Panasonic DMC-L10 review

Panasonic, a leader in digital technology, is delighted to announce the launch of their second digital single-lens reflex camera (SLR) – the DMC-L10 with an interchangeable LEICA lens. The DMC-L10 features an advanced 2.5-inch free angle LCD for full time live view that offers 270 degree rotation and a versatile shooting style. A 10.1-megapixel Live MOS Sensor provides beautiful images with delicate gradation and wide dynamic range. Dust reduction with a Supersonic Wave Filter system prevents dust from attaching to the sensor to degrade the pictures. The superb image processor, Venus Engine III, boasts high quality image rendering and a high speed response.

Four Thirds System – Developed Exclusively for digital SLR

The DMC-L10 adopts the open format of the Four Thirds system for its lens mount – so the L10 can be used with lenses made by a variety of manufacturers, giving users a host of equipment options. Drawing on leading technologies while defying any stereotype ideas in SLR cameras, Panasonic’s DMC-L10 is designed to help you make the most of your photographic creativity.

One of the DMC-L10’s real talking points is the LEICA D VARIO-ELMAR 14-50mm / F3.8-5.6 / MEGA O.I.S. lens. Sold as a complete kit – the combination of the world renowned Leica lens, with Panasonic’s excellence in digital photography – makes an impressive proposition.

Full-time Live View for a New Digital SLR Shooting Style

The full-time live view function on the LCD proposes a dramatic change in the shooting style of digital SLR cameras. The DMC-L10’s 2.5-inch large LCD offers 270 degree rotation and a versatile shooting style even in situations when looking into the viewfinder is not easy – so you don’t need to get down on bended knee, or lie flat on the ground – you can see the subject even while holding the camera up high. This free angle LCD also features an Intelligent LCD function that offers an automatic brightness level control function according to the light condition, under the strong sunlight or in darkness, to secure clear view anytime.

The full-time live view gives users more shooting flexibility and greater convenience not previously achieved by conventional digital SLR cameras without live view capability. Not one to rest on its laurels, Panasonic introduces another first for a digital SLR camera by incorporating a Face Detection and Intelligent ISO Control function. The face detection system detects human faces (up to 15 human faces can be detected simultaneously) and sets a focus and appropriate exposure to capture a face clearly and beautifully lit. The Intelligent ISO Control function detects and meters the movement of the subject and sets the suitable ISO setting and the shutter speed according to the amount of the movement to suppress the generation of motion-blur in the picture.

The live view enables the user to check the outcome image in advance after compensating the exposure or adjusting the white balance. The white balance can be adjusted in the area of two-axis of coordinates precisely. Furthermore, the DMC-L10 provides options of picture taste with a function called Film Mode. Each analog film has its characteristics, for example colour, contrast, gradation and these effect the outcome of the picture, they are ways of expression. With the DMC-L10, the Film Mode allows you to choose the one that takes the best advantage of the scene or the subject you take out of a total of nine film modes including Standard, Dynamic, Nature, Smooth, Nostalgic, Vibrant, Standard B/W, Dynamic B/W and Smooth B/W, with the capability of fine adjustment of contrast, sharpness, saturation and noise reduction. All these settings can be confirmed before you take the picture.

Users can also change the aspect ratio (4:3, 3:2 and 16:9) according to the situation. As a leader in the flat panel market, Panasonic has been proposing further enjoyment of photography, by viewing the dynamic photos you take in HD (high-definition) 1920 x 1080 resolution image size on 16:9 wide screens.

In conventional digital SLR cameras, the live image could be seen only through the view finder and the LCD existed just for the playback of images once taken. But with the DMC-L10, any trials of setting, adjustment and effect can be checked beforehand, ensuring the picture will be just as the user intended.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 review

Barely half a year after the introduction of the DMC-FZ8, Panasonic added another model to its popular range of compact 'super zoom' Lumix cameras in the shape of the FZ18. Although obviously based on the FZ8 (they are externally almost identical), the FZ18 doesn't replace it; it's a sort of 'big brother' with a bigger zoom, more pixels and a smattering of new features.

