Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 Review

August 27, 2015 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Introduction

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 (also known as the FZ300 in the USA) is a weather-proof super-zoom camera featuring a wide-angle 24x Leica zoom lens with a constant f/2.8 maximum aperture throughout its 25-600mm range. Successor to the FZ200 model, the bridge-style Panasonic FZ330 compact offers 4K video recording at 25/24fps including the ability to extract high-resolution 8-megapixel images, brand new Venus Engine, 3-inch 1040K-pixel rotating LCD touch-screen, 1.44-million-dot OLED electronic viewfinder with 0.7x magnification, 12.1 megapixel high-sensitivity MOS image sensor and 12fps continuous shooting without autofocus and 6fps with autofocus. Other key features include Light Speed auto-focus with new Depth from Defocus (DFD) technology, a port for an optional stereo microphone and an accessory shoe for an external flash, the latest 5-Axis Hybrid O.I.S + system, full range of manual shooting modes, RAW format support, 1cm macro mode, built-in wi-fi connectivity, and an ISO range of 100-6400. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 is available in black and retails for £499.99 / $599.99.

Ease of Use

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 is very similar in terms of its external design to its predecessor, the FZ200, so a lot of the comments that we made in that review apply equally to this latest model. once again, the FZ330 looks to all intents and purposes just like a proper DSLR camera, albeit one with a large fixed lens and an electronic viewfinder. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 is dominated by the non-interchangeable 24x zoom lens that provides a very versatile focal range of 25-600mm. While this isn't as big as some of the FZ330's key competitors, in real-world use it provides enough width and reach to satisfy most photographer's needs.

The maximum aperture of F/2.8 throughout the entire zoom range is still very rare for this class of camera. This is a big advantage for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 as it allows you to get sharper results and capture more "keepers" at the extreme ends of the zoom range - in our view, we'd rather have a shorter, faster lens than a longer, slower one. Whether Panasonic can convince people that a faster lens makes more difference to their photography than a longer lens remains to be seen though.

Panasonic's latest 5-Axis Hybrid O.I.S + system is 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. When shooting video, Active Mode is automatically added to the O.I.S. system. This compensates for the extra blur that can occur when you're walking and shooting video at the same time. A stubby barrel encases and protects the optic when not in use. Note that the lens extends by 6cms when it's fully zoomed and the DMC-FZ330 measures almost 15cms in depth, making it quite conspicuous.

To help avoid lens flare, a petal-shaped 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. Panasonic have also applied a Nano Surface Coating coating to the lens, which should further help to avoid any unwanted ghosting or flare effects.

On the side of the lens barrel is a button marked AF Macro/Focus. If AFS/AFF or AFC is selected via the new switch on the rear of the camera, this button allows you to toggle between the three Macro modes (AF Macro, Macro Zoom and Macro Off). There is also a new rocker switch above the AF Macro/Focus. When the MF focus mode is selected, this allows you to quickly focus manually using your left forefinger, a bit like using a conventional manual focus ring on a lens. When MF is selected the focus range can be manually set between 1cm and infinity with the central portion of the frame enlarged so sharpness can be more accurately determined.

Focus Peaking is also available on the DMC-FZ330. When enabled, it graphically shows the peak of focus in the MF and AF+MF modes by displaying an outline around the subject. The detection level can be set to 'High' or ‘Low’ and a colour can be selected In ‘High’ these are light blue, yellow or green and in 'Low' blue, orange or white can be selected.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Front of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

The FZ330 also has a vertical zoom rocker on the side of the lens barrel, which provides an alternative way of zooming to the main fore-finger operated lever. It proves very useful for hand-holding the camera when shooting video, or for operating the shutter button with your right hand and zoom with your left.

The front of the FZ330 is very sparse looking, save for a lamp for the AF assist light/self timer to the left of the lens (when 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 switch sitting alongside it, and there's also a hot shoe for mounting an external flashgun. The flash coverage offers a maximum range of 13.5m at wide-angle. On top of the pop-up flash are two small holes for a very useful built-in stereo microphone which is retained from the FZ200.

While this is not a camera for slipping into a pocket by any means, measuring 131.6 x 91.5 x 117.1 mm (slightly bigger than the FZ200) and being more at home in a small shoulder bag, the all-plastic Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 certainly feels like it could withstand the odd knock or two. The camera feels solid and rugged in the palm, while at the same time portably lightweight at just over 600g. It's also very pleasing to find a viewfinder – here electronic (EVF) – which is now 0.39" in size, offers 100% field of view and has an improved resolution of 1440k dots and a magnification of 0.7x, a big advance on previous FZ models. 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 FZ330, we find a comprehensive shooting mode wheel with 11 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 one. Ranged around the wheel are the usual suspects of program, aperture priority, shutter priority and manual modes, movie mode, Custom modes for for attributing your own customised settings, panorama mode, scene modes, creative controls and Panasonic's much talked about and copied Intelligent Auto Mode.

