Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 Review

August 12, 2010 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Introduction

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 is a new super-zoom camera featuring a wide-angle 24x zoom lens, 14 megapixel high-speed MOS image sensor and 11fps continuous shooting at full image resolution. Successor to the popular FZ38 model, the bridge-style Panasonic FZ100 compact also offers a 3-inch, 460K-pixel rotating LCD screen, full HD 1080i movie recording in AVCHD format at 30fps, Venus Engine FHD processing engine, Intelligent Resolution technology, a port for an optional stereo microphone, and an accessory shoe for an external flash. The FZ100 retains the Power O.I.S anti-shake system, iA (intelligent auto) mode, manual shooting modes, RAW format support and ISO 1600 mode from its predecessor. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 is available in black and retails for £449.99 / $499.95.

Ease of Use

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 shares a lot in common in terms of its external design with its popular predecessor, the FZ38, with a few key improvements that make an already very capable camera even better. The FZ100 looks to all intents and purposes just like a proper DSLR camera, albeit one with a fixed lens and an electronic viewfinder. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 is dominated by the non-interchangeable 24x zoom lens that provides an incredibly versatile focal range of 25-600mm. While this isn't quite as big as the class-leading 30x zooms of the Fujifilm Finepix HS10 and Olympus SP-800UZ, in real-world use it provides enough width and enough reach to satisfy most photographer's needs.

Panasonic's effective Power O.I.S (Optical Image Stabilization) is again on-board to help combat any unwanted camera shake, although you'll still need to use either a fast shutter speed or a tripod at the telephoto end of that massive zoom. The maximum apertures of F/2.8 at 25mm and F/5.2 at 600mm are pretty good for this class of camera. A stubby barrel with chrome detailing encases and protects the optic when not in use. Note that the lens extends by 6cms when it's fully zoomed and the camera measures almost 15cms in depth, making it quite conspicuous. To help avoid lens flare, a detachable lens hood is supplied in the box, and there's also a clip-on lens cap that you can attach via a thread to one of the available catches for a shoulder strap. On the side of the lens barrel is a switch marked AF/AF Macro/MF. When MF is selected the focus range can be manually set between 1ft and infinity with the central portion of the frame enlarged so sharpness can be more accurately determined. Just below this is a dedicated Focus button that lets you set the focus point anywhere in the frame – useful should you be shooting for example in anything other than Intelligent Auto mode.

In being dominated by that big lens, the front of the FZ100 is very sparse looking, save for a lamp for the AF assist light/self timer to the right of the lens (if viewed head on). A good-sized hand-grip with tactile, leather-effect detailing houses the battery pack in its base. It's good to see a chunky lithium-ion rechargeable battery fitted as standard when some bridge models seem to think that four standard-quality AAs will suffice to get you going out of the box. Above the lens is a swift access pop up flash with a dedicated activation button sitting just behind it at the rear, and there's also now a hot shoe for mounting a supplementary flashgun, something that was missing from the FZ38. The flash coverage is also improved from the FZ38, offering a maximum range of 9.5m at wide-angle. On top of the pop-up flash is a very useful built-in stereo microphone which is retained from the FZ38.

While this is not a camera for slipping into a pocket by any means, measuring 124.3 x 81.2 x 95.2 mm and being more at home in a small shoulder bag, the all-plastic Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 certainly feels like it could withstand the odd knock and scrape of daily life. The camera feels solid and rugged in the palm, while at the same time portably lightweight at just under 500g – a slightly contradictory sounding summation that translates as build quality being 'just as it should be'. It's also pleasing also to find a viewfinder – here electronic (EVF) – which is 0.20" in size, offers 100% field of view and 201K dots, although disappointing that it doesn't improve in any way on the FZ38's viewfinder. There's also a prominent eye relief that juts out clear of the LCD so that you don't automatically smear your nose all over the monitor when you put your eye close to it. A dioptre adjustment wheel is immediately adjacent, enabling the short sighted to use it without clashing spectacles.

