Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20K 5MP Digital Camera with 12x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom (Black)
by Panasonic
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: PanasonicModel: DMC-FZ20PP-K
Color: DMC-DF20 Black
Product features:
- 5-megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality 13-by-17-inch enlargements
- Leica DC Vario-Elmarit 12x zoom lens combines with 4x digital zoom for 48x total zoom
- MEGA optical image stabilizer; 2-inch TFT LCD screen; PictBridge Compatible
- Store images on Secure Digital (SD) memory card (16 MB SD card included)
- Powered by lithium-ion battery pack (included with charger)
- Adobe Photoshop CS5 Upgrade [Old Version]
- Serif PhotoPlus X3
- Adobe Photoshop CS4 Upgrade [OLD VERSION]
- Aperture 3
- Pixelmator [Old Version]
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20K 5MP Digital Camera with 12x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom (Black)
Customer Review: Great lens, decent still camera overall, bad movie option
Summary: 5 Stars
I wanted to get a new camera for our upcoming trip to Greece. My basic requirements were that it be an ultra-zoom and that it have image stabilization (ultra-zoom isn't much good without it unless you always use a tripod. If you do, you can save about [...] by foregoing IS). I quickly learned that the current sweet-spot of the market for this class of camera is 5 M pixels, so I further narrowed my search to that. The choices were: Panasonic Lumix DMC F20 and F5; Konica Minolta DImage Z5; Sony CyberShot DSC H1; and Canon Poweshot S2 IS. All cameras in this class use an electronic viewfinder (EVF), which I'm not as fond of as optical.
I quickly dismissed the Konica because it takes very mediocre pictures. The images just can't compare to anything else in this class in crispness or low noise.
The big hurdle for cameras in this class to get over is chromatic aberration. For a lens to be able to bend light to a proper focus across the color spectrum at a zoom of 1x to 12x is a terrific challenge. At the long zooms, lenses tend to show a color "fringe" around edges if they aren't exceptionally well made. Of the remaining cameras, Canon was the worst of the lot on this. I have an SD-200, which is an ultra-compact with 3x zoom, and it has a bit of a problem this way. So I was not surprised that the long zoom from them would also have this problem. The Sony is not too bad at this, but chromatic aberration is clearly present at higher zooms. The Panasonic's Leica lens is the stand-out in this regard.
As to LCD, the Sony has the largest and brightest of the displays. The Panasonic is second-largest (2-inch screen) and adequately bright. The Canon is the smallest, at 1.5 inches, but has the virtue of folding out and twisting around to allow you to take pictures from odd angles, using it as the viewfinder. Also, it folds into place for storage with its back to the outside word, so its protected against bumps. The Canon is the least visible of the LCDs in bright light, and the size is pretty small for reading menus. For me, each of the LCDs was good enough, and none was ideal.
All cameras of this class image-process the data before you ever see a picture. By default, Sony processes their images way too much. They smooth the noise, and then put back the appearance of sharpness by (what I presume to be) unsharp masking. You can see the Gibbs effect on sharp transitions (the image looks like water is lapping against the sharp edge). I find this very irritating. But the images show absolutely no noise, and at first blush look like they are very sharp. I think Sony does this to impress the unwary with "image quality" that isn't really there. Canon chooses a middle path on processing by default, and Panasonic allows their wonderful lens' resolution to come through the images, at the expense of higher noise than the other cameras show. All cameras allow you to adjust the processing settings, so this is just their choice for out-of-the-box. I strongly prefer the Panasonic default to the others. I can always smooth the images in PhotoShop if I like, but I can't retrieve the native resolution once its been smoothed away.
Manual focus is important to me. The Sony has a rather clunky way of getting at manual focus (keep pushing a button near the shutter button until the viewfinder shows a distance bar, then you can use the rocker switch on the back to focus.) Canon is better. There is a button by the lens to switch to manual focus, and then use the back rocker switch to focus. The FZ5 doesn't support manual focus, so this was when I dropped it from contention. The FZ20 has a switch at the side of the lens that puts it in manual mode. Flick the switch all the way down if you like (it bounces back up to the manual position), and it will auto-focus to get you started. Then, you use a ring around the lens to manually focus, just like a film 35 mm camera. Panasonic won that part of the UI hands down.