There's a handy Motion Picture button on the top of the FZ330 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. Also present are customisable Fn1 and Fn2 buttons and an activity LED for the new wi-fi functions.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

The Wi-Fi function (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n) lets you use your smartphone to change the DMC-FZ330's settings (focus setting, exposure compensation, ISO, WB and Photo Styles) and even fire the shutter button remotely (including interval video recordings), while the auto transfer function automatically backs up your photos onto a tablet. You can also use GPS data from your smartphone to record the shooting location onto your images. The FZ330 offers a time lapse function in which you can set the time interval and the number of images to take, plus a multi-exposure option that lets you combine up to four exposures in a single frame.

The DMC-FZ330 offers both AVCHD video capture and MP4, with the latter offering 4K recording at in 3840x2160 at 25p (50Hz) or 24p in MP4 with full-time auto-focusing. Interestingly, if you want to shoot the maximum 4K video – i.e twice as high quality as Full HD – then a switch to MP4 mode is required before you can implement that setting on the Panasonic, with the choice of 25 or 24 frames per second capture speed. In other words 4K shooting is not available with AVCHD compression. You can also extract a still image from a 4K sequence, ending up with the equivalent of an 8 megapixel photo at 30fps. Two high speed options are also available - 100fps in 720p or 200fps in VGA quality.

There are three 4K Photo functions - 4K Burst Shooting, 4K Burst (Start/Stop) and 4K Pre-burst which all record continuous 8 megapixel stills at a 30fps shooting rate. 4K Burst allows you to continuously record 8 megapixel images at 30fps, 4K Pre-Burst does the same but for one second prior to and one second after pressing the shutter button in order, giving you 60 frames to choose from, and 4K Burst (S/S) allows you to playback your video, pause at the chosen moment, and use the shutter button to mark a chosen frame from the video and save it as a single 8 megapixel frame.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 is an intriguing prospect for would-be videographers, providing access as it does to the same creative exposure P,A,S,M modes selectable when shooting stills. You also get access to all the Photo Style and Creative Control modes when shooting video. ISO settings, white balance and AF tracking are also all accessible when shooting movies. The normal bugbear of exterior location shoots is also dealt with thanks to a wind cut option among the four screen's worth of menu settings in motion picture mode.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Top of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

The DMC-FZ330's Intelligent Auto mode works for movies as well as for still photos. Simply select the iA shooting mode on top of the camera, then the Movie Record button. The Intelligent Scene Selector automatically determines the most suitable Scene mode from five options - Portrait, Scenery, Low Light and Close-up or Normal modes. 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. The Image Stabilizer helps prevent blurring from hand-shake when using a compatible lens or via the camera body. One great benefit of the touch-screen control system is that Touch Auto Focusing is available in movie recording, enabling pro-level rack-like focusing simply by pointing at the subject on the LCD screen.

Adjacent to the shooting mode dial is an Off/On slider switch. Flick this to On and the camera powers up in just under 1 second, the rear LCD bursting into life and the zoom extending to maximum wide angle setting, slightly proud of its protective barrel. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330's Light Speed auto-focus system lives up to its name and is very fast to determine focus at around 0.09 seconds, plus there's virtually no shutter delay to speak of when you take a shot, with full 12 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 FZ330's high-speed MOS image sensor allows for some impressive continuous shooting speeds. Enabled via the Burst mode button on top of the camera, you can take 12 frames per second. Note that continuous auto-focusing isn't available at the 12fps rate, only single auto-focusing, which can make it tricky to keep fast-moving subjects sharp. AF-Continuous is only available at 6fps, which still pretty fast! An even faster rate of 60fps is available, albeit at a reduced resolution 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.

Moving to the rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330, the left-hand side is dominated by the 3.0-inch, 1040K-dot free-angle LCD screen. 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 FZ330 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 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 LVF button on the camera's rear.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 Zoomed Out

The most immediately noticeable touch function is the ability to use the 1-area AF mode to focus on your main subject simply by touching it on the LCD. If the subject then moves, the DMC-FZ330 cleverly follows it around the screen using the the AF tracking function. If the subject exits the frame entirely, simply recompose and tap it again to start focusing. Impressive stuff that makes focusing on off-center subjects fast and intuitive. It is a little too easy to accidentally press the screen and set the focus point to the wrong area for the current subject, but a simple tap in the middle of the LCD will center the AF point (or you can turn this feature off altogether).