Moving to the top of the FZ100, controls start to get a little busier, but not overwhelmingly so. Here you find a comprehensively featured black mode wheel with 14 shooting options. This demonstrates a nice firm action as you twist it around to your chosen setting, and a definite click as you line up each. Ranged around the wheel are the usual suspects of program, aperture priority, shutter priority and manual modes, movie mode, scene modes, night scene, sports, landscape, portrait, plus one for attributing your own custom settings, and Panasonic's much talked about and copied Intelligent Auto Mode.

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Front Rear

Panasonic have tried to make things as easy as possible for the complete beginner by providing this shooting mode, which allows you to point and shoot the camera without having to worry about choosing the right mode or settings. Intelligent Auto Mode automatically determines a number of key criteria when taking a picture, including selecting the most appropriate scene mode (from 5 commonly used presets) and ISO speed, and turning face detection (up to 15 faces, even sideways on), image stabilization and quick auto-focus on. The Intelligent Auto Mode includes Intelligent Exposure, which increases exposure only in the under-exposed areas of the image, Digital Red-eye, which automatically detects and removes red-eye, and AF Tracking, which continually tracks a moving subject and keeps it in focus, without you having to hold the shutter button halfway down as on most other cameras.

Face Recognition is a fun and genuinely useful new feature which "remembers" up to 6 registered faces and then always prioritizes the focus and exposure for that person in future pictures. Very useful for group shots where you want your loved ones to be the centre of attention. You can specify the age of the registered subject, stamp the age of the subject onto your photos, change the focus icon for a particular person, and playback only the photos that contain a certain face. The camera will even automatically switch to Baby mode if someone registered as less than 3 years old appears in the frame!

New to the FZ100's Intelligent Auto functionality is the Motion Deblur mode, an automatic combination of Intelligent ISO Control and Intelligent Exposure. The former automatically adjusts ISO setting and shutter speed according to the subject’s movement while the latter optimizes the exposure. The camera then sets the appropriate shutter speed to keep the subject sharp, raising the ISO speed if necessary. Three different Colour Effects are available in iA mode, including the rather curious Happy mode, which optimizes color, saturation and brightness to make both photos and movies more vivid. Note that the camera's Intelligent Resolution technology is always activated in the iA mode. This makes a standard image look like a higher resolution one by processing the contour areas, texture areas and smooth areas individually, and it also digitally boosts the zoom magnification from 24x to 32x.

In practice the Intelligent Auto Mode system works very well, with the camera seamlessly choosing the most appropriate combination of settings for the current situation. The 6 available scene modes are Macro, Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery and Sunset, so obviously not all situations are covered by Intelligent Auto Mode, but it does work for the majority of the time. It makes it possible for the less experienced photographer to easily take well-exposed, sharp pictures of people, scenery and close-ups by simply pointing and shooting the camera. In addition to Intelligent Auto, also catering for the beginner are a total of 22 scene modes.

Intelligent Resolution is a brand new feature for Panasonic's 2010 range of compacts. It performs two main functions - it either makes a standard image look like a higher resolution one by processing the contour areas, texture areas and smooth areas individually, or it digitally boosts the zoom magnification from 24x to 32x with minimal loss of quality and no reduction in resolution. In both cases, it's easy tell which image was taken with Intelligent Resolution turned on and which ones with it turned off, particularly if viewing onscreen at 100% magnification, as our test shots on the Image Quality page show. The difference isn't quite so apparent on a print up to A3 in size, but I'm not convinced enough to recommend it except when you really need the extra reach - it undoubtedly improves on the digital zoom, but not so much that I'd regularly use it. In addition the Extra Optical Zoom function can be used to extend the zoom range to 50.6x by using the center of the MOS sensor, although with a reduction to 3 megapixel resolution.

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Front Tilting LCD Screen

Also worthy of mention are the white-balance options. As well as the usual range of presets and Auto options, you can set the camera using two measured white balance settings, providing useful shortcuts if you commonly shoot in mixed lighting conditions not covered by the presets. In addition, the Colour Temperature option allows you to dial-in an exact Kelvin value - you effectively get a white-balance preview via the LCD screen.

