It is more than likely that the Panasonic Lumix FZ1 is going to appeal
to a lot of people because of its stabilized 12X Leica zoom lens.
Clearly, one of the strengths of this camera is its bright, long telephoto
lens. The Leica zoom offers a constant aperture throughout its focal
range, starting at f2.8, and the camera still fits in the palm of the
hand. The closest comparison with a 35mm camera would be a 400mm lens
(40 cm long lens) with a massive front element to allow for a constant
f2.8.
Aperture: f5.6, shutter speed 1/400 sec., 50 ISO.
In
other words, a big f2.8, 400 mm lens on a 35mm camera is not something
one can carry about for a couple of hours, without becoming very aware
of its presence — quite unlike the FZ1.
Still, while the lens of the FZ1 is beautifully engineered, the 2-megapixel
image size of the FZ1 is no match for what can be captured with either
35mm film, or one of today's digital SLRs, if they're equipped with a
lens of comparable specifications.
The
Lumix FZ1 is a relatively simple camera. It does not provide any means
for the user to select apertures or shutter speeds, and does not provide
advanced shooting modes. For example, although automatic bracketing is
available, the function only remains active for a single shot, and needs
to be re-selected every time it has to be used.
Similarly the FZ1 only offers 2 levels of compression, and at the highest
quality, Fine, the compression averages between 7:1 and 8:1, which
is still quite strong.
What the FZ1 has — at least in our opinion — is probably the
best long telephoto lens we've tested on a compact digital camera. The
zoom transits from wide angle to the maximum telephoto in under 3 seconds,
and does so very quietly. Distortion is very well controlled by the lens
design, and only a very slight barrel distortion is detectable at the
wide angle setting. Likewise, there is no major chromatic aberration.
The bright and stabilized zoom also makes the FZ1 useable for wildlife
photography. The camera is quick to start, ready to shoot in approximately
2 seconds, and has very little shutter lag, making it possible to use
the FZ1 at a moment's notice.
In addition, when used in the single shot mode, it has a shot to shot
time, including focusing time, of about 2 seconds, which is very reasonable.
Aperture: f4, shutter speed 1/160 sec., 100 ISO
In
low light situations the bright f2.8 aperture is useful, but increasing
the ISO setting past 100 ISO should only be done when there are no other
alternatives, as at 200 and 400 ISO noise tends to lower the image quality.
Aperture: f5.2, shutter speed 1/500 sec.
The
power of a 12X optical zoom is remarkable. In the shot at left, the photo
shows the field of view the camera captures at the 35mm equivalent setting.
However, when the zoom is set to its maximum, the camera captures an area
represented by the small red rectangle, and the image is as sharp as the
wide angle shot. At the equivalent of 420mm, things over 1 km distant
can be clearly photographed (see the photo below).
Overall,
the image quality of the FZ1 is very good. Moreover, some control is provided
over the saturation with the Picture Adjustment option in the menu.
By default the option is set to Standard, but the setting tends
to boost the saturation a touch too much, making green a bit too fluorescent.
Changing the setting to Natural yields better results outdoors
as it captures colours more accurately.
Aperture: f5.6, shutter speed 1/800 sec.
As
with generally similar cameras that offer long telephoto lenses, the FZ1
is equipped with an electronic viewfinder. Like other electronic viewfinders,
this one does not produce a extremely detailed image, but has the advantage
of being able to show camera settings and menus.
In
conclusion, the FZ1 is very good and a camera that offers capabilities
that very few others can match. It reacts quickly, and the stabilized
Leica lens is excellent. But, by the same token, those attributes also
make us wish that it had a larger image size, some more advanced program
modes, a manual mode and a longer maximum exposure time coupled with an
efficient noise reduction system.
