Panasonic Lumix FZ-50

[pedromiravaz]

Does anyone own this camera? From what i've read, it's fast (low lag), has a good zoom, and has the beauty of manual zoom and focus on the ring.

I'm considering buying it. Any opinions? How about other cameras in the same price range that could compete with it?

[Darren Rowse]

seems to get pretty good reviews from what I've seen.

[mark robinson]

I have used an fz20 for nearly 2 years and love it, especially the 12x optical zoom and the excellent macro setting. A friend has the fz30 and is similarly impressed. I see no reason why the latest model shouldn't be even better. I believe it has had good reviews.

[Norjef]

I bought the FZ30 in June of '06 (from what I can learn from the Panasonic website, the primary difference is that they bumped up the number of megapixels on the FZ50), and like it a great deal. It is nice to be able to use the automatic features, but be able to do the manual focus to capture a specific portion of an image. Like was mentioned before, it is quick, and I have had no significant issues with it.

[hedzup]

I have an FZ50 and so far have had a real positive experience with this camera. Please note that my digital camera experience is limited but I will share some of the things that I like about this camera and also some of the things that still need work.



The things I like
Lens: crisp sharp photos
Rapid shutter response (though I hear that it is a little slower than earlier models because of the 10 Megapixel transfer to memory)
Solid feel and build.
Easy to navigate menus and functions
12xzoom on the lens. Panasonic claims you can get higher zoom than this if you use a resolution less than 10 megapixels but this doesn't sound any different to taking the picture at full resolution and then cropping later.

Some of the cons:

Noise: The sensor is certainly fairly noisy. The noise reductions software built into the camera works but tends to soften the photo. You are usually better off taking the photo in raw mode and fixing noise later.
No way to estimate distance for manual focus. My older Sony Cybershot allowed you to set focus to infinity or a number of distance settings. I like the manual focus ring but it would be useful to have distances printed on the ring or shown in the viewfinder.
Doesn't have a "perfect Picture" button - I guess I'll have to keep practicing... :)

[Gravecat]

I've owned an FZ50 for a couple of months now, and love it to bits. But I have to partly agree with one thing hedzup said.

Noise can be a problem with this camera -- but only really at the higher ISO settings, and the noise reduction feature isn't particularly intrusive or detrimental when set to "low". Yes, ISO 1600 is horribly noisy, but for some shots, that's actually exactly the effect I want, so it's not all bad. :D

Overall, great camera. Very fast, excellent battery life (and fairly quick charging), great zoom, awesome lens in general, and it's loaded with enough features that I don't even know how half of them work yet.

I read a *lot* of reviews for various bridge cameras when I was upgrading from my old Samsung Digimax 240, and the vast majority seem to say that it's the best money can buy without getting a digital SLR. From what I've used of it so far, I don't doubt that. :)

[bindibadgi]

I have had the fz30 pretty much since it came out (previously had the fz15). I've been very happy with the camera, and agree with the above posts (except I've got to say it's really quite a trick to get the exposure good enough to avoid lots of noise). I certainly agree with the gripe about the focus though. I'd kill for the ability to lock on to infinity focus, since the EVF is just not up to the task in low light. But that's just my pet peeve. Overall it is really a superb "prosumer" camera.

For a travel camera it is pretty much the perfect all-in-one.

Looking at the fz50 though, I wonder if it's worth the extra $. YMMV but the way I see it 10MP is just not a big leap over 8 (on the small sensor I would strongly argue that it is worse, because it makes your photos less sharp - unfortunately you can't argue with the laws of physics and win). The only other major difference I see is that the screen has a lower resolution than the fz30 (?!?).

I'd suggest going for the fz30 if you can find it. You'll probably save a bit of cash and it's still a hell of a camera!

[BlueEyedNanuk]

I got the Fz50 in March and am still learning all the tricks and menu setting options. I have shot some great pictures and love the high resolution. I shoot a lot of Skateboarding and Surfing pictures and like the fast burst modes. I've found that the SanDisk ExtremeIII keeps up nicely with the burst rates. I chose this camera over the Rebel because it has the manual focus/zoom rings and the primary request of the skaters was to shoot HQ Video.

I would like to know if anyone has any suggestions on getting a fast shutter without all that big of a deal on field of depth. Would be great if I could get an all-in-focus, yet stopped action setting figured out. I'm new to all the f-stop and shutter setting availabilities and sometimes get confused trying to predict a setting of a fast moving sk8r without them giving me the routine in advance of the shot.

With photoshop cs2, i've produced some really awesome posters (20"x30").

[bostonwolf]

I have an FZ-30, which is essentially the same camera with an 8mp processor.

If you're aware that noise is an issue in anything less then good light, this is a great camera and has full manual modes.

I use a Kingston high speed card and have had good results with it.

[higabyte]

i didnt care much for the noise, i ended up returning it and getting the D50. I'd recommend just paying a couple extra bucks and getting a DSLR vice the P&S...

Here are a couple pictures I took with the FZ-50 though...

http://higabyte.com/images/fz50/Iraq-Sunset-2-Resized.jpg

http://higabyte.com/images/fz50/Iraq-Sunset-Motion-Resized.jpg

http://higabyte.com/images/fz50/Lake-Resized.jpg

[BlueEyedNanuk]

I have actually learned the tricks and started making stunning pictures. I live on the beach in Florida and have shot some awesome Surfing Pictures, Skateboarders and even Beach Portraits.

For example:
http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g103/keibahh/Surfers/

I still haven't set up a main forum for viewing my pictures but, I am getting a really nice portfolio together which will be shared soon.

I really like the camera, and for the cost, I think I'm shooting better pictures than the guys out there with the $1500 Canons and Nikons. Maybe it's composition technique, but I'm happy with the camera. My son likes the video feature on the camera, which saved me from buying a whole other camera.

I am using a Sandisk Extreme III 2gig SD card. I Also have a HiDef Wideangle lens and use an external flash to avoid the shadowing. It also gives me great color and detail on the beach in broad daylight!

Later I'll add a link to some of the more recent shots I've done on the beach.

Jon





I have an FZ-30, which is essentially the same camera with an 8mp processor.

If you're aware that noise is an issue in anything less then good light, this is a great camera and has full manual modes.

I use a Kingston high speed card and have had good results with it.

[higabyte]

i will agree, the video function on the FZ50 is amazing! I loved it!

[Kerry]

HI. hope its OK for me to ask a question.
Had my FZ50 about 4 months, as old kodak 650 could not shoot raw.
My question is " Do we use the hi, lo,average settings for contrast and saturation in the menu, and is hi or lo better quality wise???
which is best?
To boost both on camera, or in Photoshop later??
Also, i like raw, so does the menu setting change anything anyway??
Gotta luv fz!
kerry

[Kerry]

Mine is a FZ50 .
i usually dont go past 200 iso, and keep away from the extreme ends of the lens. mostly between 50mm and 250.
had no trouble with noise so far, and everything comes out crisp.
nice solid feeling camera, and manual focus ring is handy.
Kerry Australia

[amit]

I too have FZ50 which I got last month after combing around for reviews etc. for a couple of months. Except the noise at higher ISOs(starts at 800 & worsens above it), haven't found any other negative points yet! :)

[pavelz]

I love this camera. My wife has a D50 and we were both shooting a space shuttle launch on May 31. My pictures came out better, more vivid, plus the Lumix has a bigger zoom.