The useful Motion Picture button has been relocated from the rear to the top of the FZ100, a more logical position that can be operated with your forefinger. As you'd expect, it allows you to start recording a movie with a single push of a button, and then stop recording by pressing the same button, regardless of which shooting mode is currently selected. This is much quicker and more intuitive than having to select the movie mode then press the shutter button, as on most cameras.

The FZ100 can record full HD 1920 x 1280 60i (NTSC) / 50i (PAL) movies at 30 frames per second at either 17Mbps or 13Mbps in the AVCHD (MPEG-4/H.264) format, and also 1280 x 720 at 30fps. In addition it can also record Motion JPEG movies at 320 x 240 at 30fps, 640 x 480 at 30fps, 848 x 480 at 30fps and 1280 x 720 at 30fps, useful as this format can currently be shared more easily. Taking advantage of the new MOS image sensor is the High Speed Movie scene mode, which as the name suggests records high speed movies at 220fps in QVGA size. AVCHD features almost double the recording time in HD quality compared with Motion JPEG, but software support is currently a bit thin on the ground. Panasonic describe it as the best mode for playing back on a HD TV direct from the camera, and Motion JPEG best for email and playing on a computer.

The Creative Movie shooting mode allows you to set the shutter speed, aperture or both settings manually during recording (a Program option is also available). Changing the shutter speed is especially suitable for shooting fast-moving subjects, whilst the ability to control the aperture is convenient when there are several subjects at different distances. In practice this system works well, allowing some really creative effects, but there are a couple of major drawbacks. Firstly the operating sound of the control dial is very audible in the movie, so you'll need to edit the soundtrack later to remove it. Secondly, you can't set the shutter speed to below 1/30 seconds, instantly ruling out more creative slow shutter-speed effects.

The Panasonic FZ100's Intelligent Auto mode also works in movies as well as for still photos. Simply select iA on the mode dial and press the Motion Picture button. The Intelligent Scene Selector automatically determines the most suitable Scene mode from Normal, Portrait, Macro, Scenery, and Low Light, Face Detection automatically detects a face in the frame and adjusts the focus, exposure, contrast, and skin complexion, Intelligent Exposure continually checks the ambient light level and adjusts the exposure setting as conditions change to prevent blown highlights and blocked shadows, and the POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) and Motion Deblur mode help prevent blurring from hand-shake when using the zoom lens.

Stereo sound is recorded during video capture via the large internal mic on top of the camera, which is a big improvement on the rather muffled noises recorded by most digital cameras, helped by the wind cut function which blocks out most of the noise from background wind. For more creative sound recording, an optional stereo microphone (DMW-MS1) is available. The HDMI port allows you to connect the FZ100 to a high-def TV set, but only if you purchase the optional HDMI mini-cable. You can simultaneously take still images while recording movies, although only at a reduced resolution of 3.5-megapixels, while the Video Divide function divides the video into two sections to shorten or delete them in-camera.

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Top Side

You can use the zoom lens during recording and really make the most of that versatile 25-600mm focal range, although the zoom speed is unfortunately much slower than for still images and you can hear the zoom mechanism during recording. Focusing is set via the Focus mode dial on the top of the camera. On the negative side, you'll find that if you choose continuous auto-focus, areas of the video will be blurred before becoming sharp again as the camera tries to refocus. On a more positive note, the the FZ100 is quite fast at re-focusing, and having this system is much better than not being able to auto-focus at all. Hand-holding the FZ100 during movie recording inevitably leads to obvious shake, despite the optical image stabilizer, so for best results you'll need a dedicated video tripod.

Adjacent to the shooting mode wheel is an Off/On slider switch. Flick this to On and the camera powers up in just over 1 second, the rear LCD bursting into life and that zoom extending to maximum wide angle setting, slightly proud of its protective barrel. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28's auto-focus system is very fast to determine focus and there's no shutter delay to speak of when you take a shot, with full 14 megapixel resolution JPEGs committed to memory in just over a second. Located just in front of the slope that forms the top of the camera grip is the main shutter button. Springy to the touch, this is encircled by a lever for operating the zoom, the action of which is impressively smooth and mechanically quiet.

