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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.

     

For more details on the shots taken with the FZ18, click on the image.

Image quality at ISO 200 was clean. However, slight noise was manifest at ISO 400 and we detected smudging at ISO 800, but this is common for most cameras at this price range. We found minimal barrel distortion at 28mm which was surprising for a wide-angle lens.

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.

Conclusion

The FZ18 offers a host of powerful and interesting features for a camera of its class. It certainly rivals its competitors and provides great value for money. Its ease of use is of note for a user who isn't prepared to delve into a camera's manual exposure settings, but who wants something better than a point-and-shoot.

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