Panasonic Lumix FZ100 14.1MP Digital Camera - Black (3.0 inch TFT LCD Display, LEICA DC Lens with 24x Optical Zoom and Full HD Movie)

UPDATE:
This is a 2010 camera. At the time of writing it's now the end of 2012 and things have moved on. The FZ100 is a great camera and a lot of fun to use, but it's comprehensively out-performed by the FZ150 and the new FZ200. The rest of this review contains useful information, but should be read for interest, not as buying advice.

The FZ100 is an excellent enthusiast's camera, but it is not a point and shoot camera. If you leave it on the admittedly very clever "Intelligent Auto" you will not get the best from it. If you prefer a camera you can leave on "auto" and not have to spend time and effort learning how to use it, save some money and buy the FZ45. Panasonic Lumix FZ45 14.1MP Digital Camera - Black (3.0 inch TFT LCD Display, LEICA DC Lens with 25mm Wide-angle and 24x Optical Zoom) You are paying a premium for a high level of creative control with the FZ100 and you'll need to spend time to get to know it. Anyway, here's my thoughts on the good and bad points about it.

Plus points:-
* It has a fabulous 3" articulated 460,000 pixel screen. This makes manual focussing is a cinch, especially as it implements a snap-zoom to the central portion of the screen when using manual focus. This is the first digital camera I've had (and this is my 7th) where manual focussing is quick, easy and reliable. Low res. screens flatter to deceive and it's great to be able to quickly see if a picture is really sharp. The articulation is something that I'm surprised more cameras don't have. If you photograph everything in the dead centre of the screen, you won't be interested in this feature, but for creative composition, an articulated screen makes changing viewpoint far easier. This articulated screen allows you to flip it round to face the camera for protection when not in use. It also means you don't get a greasy nose-print on your screen when you use the viewfinder. (Note that some cameras, this one for example Sony DSCHX100V Digital Compact Camera, offer a 921,000 pixel screen which is even better.)
* The handling of the camera is superb. Initially, it's all a bit daunting, but that's only because this is such a richly specified camera. The FZ100 is the latest in a long line of cameras that have evolved with subtle improvements to their handling. When you're familiar with it, it's really quite quick to change the settings to suit yourself, but you DO need to learn your way around the camera. I cannot emphasise that enough: This is a complicated camera that requires some time and effort from it's user. Many of the buttons are context-sensitive, so depending on the mode, they do different things. For example depending on the mode set, the [FOCUS] button on the lens barrel can:- 1) Initiate focus zone move/resize, 2) Initiate AF Tracking or 3) Perform momentary auto-focus whilst in manual focus. If you don't have an experiment and play in conjunction with the manual to learn how it all works, you'll miss out on some pretty cool functionality.
* The lens is great: Sharp, quiet and fast. This is a camera with a LONG reach. The 24 optical zoom is supplemented by Extended Optical Zoom, Intelligent Zoom and the ever-unpleasant Digital Zoom. Basically you can get as close as you want.
* This is a fast camera to use. Focussing is fast and reliable and there are a plethora of options to ensure you are always in focus with moving objects. This focussing ability when partnered with the the 11fps stills mode means you can capture the picture you wanted, and not miss it by a fraction of a second. The difference between a great shot and a snap is often just down to timing. If you've ever taken a shot and when reviewing it though "Awww! he's moved just as I took it!", this is a camera you should consider. Remember that when you've shot your 15 frames at 14MP, you have over 80MB of data to write to your memory card, so get a fast card or you'll be left waiting.
* The FZ100 has a filter thread, hotshoe and 2.5mm control port which means it can accommodate a plethora of accessories. Do NOT underestimate the usefulness of these features. Here's what I use with mine:-
First thing to be fitted is a protective UV filter on the front of the lens!
The 52mm 4pc Close-Up Kit Macro Lenses For Nikon D40 D40X D60 & All Other 52mm Lenses in conjunction with the Maxim - Remote shutter release Control Switch cord for Panasonic DMC-FZ100, FZ50, FZ30, FZ20, FZ20K, FZ25, G1, GH1, GH2, G2, G10, GF1, L1, LC1, L10 as DMW-RSL1 & DIGILUX 1, DIGILUX 2, DIGILUX 3, CR-DC1, V-LUX1, V-LUX2. By Maxim Foto Supplies. makes macro work a pleasure, especially with the great screen and manual focussing. And all for under £30.
