Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28

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http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/digitalcameras/0,39030233,49302399,00.htm

Reviewed 28 May 2009

Reviewed by Theano Nikitas

The 10-megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28's 18x (27-486mm equivalent) zoom may seem modest compared to some of the other superzooms on the market, such as the 26x zoom Olympus SP-590 UZ. But the FZ28 makes up for this with a solid feature set, including manual exposure controls, Panasonic's excellent Mega Optical Image Stabiliser and a relatively effective 'intelligent auto' mode. If you're enticed by the higher megapixel count of other superzoom models, you needn't be. Ten megapixels is more than enough resolution to turn out some really good-sized prints.

The FZ28 can be snapped up for around £250.

Design
Like its predecessor, the Lumix DMC-FZ18, the FZ28 has the standard superzoom look and feel of a digital SLR, but without an interchangeable lens. At 414g, the FZ28 is about half the weight of the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS and is light enough to carry around all day without any strain or pain. It measures 117 by 76 by 89mm, so you won't be able to stash it even in the largest of pockets, but a small camera bag or medium-sized purse can easily hold the camera.

A new, 69mm (2.7-inch) LCD, only slightly larger than the FZ18's 64mm (2.5-inch) monitor, but of higher resolution, works well under most lighting conditions and can be adjusted via three brightness options. The first, 'auto power', automatically adjusts to the surrounding lighting conditions; 'power LCD' increases the brightness; and 'high angle' really pumps up the brightness so you can easily see the screen even when the camera is held over your head.

The electronic viewfinder is relatively bright, and large enough to be useful. It also gains up under low light, but we noticed some distortion around the perimeter of the EVF. Also, as with all EVFs, the refresh rate slows in low light. Still, the EVF is quite usable.

There's no hot shoe, but the on-board flash extends far enough to light a subject almost 5.5m away (using telephoto and auto ISO). A feature we always like is the ability to adjust the flash output, and the FZ28 allows up to +/-2 adjustment in 1/3 steps.

While snapshooters might experience a learning curve when stepping up to the FZ28 from a point-and-shoot camera (except when they're using the intelligent auto, program AE or scene modes), more experienced users will be able to easily transition to the FZ28. Outfitted with plenty of dedicated controls, the buttons and dials are logically arranged along the surface of the well-designed and comfortable grip, and on the camera's rear panel.

Atop the grip, you'll find the mode dial, autofocus macro focus, and AF/MF buttons, as well as the power switch and the shutter/zoom lever combo. The silver mode dial looks good and is packed with options, including intelligent auto, program AE, aperture priority, shutter speed priority, manual, two custom settings, movie, scene (which provides access to the scene menu) and several scene modes, such as night portrait, sports, scenery and macro. The latter individual scene modes also offer multiple options within the settings. Under the macro scene mode, for example, you can choose from 'flower', 'food', 'objects' or 'creative'.

While the silver mode dial is attractive, it's highly reflective and, under sunlight, the individual icons are difficult to see. Fortunately, the modes are visible on the LCD as you cycle through the options.

The rear of the camera is well-organised, with an EVF/LCD switch, flash open button, AF/AE lock and a new, helpful record/playback switch. A joystick calls up a quick menu for easy access to the most-often changed settings.

The four-way controller with a centre 'set' button has slightly more depth to it than most. The up arrow, when pressed multiple times, provides access to exposure compensation, bracketing options and flash output adjustments. To change flash settings, press the right arrow when the flash is popped up. The down arrow can be customised to access ISO, white balance, metering mode, AF mode, intelligent exposure or as a review button. The left arrow accesses the self-timer that includes a 10-second/3-picture option. The set button also calls up the easy-to-navigate main menu.

Features
Notable features include 30 frames per second 720p movie recording, in clips up to 2GB, which the FZ28 saves using the Motion JPEG codec as a QuickTime MOV file. You can zoom during capture, as well as use the optical image stabiliser. It also offers two custom white-balance settings, a Kelvin temperature white-balance option and the ability to tweak the white balance by adjusting amber, blue, green and magenta points. Always a plus is having the option to set a maximum ISO and minimum shutter speed, which earns the FZ28 a few extra points.

Performance
Although not the fastest camera on the market, the FZ28 is fairly zippy for a superzoom and can certainly hold its own against the competition. It powers on and shoots in 2.3 seconds, and focuses and shoots relatively quickly under good and low-contrast conditions -- 0.6 seconds and 0.8 seconds, respectively. Its 1.8 seconds between shots is pretty good, and the 2.4 seconds shot-to-shot time with flash is pretty typical for this class.

While its burst performance may seem fast, it's limited to 3 shots at full resolution and quality, which makes it less than useful. In its infinite burst mode, we expect performance to be about the same as that of competitors. But we never felt that the FZ28 was sluggish, and the autofocus feels very responsive in bright light.

The camera's new AF tracking feature works relatively well, as long as the subject is well illuminated and doesn't move too quickly. And Panasonic's optical image stabilisation does a good job when shooting at slower shutter speeds.

Image quality is solid but not outstanding. The FZ28 produces natural-looking colours, and exposures are generally even and accurate, especially outdoors. As is typical, macro shots are especially sharp, as were those from wide to about the midrange of the zoom. Telephoto shots are slightly soft, even at lower ISOs. But, as with many Panasonic cameras, you can see noise artefacts even at the camera's lowest sensitivity of ISO 100, particularly in shadowed areas.

In part, this seems to stem from more poorly executed noise suppression in the blue channel than most. There's visible softening as low as ISO 200, and by ISO 800 you lose a significant amount of detail. Sensitivity is best kept at ISO 400 or below, but you'll be able to get decent prints above that setting. Just try to keep the noise reduction set low in order to avoid softer images.

Conclusion
Panasonic delivers a solid superzoom in the Lumix DMC-FZ28. Although it's not particularly outstanding in any particular area -- its image quality is its weakest link -- a well-thought-out and robust feature set, plus above-average performance, help it to rise above much of the competition.

Additional editing by Charles Kloet