low light or at high telephoto.
The uses of such a monstrous zoom are quite a few, including shooting wildlife and sporting event, where you cannot get close to the action. The camera also offers up to 3x digital zoom (at lower resolutions), which gives you up to 36x overall zoom. I never use digital zoom, as it would have degraded the resolution.
The use of such a powerful zoom made it necessary to use an electronic viewfinder (EVF) instead of the optical one. Although not as fluid as an optical viewfinder, the EVF is fluid enough and is a boon for glass wearers, as it has diopter adjustment. Both the EVF and the LCD stay at maximum ISO and aperture until you depress the shutter button halfway – this aids you in framing the shot.
Storage
The FZ2 uses Secure Digital or MultiMedia cards. My camera came with an 8-Mb SD card. The still images can be stored at 1600x1200, 1280x960 and 640x480 resolution in JPEG format with Fine or Standard quality. I mostly use 1600x1200 Fine, unless the pictures are for web. The 8-Mb SD card fit only 7 pictures at the highest resolution and lowest compression. I bought a 512-Mb SD card, which lets me store close to 500 photos.
There is no TIFF or RAW mode. The camera can also record video at 320x240 resolution and 10 frames per second (Motion JPEG, QuickTime MOV format).
Sensitivity
The camera has Auto mode as well as ISO 50, 100, 200 and 400 presets. The ISO 400 setting (as well as Auto in dimly lit environments in some camera modes) is quite noisy, but with optical image stabilization you can use lower ISO and slower shutter speeds. I mostly use ISO50 and 100. Note: in “easy” mode, you cannot adjust the ISO.
Flash
The popup flash (opens by pressing a button on the back of the camera) has the following modes: Auto, Red-eye reduction, Slow-Sync, Fill, Off. It is adequate, but not as powerful as some, e.g. Olympus D-580, which is super-bright.
Some Specs
The camera has shutter speed of 8-1/2,000 sec (some values are accessible in aperture and shutter priority modes only). Weight with battery and memory card is 11.3 oz (350 g). The camera has auto white balance as well as presets for Cloudy, Daylight, Halogen and Custom (using white card). The custom white balance using a white card is very useful, especially in incandescent light. The aperture range is f/2.8-8.
Supplied
The camera comes with the 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 $40-70), 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.
Usage
The FZ2 is very easy to use. Even without reading the much of the manual, I was shooting in no time. 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. The round exposure mode switch on the top deck has an “Easy” position (looks like a red heart icon), which makes operation almost fully automatic. Just point and shoot.
The other modes include portrait, night portrait, sports, macro, panning mode, etc. The camera’s menus are in color and are very easy to use. The LCD, although on the small side, is well-visible and sturdy.
The camera’s shutter lag is short, when prefocused by either pressing the shutter release button halfway or suing the “Focus” button. The focusing itself is by TTL contrast detection, which does not work well in the dim environment. 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 here tremendously.
The camera has exposure compensation, exposure bracketing, continuous AF (when needed) and self timer. The aperture and shutter priority modes are selected from the menu and, when selected, disable automatic ISO. To select the aperture itself (in A mode) or shutter speed (S mode), you press the “arrow up” button and use “left” and “right” buttons to choose the aperture or shutter speed itself.
Some shutter speeds are only available in A or S mode. For example: in "P" mode in the very dim light at full telephoto, the shutter speed wouldn't go to slower than 1/8 so the best I could do is F2.8 at 1/8 sec (underexposed photo as result).
In Aperture Priority mode when I set the aperture to the same F2.8, the shutter speed automatically went to 1 second and the shot was well exposed (ISO50) with no noise. In shutter priority mode, I could go to slower shutter speeds, e.g. 4 seconds (F4.6)...
The small annoyance is that although camera remembers the exposure compensation between shots, the exposure braketing is forgotten after a shot. So every time you want exposure braketing, you have to select it again.
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.
There is no full manual mode (where you set both the aperture and the shutter speed), but you can correct the exposure selected by the camera by using the exposure compensation and exposure bracketing.
Battery
The camera uses a proprietary 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.
The battery fully charges in 90 minutes and lets you take about 200-250 pictures on one charge. As with other Li-Ion batteries, it is recommended not to discharge the battery completely.
Computer Connectivity
Although you can get a card reader and remove the card from the camera to be read using the reader, I used USB cable supplied with the camera to connect it to my PC. The computer connectivity is easy.
The camera uses USB 1.1, but the transfer speed is not a problem since the files are small (around 1Mb per picture at the highest resolution of 1600x1200 and lowest compression).
My Windows 2000-equipped computer recognized the camera as a removable drive and I was able to copy files to my computer’s hard drive in a matter of seconds.
I didn’t need the drivers from the enclosed CD-ROM, but if you have an older version of Windows (e.g. Windows 98), you might.
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 more.
Performance
The camera takes pictures of amazing sharpness and colors are great. You can even adjust colors (Cool, Warm, even B&W) and color saturation to your liking (Standard, Natural, Vivid modes). The burst mode lets you take up to 7 pictures (standard) or up to 5 pictures (Fine) in rapid succession (at 4 frames per second!) at full resolution. The button on the top deck of the camera lets you switch between single-frame mode, high-speed burst (4 fps) and slow burst (2 fps).
The camera's amazingly fast (throughout the zoom range) f/2.8 lens exhibits slight barrel distortion at wide angle, but no noticeable pincushion distortion at telephoto. The lens id very sharp and the optical image stabilization helps when shooting handheld.
I don’t use the movie mode as I have no use for it. The camera also lets you record short audio annotations and attach them to the still pictures.
The supplied lens hood is handy at fighting flare, but could be a little easier to install. Also, the lens cap cannot be attached to the hood, as the length of the lens cap string is insufficient.
The zooming is fast, smooth and quiet. Note: don't be concerned if you feel something move inside when you tilt the camera in the powered off state. It is normal and once the camera is powered on, it stops. Unfortunately, there is no manual focus, or live histogram, but the rest of manual controls is impressive (shutter/aperture, ISO, white balance, sharpness, color bias).
Bottom Line
If you want a camera with high optical stabilized zoom, which is easy to use, yet takes excellent pictures, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2 is a good choice. It has a world-class lens in a compact body. If you want manual focus, TIFF/RAW capability, higher resolution or larger display, look elsewhere.
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 S500 5-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot S410 / Digital IXUS 430 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
Others:
Minolta DiMAGE Z2 Digital Camera Review
Pentax *istD Digital SLR Camera Review
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T1 Digital Camera Review
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 180
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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Epinions.com ID:
dkozin
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Location: California
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About Me:
I love to push buttons on electronic (audio and video) equipment. It makes me happy.
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