Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10K Digital Camera

This is my first digital camera; have carried a 35 ...

Strengths: Quality of the pictures and options to fit the camera's capabilities to the circumstances

Weaknesses: The options dial can be hard to read in low light and there are no indicators of setting other than visual. Took several videos because dial was mis-set.

Summary: This is my first digital camera; have carried a 35 mm SLR with a 28-200 mm lense for years. Love the 400 mm lens. Film is now really cheap -- great to capture signs at entraces to record where the following picturs are taken. In addition, you can record a verbal note at the time you take a picture or afterwards. As an example I got a picture of a snake and then recorded what kind it was later when our guide told me what it was.

Have now learned to take several shots if there is a risk that subjects will blink and thier eyes will be closed at the time the shutter goes off. Get the 512 mb card. I went through 1 1/2 in two weeks in India and was shooting more each day. Get two batteries. About half the days, I used about 1 1/3 batteries -- one day I drained both of them as night fell.

The only major problem I have had was with the package as received. I ordered two cameras, one for me and one for a friend. When I received them, both of them were missing accessories. Between the two packages I was able to get a complete unit to take on a trip to India. Couldn't have used the camera if I hadn't ordered two. Looks like a problem at the Panasonic end.

With an SLR I can make use markings on the focus ring to estimate a manual pre-focus and then make adjustments. The manual focus option allows you to use the auto focus to get close but only if there is a subject you can focus on. I was trying to get shots of passing carts but couldn't start the focusing process until they were within range and by the time I completed focusing, they were gone. Auto focus didn't work well because of the time lag.

Read the manual, use it and then read again. Repeat. Lots of great features, some of which are not obvious. Took me a while to find the number that told me how many pictures were left on the memory card.

Would be nice is "programed" and "view" were indicated some way in addition to visual reference. I wasted a fair amount of memory by bad settings -- video -- and lost a few pictures.

The abiity to erase bad pictures is great. I got very good at pointing and shooting without using the LCD or view finder. Got some terrific candids -- threw away the rest.

Does almost everything my 35 mm SLR would do except capture shots of fast moving objects like flying birds. And, it does a lot more with less light.

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This camera has exceeded my expectations. It reall ...

Strengths: Great Feel, Well Built, Durable, Logical Menus, Excellent Zoom, Great Burst Mode, Fantastic Pictures, Image Stabilisation is Superb!

Weaknesses: Lack of Remote, So So Low light Performance, Lack of Gain Up in Low Light

Summary: This camera has exceeded my expectations. It really encourages you to take pictures of things you never could before. Its helping be with bird identification (beginner), and I am progressing in the use of the manual features.

I recently learned to sharpen pictures in Photo Shop. Went through my collection of 1000 or so pictures, but I really battled to find an out of focus shot to play with!

The ISO noise issue that many refer to is largely a "learning how to get the best out of your camera" issue. Due to the excellent light gathering properties of the lense, I can often shoot indoors at ISO 50. So who cares about 400 being noisy!

Many people judge what is acceptable at what settings based on their prevoious camera. It is far better to leave your previous expectations behind, and play the FZ10 to its strengths, it has many!

This is an enthusiasts camera so you will get the most out of it by playing with settings and experimentation. If you dont have the time or couldn't be bothered, dont expect to get the greatest pictures!

The best camera I have ever played with!

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Truly an amazing camera and the nitpicks I have ar ...

Strengths: Class leading 12x optical lens, superb build quality and tactile feel of materials, awesome image quality, built-in low-light flash, optical image stabilization, hot shoe for ext. flash.

Weaknesses: Availability @ brick and mortar stores vs. online, speed of focus not as quick as my 35mm EOS without using constant focus, lens cap only works on default lens requires larger cap for hood + filter.

Summary: 2004-02-16 15:14:57 Truly an amazing camera and the nitpicks I have are minute compared to the positives for this camera, especially compared to the competition, if there can be said to be "ANY". In fact, I found it harder to write weaknesses than strengths but I wanted to remain as objective as possible. For the $, you can't find a better camera. Period.