The size of the AF point itself can also be changed via an interactive onscreen slider. If Face Detection is enabled, the 1-area AF point can be manually set to a person's eye to help ensure that the most important part of a portrait is in focus. If Multi-area AF rather than 1-area AF is enabled, then you can select a group of 4, 5 or 6 AF points from 9 different areas, again providing some manual control over what is traditionally a rather hit and miss affair.

When Intelligent Auto is switched on, the DMC-FZ330 changes the scene mode used when you touch the subject, for example selecting portrait mode if you touch a face and macro mode if you touch a close-up flower. If you prefer to manually focus rather than use the snappy AF, you can magnify any part of the subject by 1x, 5x or 10x by simply dragging the image around the screen. The final touchscreen ability from an image composition point of view is the ability to release the shutter, with a small icon on the right hand screen enabling this functionality, and then a single on-screen tap all that's required to take the picture.

All of the menu options can now be changed via the touchscreen interface. You can also control image playback by touching the screen, with the ability to tap a thumbnail to see the full-size version, scroll through your images by dragging them from side to side, and magnifying them up to 16x.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 In-hand

On the right of the electronic viewfinder is the aforementioned Focus switch with is a a useful AF/AE lock button at its centre. Alongside and falling naturally under your right thumb is a very welcome rear control dial for easily changing the aperture and shutter speed. Beneath the control dial are the Playback and Display buttons. A quick press of the later button 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.

Underneath is 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 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 a button for accessing the ISO speed, second for the white balance settings, a third for the self timer/4K options, and a fourth for setting the AF point.

Underneath the four-way control pad is a combined Quick Menu / Fn3 / 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 FZ330 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 / SDXC card. The right-hand side of the camera has a slot for threading through a strap (as does the left) and also houses a Remote Control port, AV Out / Digital port and an HDMI socket for connecting the FZ330 to a HD television or monitor. There's also a small compartment for the optional Microphone accessory on the left-hand side of the FZ330.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5Mb.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 produced images of very good quality during the review period. Noise is well-controlled until ISO 1600, which exhibits some artifacts, blurring of detail and slight colour desaturation. The noise and loss of detail get progressively worse as you go from ISO 1600 to the fastest 6400 setting, which isn't really very usable at all.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 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 1cm 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 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 48x, again with a slight loss in quality. Intelligent Dynamic Range and HDR both successfully adjusts the exposure to record more detail in both the highlights and shadows.

Noise

There are 7 ISO settings available on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting for both JPEG and RAW formats.

JPEG RAW

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

iso100.jpg iso100raw.jpg
   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

iso200.jpg iso200raw.jpg
   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

iso400.jpg iso400raw.jpg
   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

iso800.jpg iso800raw.jpg
   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

iso1600.jpg iso1600raw.jpg
   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

iso3200.jpg iso3200raw.jpg
   

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

iso6400.jpg iso6400raw.jpg

Focal Range

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330's 24x zoom lens provides a focal length of 25-600mm in 35mm terms, as demonstrated below.

25mm

600mm

focal_range1.jpg focal_range2.jpg

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)

sharpen1.jpg sharpen1a.jpg
   
sharpen2.jpg sharpen2a.jpg

File Quality

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 has 2 different JPEG 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.

12M Fine (5.92Mb) (100% Crop) 12M Normal (2.66Mb) (100% Crop)
quality_fine.jpg quality_standard.jpg
   
12M RAW (14.3Mb) (100% Crop)  
quality_raw.jpg  

Chromatic Aberrations

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 handled chromatic aberrations excellently during the review. There's some slight purple fringing between areas of high contrast, but it's only noticeable on close inspection, as shown in the examples below.

Chromatic Aberrations 1 (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations 2 (100% Crop)

chromatic1.jpg chromatic2.jpg

Macro

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 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

Macro (100% Crop)

macro1.jpg macro1a.jpg

Flash

The flash settings on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 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)
flash_on.jpg flash_on1.jpg
   

Auto/Red-eye Reduction

Auto/Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

flash_redeye.jpg flash_redeye1.jpg

Night

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330's maximum shutter speed is 60 seconds in the 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.

Night

Night (100% Crop)

night1.jpg night1a.jpg

Anti Shake

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 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)

1/15th / 25mm antishake1.jpg antishake1a.jpg
     
1/15th / 600mm antishake2.jpg antishake2a.jpg

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 48x.

