Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 24x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black)

by Panasonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.9 x 3.2 x 3.7 inches ; 1.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B003WJR68U
• Item model number: DMC-FZ100K
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #65 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)

  #44 in

  Camera & Photo > Point & Shoot Digital Cameras

• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 20, 2010

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Panasonic's Lumix DMC-FZ100 features a newly-developed Leica DC Vario-ELMARIT lens with powerful 24x optical zoom. As Panasonic's first hybrid compact digital camera with a MOS sensor, the Lumix FZ100 can record full 1080p High Definition (HD) video--giving you a powerful hybrid that can shoot video and still photos with ease and professional-like quality.

The Lumix FZ100 has an incredibly fast burst shooting in 14.1-megapixel full resolution at 11 frames per second with a mechanical shutter, and increases the frames per second to 60 in 3.5-megapixel recording. Additionally, the Lumix FZ100 features continuous Auto Focus up to five frames per second at full resolution for great action shots. It also features Intelligent Burst shooting. The digital camera judges the appropriate shutter speed to suppress the motion blur according to the movement of the subject, rising as high as possible, activating the high sensitivity recording.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 Highlights

Intelligent Auto (iA) mode
Panasonic's Intelligent Auto (iA) mode, a hallmark on all Lumix digital cameras, now includes Motion Deblur mode. By updating the motion detection (Intelligent ISO Control) and brightness control (Intelligent Exposure) users can gain the highest shutter speed possible. Combined with the outstanding brightness of the lens and the POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer), the Lumix FZ100 prevents any blur created from a handshake or a moving subject. The iA suite of technologies include: POWER O.I.S., Face Recognition, Face Detection, AF Tracking, Intelligent ISO Control, Intelligent Scene Selector and Intelligent Exposure. Panasonic's iA is also available while shooting video.

Free-angle 3.0-inch LCD
Featuring a free-angle 3.0-inch large 460,000-dot high-resolution LCD, the Lumix FZ100 features wide-angle viewing with Face Recognition functions that automatically remembers registered faces for future recording.

Intelligent Scene Selector
The Intelligent Scene Selector automatically selects one of 6 Scene modes to best suit the shooting situation.

Dolby® Digital Stereo Creator
The Lumix FZ100 also features Dolby® Digital Stereo Creator. This high-quality stereo sound offers realistic sounds and effects to any movie. For greater sound quality, the Lumix FZ100 has a newly-created port for an optional stereo microphone (DMW-MS1) and a Wind Cut function is available to drastically reduce background wind noise.

Record photos and HD video in AVCHD format
The Lumix FZ100 can record photos and HD video in AVCHD format on SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards.

My Color mode
My Color mode, first introduced in the Lumix G Micro Systems cameras, is a special option that gives freedom to the user's creativity. With a variety of options including new Pin Hole, Film Grain, High Dynamic and High Dynamic B&W, the My Color mode makes it easy to create innovative images and videos using new intensive color, brightness and saturation levels.

Additional Features

• Bundled Software PHOTOfunSTUDIO 5.2 HD Edition makes it possible to sort and organize photos. Videos can be uploaded directly to YouTube using the built-in YouTube uploader, while also letting the user create a 360-degree rotation panorama file in .MOV files. The software is compatible with the Windows 7.
• Happy Mode An option in iA that optimizes color, saturation and brightness to make both photos and movies more vivid and true to the color of the scene you memorized.

Product Description

Ultimate Hybrid Digital Compact Camera DMC-FZ100 with Full HD Movie Offering Active, Creative Photo and Movie with Powerful 24x Optical Zoom and Hi-Speed Response *35mm camera equivalent: 25-600mm The DMC-FZ100, packs a powerful optical zoom and creative options including full HD movie recording capability. The newly developed LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens in the DMC-FZ100 extends its optical zoom range from 25mm at wide end and 24x to 600mm*. Also the newly developed 14.1-megapixel MOS sensor lets the FZ100 record high quality 1920x1080 full HD movie smooth at 60i. Together with a host of options, unlimited expression is now easily available with FZ100. The high speed MOS sensor realizes the industrys fastest level of burst shooting in 14.1-megapixel full resolution at 11 fps with mechanical shutter and even 60 fps in 3.5-megapixel recording mode**. It also enables the camera to record high speed movie at 220 fps in QVGA size, to capture the motion of a subject the naked eye cannot see. *Equivalent to 35mm camera: 25-600mm. **In the high speed burst shooting at 60 fps, the picture size is 3.5-megapixel(16:9), 3-megapixel(3:2), 2.5-megapixel(4:3) or 2-megapixel(1:1)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I hate to disagree, August 22, 2010

