Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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92 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
All things to all men?, 8 Sep 2007
I took delivery of this camera this morning. I was an avid amateur photographer in my youth and having worked my way up from a Zenith E to a Canon T90 I eventually tired of lugging a bag around that most air carriers won't allow on as hand luggage and I bought a Hybrid 35mm Camera, an Olympus is 100, before taking the digital plunge with a Fuji 2800zoom. This was replaced with an Olympus FE before I decided on the Panasonic (see other reviews for reason why) My main reason for choosing this camera was the Leica lens, I have always advised anyone looking to buy a digital camera "Stick with the main camera makers for the quality lens, Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax etc" So the Leica input was irresistable. As I had not handled it before it arrived this morning, I was a little concerned from other reviews questioning its flimsiness and size, but I cant understand why. Although it is light, the (matt black) finish is very nice and it is certainly the best quality digital camera body I have handled, far better than the Olympus is 100 or an earlier Canon T70. I also wear a size 8 surgical glove and have no problems with the size of the camera. Surely the whole point of these cameras is their portability? Despite all the features; Program AE, Aperture, or Shutter priority, and fully manual exposure, there are no more knobs and buttons than on the Olympus FE I bought last year.The camera boasts all the features of my old T90 plus a range of auto scene settings and comes with that enormous 36-432 (35mm equivalent) lens. Screw in adaptors are available to extend the wide angle to 25mm or the tele to 735mm! Criticisms? A fiddly lens hood arangement, although with the optional adaptor it will accept 55mm filters and hoods. Also an annoying joystick arrangement for manual focusing. However, given the limitations of autofocus systems, it is nice to have the option. Also that lovely big LCD screen protrudes a couple of mil from the rear of the camera, so using the viewfinder inevitably means a greasy mark from your nose (is my nose just greasy or too big?) These are only minor points but that is because that is all I can find wrong with the camera. When I sold my T90 a decade ago this was the camera I envisioned replacing it with, sadly I spent several hundred pounds on unsuitable cameras before it became available. The FZ8 is available for under £150 if you shop around and at that price nothing can touch it. It has reignited my interest in photography beyond snapshots, without breaking the budget, or my arm carrying it. Yes, it is all things, at least to me.
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57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect next step on from a Compact., 12 Jul 2007
Having had a range of digital cameras, almost all Casio's I was a little concerned I'd have problems getting to grips with a hybrid. I can't be bothered with all the hastle learning to use an SLR but my compact is a bit old. Fortunately my misgivings were not realised as this camera offers the best of both worlds. It has the intuitive feel of a compact but many of the features you'd expect from an SLR. The interface isn't as pretty as my old Casio P600 but other features make up for it.
The 12x optical zoom is particularly impressive compared to those offered by most of the compacts and far outstrips any of the small optical zooms augmented by digital zooms. The lens is excellent. All in all a good all-rounder.
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45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This camera range dominates the bridge market, 16 Jul 2007
The Panasonic DMC-FZ range dominates this area. It is a great all round camera. It has a super optical zoom, that can pick out details in a distance and is compact enough but gives great pictures for any situation. I have used a camera from this range for 1.5 years now and it has been ideal for any situation I have thrown at it (ranging from rail photography to night club photography). If you want a camera, this should be seriously considered
The screen is really good and really large. Piece of advice is to keep the adaptor for the lens hood on all the time to prevent damage to the lens
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