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Nikon D80

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18K 8.1MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

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Brand: Panasonic
Category: Photography

Buy New: $364.99

New (4) Used (4) Refurbished (1) from $205.00

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

176 reviews
Sales Rank: 3520

Color: Black
Media: Electronics
System Memory: 27
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Monitor Size: 250
Optical Zoom: 18
Digital Zoom: 4
Display Size: 2.5
Maximum Focal Length: 82.8
Minimum Focal Length: 6
Maximum Resolution: 8.1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 3 x 4.6 x 3.5

MPN: DMC-FZ18K
Model: DMC-FZ18K
UPC: 037988986941
EAN: 0037988986941
ASIN: B000TM7GD8

Release Date: September 20, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 6-10 of 176

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Best camera this side of a digital SLR October 16, 2007
Cooldaddyluke (New York, NY)
47 out of 49 found this review helpful

I upgraded from a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5, which was a great camera. The FZ18 is a huge upgrade. The extra-distanced telephoto, the ability to make fast adjustments with the joystick, user-friendly controls, and a wide-angle lens to boot. My friend has a Canon S3, which is a great camera, too. The S3 and Canon S5 do not have a wide angle lens, which makes the FZ18 the most versatile camera this side of a digital SLR. Oh yes, the photos are tremendous. The nice-sized LCD monitor is very good, however my one criticism compared to the Canon S3 & S5 is that the FZ18 LCD is not adjustable/movable. All in all, for the money you can't beat it; it's the best digital camera on the market right now.

Best advanced point and shoot out there December 2, 2007
Jay Y. Hodgson (Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
43 out of 44 found this review helpful

I normally use digital SLR cameras. However, they are not always ideal to travel with or taking out to friend's houses or nights on the town. I bought this Panasonic because it is small yet powerful enough to take more advanced pictures (not just the quick point and shoot).

So far, I'm really impressed with the camera. The optics are top-notch. The glass is able to resolve the finest details. As far as point and shoot lenses go, the glass in this Panasonic is absolutely incredible. They are simply the best you'll get in non SLR cameras.

The reason I gave it 4 out of 5 stars is because the noise that appears in some pictures when using higher iso settings. Perhaps I'm spoiled from the low-noise pictures from my DSLRs. Panasonic put the best glass in this camera, but ultimately limited the camera's performance by using the small, noisy sensors.

Is it still a great camera? Yes, absolutely. All little point and shoot cameras are crippled by the same sensor noise, so this Panasonic is no different. However, the glass is wonderful. The zoom is excellent. It's a joy to use and takes marvelous pictures. Just don't expect miracles at high isos.

I recommend this camera to anyone. It is well worth the money and will take excellent pictures for you.

4 out of 5 stars

Getting better all the time October 30, 2007
D. HOFFMAN
27 out of 28 found this review helpful

The image stabilization is JUST adequate for 18X shots, but only if you make an effort to hold the camera steady. And, due to the small chip size, the dynamic range is somewhat limited and noise is apparent on most shots using ISO above 200. Even with these limitations, this is by far the best digi camera I've owned (and that's a BUNCH). Very fast and accurate focus, wonderful lens, and well thought out menu/control system.

5 out of 5 stars

Great Camera, BUT.... November 22, 2007
Tahir J. Naim (California, USA)
23 out of 31 found this review helpful

if you already own the FZ7 you may not want to upgrade. I bought the FZ18 for the 50% greater zoom, but as you can see from the 2 bird of paradise pix I've posted, there does not seem to be any difference between the two cameras at full zoom. I used a tripod and just switched out the cameras so the distance was the same. I did the same to obtain the pix of the sandhill cranes at a much greater distance. Yet the field of view whether at 12X for the FZ7 or 18X for the FZ18 is the same! With that result I am returning this camera as the RAW feature and video improvement are not enough for me. That should not stop you, however, from buying this camera or a FZ7 if you want something half the size of a DSLR that will take awesome pix and fit in your fannypack.

So if you're looking for a great camera starting out I highly recommend the Lumix series (you might be able to find the FZ7 new for $100 or so less than this camera), but if you're thinking of upgrading from a FZ3 or better, then I'd hold off for another iteration or so.

3 out of 5 stars

Question about this camera November 16, 2007
Ale (Olympia, WA United States)
20 out of 44 found this review helpful

We got this camera some weeks ago.
I am reading reviews and now know it's not a point and shoot camera and I understand that.
However, I have been learning how to use it and try the different settings to try to take better pictures. It seems to me it's sort of hard to take good pictures inside (low-light conditions) in the intelligent auto mode. I read reviews saying good things about the IAM mode. But in my case it gives me noisy pictures. We took pictures without flash inside (lights inside were on) and the skin color in people look way red and it's like the same red from skin covered places like shirt sleeves and such.

I have also found out, the zoom is great and it clearly controls the jittering when you are zooming a lot. But other than that, I dont seem to find a setting I can use for when I need to take a good picture (good quality) and I dont have much time to think which setting or scene mode to use. The quality when putting the pictures in my computer doesnt seem to be the best, even the picture size is set to 8M. If you zoom in to the picture in the computer, the pixelation is a lot.

Do you have any comments on this? do you agree? I need some feedback.
I want to know if this are drawbacks of the camera, or if I am just not suitable for a camera this complicated. Thanks!

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