Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ20

8.5 Rating

A new flagship model for Panasonic’s popular TZ (Travel Zoom) series of compact digicams.It’s been just over a year since we reviewed Panasonic’s last TZ-series camera, the TZ10. This camera has been so popular it’s little wonder the company waited until January 2011 before unveiling not one but two updates: the TZ20 and a simpler (and cheaper) model, the TZ18. Many of the features that made the TZ10 a success have been upgraded to better suit the target market: travellers looking for a full-featured, pocketable camera.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX7

Panasonic’s DMC-FX7 is small enough to take anywhere in a pocket or purse. Its mode dial, which is partly enclosed in the camera’s body, has six settings: normal picture mode, simple mode, macro mode, scene mode (with nine pre-sets), motion image mode (QVGA movies at 10 or 30fps) and playback. The simple mode sets all controls to auto and provides three picture settings: enlarge (for A4 prints), 10 x 15cm, and email.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX01

8.5 Rating

Some good still and video features in a pocketable body but the FX01 lacks key manual controls and an optical viewfinder.The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX01 is almost identical to the Leica C-Lux 1. Aside from coming in a silver body, which is similar in size and weight to previous FX models, the most obvious difference between the cameras is the finger rest on the front panel of the FX-01. Panasonic supplies a lower-capacity SD card than Leica (although in both cases more memory will be required so this difference is hardly relevant). Leica has the better software bundle.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1

8 Rating

A well-built Four Thirds system DSLR with a rangefinder camera control layout and dual-angle pop-up flash.Panasonic has described its new Lumix DMC-L1 as combining ‘analog operational concept and design’ and the new model looks and feels like a fusion of a rangefinder camera and the Olympus E-330 (on which much of the L1’s technology is based). With an RRP of $3,849, Panasonic is clearly capitalising on the prestige of the supplied Leica D Vario-Elmarit 14-50mm F2.8-3.5 lens and targeting Leica film camera users who have yet to move into digital capture.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2

8 Rating

Plenty of user-adjustable controls in a high-resolution camera that fits into a jacket pocket.Released just over a year after the DMC-LX1, Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-LX2 model retains many of the admirable features of its innovative predecessor but boasts a higher resolution sensor (10.2 megapixels, vs 8.4). The main advantage of the new model lies in its ‘widescreen’ LCD monitor, which no longer letterboxes shots taken with the camera’s 16:9 setting. There’s also a new widescreen movie mode that records video clips at 1280 x 720 pixels, creating movies for playing back on widescreen TV sets. However, there’s still no optical viewfinder.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1

8 Rating

A sophisticated ‘hybrid’ camera that combines SLR-like controls for still capture with HD video plus stereo sound recording.Like some of the most recent DSLRs, Panasonic’s new DMC-GH1 offers the added benefit of high-definition video capture – but also provides stereo sound recording. First shown at Photokina 2008, the GH1 is based on Panasonic’s first Micro Four Thirds System (MFT) camera, the DMC-G1, and offers most of the same features for still capture. Unlike the G1, which came in black, red and blue, the GH1 will only be sold locally with a black body. In line with their MFT design, both cameras lack reflex mirror viewfinders but they provide the interchangeable lenses and sophisticated controls of the DSLR format in smaller, lighter bodies and are offered with MFT lenses.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2

8.5 Rating

An update to the popular GF1 that is smaller and features a redesigned interface with touch-screen controls.Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-GF2 arrives in retail stores in January 2011, roughly 15 months after we reviewed its predecessor, the GF1. The new model, which will be available in black or white, has the same rangefinder-like styling as its predecessor but is targeted at everyday photographers instead of photo enthusiasts. Accordingly, its user interface has been simplified and a touch-screen interface replaces many button and dial controls.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3

9 Rating

The latest addition to Panasonic’s G-series micro four thirds cameras offers higher resolution, touch screen control and a lower price tag.Panasonic has reduced the price of its latest G-series camera, the Lumix DMC-G3, which is $200 cheaper than the model is replaces was upon initial release. Sensor resolution has been increased to 16 megapixels in the new model and full HD video recording capability is a step up from the G2. The G3 is also marginally smaller and lighter than its predecessor.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18

8.5 Rating

A lightweight digicam with an optically-stabilised 18x optical zoom lens, RAW+JPEG support and a full range of adjustments.Successor to the successful FZ8 model, Panasonic’s latest long-zoom digicam, the DMC-FZ18 sports an 8-megapixel imager and a massive 18x Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens that covers an equivalent focal length range from 28mm to 504mm. Otherwise the two models are superficially quite similar, although the FZ18’s image stabiliser is accessed via the menu instead of through a dedicated button. Internally some sigificant changes have been made in the newer model.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

8.5 Rating

A capable advanced digicam with a 24x zoom lens and support for Full HD video recording with stereo soundtracks.The Lumix DMC-FZ100 takes its place at the top of Panasonic’s FZ series of digicams, which are designed for photo enthusiasts and support raw file capture. Slotting in above the FZ35 (which we reviewed in November, 2009), it extends the zoom range and adds Full HD recording with stereophonic soundtracks.