Off

Extended

ir_01.jpg ir_02.jpg
   

Low

Standard

ir_03.jpg ir_04.jpg
   

High

 
ir_05.jpg  

Intelligent Dynamic Range

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330's Intelligent Dynamic Range feature adjusts the exposure setting to record more detail in the highlights and shadows, with three strengths available - low, standard and high.

Off

Low

idr_01.jpg idr_02.jpg
   

Standard

High

idr_03.jpg idr_04.jpg

HDR

In the HDR mode the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 combines 3 frames taken at different exposures to create a single image with increased dynamic range.

Off

+1EV

hdr_01.jpg hdr_02.jpg
   

+2EV

+3EV

hdr_03.jpg hdr_04.jpg

Multiple Exposure

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330's Multiple Exposure mode combines two or three different pictures to create one composite image.

Multiple Exposure

multiple_exposure.jpg

Photo Styles

Panasonic's Photo Styles, similar to Nikon's Picture Styles, Canon's Picture Controls and Olympus' Picture Modes, are preset combinations of different sharpness, contrast, saturation and noise reduction settings. The six available Photo Styles are shown below in the following series, which demonstrates the differences. There is also a Custom option so that you can create your own look.

Standard

Vivid

photo_style_01.jpg photo_style_02.jpg
   

Natural

Monochrome

photo_style_03.jpg photo_style_04.jpg
   

Scenery

Portrait

photo_style_05.jpg photo_style_06.jpg

Creative Controls

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 has an expanded range of Creative Controls, denoted by an artist's palette on the shooting mode dial, with 22 different options on offer. You can also apply all of these effects to a JPEG image during playback via the Creative Retouch option (press up on the navigation pad).

Expressive

Retro

filter_01.jpg filter_02.jpg
   

Old Days

High Key

filter_03.jpg filter_04.jpg
   

Low Key

Sepia

filter_05.jpg filter_06.jpg
   

Monochrome

Dynamic Monochrome

filter_07.jpg filter_08.jpg
   

Rough Monochrome

Silky Monochrome

filter_09.jpg filter_10.jpg
   

Impressive Art

High Dynamic

filter_11.jpg filter_12.jpg
   

Cross Process

Toy Effect

filter_13.jpg filter_14.jpg
   

Toy Pop

Bleach Bypass

filter_15.jpg filter_16.jpg
   

Miniature Effect

Soft Focus

filter_17.jpg filter_18.jpg
   

Fantasy

Star Filter

filter_19.jpg filter_20.jpg
   

One Point Color

Sunshine

filter_21.jpg filter_22.jpg

Panoramas

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 allows you to take panoramic images very easily, by 'sweeping' with the camera while keeping the shutter release depressed. The camera does all the processing and stitching and even successfully compensates for moving subjects.

Standard

panorama1.jpg
 
Wide
panorama2.jpg

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 camera, which were all taken using the 12 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-FZ330 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 3840x2140 at 25 frames per second. Please note that this 21 second movie is 235Mb in size.

Product Images

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

Front of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

Front of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 / Turned On

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

Front of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 / Flash Raised

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

Side of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

Side of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

Side of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

Side of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

Side of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 / Lens Hood Fitted

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 / LCD Screen Closed

 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 / LCD Screen Open

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 / Turned On
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 / Image Displayed
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 / Main Menu
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 / Quick Menu
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Front of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 / Tilting LCD Screen
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Front of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 / Tilting LCD Screen
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Top of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Bottom of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Side of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Side of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Front of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Front of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Memory Card Slot
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330
Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 builds upon its popular predecessor, the FZ200, by principally adding a better viewfinder and LCD screen, touch-sensitive interface, faster autofocusing and start-up times, improved optical image stabilisation system, more robust weatherproof build, and of course, Panasonic's 4K video and still technology. Image quality remains the same thanks to the attractive combination of a sensible 12 megapixel sensor and the excellent f/2.8 25-600mm lens. While it may not offer quite enough to tempt FZ200 owners to upgrade, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 is a great choice for would-be bridge-camera buyers.

While other manufacturers have concentrated on making their super-zoom cameras bigger in terms of their focal range, Panasonic have continued to buck the trend with the new FZ330 by making the lens fast, rather than (really) long. The FZ330 retains the constant aperture of f/2.8 throughout its relatively modest 24x zoom range, which arguably offers greater benefits to the photographer than increasing the telephoto reach. In practice having an aperture of f/2.8 at 600mm results in far fewer blurred pictures, with the added benefit of producing more out-of-focus backgrounds.