Other cameras I considered were the Toshiba PDR-M700 (great value for what you get for the $ but no O.I.S., cheaper build quality, lower res screen/EVF are prices paid for cutting costs), Canon Powershot S1 IS (not out at present time, no previous reviews, slightly smaller lens, lower megapixel CCD; although you do get Digic which could "counteract" some of that and make a 3.2 mp image = to the Panasonic's 4, keep that in mind), Konica-Minolta DiMage A1 (smaller lens, more cumbersome overall interface [too many buttons for similar amount of adjustments], more expensive although higher megapixel), Konica-Minolta DiMage Z1 (slightly smaller lens, clunky mechanical EVF/LCD switch as just another thing to break, funky shape and oddball ergonomics, smaller megapixel CCD but once again... not substantially so, I was in the market for 3.0-5+ for the $), Olympus Camedia 10x models (for the $ the Panasonic is far superior, interfaces on Olympus cameras are counter-intuitive and take away the fun of usage, smaller lens, no O.I.S., hot shoe only on higher model), and Canon EOS Rebel 300D (wicked 6.3 mp higher image quality CMOS-based econo-Pro SLR, but added cost of ownership to equal Panasonic's Leica Zoom lens would add an additional $500 to equal the Panasonic's focal range; not in my price range even though it's an incredible bargain for "Pros"). Nikon makes "NOTHING" comparable or else I'd consider them. Canon for a good portion of the time had nothing available new in this range in Prosumer models until the Powershot S1 IS which comes out in April. If it'd been 4.0 megapixel and 12x lensed... I'd probably have considered holding out to see how it got reviewed. It looks like a quality piece and I'm a sucker for Canon cameras anyhow.

The advantage of the Panasonic is that for every weakness it has, there's a workaround that is acceptable. When I bought a 72mm UV filter for it for the lens hood (required for filters) and found the lens cap didn't fit. I purchased a 72mm lens cap with an elastic lens tether and it fits beautifully (although it's obviously a bit heavy). It's Macro fault (on dial) has been covered in terms of workaround on dcresource.com, and the way to counteract it is known. Even the slower speed (not terribly bad but could be faster) of the focusing is capable of being circumvented at the expense of battery life by turning the constant focusing on. All other cameras lack enough of the physical traits of this camera to remotely compare, and/or are suited to lesser photographic tasks that this camera excels at just as well.

I'm an auto racing nut and plan on using the camera at auto races to take photos. The long range Leica-made zoom will help getting photos from the grandstands without succumbing to digital zoom, 4.0 megapixels + the image quality (except for large scale prints, not likely to do anything beyond 8 x 10 which this camera is great at) is pretty exceptional IMHO. Not to mention the higher the megapixels on small-scale CCD's the more apparent the noise in the image quality is so buyer beware, bigger isn't always better. If you're in the market for a lonnnnnnng range zoom and aren't going to print above 8 x 10 anyhow, it's pretty much Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10 or Canon Powershot S1 IS. Unless you're hyped up on the video aspect (we have a camcorder), the Panasonic is still the better photo camera IMHO based on info.

Oh and for those complaining about the camera's size being overly large. It's not substantially different from a SLR-body camera in size, and I far prefer the added size to cling to vs. the over-miniaturized tendency more and more companies keep succumbing to which produce awkward to hold cameras and cell phones that are just "RIDICULOUS" in their miniaturization. This is coming from someone that doesn't have large hands so keep that in mind. If anything I almost wish Panasonic made the camera a little bigger width-wise plus gave it a bigger hand grip on the right side so it matched my EOS 850 in size.

