Customer Reviews

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18K 8.1MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

5 star:		(137)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've had this camera about 3 weeks. This is my third digital camera - supplementing a Pentax Optio S4i. I researched this class of camera (more versatility and better quality than a sub-compact, but not as expensive as a DSLR) for a couple of months. If you look, there are a ton of sites doing very helpful, detailed camera reviews, although as a brand new model, there is not yet much on the FZ18.

I wanted something that was point and shoot for my wife (she takes great photos, but does not want the hassle of making adjustments) but versatile for me. I used to have a film SLR, and understand the basics of controlling shutter speed, aperture, etc. I loved the idea of 18x optical zoom, the 28mm wide angle, and all the shake reduction/face finding, etc. I seriously considered the Sony DSC H5, H7, and H9; the Canon S5 IS; the Olympus SP-550UZ/560UZ and the Panasonic FZ8. The Sony looks and feels great, but the spec is not as good as the newer FZ18, and many reviews refer to the no-intuitive user interface and long learning curve. The Olympus and Canon offerings in this class just did not match the FZ18 specs, and the earlier model FZ8 was getting great reviews, so I went with the latest FZ18.

Bottom line - both my wife and I are very pleased with the FZ18. The first set of vacation photos are superb. My daughter was with us and borrowed the Pentax, so we have some pretty good side-by-side comparisons, and the FZ18 wins hands down on everything, except fitting in a pocket! Even then, it's pretty light, and with a 4Gig ultra fast card, has loads of capacity. I can highly recommend this camera as the current state of the art in this class. Easy to use for those who want a point-and-shoot, flexible for those who want more control, great specs, and superb quality photos. I even found the manual fairly easy to use - a rare treat with some sophisticated electronics!

You will read critics complaints about noise (speckles) when you push the limits of the sensor - unless you are always shooting in very low light conditions, and blowing the results up into huge posters, you won't be troubled by noise. If you are, the problem is common to all compacts (from my research), so if it concerns you, spend another few hundred bucks and get a DSLR!

One warning - this camera is available at a deep discount on a couple of sites - when I tried to purchase one from one of these, it became apparent it was a "gray market" camera from Japan. Not a great idea for a US user! I ended up getting mine through an Amazon partner - no problems at all, and a decent price.

Panasonic puts a great deal of effort into their Lumix line. And they keep producing winners. The FZ18 is, in one word, a gem.

There is little radical in the way of new design. The well-established basic Lumix FZ design remains intact. Not quite a pocket camera like the worthy Lumix TZ3 and smaller than the somewhat more sophisticated and substantially larger FZ50. Panasonic's Venus III engine is dependable, relatively fast and capable.

It is the new features of the FZ18 that make it a standout. The 18x zoom is marvelous: 28mm to 504mm in the palm of your hand. Mind-blowing is the only word for it. And the Leica designed optics are as sharp as any on the market and, in fact, sharper than most. Coupled with an 8 Megapixel sensor, you're set for just about any common photographic need. The FZ18 is not intended to substitute for a Nikon or Canon dSLR. It is an everyday camera. But it is fine for photographing tourist vistas, family events, the everyday things that are the subjects of most photos.

Color rendition is accurate, though not perfect. The inclusion of an ISO 1600 equivalent is nice producing noisy, but usable, shots.

Focusing is generally fast, with some hunting in low light on the long end of the zoom.

The image stabilization is, as usual with the Lumix line, superb.

The flash is adequate out to about 15 feet or so with rapid fall-off on the edges. There is no shoe for an external flash. Do not use the supplied lens hood with the flash: it casts a shadow.

One of the new features is a three-shot option on the self-timer, which is surprisingly handy. It takes three pictures so if Aunt Tilly thinks she had her eyes closed, you don't have to walk back to the camera to reset the self-timer. Works with the flash nicely.

There's a face detection feature and an auto-focus zone selector. I haven't quite decided on the value of either of these features yet.

You can save to RAW or RAW+JPG. Saving to RAW takes substantially more time than saving to JPG format. When shooting action, I suggest you avoid the RAW formats.

The controls follow the Lumix pattern to date and are well spaced. You have 12 selectable modes from the main dial, which is nice, and many more accessible from the menu screens. You can acheive full manual control of the camera which is unusual in a camera in this price range.

I have one criticism: the zoom control does not extend quite far enough off the main camera body. It is just a wee bit difficult to use. Not a big deal, but a bit of a bother. Zooming is smooth and fast.

Battery life also seems to be a bit lower than promised.