In addition to the 12 megapixel sensor and f/2.8 lens, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 also has the same launch price as the FZ200 did back in 2012. At a time when compact cameras are getting ever more sophisticated and ever more expensive, this is a welcome decision by Panasonic. Although £499.99 / $599.99 is still a lot of money to pay for a camera with a small 1/2.3-type sensor, we feel that the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 offers more than enough improvements to justify its asking price.

4.5 stars

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

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330.

Canon PowerShot SX60 HS

The new Canon PowerShot SX60 HS super-zoom camera has an astonishing 65x lens with a massive focal range of 21-1365mm. The Canon SX60 HS also offers a 16 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor, 3 inch vari-angle LCD screen, electronic viewfinder, full manual controls, RAW format support, 6.4fps burst shooting, built-in wi-fi and NFC connectivity, and full 1080p HD movies. Read our detailed Canon PowerShot SX60 HS review to find out if it's the ultimate do-it-all camera...

Fujifilm FinePix HS50EXR

The Fujifilm FinePix HS50EXR is a bridge compact camera with a massive 42x, 24-1000mm zoom lens. The HS50 also offers an autofocus lag of just 0.05 seconds, full 1080p movies at 60fps with stereo sound, a 3 inch vari-angle LCD screen, 11ps burst shooting and a 16 megapixel back-illuminated EXR sensor with RAW support. Is this the only camera you'll ever need? Read our Fujifilm FinePix HS50EXR review to find out...

Kodak PixPro AZ521

The new Kodak PixPro AZ521 super-zoom camera features a massive 52x zoom lens with a focal range of 24-1248mm. Other highlights of the affordable Kodak AZ521 include a 3 inch LCD screen, full 1080p HD movies, and a 16 megapixel CMOS sensor. Read our in-depth Kodak PixPro AZ521 review now...

Nikon Coolpix P900

The Nikon Coolpix P900 is a new super-zoom bridge camera with an astonishing 83x zoom lens, providing a focal range of 24-2000mm! The Nikon P900 also has a back illuminated 16 megapixel CMOS sensor, 3-inch 921K-dot vari-angle LCD screen, full 1080p high-definition movies with stereo sound, built-in GPS, Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity, an electronic viewfinder and 7fps burst shooting. Read our in-depth Nikon Coolpix P900 review now...

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000

The Lumix DMC-FZ1000 is Panasonic's new flagship super-zoom compact camera, offering a large 1-inch image sensor with 20 megapixels, 4K video recording and a 16x zoom lens with a 25-400mm focal range. Priced at £749 / $899, read our expert Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 review to find out if it can justify its price-tag...

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 is a new premium super-zoom camera. Featuring a 28-200mm lens with a constant aperture of f/2.8, a 20.2 megapixel 1.0-type CMOS sensor, Full HD 60p/50p/25p/24p video recording, wi-fi and NFC connectivity and support for the Raw format and full manual controls, the Sony RX10 certainly seems to have every box ticked. Is this the best ever superzoom camera? Read our expert Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 review to find out...

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330 from around the web.

digitalversus.com »

25-600mm f/2.8 24x zoom lens, 12 Mpx 1/2.3" BSI CMOS sensor, 5-axis stabilization, tropicalization, new processor, DFD autofocus from the Lumix GH4, 4K video and photos, adjustable touchscreen, large OLED viewfinder, Wi-Fi, plenty of customizable options... All of Panasonic's latest technologies have been distilled into the Lumix FZ300, with its angular body that's just slightly larger than its predecessor's. It sets the bar very high indeed for all the other bridges out there.
Read the full review »