The FZ100's new MOS image sensor means that continuous shooting speeds are vastly improved compared to the FZ38. Enabled via the Burst mode button on top of the camera, you can take 11 frames per second for up to 15 images. Note that continuous auto-focusing isn't available at the 11fps rate, only single auto-focusing, which can make it tricky to keep fast-moving subjects sharp. AF-Continuous is only available at 5fps or 2fps. Even faster rates of 40 and 60 fps are available, albeit at reduced resolutions of 5 megapixels and 2.5 megapixels. Perhaps most impressive of all, these continuous rates apply equally to both JPEG and RAW images, so there's no speed penalty when shooting in RAW other than having to wait longer for the camera to process all the images.

As with all current Panasonic models, the FZ100 has an anti-shake system, on this model the Power O.I.S. variant. Turn it on via the Stabilizer option in the main menu and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 automatically compensates for camera shake, which is a slight blurring of the image that typically occurs at slow shutter speeds when the camera is hand held. There are three different modes, Mode 1 is on all the time including image composition, Mode 2 is only on when you press the shutter button, and there's also an Auto mode. In practice I found that it does make a noticeable difference, as shown in the examples on the Image Quality page. You don't notice that the camera is actually doing anything different when anti-shake is turned on, just that you can use slower shutter speeds than normal and still take sharp photos. Thankfully leaving the anti-shake system on didn't negatively affect the battery-life, with the camera managing just over 400 shots using the supplied rechargeable Li-ion battery.

The High Sensitivity mode also helps combat the effects of camera shake. When this scene mode is selected, the camera automatically raises the ISO speed from 1600 up to a maximum of 6400 and therefore allows for a faster shutter speed. This mode allows you to handhold the DMC-FZ100 without using the flash and get more natural results, whilst at the same time freezing subject movement more successfully. There are some obvious drawbacks with this special scene mode, principally a significant reduction in resolution to a maximum of 3 megapixels in the 4:3 aspect ratio, and the Quality is also set the the lowest level. The user guide states that "you can take pictures suitable for 4x6 inch printing" using the High Sensitivity mode. You also need to select the right scene mode and therefore have some idea about when it is applicable to your subject.

The Intelligent ISO menu option is the third way in which the DMC-FZ100 attempts to avoid subject blur in low-light conditions. The camera automatically sets the appropriate shutter speed AND ISO speed for the subject that you are taking pictures of. So if you're taking shots of a child indoors, the DMC-FZ100 automatically raises the ISO and in turn the shutter speed to avoid blurring the child's movement. If the subject is still, then the camera chooses a lower sensitivity and slower shutter speed. It's a clever idea that works well in practice, with the camera generally choosing an appropriate combination of shutter and ISO speed. You can also limit the maximum ISO speed that the camera can choose, which I'd strongly advise, as the fastest available setting of ISO 1600 produces very noisy images - ISO 800 is a better choice.

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Memory Card Slot Battery Compartment

Moving to the rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100, the left-hand side is dominated by the new 3.0-inch, 460,000-dot free-angle LCD screen, a big improvement on the FZ38's smaller, lower-resolution and fixed LCD. The rotating, free-angle LCD monitor, which is hinged on the left side of the camera (looking from the rear), can be flipped out and twisted through 270 degrees. You can use the screen as a waist-level viewfinder, holding the camera overhead, and even for turning the FZ100 on yourself for arm-length self-portraits. There's also the added benefit of folding the screen away against the camera body to protect it when stored in a camera bag, preventing it from becoming marked or scratched. The high-res, free-angle LCD screen is much more than just a novelty - it's a lot more versatile than the usual combination of optical viewfinder and fixed LCD, providing new angles of view and enhancing your overall creativity. Above all, it's a fun way of composing your images. The new screen is bright and clear as a means of composition whether shooting inside or out, and if visibility does suffer in sunlight there's the option to switch to the electronic viewfinder via the dual EVF/LCD button on the camera's rear, though 90% of the time the LCD was my preferred method of composition.