Overall, a great camera for anyone and beyond great for those who want the enormous zoom range of this camera. The additional wide-angle range on the low end is fantastic - and being able to zoom to 504mm is just awesome.

Jerry

Having owned Olympus, Minolta and Canon digital cameras, I was somewhat reluctant to go through a new brand's learning curve, but on paper the FZ18 had everything I wanted, so I went for it. I use digitals mostly for wildlife and nature photography, therefore optical zoom, image stabilization, fast focusing capability and good handling of low-light situations were my main priorities. I didn't want to shift to dSLRs mainly because of weight issues; I was looking for a compromise, for something that would give me flexibility and quality without the hassle. I have to say that, after several weeks of subjecting this camera to everything that came my way, I am pleasantly surprised. The FZ18 is FAST, especially with a SDHC card (check that your card reader handles these, otherwise get a newer reader), and although I usually work with the optical zoom fully extended and no tripod, there has been no shake. This camera does well in low natural light, focuses ultrafast, colors are mostly true (sometimes it oversaturates reds a tad)and below ISO 400 there is no discernible noise -- I never use anything above that anyway. I have control over all the settings, too, but if I get lazy I can let the camera do all the thinking for me: it does equally well as a point-and-shot and as an advanced amateur camera. I like that I can extend zoom even more if I reduce resolution. Menus are intuitive and I've had no trouble learning how to handle them. The one thing I don't like much are the proprietary batteries: I'd rather be able to use AA's. But this is a minor setback, considering all the FZ18's qualities.

January 2008: After using this camera for a few months and taking a couple thousand pictures (bird photos: if you're lucky, one in ten is passable!), I stand by what I said before. But there is one issue that I perceived over time, and that has been annoying me. There is a tiny lag between pressing the button and the camera actually registering the image (optical zoom fully extended, maximum resolution). This tiny lag has made me lose a lot of pictures, especially of birds in flight. I've been trying to learn to compensate for it, but I can't say I've been successful -- understandably, since birds don't always fly predictable paths... This lag isn't bothersome when you're shooting landscapes or slow moving objects. I never perceived this with my previous camera, a Canon S3 IS, and I'd like to know from other users if they have noticed this in the FZ18 as well.

The space between point-and-shoot and dSLR's is seeing a lot of action, with manufacturers trying to offer dSLR features in a smaller form, economical package.

From my perspective (serious amateur),

The Deal-Maker features:

The 28-504mm, in 35mm equivalent terms, of the 18X optical zoom lens (Leica) places it in a rare category. The Extended Zoom (EZ) feature takes it up to 23X. Until recently, zoom on these type of cameras was 10x to 12x, now we are seeing 18x in the market. More importantly, at the lower zoom end, the 28mm wide angle was the feature I was sold on, it's the one to go for when shooting group pictures or landscape. The one package versatility of the lens will be found in only bridge cameras, better zoom than P&S and no carrying/changing lenses as in dSLR's.

The size/shape/weight of the camera is another factor to consider. It's much smaller than an dSLR with 18X lens, is comfortable to hold, and remains relatively steady when shooting. Of course, this is not a pocket camera. Despite the large lens, it's light and is easy to carry around.

While the current price is around 379/399, shopping around should give uncover a 330 price. That's a deal.

Features-to-like,

It's iAuto mode makes it as easy as a P&S to take pictures, but better, it adjusts ISO and selects the scene and determines the settings.
Face detection works very well, I tried it for stage performances with kids dancing on stage and it worked majority of the times even when fully zoomed.
The Joy stick is a joy, intuitive, and with a well laid out menu options, very easy to use.
Optical Image stabilization is a must and FZ18 does an admirable job.
Better processing engine, the Venus III is faster and noise is reduced.
Has extensive manual control, albeit without the focus ring. It has the Program mode, and then Aperture, Shutter priority, and then fully manual. Multiple focusing, metering, and white balancing options gives many hours of fiddling and learning better photography thus.
Many preset modes, which drill down further for specific settings are easy to use.
Fast lens and focusing, short shutter lag.

Features that are nice but expected,

Rotating dial on the top is easy to manoeuvre, lens cap warning, quick review, slide show, 16:9 format (it's just cropped), battery good for 300-350 photos when fully charged, burst mode, and bracket exposure. Accommodates SDHC cards, so can go upto 4G card. Takes decent video but can't change zoom when activated. Reasonable low light performance, it's not the best, but not terrible either, I can live very easily with it.

If you are looking for a bridge camera, you will like this one.

Happy shooting.

