Panasonic Lumix Dmc Fz18
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 with its heavy duty lens is what would be described as a bulky camera. Although it seems a bit oversized it has been designed to feel comfortable in your hands. You can use the hand grip that is set into the entire right hand side or choose to use the lens barrel. Even with the bulk of the DMC-FZ18 it is still relatively easy to point and shoot like any of the smaller more light weight cameras.
Although this camera does not have a zoom ring it does have a manual variation that allows you to zoom. If you turn the control a little then it will zoom in and out slowly; turn it more and it will zoom fast. If you want to manually focus in on your pictures then you will need to do so via the four way controller on the back.
The DMC-FZ18 is not a camera that a professional would use because it is not advanced enough and the picture quality is not up to par. It is also a poor choice for those who are used to using a point and click camera as it is too complicated. The best consumer for this camera would probably be amateur photographers who want to learn the process of photography but not ready to pay the price tag for a DSLR.
This camera does have a great optical zoom. You can zoom in at 18x which when used with the optical image stabilization you can get really sharp photos at the upper end of the zoom range. This is true even when hand held. Although it is lacking some of the nicer feature a regular point and shoot camera does it may be a decent trade of because it does have RAW support.
The viewfinder on the DMC-FZ18 is excellent. It is bright and distinct, some considering it to be one of the best. The menu system is also great, being very easy to use.
One drawback is that the noise quality control is very poor. With high amounts of ISO the pictures are awash with little green blobs. Fortunately this is only an occurrence on pictures that are underexposed as well as taken at above ISO-400.
Overall the DMC-FZ18 would make a great starter camera for consumers that are interested in photography and want to start to dapple. It is not probably a good choice for those who want to shoot in low light as they may become distorted with blotches.
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