Above the LCD screen and to the right of the viewfinder, just like you'd find on a budget DSLR, is the aforementioned EVF/LCD and a useful AF/AE lock button. Alongside and falling naturally under your right thumb is a very welcome rear control dial for easily changing the aperture and shutter speed, which effectively replaces the FZ38's rather fiddly joystick control. Depending on which shooting mode is currently selected, this dial can also be pressed in to switch to setting the exposure compensation.

Beneath the control dial is the Display button. A quick press either activates or deactivates the number of shooting settings displayed on screen, calls up a live histogram alongside them or displays a nine zone compositional grid for those experimenting with the Rule of Thirds. Next to this is a self-explanatory Playback button, and underneath a familiar four-way control pad that you'd expect to find on most digital cameras.

At its heart is a Menu/Set button, for calling up the user-friendly if uninspired looking regular menus on the LCD screen. The menus comprise three separate folders; the first for shooting/playback options – dramatically pared down if you're using Intelligent Auto mode – the second for Motion Picture options and the third for the generic set up menu. A subsequent press when you've located the various options goes on to effect any changes, which are quick and precise. Ranged around this central menu/set button are four pads. Although these are used for tabbing through menu options or captured images, press them when in capture mode (and you haven't summoned up a menu) and, starting from the top, you find an exposure compensation button, one for accessing the ISO speed, a third for the Function option, which can be configured to activate one of seven key settings, while the fourth provides access to the self timer options.

Underneath the four-way control pad is a combined Quick Menu / Delete button. This opens a pull down Quick Menu containing a smattering of useful settings appears on screen to save you having to delve into the main menus for similar. This enables on-the-fly access to an Aladdin's cave of options, including the likes of film mode, flash modes, metering (spot, centre weighted and average), auto focus areas (or opt for face detection mode), white balance, aspect ratio, image resolution and image quality, movie recording quality and LCD mode. Like other Panasonic Lumix compacts you get the choice here to brighten the overall display ('power LCD' mode) or opt for the more useful high-angle setting, which aids screen visibility when you're holding the camera at arm's length for a shot over the heads of a crowd. The same button is also marked with the familiar trashcan icon for deleting unwanted shots quickly.

At the base of the FZ100 we find a metal screw thread for a tripod, alongside which is a sliding compartment that houses both the chunky rechargeable battery – necessarily providing a good long life as there's no optical viewfinder to fall back on as a power saver – and a slot for an optional SD / SDHC card. The right hand side of the camera has a slot for threading through a strap, as does the left, which also houses an AV out / Digital port and an HDMI socket for connecting the FZ100 to a HD television or monitor. Unfortunately, Panasonic have decided to cut costs and not include either a component or HDMI cable as standard in the box, which means that you'll have to purchase one separately to take advantage of this camera's HD connectivity. There's also a compartment for the optional Microphone and Remote Control accessories.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 14 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5.5Mb.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 produced images of very good quality during the review period. The 1/2.33 inch, 14 megapixel MOS sensor used in the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 produces noise-free images at ISO 100-200, with limited noise and colour desaturation starting to appear at ISO 400. ISO 800 exhibits quite visible noise, smearing of fine detail and colour desaturation, and ISO 1600 is even noisier, although still usable for small prints.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 dealt very well with chromatic aberrations, with limited purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations. The pop-up flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and adequate exposure. The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 60 seconds allowing you to capture plenty of light. Anti-shake is a feature that works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range.

Macro performance is amazing, allowing you to focus as close as 1 cm away from the subject (although it's difficult to get the lighting correct at such a close distance). The images were a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpening setting and ideally require further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can change the in-camera setting if you don't like the default results. The new Intelligent Resolution feature either makes a standard image look sharper, albeit with some unwanted artefacts appearing, or it digitally increases the 24x optical zoom to 32x, again with a slight loss in quality.

