Image Quality
Most of the images turned out pretty well. The contrast was good especially with the help of the auto modes. Focusing was fast and battery life was decent.)
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For more details on the shots taken with the FZ18, click on the image.
To maximize the FZ18's 18x zoom, the optical image stabilizer, at its highest setting, allowed us to shoot at a shutter speed of 1/125 second instead of the theoretical 1/500 seconds.
The exposure was accurate most of the time though the camera had a tendency to burn out highlights. In high-contrast pictures, we found little evidence of purple fringing.
In terms of battery life, Panasonic claims the FZ18 is capable of taking up to 400 pictures before running flat. In real-world usage, we clocked close to 300 shots by using the viewfinder for composition and the LCD for occasional picture-editing and deleting. This should be sufficient for a weekend holiday without any additional charging.