I've owned the Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ18K ultra zoom for less than two weeks. I've made close to 800 or more shots with it. I love this camera! I selected it after doing extensive research on other camera in this price and performance range. I had decided to purchase the Olympus SP 560 UZ as I have a special fondness for this camera manufacturer (I'm still eyeing its E-510 DSLR as a future purchase). However, when I learned that the Olympus SP uses nonstandard storage cards, I decided that the Panasonic won out. Besides, the Panasonic has a slightly wider and longer zoom.

I'm an avid reader of product manuals--I even read the poorly written ones. This one is fairly well written, straightforward and the text actually relates to the functions, which some manuals never quite seem to master. I've read and studied the Lumix manual closely. With one exception, I've used all the exposure mode settings and I've tried out all the features of the subcategory settings. For example, I've shot many statues and buildings in Aperture priority (my favorite exposure mode), Manual, (my second favorite mode), and in Intelligent Auto mode (iA). But I've also gone inside the menus to find the categories under the "SCN" mode to set the features to "sunset." Alternatively, I've use the "Scenery" mode, then delved deeper to venture inside the menu to select "Architecture." Reaching the menu selections is intuitive once you understand the basic structure you can easily find your way around and make settings quickly. If you read the manual while sitting with the camera you can try out the features as you read along.

These special settings inside the menu really take much of the guesswork out of your picture taking. I prefer having the greatest control over my camera features by being able to make finer adjustments than allowed in the auto modes. Please don't think that scrolling through menus is necessary to take great pictures with this camera. It is not. You can set it to "P" for Program (Auto Exposure) and shoot away! This is also possible shooting in the Intelligent Auto mode. If you only want to point & shoot (P&S), you can. Although, frankly, I'm not sure why anyone would purchase this great little camera and choose only to P&S. The features on this camera beg to be explored and if you do, it will take your photography skills to the next level.

Soon after the camera arrived, I was shooting after the 120 minutes needed to charge the battery. That was just enough time to read the manual the first time. I'd also highly recommend reading some of the online reviews of this camera, like at Camera Labs, where you can see an actual demonstration of the camera's features--that certainly will helped shorten the learning curve.

Specifics I like: The size. By adult women standards, I have very small hands. This camera fits in my hand like a glove! I love it. It reminds me of my old Olympus OM-1 film camera from the 70s, which was considered small back then. By the way, I still use this camera! The Lumix FZ18K has its major dial at the top of the camera, nicely placed. I can actually hold the camera in my right hand and use my fingers to turn the mode dial! The back of the camera has a 2.5 LCD that is bright and easy to see. What is quite cool is the viewfinder. It's an EVF (electronic viewfinder). I'm still a little stuck in the 70s and I like looking through that tiny window to compose. I see most digital users holding the camera out in front of them to compose. I'm learning that there's a time a place for both methods and I'm learning to use the bright LCD monitor. One huge plus to the electronic viewfinder is being able to rely on it when shooting in bright light. The screen is easier to see from the EVF than it is from the LCD monitor. The Lumix also has a diopter adjustment near the viewfinder that allows finer EVF tweaking by moving a tiny wheel adjacent to it. This is a huge plus and if you wear glasses or could use a little vision help.

While I've tried all the exposure modes, here is the exception. I have not spent any time with the motion picture mode. I will in due time. I'm so impressed with the still camera functions I just haven't had time. I must say something about the lens. It's fantastic! It's a Leica lens, so one would expect it to be great--and it is. Very sharp. This is an ultra zoom, with the ability to take super close-up. I just started testing that and shot some fun pictures of a squirrel and birds. I was pleased with my novice results.

On a camera like this, one would expect some innovative features. This camera doesn't disappoint. It has image stabilization, which I must admit at first I didn't get. But I was testing it indoors, making it harder to appreciate its results. The manual will tell you that in very low light situation it might not work as well. When I used it outside, there is no problem. It works! Focusing in "M" (manual) mode is aided by the LCD screen magnifying a small portion of the scene that you use as a focusing guide. Really a neat feature. The camera allows you to shoot in black and white, adjust color balance, determine the mega pixels you'll use, and very important to me, shoot in RAW, JPEG and RAW+JPEG. At first, I thought that the battery seemed to drain rather quickly but actually, I may be the blame for that. I've had days of shooting far more shoots than 100 pics and felt I had to return home to recharge. How many more pictures I could have taken before actually running out of juice, I don't know. Still, I'm purchasing an extra battery so I can change in the field if necessary. Another plus, some cameras allow for either single file deletion or "Delete All." You'll love the Lumix's ability to easily mark multiple files, simultaneously, for deletion and keep only what you want.