Specifications

Metrics Dimensions (W x H x D) 131.6 x 91.5 x 117.1 mm (5.18 x 3.60 x 4.61 inch)
Weight Approx. 691 g with Battery and SD Memory Card (1.52 lb)/Approx. 640 g without Battery and SD Memory Card (1.41 lb)
Pixels Camera Effective Pixels 12.1 Megapixels
Sensor Sensor Size / Total Pixels / Filter 1/2.3-type High Sensitivity MOS Sensor / 12.8 Total Megapixels / Primary Color Filter
Lens Aperture F2.8 / Multistage Iris Diaphragm (Still Image: F2.8 - 8.0, Motion Picture: F2.8 - 11.0)
Optical Zoom 24x
Focal Length f = 4.5 - 108mm/(25 - 600mm in 35mm equiv. in 4:3)/(26 - 624mm in 35mm equiv. in 3:2)/(27 - 648mm in 35mm equiv. in 16:9)/(30 - 720mm in 35mm equiv. in 1:1)/(28 - 672mm in 35mm equiv. in 4:3 4K Photo recording)/(27 - 648mm in 35mm equiv. in 3:2 4K Photo recording)/(27 - 648mm in 35mm equiv. in 16:9 4K Photo recording)/(30 - 720mm in 35mm equiv. in 1:1 4K Photo recording)/(27 - 648mm in 35mm equiv. in 16:9 video recording / O.I.S. Off / Level Shot function Off)/(30 - 720mm in 35mm equiv. in 16:9 video recording / O.I.S. On / Level Shot function Off)/(30 - 720mm in 35mm equiv. in 16:9 video recording / O.I.S. On / Level Shot function On)/(27 - 648mm in 35mm equiv. in 4K video recording)
Extra Optical Zoom (EZ) 29.4x (4:3 / 8M (M)), 46.9x (4:3 / 3M (S))
Intelligent Zoom 48x
Changing of Zoom Speed 2-Speed Zoom
Lens LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT/14 elements in 11 groups/(5 Aspherical Lenses / 9 Aspherical surfaces / 3 ED Lenses / 1 Nano Surface Coating Lens)
Optical Image Stabilizer 5-Axis HYBRID O.I.S. +*/* 5-Axis compensation works in video recording except for 4K video or high-speed video recording.
Digital Zoom Max. 4x (When Digital Zoom is used simultaneously with Intelligent Zoom, you can only increase the zoom ratio up to 2x.)
Conversion Lens Compatibility Yes
Focus Focusing Area Normal: Wide 30 cm - infinity / Tele 200 cm - infinity/AF Macro / MF / Intelligent Auto / Motion Picture: Wide 1 cm - infinity / Tele 100 cm - infinity
AF Assist Lamp Yes (On / Off)
Focus AFS (Single) / AFF (Flexible) / AFC (Continuous) / MF/Normal / AF Macro / Macro Zoom, Quick AF, Continuous AF (during motion picture recording), Eye Sensor AF, Touch AF/AE Function, Touch Shutter, Touch Pad AF, MF Assist, Touch MF Assist,/AF+MF, Focus Peaking, One Shot AF (Set the Fn button in custom menu to AF-ON), Low Light AF, Starlight AF, AF/AE Lock Button
AF Metering Face/Eye Detection / Tracking / 49-area / Custom Multi / 1-area / Pinpoint (Full area touch is available)
Shutter Shutter Speed Still Image:/Approx. 60 - 1/4,000 sec (Mechanical Shutter)/Approx. 1 - 1/16,000 sec (Electronic Shutter)/Bulb (Approx. 60 sec)/Motion Picture:/Approx. 1/25 - 1/16,000 sec (in 24p recording)/Approx. 1/2 - 1/16,000 sec (Creative Video M Mode / MF Mode)
Finder Viewfinder 0.39" OLED LVF (Live View Finder) (1440k dots), Field of View: Approx. 100%,/Magnification: Approx. 3.88x / 0.7x (35mm equiv.), Eye Sensor
File File Format Still Image: JPEG (DCF/Exif2.3) / RAW, DPOF/Motion Picture: AVCHD, MP4
Recording Modes Still Image Scene Guide Clear Portrait, Silky Skin, Backlit Softness, Clear in Backlight, Relaxing Tone, Sweet Child's Face, Distinct Scenery, Bright Blue Sky, Romantic Sunset Glow, Vivid Sunset Glow, Glistening Water, Clear Nightscape, Cool Night Sky, Warm Glowing Nightscape, Artistic Nightscape, Glittering Illuminations, Handheld Night Shot, Clear Night Portrait, Soft Image of a Flower, Appetizing Food, Cute Dessert, Freeze Animal Motion, Clear Sports Shot, Monochrome
Mode Dial / Mode Button Intelligent Auto, P, A, S, M, Creative Video, C (Custom), Panotama Shot, Scene Guide, Creative Control
Creative Control mode Expressive, Retro, Old Days, High Key, Low Key, Sepia, Monochrome, Dynamic Monochrome, Rough Monochrome, Silky Monochrome, Impressive Art, High Dynamic, Cross Process, Toy Effect, Toy Pop, Bleach Bypass, Miniature Effect, Soft Focus, Fantasy, Star Filter, One Point Color, Sunshine (22 filters)
