Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: At Cameralabs we were very fond of the earlier Panasonic Lumix FZ30. Sporting a great quality 12x optical zoom lens with effective stabilisation along with SLR-styling and a decent level of manual control, there really wasn't much to complain about.

Pros: Great quality lens with massive 12x range, Optical Image Stabilisation, Flip-out and twistable screen, Great build quality and manual control, Great quality lens with massive 12x range, Optical Image Stabilisation, Flip-out and twistable screen, ...

Cons: Noise levels high even at low sensitivities, Smearing from noise reduction

Verdict: The FZ50 also features an inevitable increase in resolution, from 8 to 10.1 Megapixels - indeed this is the headline new feature. We describe this increase as inevitable, because so much digital camera marketing is sadly based on Megapixels despite ...

Review summary: The new Panasonic DMC-FZ50 is a compact digital camera that offers many of the benefits of a true DSLR. There's a 12x ultra-zoom lens, equivalent to a focal length of 35-420mm, housed in a ...

Review summary: As the ninth model in Panasonic's 'FZ' series of 12x zoom cameras, the DMC-FZ50 is a sizeable step-up from its predecessor, with higher sensor resolution. It also sports a new Venus Engine III image processor chip. The higher-resolution sensor has ...

Award: Highly Recommended!

Review summary: Announced bang on schedule exactly a year after the camera it replaces, the FZ50 is the new flagship in Panasonic's big-zoom Lumix range, upping the image size to a class-leading 10.2 megapixels and adding a couple of welcome new features. Unlike the ...

Pros: Excellent resolution and corner-to-corner detail at lower ISO settings, Vivid but realistic color, Superb 12x optical zoom, Effective image stabilization, Excellent handling and SLR-like control, Comprehensive range of controls and features, New ...

Cons: Extra 2 million pixels offer little visible advantage, Noise reduction produces visible artefacts and loss of low contrast detail even at low ISO (and noise if you don't use NR) if viewed at 100% (actual pixels), ISO 400 and above very soft and smeary ...

Verdict: The FZ50 answers several of the minor quibbles we had with the FZ30 (better access to ISO and WB, proper raw conversion software in the box, more flexible screen positioning) and adds some useful new features (TTL hot shoe, custom modes, function menu).

Review summary: for the European press, so below is a smaller than ideal gallery of original JPEG images I took using the camera. However, I was able to make some quick comparisons with last year's DMC-LX1 to get an idea if Panasonic's claims that the latest Venus ...

Verdict: In fact I urge you to evaluate these pictures offline by printing them, as I did, as I don't feel that on-screen examination, especially at the high resolution of these files, serves the overall quality that these files bear