The biggest news is the optically stabilized lens, which has 'grown' at both ends and now sports a whopping 18x (28-504mm equiv.) zoom, putting the FZ18 into direct competition with Olympus' SP-550UZ (now updated to the SP-560UZ) and Fujifilm's recently announced FinePix S8000fd.

Almost inevitably the FZ18 squeezes even more pixels onto its 1/2.5-inch sensor, although the increase has been fairly moderate from 7.3 to 8.3 megapixels. Other new features include a dedicated AF/AE button, Face Detection and a new Intelligent Auto mode which integrates Image Stabilization, Intelligent ISO, Face Detection and Scene Detection into a 'Super' Auto Mode.

Despite the usual noise issues you would expect from a tiny sensor/big zoom camera (and our dislike of Panasonic's approach to noise reduction), overall we were pretty impressed with the FZ8 when we reviewed it a few months ago. This was to a large degree due to the superb LEICA lens. So let's find out how Panasonic have tackled the noise challenge - and if the new lens, with it's much more ambitious zoom range, can match its predecessor, starting with a look at what's changed:

Major differences to DMC-FZ8

• 18x optical zoom (28-504mm equiv.) - FZ8 has 12x (36-432mm) zoom
• Smaller maximum aperture at long end of zoom (F4.2 vs F3.1)
• 8.3 megapixel sensor (vs 7.2 megapixel)
  
• Face Detection
• Intelligent Auto mode
• Manually selectable ISO 1600
• ISO 6400 High Sensitivity mode
• AF/AE lock button and dedicated AF/MF button
• 1cm macro (was 5cm)
• Custom mode and extra scene modes (plus 'advanced scene modes')
• Five level Noise reduction (was three level)
• Slower continuous shooting (burst)
• Heavier and slightly larger

Panasonic - DMC-FX5 review

We would hate to suggest that the looks and styling of a digital camera would be a major influence on your buying decision. When you're spending £300 you should be able to expect something fairly impressive for your money, but the Panasonic DMC-FX5 looks rather dull and understated.

It's a quality piece of kit that has an unusual machined finish on the front so the casing is very finely ridged, with the result that the camera changes colour very slightly as you move it around in the light. It's a little odd, and it certainly has no bearing on the performance of the DMC-FX5, but it summed up our experiences with the Panasonic. Initially we were unimpressed, but as we used the camera more its qualities started to shine through.

This is a conventional compact digital camera that is a similar size and shape to the Canon, Casio and Olympus models, with a Li-Ion battery and SD card under one cover, and the transfer and power ports under a second cover. The screen is the usual 1.5-inch item that we have become accustomed to, and when you flip the power switch the lens extends. The first time this happens there is an annoying and unnecessary beeping noise, but you can easily disable it in the set-up menu.

As we said, it's a very conventional camera, and although the build quality is exemplary it seems rather over-priced, right up to the point where you start to take photos. The first photos taken using the Normal Picture mode were rather average, and seemed to confirm that the DMC-FX5 is a rather uninspiring camera.

As we investigated the rotary dial with its nine positions, we started to see what the camera was capable of. After that we had a good look through the menus, which are neatly laid out and easy to use, and we were also impressed by the quality of the controls.

It became clear that there are two ways to fix the focus of the camera, either by pressing a dual function button on the back of the camera, or by lightly pressing the shutter button before you take your shot. Once we worked that out the quality of our pictures improved greatly, and we started to revel in this camera. Close-up shots were amazingly sharp and detailed, and fixing the focus meant that the camera wasn't confused by shiny or translucent surfaces, which is a failing of many cameras that we have used.

It's a little annoying that it is possible to take really good photos with the DMC-FX5 so long as you take your time, but if you act in haste the results can be very pedestrian. We suspect that most digital camera owners want a camera that they can point and click, allowing the electronics and lens to do all the hard work for them. We sympathise with this view, so while we were impressed by the DMC-FX5 we doubt that it is ideally suited to the man in the street.