I don't much care about using the camera for movies. If you do, Canon is the clear winner. It takes full-size M-JPEG video (640x480, 30 fps). You can zoom while you shoot the video (unique to this camera AFAIK). The Sony takes 640x480 30 fps MPEG-1, which has the advantage of being smaller on the camera, but the disadvantage of falling apart if you edit the video after acquiring it. The Panasonic is awful in this regard -- 320x240 30 fps M-JPEG video. But I use a camcorder for video, not a still camera, so I took no points off for this. YMMV
At this point, I had pretty much zeroed in on the Canon vs the FZ20. Because my other camera is a Canon, using the same Digic-II processor that I love, I was favorably disposed to the Canon. The user interface is excellent on Canon cameras, and the color and focus are excellent. I knew that it would take good pictures with little fuss.
The FZ20 also has excellent controls -- with one big exception. To change aperture or shutter speed in Program (fully automatic) mode, you need to press the shutter button half-way down, then press the Exposure button on the back of the camera, and then you can adjust using the rocker switch. The maneuver is every bit as awkward as it sounds. However, I seldom use the Program mode -- I normally use aperture priority, and the adjustment interface is perfectly fine for anything other than the Program mode.
The Canon has ISO ratings of 50, 100, 200, and 400. The Panasonic's are 80, 100, 200, and 400. What I dislike about the Panasonic on this is that a natural way to use the ISO is as a "poor man's" neutral density filter. To do the moral equivalent of adding a 0.3 ND filter, just cut the ISO rating in half. Canon has the right steps for doing that across its range. Also, the Canon has a max. shutter speed of 1/3200, while the Panasonic tops out at 1/2000.
One thing that matters to me is using filters. I use a circular polarized filter to cut down on glare, or a graduated neutral density filter for landscapes with a bright sky and dark foreground. The Panasonic comes with the lens adapter to take filters (72mm, which are a bit pricey). The Canon takes 55 mm filters -- a bit cheaper -- but does not come with the adapter. It is apparently not easy to get the adapter, especially if you order the camera itself on-line to save money. Even from a camera store, getting the adapter is apparently "iffy."
Ultimately, I just couldn't get away from the quality of the Leica lens. In addition to virtually no chromatic aberration, the uniformity of focus and illumination of the lens across the field I wanted to get a new camera for our upcoming trip to Greece. My basic requirements were that it be an ultrazoom and that it have image stabilization (ultrazoom isn't much good without it unless you always use a tripod. If you do, you can save about $150 by foregoing IS). I quickly learned that the current sweet-spot of the market for this class of camera is 5 MPixels, so I further narrowed my search to that. The choices were: Panasonic Lumix DMC F20 and F5; Konica Minolta DImage Z5; Sony CyberShot DSC H1; and Canon Poweshot S2 IS. All cameras in this class use an electronic viewfinder (EVF), which I'm not as fond of as optical.
A few final points on the Panasonic FZ5 vs the FZ20. The FZ5 is about $100 less expensive than the FZ20. However, in addition to no manual focus, the FZ5 does not use ED glass in its Leica lens -- a big difference (adds to chromatic aberration). It also does not have a constant f/2.8 max aperture across the whole zoom -- it creeps up to f/3.3 at the longer lens settings. The constant f is unique to the FZ20 in this class of camera AFAIK, and is a very nice touch. The FZ5 does not have a hot shoe for external flash, which is a big disadvantage. For other differences, go to the [...]
I have purchased the FZ20 and begun the learning curve for getting the max out of the camera. This is a camera for enthusiasts more than for causal photographers. I expet it will take me a few months of experimentation in different contexts to really fully appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of this camera. But it is clearly a wonderful device.
More Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20K 5MP Digital Camera with 12x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom (Black) reviews:
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Description of Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20K 5MP Digital Camera with 12x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom (Black)
At 5.02" x 4.18" x 3.43" in size, this isn't the smallest 5 megapixel digital-camera around but among the best for versatility and features. Movie Mode - Quick Time Motion JPEG - 30 or 10 fps (320 x 240 Pixels) Exposure - Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual Focus - Auto, Normal/Macro (Dial), Continuous AF, Manual (Ring), One-Shot AF 2 TFT Color LCD With 130,000 Pixels (1x, 4x, or 8x Magnification);.33 Color EVF Viewfinder With 114k Pixels, 100% Field of View Connectivity - DC Input, A/V Output ( NTSC or PAL compatible), USB Self Timer - 10 Seconds or 2 Seconds selectable Mega Optical Image Stabilizer Select among pixel resolutions - 2560 x 1920, 2048 x 1536, 1920 x 1080, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480; Motion Image - 320 x 240 ISO Sensitivity - Auto/80/100/200/400 White Balance - Auto/Daylight/Cloudy/Halogen, Flash/White Set, Adjustment (Except Auto) Audio - Built In Microphone (And Speaker) for Still Image Recording With 5 Seconds of Audio, Motion Image Recording With Audio, Audio Dubbing (10 Seconds Maximum) 680 mAh Lithium Battery Pack (Up To 240 CIPA Standard Pictures per charge) Picture Adjustment modes Color Effect Modes - Cool, Warm, Black & White, Sepia Image Quality - TIFF/Fine/Standard SelectableScene Modes - Portrait, Sports, Landscape, Night Landscape, Panning, Night Portrait, Fireworks, Party, Snow, Moving Image, Playback; Dial - Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, Macro - make photo shoots easy and fun Includes - Battery Charger/AC Adapter (Input - 110-240V AC), 7.2V, 680mAh Lithion-ion Batt. Pack, 16MB SD Memory Card, Lens Cap, Hood, Adaptor, A/V/USB Cable, Strap, SD Viewer For DSC USB, Software CDFeaturing a 5-megapixel CCD sensor, the DMC-FZ20K delivers a wide range of detail and color with images up to 2560 x 1920 pixels--enough information to make photo-quality prints up to 13 by 17 inches. Leica DC Vario-Elmarit 12x zoom lens, with 3 aspheric elements, combines comfortably small size with superb image rendering. By combining with a 4x digital zoom, users will have an equivalence of a 48x zoom lens in a very compact body, though users should note that digital zoom degrades picture quality.
Movie Mode and Audio
The DMC-FZ20K lets you shoot QuickTime Motion JPEG video at resolutions up to 320 x 240 pixels with sound. The amount of video you can capture is limited by space on the memory card; you'll fit more at low quality (10 frames-per-second) than at high quality (30 frames-per-second). The movies aren't camcorder quality, but they're fun and convenient, and they're perfect as e-mail attachments. You can also record audio comments, up to five seconds in length, for your still pictures.
More Features
- Flip Animation: Allows you to create your own frame-by-frame animations.
- Unlimited Consecutive Shooting: Allows consecutive shooting up to the capacity of the SD memory card.
- Two-inch diagonal polycrystalline TFT LCD display (130k pixels)
- Hot shoe for external flash attachment
- Mega Burst Shooting Mode: Shoot up to seven images at three or two frames-per-second in standard resolution, or up to four images in fine resolution. This option is designed to provide you with the best selection of photos during action, such as a sporting event.
Storage and Transfer
Images and video are stored on Secure Digital (SD) memory cards. A 16 MB SD card is included. Files can be downloaded to either a Mac or PC via USB connectivity, which means it can be connected to any USB-based Windows 98/Me/2000/XP and Mac OS 8.6 or later computer without installing any software.
Printing
This camera supports the PictBridge standard. PictBridge is a technology that lets you transfer pictures from a digital camera to a compatible printer, without a PC or image-editing software. Because PictBridge is an industry standard, users can connect PictBridge-compatible devices made by many different manufacturers. Learn more about PictBridge.
Power and Size
The camera is powered by lithium-ion battery pack (included with charger). It measures 3.43 by 5.02 by 4.18 inches and weighs 1.14 pounds.
What's in the Box
DMC-FZ20K digital camera, battery charger, battery pack, 16MB SD memory card, lens cap, lens hood with adaptor, A/V and USB cables, strap, and CD-ROM
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