Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38EB-K Digital Camera - Black (12.1MP, 18 x Optical Zoom) 2.7 inch LCD

This started as an initial review after one day of ownership, but has been revised since. My previous experience of digital cameras is limited to a Nikon Coolpix compact, now about 7 years old, and this camera is intended to replace the Nikon film SLR and three lenses which I've lugged around on holidays for 10-15 years. So some things that are amazing me will be just what you expect if you're used to similar cameras.

From that standpoint, the first thing to amaze me is the weight. Complete with battery, SDHC card, lens cap, lens hood and shoulder strap, it's 1lb 1oz on the kitchen scales. And there's very little to add in the accessory line - a clear and polarising filter (unlike some 'bridge' cameras, this one has a filter screw thread), spare battery, blower brush and mini-tripod from old stock and a new bag, and we're done. This probably means the full kit weighing less than the SLR with mid-range zoom. It seems that it also weighs less than any other camera of similar type.

One reason for persevering with the SLR was being able to use an 18-35 mm lens for wide-angle shots. As the wide end of this camera is only equivalent to 27mm, I was pleased to see the panorama assist facility, and will be testing out the "stitching" software supplied with it to see whether I can still get a picture of a cathedral from the square in front of it. (An initial experiment suggests that given a level tripod, some good results should be available). At the narrow end, you don't get the same power as the 24x or 26x alternatives, but with my previous range of 18-300mm, I used the 300 end less often than the 18, so probably not a big issue unless you're snapping birds or cricketers. (You can have 32x if you reduce image size to 3Gb (and even sillier numbers if you turn on the digital zoom), but a very quick comparison suggests that unless stuck for memory space you may as well use 18x/12Mb and crop the picture later.)

The next big surprise was the quality of the results from "Intelligent Auto" mode. As soon as the battery was charged, I went outside and snapped away without worrying about where the sun was, or anything else I'd have pondered with the SLR. Results were very good, so you can do some very lazy photography, and if one or all users of the camera have never cared about shutter speeds and exposure compensation, it barely matters - Intelligent Auto and some other top-wheel choices like the scene mode will do most of the work.

The movie-making side isn't of great interest to me, but it's quite easy to make videos that are surprisingly good. There is an issue with concentrated light sources in videos - these can easily produce ugly green or purple vertical lines. But these are visible on the LCD as well as the played back film, so you can at least identify the problem, and discussion elsewhere suggests that other still cameras with movie-making options have similar problems.

Various minor points:

The supplied Photofun Studio 4 software says that it doesn't support 64-bit Windows Vista, but does install and seems to work OK.

You do NOT get a printed copy of the full manual, just a short 'Getting started' guide. The full manual in PDF is supplied on CD and you can find it and read it on the Panasonic website before buying, but I would have liked to have the whole thing - spare time on holidays is an ideal time for reading it. As and when we have a netbook PC for keeping and editing pictures, this issue will disappear!

The lens hood is easy enough to fit but its guide mark is unhelpfully placed on the bottom of the camera and common-sense fitting by eye without inverting the camera works just as well. The lens cap fits on the screw-in ring to which you attach the hood, though I've not yet checked whether you can stick this whole lot in front of a lens-protecting filter without vignetting or other trouble.

The square "+/-" symbol on the display may cause mild panic if you're used to an old SLR's top-panel display, where the symbol itself indicates under/overexposure. On the FZ38, it doesn't unless there is a number next to it. The display options are worth exploring - the guidelines option is a boon for lining up, and when displaying pictures, you can optionally show a lot of information like shutter speed and aperture. Another user interface issue is that some selections are made without the equivalent of an "OK" button and some with, so at first you may find yourself pressing the "Menu/Set" button too often, despite the camera's efforts to guide you.

One problem with the user interface is more significant - some lists of option choices use graphical symbols whose meaning may not be obvious. In some cases (like the ones shown when you select portrait with the mode wheel) these have explanatory captions (my favourite is "Smooth skin - shoot potrait's skin more smoothly" - misspelled and a bit repetitious, but they tried). In others, there's no help - try Setup - LCD mode, where your choices are "Off", "A*" and "*" with no help about what LCD mode is or what these settings mean. You have to go to the full manual in PDF to find out. Depending on your experience, other symbols may be obvious, and explanation might be irritating, so there's probably scope for some kind of "expert/beginner" setting which determines how much is explained. This is the area that stops me upping the rating to five stars.