Now, one thing about which one should be aware: This is only an issue if you're looking for total control over creativity and camera features. The widest aperture is f2.8, which is fine for most of us. If you want to throw the background out of focus, this should be sufficient. If, however, you're accustomed to a good 50mm lens with an f1.8 or f1.4, which will allow you to work a bit easier in low light situations, you might miss these wider apertures. Again, most people won't care about this at all.

If you're on the fence about which advanced compact, ultra zoom, bridge digital to purchase, you will be thrilled with the Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ18K.

I normally use digital SLR cameras. However, they are not always ideal to travel with or taking out to friend's houses or nights on the town. I bought this Panasonic because it is small yet powerful enough to take more advanced pictures (not just the quick point and shoot).

So far, I'm really impressed with the camera. The optics are top-notch. The glass is able to resolve the finest details. As far as point and shoot lenses go, the glass in this Panasonic is absolutely incredible. They are simply the best you'll get in non SLR cameras.

The reason I gave it 4 out of 5 stars is because the noise that appears in some pictures when using higher iso settings. Perhaps I'm spoiled from the low-noise pictures from my DSLRs. Panasonic put the best glass in this camera, but ultimately limited the camera's performance by using the small, noisy sensors.

Is it still a great camera? Yes, absolutely. All little point and shoot cameras are crippled by the same sensor noise, so this Panasonic is no different. However, the glass is wonderful. The zoom is excellent. It's a joy to use and takes marvelous pictures. Just don't expect miracles at high isos.

I recommend this camera to anyone. It is well worth the money and will take excellent pictures for you.

I upgraded from a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5, which was a great camera. The FZ18 is a huge upgrade. The extra-distanced telephoto, the ability to make fast adjustments with the joystick, user-friendly controls, and a wide-angle lens to boot. My friend has a Canon S3, which is a great camera, too. The S3 and Canon S5 do not have a wide angle lens, which makes the FZ18 the most versatile camera this side of a digital SLR. Oh yes, the photos are tremendous. The nice-sized LCD monitor is very good, however my one criticism compared to the Canon S3 & S5 is that the FZ18 LCD is not adjustable/movable. All in all, for the money you can't beat it; it's the best digital camera on the market right now.

Panasonic's partnership with Leica has created some real gems for photographers who want fast and fun cameras. The latest in their megazoom FZ line is this - the FZ 18, so called because of a 28mm-504mm 18x zoom.

Those optics are the first of three great things about this camera. The lens is sharp and produces remarkably little distortion, a great achievement for a camera of this zoom range.

Second is the optical image stabilization - as Panasonic calls it, MEGA OIS. This feature, one of the best available in the market, helps to steady the camera which allows for clearer hand-held shots than was possible before stabilization, which makes the long end of the zoom truly useful.

Third is the ergonomics and ease of use. The idiot-proof Intelligent Auto mode gets the shot right most of the time and the camera is fun to use with well-placed controls and a functional body.

Other, less defining achievements are fast response times, good battery life, excellent flash recycling times, a useful burst mode, and customizable shooting settings.

That said, there are some faults that inevitably come from the megazoom design - an irritatingly small sensor that will be prone to noise.

As I'm sure most photographic enthusiasts and electrical engineers will agree, the tiny design of such a chip will create electrical noise, indistinguishable from picture detail, which means in low light (and thus high ISOs), the pictures come out grainy. To correct for this, the camera processes the picture, reducing detail even more to smear out the noise.

However, this isn't the end of the world. First, the noise is nearly invisible on small prints - so if you only make small prints, no one would even notice. Second, the FZ-18's noise isn't much worse than its competitors such as the Olympus SP 550 and 560 UZ. And third, better than many of its competitors, the FZ-18 allow for the user to adjust the amount of noise reduction and also supports RAW output, which retains the detail for processing later.

Its movie mode is acceptable but not great. It can't zoom while filming and it doesn't have stereo sound like the Canon S5 IS does. If you want that, this camera might not be for you. Get a camcorder instead.

Another problem is the blue banding effect, which creates a large band of blue color on the left hand side of the picture under special conditions, but will almost never show in real-world shots. This problem seems to vary from camera to camera and Panasonic (as of X-mas time 2007) is working on a fix.

Movie mode (which I hardly use) and the blue band problem (a nuisance that is rarely seen in real life) aside, the only major drawback this camera has is its noise, a zit upon the forehead of photographic greatness. And although this is annoying, it's the same problem present in all megazoom cameras, which in this case is more than made up for by the ease of use and incredibly useful zoom range.

