Panasonic Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18K

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18K Digital Camera

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18K Review, by Andrew Mager June 11, 2008

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• Latest User Reviews 1 review
• Reviewed by: Dwightdevitt

  Duration of ownership: 6 Months

  Strengths: Can't tell ya, it's failed, and Panasonic won't fix it on warranty. Very poor warranty support. Actually, there is NO WARRANTY SUPPORT. I've dealt with their "Concierge", and the PCB board is fried, and was faulty. But they still won't warranty it!

  Weaknesses: Not even their local sales representative will return my calls or emails!

  Overall: Good luck if it fails... they will use every excuse to avoid looking after their customers. In the world of repeat customers, Panasonic just doesn't get it... I'll NEVER BUY PANASONIC AGAIN!

• Reviewed by: msgmnw

  Strengths: High quality Leica lens, 18x zoom, 28mm wide angle, good quality optical image stabilization, good lens cap, calendar playback mode

  Weaknesses: Zooming into pictures during playback, low light pictures

  Overall: The camera does a remarkable job for the market it was designed for. Not high level DSLR or low level point and shoot only, and pictures not movies. I like the calendar mode during playback which shows a monthly calendar and highlights the days with a tiny picture thumbnail that pictures were taken. Very cool. Also has dual timezones for when your traveling to keep date/time stamps accurate. Nice finshing details like this round out the camera very nicely. For a small camera bag I'm trying M-Rocks Niagara bag. Just barely fits in sidewise (verticle oriented bag) with the grip up. Plenty of room above the camera in the bag for a strap or equivalent that won't scratch the camera. Has plenty of small pockets for extras like spare batteries, memory cards, filters. A touch big to carry around all day but hey, this isn't a compact camera. That's the price for 18x zoom.

• Reviewed by:

  Strengths: its fast takes great pictures and videos soundis great totally awsomes for beginers like me i love all the cool features andits not confusing and works good in allweather conditions.

  Weaknesses: cant zoom while taking video and thats it.

  Overall: totally rox best ever and it lasts for ever i would recomend it to beginers . it totally rox.alot of cool little things on there.

• Reviewed by: tedklein

  Strengths: The Lumix lens, quality of pictures, but most importantly the Zoom

  Weaknesses: Faster multiple shots

  Overall: This is my 3rd digital camera and by far the best one I ever had. I am into taking lots of sports pictures of the kids and an 18X optical zoom is even a better zoom then most of the SLR's out there. Most SLR's have an equivalent 300mm lens, but the 18X optical on this is more like a 500mm lens. The optical image stabilization is amazing too, no blurred pictures at full zoom!!

• Reviewed by: neoman700

  Strengths: Image quality,Cost factor,Big zoom,RAW mode,excellent interface, joystick access to most commonly needed functions, Uses SD/SDHC cards, Good build.

  Weaknesses: Noise reduction induced problems in low light situations, Lens move in and out while zooming and retracts in when powered down, No focus ring, No flash shoe, No tilt LCD, Non standard thread size.

  Overall: After much research and time, I decided to pick the Panasonic lumix fz18. Among all the bridge cameras, fz18 fit the bill most for the features I was looking for in a camera. Pros - -Cost factor. -Image quality - If you take the shot in nice light, it gives excellent image quality. At its best, it is the best. I dont see much difference in image quality when compared to a canon eos 20D when shots were taken in good light.(Also depends on the lens used on the DSLR). Low light shots are a different story though. But I am comparing a full fledged DSLR here. Compared to cameras in its class, the low light shots are not any worse or better. NO purple fringing even in the corners in extreme zoom! No barrel distortion in wide angle shots. But I suspect that this attribute is more because of the in-camera jpeg processing than the leica lens quality. Taking RAW format will reveal the reason. I didnt try it. But whatever be it, I doubt if any camera in the same class or even in higher classes has this low purple fringing or barrel distortion. Accurate color reproduction. I have not tested it widely to see if it has good color reproduction in various light settings. But anyway, I have white balance control at my fingertips if in doubt. Metering has been pretty much accurate and it has exposure compensation of + or -2EV (1/3 steps) in case you think you need more light than the camera thinks is needed. -Big zoom - WIDE ANGLE to a very good telezoom. I dont think you will ever need an extra telephoto zoom unless you are into wildlife photography. If you want an equivalent zoom for a DSLR, dont even think about getting this much zoom in one piece. Also be ready to shell out a huge amount of money if you want that much zoom in a DSLR. And the amazing thing about this big zoom is that there is no discernible distortions in the wide and tele ends. -Nice bokeh (not as much as a dSLR). Even though, the sensor size is small(1/2.5"), it has a narrow enough depth of field if the relative size of the subject on the frame is big enough (even if it is wide macro or tele macro). Large depth of field for taking landscape photography at wide angles. -Presets - Though I have not used much of the ready made settings, there is a wide array of ready made settings that suits most of the common situations for those who need it. -Ergonomics-Very nice placement of buttons, EXCELLENT menu user interface, excellent placement of buttons. Joystick at the most convenient location, giving QUICK ACCESS to most used functions while taking shots. -Accepts the most common and cheapest memory card solution - SD card. Other camera manufacturers force you to buy their proprietory memory cards. -Better than average build quality. -Option to record in RAW mode. Cons - -No manual focus ring or zoom ring. You have to use the zoom lever and joystick(focussing). Though not quite difficult, I would have preferred a focus ring on the lens barrel. -Smearing, smudging, blotching... side effects of noise reduction algorithm used in low light situations. Even if you turn noise reduction by 2 notches, it is still there. I really hope that Panasonic releases a firmware later on that gives an option to completely turn it down in jpeg mode. You could potentially use RAW mode and do noise reduction with some other software ... who has the time. For an advanced P&S, it should have had a 1/1.8" image sensor instead of small 1/2.5" sensor. -Lens physically extends during zooming out. Therefore, if you want to attach a telephoto lens or wide angle lens, you have to use a special adapters which fits on the outer 55.8 thread ring. Even with panasonic la3 adaptor, it will vignette at the wide end. There is a 3rd party adaptor available which solves the problem, though not very satisfactorily. Lens retracts into the barrel when powered down, therefore if you fit a 46mm telephoto or wide angle lens on the inner ring, if you accidentally power it down before taking the extra lens or filter out (and if the diameter of the extra lens is more than 46mm in the main body), it will get stuck in the barrel potentially damaging the lens mechanism. You need atleast around 6 mm extension from the 46mm inner thread to be safe. -No tilting lcd display. There is an option for high angle viewing with lcd (for taking pics above head level). -No flash shoe. -No external trigger release options. -No zooming while shooting video - Is it possible with a firmware change? I hope so. -Non standard thread size on the outer barrel - 55.8mm! -No AC adaptor supplied with the package! -Weight is a little too low. Some prefer it that way, but I like it a little more heavier. In general, I am happy with the purchase. If they continue the trend in the quality and pricing and improve on the above mentioned areas, I think the panasonic lumix line P&S will seriously pose a challenge to the super expensive DSLR giants.

• Reviewed by: Master_FOB

  Strengths: Nice zoom, sharp pictures, strong flash

  Weaknesses: size

  Overall: I bought this camera as a gift, and tried it out for a few days. It takes very nice, sharp pictures, and the 18x zoom is great for everyday photos. Of course, it is not a compact camera, so I couldn't just stick it in my pocket wherever I go, but if you want great pictures, you have to compromise on size.