Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic DMC-FZ10BS Digital Camera [4MP , 12 x Optical] Silver

I have been reading up on this camera for about a month now. i've decided to buy it, it is wicked. look at reviews (search for them on google) it is a great camera, the stabilisation feature is a godsend on such a big zoom camera. Went into a shop today to see if they could order one for me and guess what!!! there was one in the cabinet - really big! I had a go and have to say i fell in love with it. as with most of panasonics stuff its built really well and surpasses most in its price range. The lcd screen is really good, like a tv, really fluid and crisp and the amount of zoom is just out of this world. manual focus is also great and so is the price offered by amazon, its the cheaest i can find and i trust amazon to deliver. Do go to a shop first to try it out though, i know if you are anything like me you'll love it!

I've been using an FZ-10 for a few months (my second digital camera, after a few years with a Casio QV2800 -- my interests in motorsport and railways mean that I do a lot of shooting at loooong focal lengths).

My choice of the FZ-10 was largely down to the combination of
4 megapixels, a 420mm-equivalent lens and stabiliser. I was looking at the Nikon 5700, Olympus 770, Canon S1 IS and the Minolta A and Z ranges as alternatives.

The images I've been getting out of the FZ-10 have actually made me a lot more ambitious about all my digital photography - it's such a good lens and sensor that it's tempted me to take a lot more chances. The stabilisation has encouraged me to experiment with more night shots than I've ever tried before as well as making ultra-long zoom really usable (I now very rarely take my tripod out with me), and proper control over shutter speed and f-stop mean you can really *think* about your pictures.

The advantages of the FZ-10:

(1) The lens is just gorgeous. Positively *sucks* light in and is really usable over its full range.

(2) The stabiliser really does make a difference. I've "held" shots without a tripod down to about 1/4s with no visible shake, and it makes ultra-zoom a hell of a lot less twitchy. Consumes battery like it was going out of fashion in the continuous mode, though - the "only when the shutter's pressed" mode is more practical a lot of the time.

(3) There's a reasonable burst mode which helps those of us of with high-speed sporting interests!

(4) The user interface is good. I'd prefer a manual zoom ring as
well as the manual focus ring, but you can't have everything. You've got the choice of EVF or LCD screen, the menu system is pretty intuitive, the few built-in modes are well-considered, and it's generally easy to make the camera do your bidding. After a couple of sessions with it you'll feel very much 'at home'. If anything the user interface reminds me a lot of Canon.

(5) Battery life is very good - which is fortunate because it uses a custom Panasonic battery pack!

(6) Most important of all - I get a lot more compliments about my pictures than I used to get when I was using my old Casio. ;)

The disadvantages of the FZ-10:

(1) Despite being small (and rather stylish, in black!) in the body, the whopping lens makes it a big camera, especially if you use the lens hood. You aren't going to get it into a pocket (just about feasible with my old 2800UX, the tilting lens helped!), a case is mandatory (it's a snug fit in a Tamrac 5683).

(2) Filters for 65mm (hood off)/72mm (hood on) are pricy. Culture shock after the relatively cheap 43mm on my old Casio!

(3) There is no uncompressed image mode (on the FZ-10 anyway, don't know about the FZ-20) - the best you're going to get out of it is low-compression JPEG. I've found these to be pretty much artefact-free though, and crisp prints up to near-A4 haven't been a problem.

(4) Macro doesn't go quite as close in as my old Casio used to, but that's something I very rarely need.

(5) The built-in flash is nothing to write home about, but there's a shoe for an external unit. If I did more night-time or indoor work I might invest in one, but it'd add bulk...

(6) The neck-strap is horrid, and should be replaced ASAP!

Overall the disadvantages are far outweighed by the advantages, and the sheer pleasure the FZ-10's been giving me (and the boost in quality to my pictures) mean that I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

Assuming you are not new to digital photography - you will find the "Fizzie 10" a remarkable bit of kit, the functionality is useable, but not of the fluffy variety that other manufacturers provide!

The camera body cannot be described as compact, yet it is remarkably light and holds well in your hand. The feature list is very good (Although more pixels wouldnt go amiss). The best bit about the camera though is the lens - it is absolutely remarkeable, both in useability (A 35-420mm range) and picture quality (very little purple fringing even when right at its limits ) and the stabiliser is really usefull especially in low light conditions, or when the Zoom is at maximium magnification.

The menu is easy to use, the EVF (Viewfinder) is really good, giving you all the info that you want.

I use this beastie for work and fun, it does well on both counts, allowing fast action shots when I go skiing, and set up shots I take for the website and smaller ones for the brochure.

The downsides:- I have yet to find a camera case for it, and there is no lanyard for the lenscap, which means that you end up holding it in your left hand whilst trying to manage the shot... The only other change I would like is for the camera to save raw files rather than only .jpeg's

I love this camera, whilst its not 100% faultless, it's as easy to use as a compact, yet takes professionl quality pics.