Continuous Shooting Mode (Approx.) [AFS] SH: 60 frames/sec*, H: 12 frames/sec, M: 6 frames/sec (with Live View), L: 2 frames/sec (with Live View)/[AFC] H: 6 frames/sec, M: 6 frames/sec (with Live View), L: 2 frames/sec (with Live View)/* Electronic shutter only.
4K Photo Mode (*2) 4K Burst: 30 frames/sec, max. 29 min 59 sec/4K Burst (S/S): 30 frames/sec, max. 29 min 59 sec/4K Pre-Burst: 30 frames/sec, approx. 2 sec/(Depending on memory card size and battery power)/Exif Information: Yes/Selectable Aspect Ratio: Yes (4:3 / 3:2 / 16:9 / 1:1 are selectable)/Exposure Mode: Program AE / Aperture Priority AE / Shutter Priority AE / Manual/Marking Function: Yes (in 4K Burst (S/S) mode)
Motion Picture Recording (*2) 4K Video 3840 x 2160 pixels, 25p (4K: 100Mbps / MP4) (Sensor Output is 25fps) (AAC)/3840 x 2160 pixels, 24p (4K: 100Mbps / MP4) (Sensor Output is 24fps) (AAC)
HD Video 1920 x 1080 pixels, 50p (FHD: 28Mbps / AVCHD) (Sensor Output is 50fps) (Dolby)/1920 x 1080 pixels, 24p (FHD: 24Mbps / AVCHD) (Sensor Output is 24fps) (Dolby)/1920 x 1080 pixels, 50i (FHD: 24Mbps / AVCHD) (Sensor Output is 25fps) (Dolby)/1920 x 1080 pixels, 50i (FHD: 17Mbps / AVCHD) (Sensor Output is 50fps) (Dolby)/1920 x 1080 pixels, 50p (FHD: 28Mbps / MP4) (Sensor Output is 50fps) (AAC)/1920 x 1080 pixels, 25p (FHD: 20Mbps / MP4) (Sensor Output is 25fps) (AAC)/1280 x 720 pixels, 25p (HD: 10Mbps / MP4) (Sensor Output is 25fps) (AAC)
STD Video 640 x 480, 25p (VGA: 4Mbps / MP4) (Sensor Output is 25fps) (AAC)
High Speed Video 1280 x 720 pixels, 25p (HD: MP4) (Sensor Output is 100fps)/640 x 480 pixels, 25p (VGA: MP4) (Sensor Output is 200fps)
Continuous recordable time (motion pictures) AVCHD FHD/50p: Approx. 170 min (rear monitor), 165 min (LVF)/FHD/50i: Approx. 175 min (rear monitor), 170 min (LVF)
MP4 4K/25p: Approx. 135 min (rear monitor), 130 min (LVF)/FHD/50p: Approx. 170 min (rear monitor), 165 min (LVF)
Actual recordable time (motion pictures) AVCHD FHD/50p: Approx. 85 min (rear monitor), 80 min (LVF)/FHD/50i: Approx. 85 min (rear monitor), 85 min (LVF)
MP4 4K/25p: Approx. 65 min (rear monitor), 65 min (LVF)/FHD/50p: Approx. 85 min (rear monitor), 80 min (LVF)
Exposure Parameters Exposure Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual
Exposure Compensation 1/3 EV step, +/-3 EV
Auto (AE) Bracketing 3, 5, 7 frames in 1/3, 2/3 or 1 EV Step, Max. +/-3 EV
Light Metering Intelligent Multiple / Center Weighted / Spot
ISO Sensitivity Still Image: Auto / i.ISO / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 / 6400/Motion Picture: Auto / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200/ 6400/(Changeable to 1/3 EV step)
Picture Quality Still Picture Recording [4:3] 4000x3000 (12M) (L) / 3264x2448 (8M) (M) / 2048x1536 (3M) (S)/[3:2] 4000x2672 (10.5M) (L) / 3264x2176 (7M) (M) / 2048x1360 (2.5M) (S)/[16:9]4000x2248 (9M) (L) / 3840x2160 (8M) (M) / 1920x1080 (2M) (S)/[1:1] 2992x2992 (9M) (L) / 2448x2448 (6M) (M) / 1920x1920 (3.5M) (S)
Image Quality RAW / RAW+Fine / RAW+Standard / Fine / Standard
Photo Style Standard, Vivid, Natural, Monochrome, Scenery, Portrait, Custom, Cinelike D*, Cinelike V* * When Creative Video mode is selected.
White Balance Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Incandescent / Flash / White Set1 / White Set2 / White Set3 / White Set4 / Color Temperature/(2-axis Adjustable)
Picture Adjustment Contrast, Sharpness, Noise Reduction, Saturation*, Color Tone**, Filter Effect**/* Except for Monochrome mode. ** For Monochrome mode only.
Aspect Bracketing -
Other Digital Red Eye Correction (Red-Eye Removal) Yes (On / Off)
GPS -
Wi-FI IEEE 802.11b/g/n/2412 MHz - 2462 MHz (1-11 ch)/WPA / WPA2/Infrastracture Mode / WPS
NFC -
Zoom in Motion Picture Yes
Self Timer 2 sec / 10 sec / 10 sec (3 images)
Self Shot Mode No
Display Playback Mode All, Slideshow, Filtering Play (Picture Only, Video Only, 4K PHOTO, Category Selection, Favorite), Calendar
