Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic DMCFZ28 Digital Camera - Black (10.1MP, 18x Optical Zoom) 2.7" LCD

I bought this camera as an impulse buy previous to a trip to Russia, forgoing my Canon DSLR 20D and all its lenses as too cumbersome. I can honestly say this was the best move I made. It is a superb camera, performing well even in the most difficult of conditions. I hardly used the flash at all, relying on the iA mode. Even in museums, the results were perfect. I love this camera, despite paying hundreds of pounds in Canon lenses for my DSLR. I honestly would recommend this camera, especially for travelling light. All I can say is, WOW! I'm a happy photographer!

UltraZooms have came to bridge the gap between Point-&-Shoot cameras and DSLRs. They may not be the easiest to carry in a pocket (especially in the summer) but offer much better lenses, sensors and features than their mobile-phone sized cousins. This is what has came to be known as the CREATIVITY segment of the camera market - and the PANASONIC FZ28 is the its absolute leader.

For months now I kept borrowing my brother's FZ18 as I was researching the market for my own UltraZoom. Since this could not go on indefinitely (and my summer vacation was coming up), I decided on the NIKON P80. Although a very good camera I found it fickle and unpredictable if left on full Auto. My belief that NIKON would never put out an inferior product was confirmed but I am not a professional photographer: I missed the simplified perfection of my brother's FZ18.
Luckily the Internet merchant I had bought my NIKON from offers an upgrade insurance option: for a small percentage of the total cost I bought the option of returning the camera within 12 months (provided in perfect working condition) and having it replaced with a latest model (from the same merchant of course). So, when FZ28 became available, I did just that.

As with the FZ18, the Intelligent Auto (iA) setting is a dream! Perfect crystal clear pictures under (almost) any conditions, EVERY TIME. There are more tweaking options than one could desire of course, but elusive scenes often do not allow for minute setting fidgeting: a reliable Auto is a good friend in a tight moment.
The older model was reported to sometimes have a problem when there were intense sunlight and shaded areas in the same shot: nothing of this sort with the FZ28. As soon as this becomes available I will post some sample photos to illustrate exactly this.

The new features of FZ28 include a new sensor (10.1MP/2.33") coupled with the also new Venus IV engine; an enlarged high quality LCD (2.7" from 2.5"); a wider lens system (starting from 27 instead of 28mm - but also ending at 486 instead of 504mm); a new auto-tracking focus feature; an auto backlight compensation function (missing from FZ18) and (finally!) zooming while taking video.
The cherry on this cake: FZ28 comes also with a leveling function which helps align buildings or the horizon with the subject - even after taking the picture! (OK, essentially it is cropping but still...)

My only gripe: as with FZ18, FZ28's zooming control is counterintuitive! One zooms IN the picture by pushing in it, whereas zooms OUT by pulling back. Well, as with the FZ18, the direction of the zooming control is in the opposite directions. (If someone knows how to contact Panasonic-Japan by email please let me know, I would like to offer them my opinion).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

OK, so I read all the rave reviews and bought the camera, but there were two things I really didn't like about it once I'd started snapping with it. The first relates to the build quality, which feels very cheap and flimsy, and the second relates to colour accuracy. I fiddled with lots of different settings, but couldn't get it to accurately reproduce greens and blues. In fact, I also had trouble with reds that came out rather orange looking. Needless to say, it's gone back to the retailer. However, I can't give it less than three stars because its autofocus and performance in poor light were excellent. I've now got the Canon SX10 and am very happy with it!

I bought ths camera hoping it would arrive for the festival of speed at goodwood and thankfully it did, although i didnt have time to read the instructions i am very pleased with the results, the zoom is fantastic , i am really impressed with the colours and its ability for low light pictures without flash , some of the cars were partly in strong sunlight and partly in shade which it delt with very well ( even though i am a novice and had the wrong settings !!!! ) the video on this camera i can only describe as better than i could ever have hoped .
All in all a fanastic camera .

This camera is fantastic, SLR performance at much lower cost and with greatly reduced size. The zoom is brilliant and with the built in anti-shake feature, you get great pictures even at maximum zoom. I wouldn't be without it now and have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone.