Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5

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Announced together with the DMC-FZ4, the DMC-FZ5 is Panasonic's 5-megapixel update of the more compact, snapshot-oriented DMC-FZ3. While the DMC-FZ4 won't be heading toward our shores, we think the DMC-FZ5 will quickly become one of the hottest favorites in the megazoom category.

Small In Size, Big On Features
In upping the resolution stakes to 5 million pixels and improving the autofocus algorithms, Panasonic has basically removed two of the major bugbears of the DMC-FZ3. To further appeal to the point-and-shoot crowd, the Japanese vendor has also increased the size of the 1.5-inch LCD to the now "standard" 1.8-inch variant. In its new entirety, the gap differentiating between the manufacturer's prosumer offering (DMC-FZ20) and full-featured point-and-shoot offering (DMC-FZ4 and -FZ5) has narrowed significantly--the DMC-FZ20 offers manual focusing, flash hotshoe, and faster lens with the added bulk.

Like the DMC-FZ3, the DMC-FZ5 has a smaller lens and filter thread size and all the optional converter lenses for the higher-end DMC-FZ20 can't be used. However, for the more advanced hobbyist, there shouldn't be much difficulty finding a compatible converter from third-party manufacturers.

Despite the point-and-shoot tagging to appeal to what manufacturers term "soccer mums", the DMC-FZ5 does sport creative options found on more pro-oriented solutions. There's the ability to tweak both aperture and shutter settings to get the desired results--something even the more advanced shooters will be pleased about.

In Use
The first issue we had with the camera was related to one of its better selling points--its lightweight and compact size. While the handgrip had the necessary depth, it was sorely lacking in terms of length. We couldn't find room for our pinky and even our ring finger had trouble hanging on. This took a little adjusting to and. if not for Panasonic's optical image stabilization (O.I.S.) system, we think blurry shots would be the norm for this megazoom. However, we concede that users with small digits should have no problems with this form factor.

Apart from the rather short grip, the camera handled fairly well. With no jog dials, manual exposure settings were a little awkward to work with--but that didn't stop the Panasonic FZs from being popular. On the upside, former users of Panasonic's FZ series should also feel right at home with the control layout.

In terms of image capture performance, the DMC-FZ5 turned in a pretty good score sheet. The only area needing some improvement was the AF function at full telephoto setting. Even for that, it still managed a "lock" at close to 2 seconds. For other focal ranges, it took less than a second for the AF to work. Shot-to-shot times were about a second with the flash disabled and 1-2 seconds with the flash switched on. With regard to continuous shots, the DMC-FZ5 recorded four frames in just over a second. This puts it close to the manufacturer's claim of 3.3fps. After four shots, there was a slight 1-2 second pause before you'd able to repeat the continuous capture.

With regard to image quality, the DMC-FZ5 turned in mostly pleasing photos. Although some of the images exhibited some artifacts from oversharpening, they were on the whole accurately exposed and colors were natural. The DMC-FZ5's ISO performance was generally okay. With the camera's noise reduction function switched on, ISO 200 and ISO 400 captures were usable. We should mention that you do lose a fair bit of detail at ISO 400 with noise reduction enabled.

The Verdict
The DMC-FZ5 will soon see competition from Canon with the S2 IS that's slated to appear later on in the year. As of now, the compact megazoom category has nothing substantial to compete against this nicely featured shooter. In any case, if you have small digits and want a full-featured digicam, you should take a serious look at the DMC-FZ5.