This was my second digital camera (the first was a Panasonic DMC-LC40). In terms of photo quality, I prefer those from the LC40 -- that camera used a Vario-Summicron f2.0 lens, compared to this one which is just a Vario-Elmarit f2.8. Apart from the bigger aperture, the LC40 also took sharper, contrasty photos which are more my cup of tea.
That said, this is a fair camera, small enough to throw in a bag and take with you anywhere. I once lent it to a girl I was interested in and she liked it so much she almost didn't give it back to me. So I suppose there's something to be said about a camera that makes a hot girl hot for it.
Here's a useful tip I discovered just a few weeks before I sold off this camera to a friend (who still uses it): use the Macro mode for just about everything, especially portraits of people. In my experience, Macro mode gave the sharpest photos I ever took on this camera with great colours.
Like cameras of this class, the noise at anything over ISO 100 is, to my eye, unmanageable. That said, with its marginal (not exceptional) image stabilization, you can pull some fantastic shots from this camera. Long exposures (max of 8 seconds), for instance, look stellar. The color saturation is good, the contrast is good, exposure tends to err on the side of under (no blown highlights). Some may find it gimmicky, but the black and white mode has its place in this camera, and actually turns out very smooth, pleasant images (much better than say, taking a color shot, and desaturating it). With its lack of manual focus, and an LCD that doesn't gain-up in near dark conditions, shooting in low light can be frustrating. The good news is, you can lock the focus once you've found your target.
The camera doesn't allow for separate adjustment of contrast/saturation and sharpness, rather rolling all three into a single setting. The "Natural" setting tends to look soft-focus, a little too soft-focus... you know, as if you forgot to focus. Normal is fine for everything else, paired with a bit of photoshop you can bring out the saturation and contrast you wished you had in-camera. Vivid is a bit ham-fisted in its approach, the sharpness is just too much, and details become a chromatic mess. My only real/daily gripe with the camera is the shutter button, which is recessed a bit too far into the zoom dial. What this tends to do to me in real-world shooting is cause me to push harder to actuate the shutter, which inevitably moves the featherweight camera, and causes blur (more than the "Mega" OIS can handle).
On the subject of the flash - the built in is, as usual with point-n-shoot cameras, fairly harsh. The effective range is around 5 - 10 feet (that's pushing it). Personally, I built a little flash diffuser for when I'm using mine... a couple bucks in foam-core and cloth made a tremendous difference. The range is crippled even further by this diffuser, but the pictures look great.
I have worked with one of the Lumix FZ5's direct competitors, the Canon S2, quite a bit as well. Having daily use/access to both does gives me the perspective that, though the Lumix is notably slower responding and has fewer "toys" (like color swapping), I still would choose the Lumix for the pictures it turns out (and in the end, that's what really counts).
Strengths:
- good low noise images at ISO 80
- great zoom range (same with its competitors)
- fantastic long exposure results
- wonderfully smooth pictures in black and white mode
- lightweight and fairly compact
- comes with 55mm adapter for filters (one less thing to buy if you need a circular polarizer or other filter)
- focus lock
- very fast focus
- excellent battery life
- manual white balance
- great value/performance in the super-zoom category of cameras
Weaknesses:
- very noisy at ISO higher than 100
- functional, but not great, image stabilization
- no manual focus
- auto white balance isn't terribly good
- lack of ability to adjust contrast / sharpness / saturation separately
- no hot shoe
- shutter release is recessed too far
this was my step before I went dslr. It is a long zoom IS camera with lots of manual settings. Colors are NOT oversaturated, needs a bit of PS afterwards. Took me several months of tweaking before I was happy with results, but very happy with camera now. One camera cannot do it all, but this is very good because it is light, relatively small and has IS. People complain about exposure/focus etc on the long end....hello..you are zoomed at the long end of 420mm and it still has f3.3 AND IS. Use long zoom in sunlight, it's my surfing camera and does it's job very well. If you don't mind the bulk, go dslr. For it's uses, its a light durable camera with a good lens and IS. Uses 55mm filters, but attaches to long extender.
Strengths:
420mm
IS works wonderfully
leica lens
durable, dropped many times
menu, user friendly knobs
long battery life
full manual settings, sans the hotshoe and manual focus
very good macro
small, light
fast start-up
Weaknesses:
don't like the attachment for filters/hood, quite long
video not as good as canon's
poor iso - 400 no usable imo 80/100 good...use i.s.
wish evf (viewfinder) was bigger
Mixed feelings on this one. I love the convenience of the 12x optical zoom, but the low light performance is pathetique. I had hoped that the combination of small size and weight plus the extended range of the Leica zoom lens would allow me to replace my 1D Mk II and all my "L" lenses for 90% or more of my photo needs. Sadly, this camera does not live up to my rather stringent requirements for an advanced digital camera at this level.
Strengths:
Lightweight, very portable, 12x optical zoom. Good image quality at ISO 80 and 100, good sharpness at most focal lengths, especially at the shorter end. Great range in one package.
Weaknesses:
WEAK at the long end of the zoom. NOISY at ISO 200 and 400. The LCD is unreadable in low light, very underexposed images in low light settings. The onboard flash is pathetic, the camera build is cheap. No ability to add an external flash.
Similar Products Used:
Canon G1, G2. My main camera system is a Canon EOS-1D Mk II, 10D, D60, and a wide range of "L" zooms and primes.
Rarely have I purchased something that I was as pleased as I am with the Panasonic FZ-5. It's light weight, very compact for all it can do. I've never been much of a champion of Panasonic but the Leica lens and features on this camera sold me very quickly. After shooting a few hundred pictures I'm very pleased with this product. It will do many many things well.
Strengths:
Excellent lens. Easy to balance and focus with out having to have a heavy bulky zoom 400mm lens and still does an equivalent job. I'm getting older and a little shakier so the stabilization is a great feature for me. Light enough to not feel cumbersome or heavy after awhile. I think it's much more "user friendly" than most cameras. I don't think you can match it with any other product for features at the current price. I like the light weight and zoom ability.
Weaknesses:
I think the macrofocus is a little weaker in marginal light than my Olympus. I already lost my lens hood in a swamp. I didn't put it on securely even though it felt o.k. Maybe a little improved grooving or marking to show it's correct locked position. Would like to see a little longer battery life. I 'll have to get a spare and they aren't cheap.One thing in addition and I'm speaking now of all modern cameras, there are too many features and bells and whistles with all the capabilities that are possible with todays electronics and miniturization. I would love to see a basic version of mid range priced cameras with only a few of the most important capabilites and features. I think a lot of features are built in simply because electronic circuitry can be done now, not because there is a lot of demand for those features.
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I have an Olympus Camedia 4.0, a Nikon N80 35mm SLR and an old Minolta 35mm SLR.I like the Minolta for it's old fashioned simplicity. The N80 is an excellent camera but compared to the FZ-5 it's quite heavy and bulky and have to carry the zoom lenses as an extra. Overall I was not disappointed in the Olympus and I think for marginal lighting it has better focusing ability as I mentioned above. I would buy the FZ-5 again in a minute and if I had to take only one camera with me it would be the FZ-5.
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