Only other ergonomic deal, and this might be more "preference" than anything, to me is the EVF placement. I realize Panasonic is going for a "unique" look that captures a slight bit of the zeal of a Leica camera by placing it towards the left edge of the camera, but after being used to cameras like the Canon AE1 Program, Canon FT, and Canon EOS 850 model SLR's, having the EVF at the left on an SLR-style body digital camera seems odd. It's a trifle nitpicky I suppose, because thus far I've found it to work fine and not really feel awkward in practice, just a bit disconcerting at first on appearances.

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I looked at ALL othe digital camera out there, too ...

Strengths: Stabilized lense, crystal clear picts with good color.

Weaknesses: No lense cap strap that can easily be bought (a stick on) very cheap.

Summary: I looked at ALL othe digital camera out there, took each Ultra zoom camera home and tested them myself in all light conditions (I'm a bit of a perfectionist) and this one is wwwaaayyyyyy better then the-- Olympus C750. (The Lumix has faster shutter speeds and takes better pictures indoors then the C750) Kodak 6490,(this was tough, as the Kodak is very good too...however most of the outdoor picts "muddle" up the grass and leaves, there is softness in some of the Kodaks picts as well, which can be corrected in software...I chose the Lumix over the Kodak because it's easier to hold, and has faster shutter speeds and more manual options, and of course the stabilized lense, the Kodak is more for a beginer, I do recomend it for ease of use and great pictures overall however and it takes better picts at night or dark places without messing around with controls, and you can see its LCD screen in the dark very well) over all of all ultr zoom it takes the best crystal clear picts, and has a 12x zoom! The first largest zoom in the world. The Lumix is a bit bigger, but it's also easier to hold onto...what's with the whole mentality of "smaller is better" thats not always true, isn't it easier to lose your grip on a small camera and drop it? make sure to read the manual to get the most out of this camera, especially for dark areas and white balance (it's all easy to do, really!)

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FUN! If you like outdoor photography, but refuse t ...

Strengths: Big Leica SLR quality lens with F2.8 through the Zoooooooooom!, Manual Controls (inc. MF, a Hot Shoe for an ext flash.

Weaknesses: Some noise (graniness) at ISO settings 200 & 400, but can be cleaned up with post processing (e.g., NeatImage)

Summary: 2003-12-30 12:21:45 FUN! If you like outdoor photography, but refuse to pay $2000 for a DSLR system, yet desire more control than a point & shoot, the FZ10 is worth considering.

The hot shoe makes this a surpisingly good indoor camera. The pop-up flash only reaches 10 ft, yet the lens will get you across a 30 ft room so you need and external flash to match.

Now that I have the FZ10 I am reconsidering the "need" to ever own a DSLR outfit. The 35-420 mm zoom in a 1.2 pound package is awesome. Image is very good. I would much rather carry this up a mountain vs. ten pounds of SLR and lenes.

Performance per pound per $ the FZ10 can't be beat....yet.

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The 12x lens is what makes this camera for me. I s ...

Strengths: Overall a great unit with an excellent price.

Weaknesses: Don't appreciate having to manually switch between LCD screen and view finder.

Summary: The 12x lens is what makes this camera for me. I shoot many outside pictures and appreciate the zoom feature. Many might be concerned about the 4 megs limit of the sensor but that hasn't been an issue. My previous camera shot at 3megs so this is an improvement. The pictures indoors are a bit of a problem. Shooting with the flash some of near objects are over-exposed. Shooting without the flash is fine as long as what you are shooting doesn't have any movement going on. Then again this is a common problem with digital cameras. If you are just moving up to a mid level digital camera this one is fairly easy to master. Suggest memory cards of at least 256mb. Find a card that has a fast record speed so you can fully use the burst feature of the camera. I experimented with students running a 50 yard dash. All the burst pictures came out great. This is a excellent overall camera. TR

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I love this camera. The long zoom gives an invalu ...