The Digital King DSW Pro 0.7x Wide Angle Lens Nikon/Pentax 52mm gives you an 18mm wide angle lens and is suprisingly good quality too.
The Panasonic Conversion Lens Adapter for FZ100 and FZ45 allows you to add heavier accessories to the lens without over-loading the zoom mechanism. The adaptor gives you a 55mm front size and handles a suitable tele-convertor Panasonic DMW-LT55E 1.7 x Tele-Conversion Lens For Lumix FZ100, FZ48, FZ45 and FZ38 or, as I have, the NEEWER Macro Ring Flash LED Light for Canon 1Ds,5D,7D,30D,40D,50D,400D,450D,500D,550D,1000D,Nikon D700,D300,D100,D90,D80,D60,D40,D40x,D3,D2,D1,D5000,D3000,Olympus E620,E520,E510,E500,E420,E450,E3,E1,E-P2,Pentax,K20D,K200D/Sony Alpha A200,A230,A300,A330,... which again I use for close-up work. The power supply for the ring light pops neatly onto the hotshoe.
For BIG light, I pop my Nikon SB-600 onto the hotshoe and use manual exposure. The SB-600 has a GN of 100 when fully zoomed and really kicks out some light when you need to pick out something at a distance. Of course Panasonic makes a dedicated flash unit which will give automatic metering, but I already have the SB-600 and in truth it's seldom needed.
NOTE: Only the conversion lens adaptor and remote shutter are unique to this camera. The other accessories will work just fine on any compatible camera. Sweet if and when you upgrade to an SLR. Or as in my case, you upgrade FROM a D-SLR to this little gem! :-)
* The built-in flash is great! I have my flash set to operate all the time, then I leave it in the closed position so it's disabled. If I want flash, I pop it open and it works. I love how convenient and easy this makes fill-in flash. With a GN of 11, it's not bad at all for most circumstances. If it's not enough, I use my bigger flash on the hotshoe.
* You have full exposure control. There are a plethora of film "types" which you can use to achieve the effect you want. Additionally, you can alter Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation and Noise Reduction applied to the RAW data from the sensor. Or just use the RAW image and photoshop to achieve the result you want, but bear in mind you'll need the relevant plug-in for your processing software to recognise the RAW files produced by the FZ100.
* It seems to do everything. By that I mean if you want to try something, this camera usually has a way of achieving it. Just look at the accessory list above! Never have I thought, "Oh I wish this would..." because it has always allowed me to do what I wanted to try. Problems and mistakes have always been because of my mistakes, not the camera's lack of ability.
* There are lot's of little "Oh that's good!" moments with this camera. For example:
- It has automatic depth of field preview. Half press the shutter and you get your focus-lock and DOF preview.
- If you take a picture of the same person 3 times, if enabled the face recognition (not just detection!) will ask you if you want it to remember that person. Then when it sees a face it recognises (up to six different people) in a crowd, it will focus on it.
- Auto bracketing is just a couple of button pushes away and works in conjunction with exposure compensation. This is excellent when the lighting is tricky and works well in conjunction with the highlight warning feature. (Any highlights that saturate flash black/white). You can even "auto bracket" with film types. This means for example, you can have a natural, a vivid colour and a b/w exposure from a single shutter press. You could of course achieve all that with post-processing, but not everyone likes to spend hours hunched over their PC tweaking images.
- When reviewing pictures or altering settings, a quick half press of the shutter takes you instantly back to "ready to shoot" status. I really like that when you're fiddling with the camera and need to take a picture quickly, you just raise the camera, press the shutter and the camera is ready with you.
- The Auto-focus/Macro/Manual focus switch is a positive sliding switch on the side of the lens barrel. It's a very logical place for it and it's great in use. Better yet, the "focus" button is context sensitive, and in manual focus, pressing it will focus on the focus zone and then leave the focus locked. As you can set the size and position of the focus zone, this is really useful for pre-focussing on a point, then snapping away in burst mode when your subject is inposition. Perfect for sports day! Read more ›

