Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: At the press conference in Dublin I was able to shoot with the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 digital Megazoom camera. The Panasonic FZ18 is a camera for the photographer who is into a variety of photographic shooting. Although the camera is easy to ...

Review summary: A Sneak Peek at Panasonic's new Ultrazoom EVF leaves us wanting an encore.

Review summary: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 has body styling reminiscent of a single-lens reflex digital camera, and offers a 1/2.5-inch CCD image sensor with an effective eight megapixels. Dominating the front of the Panasonic FZ18 is a Leica-branded 18x optical ...

Pros: Simple design with good controls ; Lightweight ; Good grip ; 18x optical zoom ; Extremely low optical distortion ; RAW mode ; White balance can be fine-tuned ; Selectable AF points ; Live histogram ; Ability to limit maximum ISO ; Broad diopter ...

Cons: Noise and noise suppression visible even at low ISO ; High ISO image noise and noise reduction degrades image quality ; Significant chromatic aberration at telephoto ; Digital zoom is soft ; Moderate barrel distortion at wide angle ; Greens are ...

Award: Editor's Choice!

Review summary: Our current Editors' Choice superzoom, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, packs a massive array of featuresand an 18X zoom lensinto a relatively compact body. This 8.3-megapixel shooter delivers above-average image quality, and at only $399.95, it's a ...

Pros: Excellent value. Images with accurate color and correct exposure. Versatile 18X optical zoom. 28mm wide-angle lens. Intuitive menu system

Cons: Noise in low-light and flash shots

Verdict: Not yet reviewed by editors.

Award: Recommended!

Review summary: Barely half a year after the introduction of the DMC-FZ8, Panasonic added another model to its popular range of compact 'super zoom' Lumix cameras in the shape of the FZ18. Although obviously based on the FZ8 (they are externally almost identical), ...

Pros: Good, sharp results in optimal shooting conditions, Good, natural color and excellent exposure, Hugely versatile 18x zoom range covering true wideangle to long telephoto, Smooth, almost stepless 2-speed zoom, Effective image stabilization, Good build ...

Cons: Images lack biting crispness, some loss of fine detail to noise reduction even at ISO 100, Default noise reduction too high at all ISO settings (use low NR setting or raw), Occasional odd artefacts at lower ISO settings (some moiré related, some just ...

Verdict: One thing that has become obvious to us as we've looked at the various 18x 'super zoom' models that have appeared since the Olympus SP-550UZ burst onto the scene at the start of the year is that they will always involve a certain degree of compromise, ...