Strengths: Fantastic 12x zoom lens with image stabilization Manual focus ring and other great manual controls Great image quality Hot shoe

Weaknesses: Noise at higher ISO (but I don't use them!) Built in flash not terribly strong

Summary: I love this camera. The long zoom gives an invaluable "fun" factor. Image getting great close-ups of kids from across the room. I sat in the back of the auditorium at my kids' x-mas concert and got good tight shots of them. I was a bit concerned about the reports of noise in the image at higher ISOs, but I have learned to avoid using them without significant limitations so far. I love having a hot shoe to use a good bounce flash. The results are far superior to any built-in flash. The shutter lag is quite good and it can shoot quite quickly, especially with a great burst mode to really catch the action. Although this is bigger than my old handy Olympus, the features justify it. It is surprisingly lite for the size. This camera has put joy back into my pictures.

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The Panasonic DMC-FZ10 is the most useful, functio ...

Strengths: Outstanding 12x zoom lens: ultra-fast, stabilized, Leica quality. Very fast shot to shot, very fast burst, barrel-mounted focus, good ergonomics, excellent build quality, very good photo quality.

Weaknesses: noise levels/evf in poor light conditions, no remote, shutter limit set at 8s, no lens cap tether, SD/no Compact Flash, proprietary battery, no TIFF/Raw, spartan s/w interface, no time lapse features

Summary: 2003-12-23 23:13:07 The Panasonic DMC-FZ10 is the most useful, functional all-around digital camera for under $750. Build quality is excellent and the fast, stabilized, 12x Leica lens is unmatched for under $1,000. Although not perfect, this camera is great for the price.

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I have been pleased by everything this camera doe ...

Strengths: 12x zoom, image stablization, excellent manual control for a camera at this price, good battery life

Weaknesses: slow low light focus

Summary: I have been pleased by everything this camera does in the time I've owned it. Be warned, however, if the majority of photos you take are indoor family snapshots there may be a better camera for you. The majority of my shots are of the nature and wildlife variety and this plays to the cameras strengths. I read the previous criticism of high ISO noise and I can't disagree but this is my 6th digital camera plus also using others owned by friends and I see no discernable difference in high ISO performance. If you want clean high ISO you better get a DSLR. The fast lens (F2.8) and IS will allow you to get many shots at lower ISO that you may have not thought possible.

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Because of its image stabilization and consistant ...

Strengths: 12x zoom, image stabilization, manual controls, extremely solid construction, good video mode, fast burst mode.

Weaknesses: Low light focus, questionable automatic exposure, low flash power, large and bulky, noisy at 400 ISO.

Summary: Because of its image stabilization and consistant F2.8 brightness throughout the zoom range I feel this is the best ultra-zoom of the lot (a better buy than the Olympus C-750, the HP 945 or the Minolta Z1). It will let you take sharp, high zoom photographs at a shutter speed of 1/30s (1/15s if you have steady hands). No other ultra-zoom will let you do that. For outdoor photography I feel that this camera is unmatched. It also has a fantastic macro photography mode: the manual states a 5cm minimum distance but I can almost rest the lens on the subject and still get a sharp, focused picture.

For indoor motion photography, it's only average. It has trouble focusing low light shots (an AF focus light would have REALLY helped!). You'll need to do a lot of fiddling with the manual controls to get the most of it under these conditions.

The bottom line is that if you're looking for an indoor "point and shoot" camera ... this ain't it. If you're looking for a serious enthusiasts camera you won't do better in this price range.

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Great pictures come from good photographers, not ...

Strengths: Versatile, full manual controls, powerful lens, just check the diameter! almost 40 mm. Menu controls esily accesible thru 2" lcd or viewfinder, this camera is fast and very sturdy, great construction.

Weaknesses: It is not the perfect camera, but features and price considered, you should run and get one now!

Summary: Great pictures come from good photographers, not good cameras, and good cameras don't make great photographers. Be sure to read the booklet included and experiment.

If you get noise, ,if the color doesn't please you, check the settings, all cameras come with different default settings that are not necesarily the best for every ocassion and light condition. Make sure you get a 256 mb. SD card because you'll be using this camera a lot, by the way,get a hold of a Lamborghini bag by Tonino (compusa)

will fit he camera like a glove!

