Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ18 Review

Digital SLRs may make the headlines but rumors of the death of the compact camera are greatly exaggerated. Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ18 super-zoom revitalizes this category with a mighty 18x optical zoom, spanning a range from useful wide-angle 28mm to enormous telephoto 504mm focal lengths.

As usual, the Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ18 lens bears the Leica mark and as usual, it employs Panasonic's Mega CIS optical stabilization system, which we rate among the best in its class. 

Like previous FZ camera models, the DMC-FZ18 presents a right-hand grip design, with a traditional mode dial and navi-pad, joined here by a small, easily accessible thumb-stick.

The Leica-branded glassware is worlds ahead of most super-zooms, combining a maximum aperture of f/2.8 with first-class stabilization. The balance settings feels anachronistic on such a modern enthusiast's camera. The menus are staid, text-only affairs. The 2.5-inch LCD matches Canon's 55 IS for size and pixels, although it fades out much earlier in dim conditions. 

Colours and sharpness in both the LCD and EVF are above average, making manual focusing less of a hit-and-miss affair than on many compacts. But both have the inevitable 'exposure lag' when moving from framing light to dark scenes that SLR users in particular will find irritating. At least you can boost LCD power on bright days!

The all-plastic construction is light and just about stable enough for one-handed use if you feel the urge to really test the stabilization system. 

The front-facing zoom lever is small and slow, but smooth and accurate. 

Focus, flash and drive each get dedicated buttons, although the lack of quick access to ISO, quality and white balance can be frustrating at times.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ18 can also use face detection, adjust the ISO and even activate the image stabilizer for you - although we'd recommend simply leaving this turned on all the time. 

If you don't need your hand held quite so tightly there's full PASM exposure and a Custom mode for your own choice of settings. Aperture and shutter speeds are set using the tiny thumb-stick, which also selects the Autofocus zone. This is worth experimenting with as the Panasonic's focusing system isn't the fastest we've tested before.

It usually gets there in the end, but you need to take care with extreme telephoto shooting because the depth of field contracts. 

For a little more speed, the Burst mode reaches the giddy heights of 3fps, but only for a handful of images before decelerating substantially.

Shot-to-shot time is limited mainly by AF.

Although if you make use of the welcome RAW or RAW+JPEG capture, expect delays when shooting a series. Image quality from the monster 18x zoom is surprisingly good - and we say surprisingly because all too many super-zooms sacrifice wide-angle sharpness or telephoto contrast in search of the maximum zoom range.

It usually gets there in the end, but you need to take care with extreme telephoto shooting because the depth of field contracts. For a little more speed, the Burst mode reaches the giddy heights of 3fps, but only for a handful of images before decelerating.

Shot-to-shot time is limited mainly by the ponderous AF system, although if you make use of the welcome RAW or RAW+JPEG capture, expect delays when shooting a series. 

Image quality from the monster 18x zoom is surprisingly good - and we say surprisingly because all too many super-zooms sacrifice wide-angle sharpness or telephoto contrast in search of the maximum zoom range. 

The optics show a touch of distortion at 28mm but hardly any edge softness and even less chromatic aberration. 

As long as you're not expecting SLR levels of clarity, the abundance of detail at full resolution is very impressive. 

Edges are rock solid, skin tones are smooth and complex, fine detail is sensitively handled.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ18 is as much about quality as it is raw power! Its fine spread of manual controls are easy to master & exceptionally fast to use. Images from its 8MPs are superb, making this a safe choice for anyone looking for a competent compact.