Digital Trends

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 October 26th, 2005 | by David Elrich

Performance

The Lumix DMC-FZ30 starts up very quickly—under a second—and you're ready to go. Like almost all digicams from top companies, Panasonic engineers have juiced the internal circuitry to improve start-up, focus time and practically eliminate shutter lag (Panasonic calls its hot chip the Venus Engine II). With the mode dial initially set to Auto, I took a variety of shots several sunny early Fall days inside and out (I had already taken some images during a press preview in the harbor but that wasn't a production model). Ergonomically, the camera is a dream. Adjusting the powerful zoom feels just like a D-SLR and then some. With the two rings on the barrel, you frame your shot and then, if you're in manual focus, you simply adjust the inner ring. It feels great. In fact, I kept it in manual focus most of the time. The camera also has a neat feature called MF Assist that enlarges the center of the screen so you can really make sure you've locked in on the subject.

While taking shots, I kept the camera in the Mega OIS setting Mode 2. With it, the stabilizing circuitry kicks in when you depress the shutter, rather than Mode 1 when OIS is constantly working. It's generally more accurate and like the 12x zoom, is a terrific feature. With such powerful zooms even the slightest shake can ruin a shot. OIS eliminated most of these issues. This is also very helpful when shooting indoors with available light.

The DMC-FZ30 is indeed a pleasure to use. Along with Auto, the mode dial was heavily used as was Menu to make a variety of adjustments including sensitivity (80-400). Like all digicams, it has a number of Scene modes (Scenery, Portrait and so on) that let the camera make the settings for you. In the aperture- and shutter-priority modes, the convenient jog dials made tweaks a breeze. The EVF is very detailed and I found myself using it most of the time. The 2-inch LCD can be twisted in order to take over head shots. Since it was a bit early for the Thanksgiving Day Parade, I didn't really make use of it but just having it as an option is a good thing.

After some time in the field, it was time to view the results onscreen and to make some 8.5x11 prints. It was at this time that the DMC-FZ30 versus an 8MP or even a 6MP D-SLR contest came to a screeching halt (the D-SLRs win hands down). Making full bleed prints with no editing or enhancements the amount of noise was very high, so much so that was a bit disconcerting particularly at 200 and 400. There was some purple fringing too but nothing as bothersome as the noise. At 80 and 100 photos were good but not spectacular. Having just shot with a 6MP Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D D-SLR with excellent results, the comparison was all the more jarring. The highly lauded 6MP FujiFilm FinePix F10 for $399 handled noise, much, much better with an ISO reaching 1600. Sure I could make smaller prints but that defeats the purpose of an 8MP camera. I also could spend time with Adobe Photoshop CS2 cleaning up the RAW files but that adds $500 to the total cost, not an insignificant sum in anyone's universe.

On the plus side, the flash was quite good and accurate thanks to the AF Assist lamp (don't bother with the supplied sunshade). Videos were VHS level and you can use the zoom while recording clips. Again, these are O.K. for short movies but definitely not a replacement for a MiniDV camcorder.

Image Courtesy of Panasonic