Noise

There are 5 ISO settings available on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

 
 

Focal Range

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100's 24x zoom lens provides a focal length of 25-600mm in 35mm terms, as demonstrated below.

25mm

600mm

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft at the default sharpening setting. You can change the in-camera sharpening level if you don't like the default look.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

   

File Quality

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 has 2 different image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

14M Fine (5.70Mb) (100% Crop) 14M Normal (3.37Mb) (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 handled chromatic aberrations excellently during the review. There's very slight purple fringing between areas of high contrast, but it's only noticeable on really close inspection, as shown in the example below.

Example 1 (100% Crop)

Example 2 (100% Crop)

Macro

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 offers a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 1cm away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro Shot

100% Crop

Flash

The flash settings on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 are Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off, and Flash Synchro. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (25mm)

Flash On - Wide Angle (25mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (600mm)

Flash On - Telephoto (600mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64

And here are a couple of portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Forced On setting or the Auto/Red-eye Reduction option caused any amount of red-eye.

Forced On

Forced On (100% Crop)
   

Auto/Red-eye Reduction

Auto/Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100's maximum shutter speed is 60 seconds in Manual shooting mode and the Starry Sky Mode scene mode, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 15 seconds at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.

Night Shot

Night Shot (100% Crop)

Anti Shake

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 has an anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here are some 100% crops of the images to show the results. As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper than with anti shake turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length

Anti Shake Off (100% Crop)

Anti Shake On (100% Crop)

1/20th / 25mm
1/25th / 600mm

Intelligent Resolution

The Intelligent Resolution feature either makes a standard image look like a higher resolution one by processing the contour areas, texture areas and smooth areas individually, or it digitally boosts the zoom magnification from 24x to 32x.

Off

On

   

i.Zoom

 
 
   

Off

i.Zoom

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 camera, which were all taken using the 14 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Panasonic RAW (RW2) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 9 second movie is 17.9Mb in size.

Product Images

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Front of the Camera

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Front of the Camera / Turned On

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Isometric View

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Isometric View

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Front of the Camera / Flash Raised

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Front of the Camera / Lens Hood Fitted

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Front of the Camera / Lens Hood Fitted

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Rear of the Camera / LCD Screen Closed

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Rear of the Camera / LCD Screen Open

 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Rear of the Camera / Turned On
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Rear of the Camera / Main Menu
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Rear of the Camera / Quick Menu
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Rear of the Camera / Tilting LCD Screen
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Rear of the Camera / Tilting LCD Screen
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Rear of the Camera / Tilting LCD Screen
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Front of the Camera / Tilting LCD Screen
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Top of the Camera
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Bottom of the Camera
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Side of the Camera
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Side of the Camera
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Front of the Camera
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Front of the Camera
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Memory Card Slot
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The popular FZ38 camera is a hard act to follow, but the new Lumix DMC-FZ100 propels Panasonic back to the super-zoom leading pack, with a host of new features and usability enhancements that add up to one very capable do-it-all camera. The FZ100 only narrowly misses out on our highest award thanks to poor image quality at higher ISO speeds and the rather eye-watering price tag.

With the addition of a 24x zoom lens, 11fps burst shooting for JPEG and RAW files, large free-angle LCD screen, full HD 1080p movie mode recording, rear control dial and external hotshoe, the DMC-FZ100 is a far more capable and also more intuitive camera than its predecessor. It may not be able to match the 30x zoom or DSLR-like manual zoom and focus ring controls of its main rival, the Fujifilm HS10, but importantly it's much faster to use when shooting RAW files, something that drove us mad when reviewing the HS10.

There is one key area where the Panasonic DMC-FZ100 doesn't improve on its rivals or its predecessor, though, namely the poorer image quality once you get above ISO 400. Noise is apparent at ISO 400 but becomes much more obvious at ISO 800 along with smearing of fine details, with the fastest speed of ISO 1600 being something of a last resort. Although this is a similar performance to the year-old FZ38, we'd hoped for some improvements in this area. The merely average quality electronic viewfinder is also disappointingly the same as the one on the FZ38.