Overall, a good - though not faultless - camera that is probably the best-of-the-bunch of the megazoom range. Get to know its limitations and adjust your preferences, and it will give you excellent results. If you don't want to bother, put it in the Intelligent Auto mode and it will do fine all by itself.

As a side note, if you truly wanted to get away from noise, get a DSLR, but don't expect to be able to use the same zoom range without constantly changing lenses.

The image stabilization is JUST adequate for 18X shots, but only if you make an effort to hold the camera steady. And, due to the small chip size, the dynamic range is somewhat limited and noise is apparent on most shots using ISO above 200. Even with these limitations, this is by far the best digi camera I've owned (and that's a BUNCH). Very fast and accurate focus, wonderful lens, and well thought out menu/control system.

I own a quality SLR with image stabilization and love it. I use primarily prime (non-zoom) lenses (with low f-stops, typically better than F 2.0) with my SLR in order to take pictures in low-light situations indoors. You cannot beat it for that. I also own a few zooms for it, up to 500mm (750mm equivalent). However, the FZ18 Lumix has some features that made me buy it instead of just settling for my SLR. Here are some of the advantages that I found:
1. Size - you have 28mm to 500mm (with respectable f-stop speed) and macro all in one compact body. A definite advantage when you want to travel small and/or light. Some of the reasons Panasonic (and other manufacturers) were able to do this are listed below.
2. Sensor Efficiency - the sensor on most of the digital cameras (including most SLRs) is much smaller than film, therefore you don't need to have as large of a lens physically. Also, if you use a smaller lens, you can also use a smaller body, hence a greatly reduced size for the camera and the ability to incorporate a greater zoom range and faster lens.
3. SLR Efficiency - An SLR uses a mirror to transfer the image to the viewfinder and must flip out of the way in order to take a picture (a time-consuming process that restricts the speed of flash synchronizations, among other things). Since a digital camera reads the image anyway, it can be transmitted to the screen or viewfinder (which is a little screen you view) without sacrificing the "through the lens" advantages, but not needing the cumbersome mirror-flipping, hence a more compact camera. The absence of the mirror also makes sharper pictures due to less vibration.
4. Optical Image Stabilization - Many SLRs have such a feature, but it is usually by being built into an expensive lens. I own a Pentax SLR, which has it built into the camera, but it has been shown that a camera like the Lumix has as good or better stabilization than the typical SLRs do and you get it through the whole spectrum of the capabilities of this fantastic lens.
5. Fast Telephoto - I don't even want to think about how much a 500mm F4 lens costs (much less carry one around), but that is what you get with this camera. With the combination of image stabilization, I can take pictures that were impossible before. (See the image in the image gallery.)
6. No removable lens - I know this is an advantage of SLRs, but it is also a disadvantage, as it allows dust, etc. to enter in to the inside of the camera between the lens and where the picture is recorded (the sensor).
7. Cost - $300+? I paid $500 for a manual focus 200mm F2.8 lens alone. Most SLR bodies cost more than $300, even used (for digital, of course). To replicate what this camera can do photographically in an SLR format, you would have to spend many times the price of this camera.
8. Tripod - the smaller the camera, the smaller the tripod that's needed. You can get away with a tiny little thing for this lightweight.

Now, some disadvantages of this camera compared to the SLRs:
1. Flash - Point and shoot flashes are typically inadequate, sometimes terribly so. This one has no hot-shoe for an add-on. My solution is that I virtually never use the flash (I have to confess I haven't even tried it out yet on this camera, but I do not have ANY grandiose expectations).
2. SLR Prime speed - I have a 50mm F1.4 lens that can do things this camera can't, problem is, it is only one lens size, so I also have a 20mm F1.8. However, if you're not using prime lenses, this Lumix will match or beat almost any of your zooms for f-stop speed.
3. SLR manual control - manual focus is easy on an SLR, and sometimes manual focus is MUCH preferred over auto-focus. Though this camera has a manual focus capability, it is cumbersome and a bit complicated. Most SLR lenses (especially primes) have scales for depth of field, which can be EXTREMELY useful. Also, the same is true for manual exposures. On an SLR, you can sometimes go to F22, F32 or even F45 for extra depth of field. Not so on the Lumix - F8.0 is the limit. By the way, the best way to do a panorama that you are going to stitch together is to do a fixed manual exposure on the shots, so that they will blend well.

I'm still going to use my SLR, but I may consider selling all my non-prime lenses for it. This camera is smaller and lighter than most of my zooms! When I go out hiking or on a vacation, you can bet what I'm going to be taking with me - this Lumix!