Panasonic Lumix® DMC-FZ5 Digital Camera

Pros: Monster Leica zoom, picture quality, price, features, included accessories, live histogram, TIFF, compact, weight
Cons: Zooming could be faster and/or variable-speed, no superwide angle, USB could be faster

After using a 2-Megapixel Panasonic DMC-FZ1 (upgraded to FZ2 firmware) for a while and trying out the new 4-Megapixel Panasonic DMC-FZ4, I decided to get the ...

Pros: LOOOOONG reach, easy controls, good battery, hard to beat at this price
Cons: Too small, plastic case, needs manual zoom ring, better EVF

I really have only one big gripe about the DMC-FZ5, and that is that it's too small. The case is tiny for the feature set, and made of plastic, so the thing feels like a toy. I guess some people would like that, but to me it feels fragile, and ...

Pros: 12X optical zoom, great lens, easy or complicated to use, your choice, great battery life.
Cons: Viewfinder in low light situations, lack of wide angle, no manual focus.

I've had my FZ5 for about 5 weeks now and have used it in many types of situations. It's a great camera at a fair price. The 12X optical zoom is a great feature and the len produces an excellent image. There are a few ways to set up features for this ...

Pros: Small, light, clear pictures, stabilizer technology, easy to use
Cons: Some functions hidden in menus, not very wide-angle, stabilizer will not work under certain conditions

I've been looking to replace my Olympus C40 (also known as the D40) for years. When I first got it, it was one of the most compact 4-megapixel cameras out there, but at a 2.8 optical zoom, it just doesn't cut it for occasions when you need something ...

Pros: Leica lens, general looks, image stabilization, 12x zoom, Li-ion battery
Cons: Can sometimes hunt for focus on a pure white subject.

I will not give the specs; they're easy to find. I will explain who this camera is best suited for and what my experience has been. What makes a bad picture? Poor composition, poor lighting/poor exposure, and blurry pictures. No camera will ...

Pros: Extremely sharp resolution, excellent zoom range, light, good exposure controls, stabilization.
Cons: Autofocus not reliable, two iffy stabilization modes, bundled software not the best.

Even after three weeks of heavy use, it's hard to tell if I like this camera or not. Outside, in daylight, its resolution is crisp, colors are spot on, and there's no visible noise (electronic 'graininess') even on bright white or coal black areas of a ...

Pros: Great zooming, Optical image stabilization, advanced yet easy interface, digital viewfinder, great macro.
Cons: No manual focusing (difficulty auto-focusing at max telephoto), darker situations make noisy pictures.

The Panasonic FZ-5 is definitely not the camera for someone who wants to just take a few pictures of their friends and family. It's a much more advanced camera than a simple point and shoot. This is no SLR, but then again, nothing compares to an ...

Pros: Great stabilized zoom, great at low light, lotsa manual controls. Nice shape, long battery life.
Cons: Plastic feel,tiny buttons,SD Card only, few accessories avail,I want a hot shoe!

I reviewed this camera at some other website even before it was released in the US. In my review I thought that it was already doing what I expected. This can be a follow-up to my first review. It is still doing everything that I expected and is still ...

Pros: Adequate build quality, lens
Cons: Noise, shutter/flash speed, connection speed

Basically, if you're only going to be shooting outdoor stills, this is a fine camera. If you're someone who needs to take shots indoors, or of moving subjects, look elsewhere.I wanted to like this camera. I bought it to replace a malfunctioning Canon ...

Pros: Super zoom, Image stabilization.
Cons: Build quality, warranty, Panasonic customer support.

This is a warning to anyone thinking about a Panasonic camera. I bought a DMC-FZ5 and had it less than 30 days before it started malfunctioning in the play mode (some type of warning saying the mode dial was not in the right position). Butterfly Photo, ...

Pros: Excellent picture quality. Long battery life.
Cons: Premature failure; lack of response by Panasonic Slow to focus. Delay before shutter activates.

I was pleased with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5, with the exception of its being quite slow to find focus, and a certain amount of shutter lag. That is, until it died at 6 months of age, after having recorded less that 500 images. While making ...

Pros: 12X Zoom quick startup
Cons: poor quality prints

I purchased a DMC-FZ5 back in Sept of 2005. It is more complicated to operate than I thought and I've never been able to get pictures with as good a quality as I'd hoped for. I hike and bought this camera after much online research. I was ...

Pros: great zoom range, image stabiliser, manual over-rides on most settings
Cons: weedy pop-up flash, accessory lens hood a bit of a mixed blessing

Panasonic have built a considerable reputation within the digital photography field and have become a major player, something they never quite achieved in the traditional film market. Models like the DMC-FZ5 have played a large part in this success. ...

Pros: Outstanding Leica lens, great features, perfect size and weight, outstanding picture quality and FAST!!!
Cons: SD memory card that's included is too small.

This is my fourth digital camera that I own. It's now my favorite. The Leica lens is outstanding quality. It's unbelievably fast with very little shutter lag. It's priced fair, it's lightweight, easy to set, nice menu system, great macro features, color is "dead on". Sharpness is great including when zoomed. Digital zoom is outstanding up to 48X. Many scene modes to choose from. The flash works very well, perfect exposures and even lighting. I love this camera and recommend it to the beginner and pro's alike. Bottom line, this camera is a lot of fun and has become my #1 favorite techie toy!

Pros: Great Zoom User-friendly Party scene mode excellent OIS works great in good lighting
Cons: Can blur in telephoto if no tripod. In low light can also blur easily.

This camera really takes sharp, clear and colourful pictures, and the zoom is great. When in low light, you really should keep the camera still though because it lets a lot of light in and you will get blurry pictures if you aren't careful. The zoom is great, but to use it effectively you really need a tripod. If you're just looking for a carry-along camera, then this one is too much - you'd do better with LZ-1.

I paid ZAR 3600, which is roughly $600 currently. I guess no one will be flying to South Africa for our cheap cameras!