By	GR - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 24x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) (Electronics)

My first few photos were disappointing but after sticking with it and studying the manual things came together and I'm getting great shots indoors and out.
Keep the ISO in auto mode and the ISO won't go above 400 and anything up to and including 400 look fine to me... Get past this on ISO and this and all of these types of cameras pictures start to deteriorate.
Set ISO auto, Do not use motion Deblur, and you get some great pictures. Burst speed is super fast. Panorama stitching actually works. HD video is out of this world. Now if I had the FZ35 I might not be as happy. You certainly aren't gaining much.
The pictures I've seen floating around the internet from the FZ100 look great.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good 'Super-Zoom'., August 24, 2010

By	D. Hentze (United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 24x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) (Electronics)

I've had a few days to play with the new DMC-FZ100, and for the most part, the results are good. Let me first say before anything, if you're expecting DSLR quality photographs with this or any other 'Super Zoom', it isn't going to happen. Since I already own the FZ35, most of the FZ100's features are familiar to me. The FZ100's best feature is its 25-600mm LEICA Lens. I also prefer its wider angle compared to the FZ35's 27mm. Panasonic's POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) does a great job up to about 18X zoom. When you're zooming at full length, don't expect miracles. It helps, but you'll still need a fairly steady hand and fairly high shutter speeds to get the best pics. Panasonic's iA mode does a very good job as usual, but still tends to sometimes use a higher ISO than necessary. I prefer "P" mode with a little manual tweaking of various settings. Most people will consider the FZ100's 3" free-angle LCD a big improvement over the FZ35's fixed 2.7" screen. I haven't played around much with the FZ100's video yet, but from what I've taken, it seems to be at least equal to the FZ35. All this leads to me to my biggest disappointment I have with the FZ100. Image quality just isn't as good as the FZ35 under any circumstances. It doesn't mean that the FZ100 isn't capable of taking 'good' pictures, just that my older FZ35 takes better pictures. I've tried just about every setting combination possible and the FZ35 still wins. I'm not overly surprised though, since they're cramming 14.1 MP into a small sensor. Too bad marketing dictates increasing MP count with every new camera. If the FZ100 was 10 MP, it would probably produce excellent images instead of just good. With that being said, the FZ100's results still are good, and from what I've seen from the other 20+X Zoom cameras, it still beats them. If you're not expecting DSLR results, and aren't obsessed with "pixel peeping", than I recommend the DMC-FZ100. If you're thinking of upgrading from the FZ35 like I did, you'll have to ask yourself if the 24x wider zoom and other improvements are worth sacrificing some image quality.

Pros:
24X 25-600mm LEICA Lens
3" free-angle LCD
POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) still among the best there is
Intelligent Auto (iA) Mode works well, and great for novices
RAW Mode
1080i HD Video
Well designed controls and layout
Hot Shoe for external flash

Cons:
IQ not quite as good as its predecessor (FZ35)
Above average 'noise' at ISO 400 and above
0.2" EVF (electronic viewfinder) is fair at best
Price is currently among the highest for Super Zooms

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful camera, August 23, 2010

By	Fla47 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 24x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) (Electronics)

I've had the camera for four days -- not nearly long enough for a thorough evaluation, but I have found it to be extremely capable so far.

Image quality in most cases is very good to excellent. It's not going to be great in low light ... from my experience you need a DSLR for that, and even they can struggle. The zoom is quick and smooth to operate. IQ at 24X is very good, to my eye, and I have been shooting for 30 years. The autofocus is by far the best I've seen on a non-Dslr. Video is excellent. The burst capabilities at 14 MP are remarkable.

This camera's capabilities can create the tendency to compare its photos to a Dslr. That's not a fair comparison, obviously, but if you assess it on the basis of a small-sensor camera, it's very impressive. And of course, light and easy to carry, unlike a Dslr and accompanying lenses.

I do think $500 is a lot...I would recommend waiting until the price inevitably falls if you can. Of course, you'll miss some shots if you do that...

(P.S., after another six days of use, still greatly enjoying this amazingly versatile camera. I notice that some users have a small but growing collection of FZ100 shots on Flickr.)

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