The electronic viewfinder works well as an alternative to the screen, once adjusted with the diopter wheel. The display is exactly the same - you can even look at your stored pics with the viewfinder if you really want. Talking of the screen, this is a fixed LCD - some similar cameras from other brands have movable ones.

The battery is good for 470 shots based on the CIPA standard, but the manual warns you that this is based on a particular usage pattern - "e.g. when recording once every 2 minutes, the number [...] decreases to about 117. So a spare battery is probably worth buying. The charger is good for voltages 110-240, so for foreign trips you only need the kind of adaptor that makes the plug fit.

A couple of points if you're also considering this as an alternative to SLR kit:
Minimum aperture (i.e. highest f number) is f8, not the f22+ you may be used to. So those "everything in focus whether at 1 foot or infinity" shots may not be possible.
No hotshoe - you're restricted to the on-board flash, though it seems a perfectly good one.

I bought this after reading many reviews, and considering the competition.

Like many who have given views on this camera, I have an SLR (Nikon D50) and am getting rather tired of lugging many lenses around, getting dust on the sensor and having a heavy camera in general. However, I did wish to carry on using RAW, have a good range of manual adjustments and for the first time in my life, use a camcorder, (mainly through curiosity rather than needing one.)

So, this ticks all the boxes so far. It is cheaper than an ultra zoom lens for the SLR and is small and light, although not small enough for a pocket. You still have to lug it around.

After three days of intermittent use, I find the quality to be excellent, although the high ISO noise is much more apparent than my SLR, but you would expect that. I have yet to see a compact camera that negates all the advantages of an SLR. the zoom is excellent and the camera shake technology seems to work ok. I am very impressed with the macro facility, although I note the 1cm is at the widest setting and as you zoom, the minimum distance increases. the intelligent auto is a dream, but by being so good, does mean enthusiasts may feel less minded to use the manual overrides. I took a few pictures where I set the aperture, white, shutter speed etc and then took the picture again using intelligent auto. Whilst not a mind reader, it certainly knew what to do, and many looked better than using my own settings.

Users of compact cameras may feel that removing a lens cap is a bit old fashioned, but it does hang from the camera so you won't lose it. The view finder mimics everything the LCD display does, but its lack of pixels means you may want to use the LCD most of the time. Curiously, the instruction book reckons the power usage is the same. I fail to see how, but there you go!

I have large hands yet I can get at all the controls easily enough, even the small joystick. Camcorder recording is by a dedicated button, leaving you free to play with the zoom when in use. Not all cameras can optically zoom in camcorder mode, but this has the full range available. Despite the stereo microphone being on top of the camera, I could not detect any noise from the zoom motor. The menus are logically laid out (to me) and the buttons on the back and top are for the features I would normally want quick access to.

Downsides? Well, the first is the difference between the European and American models. It is not just a name (35 vs 38.) the firmware is slightly different, which means that if you use Adobe Photoshop, the latest Camera RAW update includes the American version but not the European one. In short, for now, you have to process RAW with the supplied software rather than Photoshop or Lightroom.

As I mentioned above, the only other gripes are the poor quality through the viewfinder and noise at low light.

Me? I am happy as pigs in the proverbial...

The FZ38 is a fantastic little camera. Perfect for those like myself who aren't quite willing to part with DSLR money just yet but want something that's both easy to use and will produce high quality results. I've had the camera for around three weeks and although it gives you manual control, the AI on the camera is superb at picking the correct mode for you in a split second/focusing and snapping a photo. It is essentially a new, improved FZ28, so perhaps not worth upgrading from the FZ28 to, but otherwise it's definately worth considering. As a bridge camera it's definately one of the best currently on the market. The proper 1080p hi def video and stereo recording is just an added bonus and gives quite gorgeous video on the high quality LCD screen. I have no complaints about build quality or the camera as yet, it's sturdy without being heavy and accessories supplied are all of a similar high standard.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC is fab. I bought it for my husband who wanted a camera to take better photos of the children (we had a digital camera with no zoom). having previously owned an SLR and not used it much because it was too big to lug around I wanted something lighter. it's really light and very easy to use, the High Definition for taking video is amazing quality. You have to purchase a memory card, I got a 16MB so that we can do plenty of video and take alot of photos without running out of memory on holiday. All round, a good value great quality camera.

This model of the Lumix camera is fantastic value for money with superb quality images.Its postioned between a compact and an SLR so its great for the photography enthusiast without going to the completeley 'professional' level.
Highly recommended for the price