I recently did some volunteer work for the cheetah conservation fund in Namibia and decided i needed a camera with a good zoom, good burst mode and 1080p movie and this camera had the lot.
I had only used a small panasonic pocket camera before.
I don't really understand all the technical aspects of taking a photo, ie. iso/aperature etc, so i left it on the intelligent mode.
Ive just come back and going through the pictures/movies , im so impressed with the results.
To exercise the cheetahs they use a rag tied to a pully system. I got some great burst mode shots - the zoom was quick enough to change as the cheetahs flew by.
But for me, the best bit is watching the movies on my home cinema projector - its so clear.
I would highly recommend this camera for anyone like me, happy just to point and shoot.
It so simple to use - want to take a movie instead of a picture - just press the record button - want to use burst mode - press the burst mode button !
The only downside for me is the software provided with the camera. I use a mac laptop for everything and a pc for just gaming - but some of the software will only work on a pc.
When it came to printing the photos, they were perfect when using the mac, but when using the supplied software on the pc, they came out dark and the colours were dull.
I did make sure the pc had the latest print drivers. So if your going to print on a pc, might be best to use another photo software package.

As a professional photographer, I'm used to all sorts of cameras and formats, including plate, film and digital.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as 'the perfect' camera; one type will better than another depending on what feature you want... but if you want a quality bridge camera that's truly an all rounder with little or no bulk, and is as close to perfect as is currently available, then I'd say this is one of the best!

Granted, it's not perfect in every way, but don't let that put you off! If you want a bridge camera that has it all - literally, then I think this is the best on the market at this time. In some respects it's not as good as, say, my Nikon D300 SLR (which I think is brilliant), but its close! Thing is, this has so many more features that my D300 and all its lenses, is tiny by comparison, and costs an awful lot less!

Ignore the nonsense that some of the other contributors have mentioned about halos, and poor images above a certain ISO etc... Those comments suggest to me that these people don't understand how a camera works, or how `zoom' lenses work, or how to properly calculate exposure. The only way I could recreate the sort of poor performances that others report here, was if I set the camera to unachievable exposure settings.

The quality of images above a certain ISO setting has been commented upon a fair bit by others on here... In response to them, all I'd ask is, do they really understand what an ISO setting is?! In the days before digital, most people wouldn't have ever used Film speeds above 200 ASA rating - so bearing in mind that `ISO' is synonymous with film ASA ratings - then its inevitable that the higher ISO will lead to a reduced image quality, just like you would have done with film - the laws of physics cannot be changed!

Why use such a high ISO setting in any case?! A knowledgeable photographer would stick with a specific ISO for the job in hand, and achieve the correct exposure by using either flash, and / or a tripod. Raising the ISO is one way of achieving `correct' exposure for hand held photography - but with the inevitable loss of quality; that's an expected trade off for not using flash or a tripod, which is limited and driven by the laws of physics, and is true of any camera!

So, for those here who are critical of this camera for the ISO results... Do yourselves a favour and learn and understand the laws of photography and exposure before passing such spurious comments! Granted, the automatic settings on this camera will change the ISO settings for you rather than suggest you should use flash or a tripod, but that is something you can over-ride once you've familiarised yourself with all the settings, and know a little bit about photography.

In my opinion, this is a cracking little (and I mean - little) beauty, that can produce images as good as any other `35mm' SLR or DSLR camera I've ever used, and is as good as any HD Camcorder I've had as well. The lens is awesome; this camera punches well above its weight, and all for under £350 if you shop around!

So, for all these reasons, as a bridge camera, I cannot recommend it highly enough!