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By Jasmine Kamiko, CNET Asia
Sep 18, 2007

Meet a lightweight digital powerhouse that’s tough on quality, features and usability. Featuring 18x zoom and a 28mm wide-angle lens, this 8.1-megapixel digicam packs enough features to satisfy both amateurs and prosumers.

Design

Weighing 360g (or 407g with battery and memory card), the Lumix FZ18 steps in with a footprint that's considered compact for a camera of its class. Compared with the Canon S5 IS (450g with 10x optical zoom), the Lumix looks and feels sturdier despite its light weight.

     

For more details on the FZ18's design, click on the image.

Available in both silver and black, the metallic chassis looks like it can withstand quite a bit of wear-and-tear. The Leica wide-angle lens is protected by a high-gloss brushed metal lens ring and a secure lens cap.

The 2.5-inch TFT LCD display is big and bright enough for viewing even under strong sunlight. And like most Panasonics, the LCD has three brightness levels. Choosing the highest level will render the LCD so bright that its viewing angle is increased to the point you can hold the camera over your head and still see the screen. However, it still lags behind the Canon PowerShot S5 IS's flip-out swivel screen in terms of flexibility.

The viewfinder is equally usable as well. We particularly like the polished metal mode dial and the knurled design on its circumference (we assume it's for aesthetics and not to increase grip).

The grip area is made of rubberized texture with a contoured edge on the thumb area that fits nicely without adding bulk to the camera. While there're many buttons placed all over the body, it's not difficult to make sense of them. It helps that the keys have clearly labelled functions and are shaped/textured differently. The buttons on the camera top primarily control the focus and capture modes, while the ones on the camera back are for menu selections, including a little joystick.

A speaker is located to the right of the viewfinder and the camera doesn't come with a hotshoe, unlike the Canon PowerShot S5 IS.

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