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83 of 85 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Probably the best prosumer camera on the market., 3 Nov 2005
This review is from: Panasonic DMC-FZ30EB-K Digital Still Camera - black [8MP, 12 x Optical Zoom] (Electronics)
With a feature list that's nearly endless, it's hard not to consider buying this camera. I can tell you, that it does not disappoint! With an incredible 12x zoom, which if used to capture 3MP photos jumps to 19.1x! The sensor does pickup considerable noise because 8MP are crammed in, but for any similar camera on the market, this is a problem and it is to be expected. The only way to eliminate this problem, is to buy a digital SLR and that is costly. Picture quality is sharp and accurate. Out-performing many competitors! It is helped by optical image stabilization to eliminate hand shake blur. The controls are all very well laid out and easy to use with full manual controls. Automatic shooting modes are also available. A great flip screen, and mechanical zoom! Camera perforamce is very good, with good startup times and shot-to-shot times being fast too. I have found the battery life is good. The camera also supports RAW format, but can be alittle slow when using this mode, but again that is to be expected. Build quality is very good indeed, it feels rock solid. it also supports 55mm filters and conversion lenses! I have taken some amazing photographs using this camera, and Panasonic have impressed me so much, I've already got my name down for the next camera in this series! This is like a pro's camera, at the fraction of a price!
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99 of 102 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SLR OR NOT?, 18 Mar 2006
This review is from: Panasonic DMC-FZ30EB-K Digital Still Camera - black [8MP, 12 x Optical Zoom] (Electronics)
Having spent months reading mag after mag trying to work out weather or not to buy a SLR or try to save money and go for a top spec prosumer I opted to go with the panasonic FZ30.What a choice this turned out to be.First trip out for the camera was two weeks in the snow in cacada down to minus 27. the snow or temp never bothered the camera a bit-the snow setting in scene mode is fantastic.Every thing i tried to do with the camara turned out exellent, the built in flash is the most powerfull I have ever used,the zoom and lens is exellent-anti shake copes with hand held at 12x zoom , totally sharp crisp pictures every time.Cant fault the camera at all.The menue is so easy anyone could use this camera.Exellent.
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95 of 103 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good - but not THAT good, 29 Oct 2005
This review is from: Panasonic DMC-FZ30EB-K Digital Still Camera - black [8MP, 12 x Optical Zoom] (Electronics)
I got one of these a few days after it was released in Japan, and have taken it with me (and a FZ5) on a safari/beach holiday in Kenya. I have found that both cameras (including the FZ30) with one- or three-spot metering tended to produce slightly under-exposed pictures in virtually all lighting conditions and with nearly all subjects. I haven't tested the FZ30 with other metering set-ups, but I was slightly disappointed to find the results were quite dull. Since the Auto mode ought to produce good results, at present, I am not convinced that this is the case. Having said all this, about 5% of the 400 or so photos were just about right, and the camera is easy to handle; the zoom is good; the detail is great; colour balance is neutral; the OIS is excellent; and the autofocus didn't fail me once!! The much-vaunted noise doesn't seem to be an issue. One other thing worth noting is that the 8M pixels are only available for photos at 4:3 ratio (OK for 8 x 6 prints), but if you want the standard 6 x 4 or 5 x 7 you'll have to make do with fewer pixels (only 7M for 3:2 ratio). As things stand, this means (when compared with Nikon and one or two other Digital cameras) the 'usable' number of pixels (in the most common format) is probably being overstated. Ultimately I have found it necessary to spend a lot of time post-processing the images to a) get acceptable images and b) cropping to suit 6 x 4 photo 'cards'. (I am not a camera expert, and maybe I expected too much of the camera in Auto Mode)
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