In these tough economic times, price is also a big concern. £449.99 / $499.95 is a lot to ask though for what is still essentially a fixed lens camera with a comparatively tiny image sensor, and is certainly a lot more than the £329.99 / $399.95 launch price of the FZ38. That said, there's no denying that the FZ100 is a more fully-featured, easier to use and faster camera than its predecessor, and with full HD movie recording on-board, it could replace your video camcorder. Just like the Fujifilm HS10, it also makes less or more sense depending on what you're comparing it to. Taken as a super-zoom, it's one of the most expensive models on the market, but also one of the most capable in terms of features. As a DSLR alternative, the FZ100 clearly makes a lot of economic sense if you want a similar handling experience but don't mind a drop in image quality.

If you can stomach the price, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 is certainly a lot of still and video camera for the money, offering a relatively compact all-in-one solution that will more than satisfy most photographer's needs.

4.5 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 5
Features 5
Ease-of-use 4.5
Image quality 4
Value for money 4

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 from around the web.

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The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 is a 14 megapixels digital camera with an ultra-wide stabilized 24X optical zoom lens, equivalent to 25-600mm. This prosumer ultra-zoom uses a CMOS sensor to give it high-speed capabilities include full 1080p video capture with stereo sound, 11 FPS continuous drive and high-speed video recording. It is ergonomically shaped like a miniature SLR and has plenty of external controls to access its expansive feature set.
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Specifications