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I agonized over the Canon Powershot G5 and the DMC ...

Strengths: Fabulous 12x Leica Lens. Outstanding balance. Excellent review options. AE Better than advetised.

Weaknesses: You will buy a larger memory card. Low light shooting requires some experience. But if concentrating and paying attentioin are weaknesses, well...

Summary: 2004-02-20 09:42:07 I agonized over the Canon Powershot G5 and the DMC-FZ10. A good friend has been in the camera industry for 20+ years and strongly advised the G5. I closed my eyes and went against his wishes. I bought it from B&H site unseen and was concerned about the weight. It is not the behemouth some reviewers lead you to believe. Ergonomics are excellent. This camera is rock solid. I prefer a little heft to help keep me steady.

The LCD is fabulous. I'm not much for electronic viewfinders, but after two days on the beach I used the EVF more than the LCD! The information given for each pic, including the histogram, helped me figure out how to adjust my exposure settings for near-perfect pictures. Granted it took me a few days of dedicated fidgeting, but I would have had to do this with any fully manual camera.

The 12x zoom is magnificient. This is a MONDO lens.

Auto bracket allows for three burst pix at differing exposure levels, and you can preset the value difference. I used this extensively on nature walks when shooting through thick flora, along with spot focusing.

I found an aftermarket battery on ebay for $20, an essential for any camera with a proprietary battery.

This camera deserves Two Thumbs UP!

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I bought an early example as did two of my friends ...

Strengths: Great zoom, image quality, light sensitivity, flexible settings

Weaknesses: Early shipments have spotty quality control, uses proprietary battery - can't use AA's in an emergency. Documentation is not the best, but the camera is intuitive.

Summary: I bought an early example as did two of my friends. Mine has been flawless, but both of theirs demonstrated poor image quality (noise) and other problems. They exchanged theirs, and the replacements were fine. Guess it proves early technology is risky technology. I bought mine to replace a stolen and much missed Olympus C2100 Ultra Zoom, used particularly in outdoor sports photography. So far so good. The Olympus was a gem, and no one makes anything like it anymore. When the FZ10 was announced, it seemed as though someone else finally "got it". A month is too short to know if it's truly a good replacement, but the zoom lens and F2.8 throughout the range are awesome. Because of the inconsistent quality, I strongly recommend that you buy from an authorized Panasonic dealer so you can exchange if necessary. Otherwise, wait for a few months. However, if you need a real zoom, there really isn't much else out there,

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I have had the FZ10 for about 4 weeks now and love ...

Strengths: 12x Zoom, well-built, great picture quality

Weaknesses: Instruction manual needs to be better written; at least for people like me who are fairly new to digital photography

Summary: I have had the FZ10 for about 4 weeks now and love it. I'm still trying to figure out all of the manual controls and settings, but overall the picture quality has been excellent.

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This was my second digital purchase. My first was ...

Strengths: nice build/feel, good positioning of controls, adequate LCD display, excellent response, excellent zoom,nice software

Weaknesses: It's unfortunate that the end result picture quality is really substandard. Every shot distorted/somewhat blurred. White balance really off. Only 16MB card

Summary: 2004-01-01 10:21:59 This was my second digital purchase. My first was the Canon Powershot A20 4 years ago (It really takes excellent pix but lacking in zoom and speed.) I bought this one for the price range, zoom, speed and lens quality. That's all I got! I have taken lots of pix w/this camera and just can't compare the quality to my $300.00, 2.0 MP canon. All of the shots are blurred and grainy/The color is off-- reddish or yellow hue. I am so dissapointed. I have read reviews on so many cameras for a couple of months now and I really thought this would be a good one. I had to buy new card readers/chips in addition and spent around 1,000.00 in the end. I could have just bought the Canon Digital Rebel like I wanted and used my same accessories for about the same cost, and invested in lenses down the road. Bad mistake. Don't make the same one I did. Wish I would have read the previous review before I bought.

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