Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35 Lets You Fine-Tune Photos and Video

It isn't pocketable, but the relatively compact Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35 ($400 as of 11/12/09) is quite simply one of the best fixed-lens cameras out there for both stills and HD video. If you can deal with slightly grainy, non-1080p video footage (the FZ35's video resolution maxes out at 720p), it may be the ideal hybrid model to serve double-duty as a camera and camcorder.

It's hard to know where to start, as this is such a versatile megazoom camera. The DMC-FZ35 excels in manual controls and low-light video footage, and it offers near-perfect automatic settings, unique scene modes, and a slew of imaging options (RAW, RAW+JPEG, JPEG, AVCHD video, and MPEG video).

Seasoned photographers will enjoy all of the manual tweakability: Shutter priority, aperture priority, and manual exposure controls are available for stills and video. I can't remember seeing that many manual settings in a still camera for the video side of things; the camera also puts a few of its basic scene modes (Portrait, Sports, Landscape, Macro, and Low ...

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Tim Moynihan, PC World