Thumbnails / Zoomed Playback 12,30-thumbnails / Yes
Show Histogram/ Show Highlights Yes / Yes
Set Favorites / Rotate Image Yes / Yes
DPOF Print Setting / Set Protection Yes / Yes
Edit RAW Processing Yes
Resize/ Cropping Yes / Yes
Retouch No
Copy / Title Edit / Text Stamp No / Yes / Yes
Creating Still Pictures from a Motion Picture Yes
Video Divide Yes
PictBridge Support Single / Multi / All / DPOF / Favorites
Setup OSD language Japanese, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish
Monitor LCD Monitor 7.5cm (3.0") Free-Angle TFT Screen LCD Display (1040k dots), AR Coating/Field of View: Approx. 100%, Wide Viewing-angle
Flash Built- in- Flash Auto*, Auto/Red-eye Reduction*, Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync., Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off * For iA, iA+ mode only./Flash Synchro: 1st / 2nd Slow Sync./Synchronization for flash dimming and exposure compensation/0.3 - 8.8m (Wide / ISO Auto), 1.0 - 8.8m (Tele / ISO Auto)
Media Recording Media SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card (Compatible with UHS-I standard)
Built- in- Memory -
Audio Microphone / Speaker Stereo / Mono
Interface Remote Input φ2.5mm for Remote
External Microphone Input φ3.5mm for External Microphone
Interface microHDMI (*3), AV Output (PAL / NTSC), USB (AV/USB Multi)
Power Power Li-ion Battery Pack (7.2V, 1200mAh, 8.7 Wh) (Included)/AC Adaptor (Input: 110 - 240V AC)
Battery life (approx.) 380 pictures (rear monitor) / 360 pictures (LVF) (CIPA Standard) (*1)
Standard Package Included Software PHOTOfunSTUDIO 9.7PE/SILKYPIX Developer Studio 4.3SE/LoiLoScope (trial version)/Adobe Reader
Standard Accessories Battery Charger, Battery Pack, AC Cable, USB Cable, Lens Hood, Lens Cap, Lens Cap String, Shoulder Strap, DVD
NOTE *1
NOTE Recording conditions by CIPA standard
NOTE - Temperature: 23 oC (73.4 oF) / Humidity: 50%RH when monitor is on.
NOTE - Using a Panasonic SDHC Memory Card
NOTE - Using the supplied battery.
NOTE - Starting recording 30 seconds after the camera is turned on. (When the optical image stabilizer function is set to [ON].)
NOTE - Recording once every 30 seconds with full flash every second recording.
NOTE - Rotating the zoom lever from Tele to Wide or vice versa in every recording.
NOTE - The number of recordable pictures varies depending on the recording interval time.
NOTE - If the recording interval time becomes longer, the number of recordable pictures decreases.
NOTE - CIPA is an abbreviation of [Camera & Imaging Products Association].
NOTE *2
NOTE - These are standard times taken at a temperature of 23 oC (73.4 oF) and a humidity of 50%RH.
NOTE - The time available for recording varies depending on the environment, the interval between recordings, and the manner of use.
NOTE - Actual recordable time is the time available for recording when repeating actions such as switching the power supply [ON] / [OFF], starting/stopping recording, zoom operation etc.
NOTE - Use a card with SD Speed Class with "Class 4" or higher when recording motion pictures.
NOTE - Use a card with SD Speed Class with "UHS-I Speed Class 3 (U3)" when recording motion pictures with [MP4] in [4K] or [4K PHOTO].
NOTE (SD speed class is the speed standard regarding continuous writing.)
NOTE - Maximum time to record motion pictures continuously with [AVCHD] is 29 minutes 59 seconds.
NOTE - Maximum time to record motion pictures continuously with [MP4] in [4K] is 29 minutes 59 seconds.
NOTE - Maximum time to record motion pictures continuously with [MP4] in [FHD] [HD] [VGA] is 29 minutes 59 seconds or up to 4 GB.
NOTE - Maximum time to record High Speed motion pictures continuously is 7 minutes 29 seconds.
NOTE *3
NOTE For [4K] video output, use an HDMI cable that has the HDMI logo on it, and that is described as"4K compatible".

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