Panasonic Lumix FZ-20

[Anna]

Although this camera has been surpassed with more recent models, such as the FZ-30 & FZ-50, I had been wanting to own one ever since I saw my first review just after the initial release.

Around 6 months ago I finally had enough saved to make the purchase, and I am very glad that I did. This was my first camera with more than basic controls, and it took a bit of learning (still much more learning to do) to begin to use it in more than just point and shoot style. Even using auto mode though, it is difficult not to produce great shots. I found the auto mode produces reasonable crisp, clean, and colourful shots for the majority of applications.

Taking off into the wilderness for 3 months gave me a chance to really get down and dirty with this camera though. I also began to experiement with manual controls during this trip, and was highly impressed at just how easy the learning curve was. Within a few days of beginning to shoot manual, I began to use manual virtually exclusively.

The settings for displays through the viewfinder whilst lining up and focussing your shot provide a wealth of information, making it easy to produce a great result. I am a beginner in the world of photography, but the images I have been able to produce with this camera have received some impressive positive feedback in the places I have shown them.

Macro is my favourite kind of photography, and the macro features of the FZ-20 make it simple to produce stunning and crisp images. Even before buying extra macro lenses I produced a macro of a spider that a spider expert at one of our universities was convinced had to be much larger than the size I suggested.

What this camera does to a sunset is stunning, producing beautiful and brilliant colours, enhancing everything in the sky, while maintaining crisp focus on all areas of the image.

I am still very much learning my way around this camera, but the more I learn the more impressed I become. Not being any kind of expert, I am not going to go into technical aspects and such, but wouold highly recommend this camera for anyone that wants better than average shots. It can be purchased reasonably cheaply now, and often found for around $300, so it is quite an affordable little unit.

The only negatives I had found with it so far are that the display and viewfinder are very difficult to use at night, in darker settings. The f range is 2.8-8 and I would like to have something that goes a little more in both directions. With a desire to do a bit of stellar photography I find the maximum shutter at 3 seconds is not enough, and would like longer shutter openings.

Apart from that it is a great camera that anyone would find a breeze to use.

The image below was taken at 5.30am, with the sun just rising in the east, behind me, f2.8 exp 1/400 ISO 80 and gives one of the reasons why I like this unit. (Optimizing it for reduced size restrictions does not do it any favours, though still reasonably good)

[jrossh21]

Intro
I have had my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 for almost 2 years now. I took a photography class in high school and fell in love instantly. Got A's on all my photos that I took with a manual film camera (I forget the brand/model). After the digital scene was really rooted, I went out and got a simple point and shoot Canon. It took decent photos, but there was something missing. I wanted a camera that had the look and feel of an SLR but not as expensive or overwhelming with controls and features. After reading a multitude of reviews, the Panasonic Lumix FZ20 fit my needs perfectly.

Features/Controls
While not being a true SLR, this camera has quite an array of features and controls you can manipulate. Here are a few that stand out to me:
-5 Megapixel
-36-432mm (12x optical zoom)
-F2.8 throughout entire zoom range - which is quite impressive to me
-LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens - anybody who knows about photography knows that Leica makes an awesome lens
-Image Stabilization
-Auto and Manual focus
-Exposure compensation and bracketing
-WB (Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Halogen, Flash, Manual)
-ISO (Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400)
-Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual settings
-Continuous shooting

So, as you can see, it has a lot of controls without being a true SLR camera.

Who this camera is for
This camera is for the photographer that is "on the fence" about going into the SLR arena of photography. It has many of the features that an SLR has, but without the confusion of buying different parts or worrying about which lens to use (if you have multiple for your SLR). I'm sure all you SLR people out there can agree that the SLR world was a bit confusing when you first dove into it.

Dislikes
One thing that really pops out to me is the ISO. If you go beyond 100 ISO you're really going to see a lot of noise in your low light photos. Especially at 400 - it's REALLY noisy then. I usually keep mine on auto or 80-100. Another thing I don't like is the viewfinder. For me at least, it's not very comfortable to use first of all. Second, I don't know how I feel about it being electronic, instead of optical. I think I'd rather see through it via optical/prism instead. Lastly, I've found that if you use a tripod with it and your battery is dead or you need to put another card in, you have to take the tripod mount off, replace the battery or card, then put the mount back on - very inconvenient if you ask me. One other thing is that this camera does not shoot in RAW format. It does, however, shoot in TIFF - not a huge deal, but still worth mentioning.

Conclusion
After having this camera for almost 2 years, I can honestly say that this was definitely an enjoyable experience. I've never had one problem with the camera. This is the perfect transition camera, from point and shoot to SLR - without overwhelming you. If I were to rate this camera when I first bought it 2 years ago, according to who Panasonic is marketing this camera toward; I'd rate it a 9 out of 10. But with time comes better technology, and now the FZ20 has bigger brothers (of which I have not researched, so I only assume they are better as well) - which would lead me to rate this a 7 out of 10.

Sample Photo
Some of you have already seen this, but below is a sample of what the Pansonic Lumix FZ20 can produce (this photo has some Photoshop enhancements as well)

f/4 - 1/60 - ISO 100 - w/ flash

[googlit]

Check out the stats on this camera at flickr.

[Darren Rowse]

great reviews! thanks!