Recording

Face Recognition Photo
Optical Image Stabilizer Photo & Movie
Intelligent ISO Control Photo
Face Detection Photo & Movie
Intelligent Scene Selector Photo (Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Sunset, Macro) & Movie (Portrait, Scenery, Low Light, Macro)
Intelligent Exposure Photo & Movie
AF Tracking Photo
Motion Deblur mode Yes
Digital Red Eye Correction (Red-Eye Removal) Photo
Intelligent Resolution Technology Photo & Movie
File Format Still Image: JPEG(DCF/Exif2.3) / Motion picture: AVCHD, QuickTime Motion JPEG
AVCHD Lite REC NTSC / PAL (Depends on Region)
Mode Switch [Playback] button
One-Touch Movie Button Yes
Recording mode (Mode Dial / Mode Button) Intelligent AUTO, P(Program) mode, A(Aperture Priority) mode, S(Shutter Priority) mode, M(Manual) mode, Creative Movie mode, My Color mode, Portrait mode, Scenery mode, Sports mode, Night Portrait mode, Close-up mode, Scene mode, Custom
Still Image Scene Mode Panorama Assist, Party, Candle Light, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Sunset, High Sensitivity, Flash Burst, Panning, Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Aerial Photo, Photo Frame, High Speed Movie
Advanced Scene Mode Portrait mode : Normal, Soft Skin, Outdoor, Indoor, Creative / Scenery mode : Normal, Nature, Architecture, Creative / Sports mode : Normal, Outdoor, Indoor, Creative / Close-up : Flower, Food, Objects, Creative / Night Portrait : Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Illuminations, Creative
Movie Scene Mode Portrait, Soft Skin, Self-Portrait, Scenery, Low Light, Food, Party, Candle Light, Sunset, Beach, Snow, High Sensitivity, High Speed Movie / (Activated by selecting Still Picture Scene Mode then pressing movie button. Still Picture Scene Modes without corresponding Movie Scene Mode is recorded in Normal Mode)
Continuous Shooting Mode Full-Resolution Image, 11 frames/sec Max. 15 images / High-speed Burst Shooting: max. 60 frames/sec (recorded in 2.5M for 4:3, 3M for 3:2, 3.5M for 16:9, 2M for 1:1)
Flash Burst Continuous Shooting Mode Max. 5 images (Standard mode)
Motion Picture Recording [4:3] VGA: 640 x 480 pixels, 30fps (Motion JPEG) QVGA: 320 x 240 pixels, 30 fps (Motion JPEG) / [16:9]WVGA: 848 x 480 pixels, 30 fps (Motion JPEG) / [HD Movie]1920x1080 pixels,NTSC Mode: NTSC model: 60i / PAL model: 50i (AVCHD, FSH: 17Mbps / FH:13Mbps ) / 1280x720 pixels, NTSC Mode: NTSC model: 60p / PAL model: 50p (AVCHD Lite, SH: 17Mbps / H:13Mbps ) / 30fps (Motion JPEG)
AVCHD or AVCHD Lite with picture quality set to [FSH or SH] (Continuous recordable time) approx.110 min (FSH), 130 min (SH)
MOTION JPEG with picture quality set to [HD] (Continuous recordable time) approx. 160 min
AVCHD or AVCHD Lite with picture quality set to [FSH or SH] (Actual recordable time) approx.60 min (FSH), 70 min (SH)
MOTION JPEG with picture quality set to [HD] (Actual recordable time) approx.90 min
Exposure Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual, Program Shift(Program AE mode)
Exposure Compensation 1/3 EV step, +/-3 EV
Backlight Compensation Yes (only in Intelligent AUTO mode)
Auto (AE) Bracketing +/- 1/3 EV ~3EV step, 3 frames
Light Metering Intelligent Multiple / Center Weighted / Spot
ISO Sensitivity Auto / i.ISO / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / High Sensitivity (ISO 1600-6400)
Max Auto ISO Setting Yes
Aspect Ratio 4:3 / 3:2 / 16:9 / 1:1
Still Picture Recording [4:3]4320x3240(14M) / 3648x2736(10M) / 3072x2304(7M) / 2560x1920(5M) / 2048X1536(3M)?/ 640X480(0.3M) / [3:2]4320x2880 (12.5M) / 3648x2432 (9M) / 3072x2048 (6M) / 2560x1712 (4.5M) / 2048x1360 (2.5M) / 640x424 (0.3M) / [16:9]4320x2432 (10.5M) / 3648x2056 (7.5M) / 3072x1728 (5.5M) / 2560x1440 (3.5M) / 1920x1080 (2M) / 640x360 (0.2M) / [1:1] 3232x3232 (10.5M) / 2736x2736 (7.5M) / 2304x2304 (5.5M) / 1920x1920 (3.5M) / 1536x1536 (2.5M)/ 480x480 (0.2M)
Image Quality Fine / Standard / RAW+Fine / RAW+Standard / RAW
White Balance Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Flash / Halogen / Color Temperature / White Set 1 / White Set 2 / (Selectable at Normal Portrait, Soft Skin, Creative Portrait, Normal Sports, Creative Sports, Objects Close-up, Creative Close-up, Baby, Pet, High Sensitivity, Panorama Assist mode? / White Balance Adjustment (2-axis adjustable, ±9steps each, Blue/Amber and Magenta/Green bias)
Quick Menu Yes
Color Mode / Color Effect (Film Mode) Standard / Dynamic / Nature / Smooth / Vibrant / Nostalgic / Standard B&W / Dynamic B&W / Smooth B&W / My Film 1, 2 / Multi Film / (My Color Mode) Expressive /Retro / Pure / Elegant / Monochrome / High Dynamic / Dynamic Art / Dynamic B&W / Silhouette / Pinhole / Film Grain / Custom / Happy (only in iA mode) / *Film Mode and My Color Mode are working for movie recording, also.
Picture Adjustment Contrast ±2steps / Sharpness ±2steps / Saturation ±2steps / Noise Reduction ±2steps / (can be adjusted in Film Mode)
Real-time histogram Yes
Composition Guide line Yes (2 pattern)
Auto Review 1sec, 2sec, Hold, OFF
Easy Zoom / Zoom Resume No / Yes
Optical Zoom in Motion Picture Yes
Macro Zoom No
Orientation Detector Yes
Scene Mode Help Screen Yes
Self Timer 2sec / 10sec / 10sec[3 pictures]
Focus Icon Select Yes (in Face Recognition only)

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