Panasonic DMC-FZ50

Reviewed November 2006

Introduction

Panasonic has introduced the newest addition to the FZ bridge camera series that features a long zoom and stabilization: the DMC-FZ50, which is clearly based on the FZ30 but offers a 10.1-megapixel resolution, a 2 megapixel increase over its predecessor.

As were previous versions, the FZ50 is equipped with 2 LCD screens, one of these being its electronic viewfinder (EVF), which is composed of 230,000 pixels. The other, the monitor, is composed of 207,000 pixels, measures 2 inches diagonally, and is hinged at the bottom. This allows lowering it so that it can be rotated 180° to the left, or 90° to the right, and pushed up flat onto the back of the camera.

The upper part of the FZ50's grip supports all the top mounted controls of the camera. The chromed shutter release is angled towards the front of the camera, making it easier to reach with the index finger.

Directly below the shutter release, the Front Dial allows setting the aperture when the camera is set to the Aperture Priority mode, while in the Playback mode it serves to zoom into an image up to 16X, or zoom out and then display an index of the captured images, placing first 9 thumbnails per screen, then 25, or presenting them in a calendar view.

Two small round buttons are positioned directly between the shutter release and the Power Switch, which has a green LED to indicate that the camera is on. The small button nearest the shutter release controls the Mega O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer):

• Mode 1 activates the stabilizer continuously, stabilizing the image while framing the shot, and during its capture.

• Mode 2 stabilizes the image only at the moment of capture and is the most effective stabilization mode, along with being the most economical for power.
• Off allows turning off the stabilizer when it isn't necessary, such as when the camera is mounted on a tripod.

The button between the Stabilizer control and the Power Switch controls the Burst mode. It offers 3 choices when the camera is set to capture JPEG images:

• Burst H captures up to 3 frames at 2 frames per second at the highest image quality, and up to 5 frames at the highest compression.
• Burst L captures up to 3 images at 1 frame per second at the highest image quality and up to 5 frames at the strongest compression.
• Unlimited: captures images at 2 frames per second for as long as there is memory space.

The Mode Dial is placed to the left of the Power Switch and has 9 positions, starting with the Auto mode, which has a red icon:

The Auto mode turns the FZ50 into a point and shoot. The camera handles all settings and the only control the user has is over the image size and quality.

At the top is the release for the pop-flash, which is described as having a range of 30 cm to 7.4 m (1 ft to 24 ft) when the lens is at the wide angle end and the sensitivity is set to Auto. In addition, the FZ30 is equipped with a flash hotshoe that is compatible with the optional FL500 or FL360 flash units.

Below is the Focus Switch, which has three clearly labelled positions:

• AF: allows the camera to use 9 or 3 focus points, or even a single focus point that can be positioned over any part of the frame (see the Characteristics section of the review for an explanation of the AF modes available).
• AF Macro: allows capturing photos with the camera as close as 5 cm (1.95 inch) from the subject when the lens is at the wide angle end, or 2 m (6.5 ft) at the telephoto end.
• Manual Focus: allows using the manual focus ring to focus the lens. During Manual focusing the centre portion of the image is magnified in the viewfinder or on the monitor to help focus accurately.

All the other external controls of the FZ50 are on the back of the camera, on the right side of the monitor.

The FOCUS/AE LOCK is positioned immediately to the right of the viewfinder's exit pupil. The button can be used to activate the Auto focus without having to press the shutter release halfway. In addition, it can be used to maintain the auto exposure along with the focus, or either of these according to a choice made in the capture menu. (See the Characteristics section of the review for more information.)

The Rear Dial is positioned at the top right side of the camera's back, where the thumb rests naturally. When the FZ50 is set to either the Shutter Priority mode, or the Manual mode, the dial serves to set the shutter speed, and to choose an alternate combination of shutter speed and aperture when the camera is in Program mode, just like the Front Dial.

While in the Playback mode, the dial serves to move from one image to another.

Below is the DISPLAY button, which controls the information superimposed on the EVF or monitor during either capture or playback.

In a capture mode the information superimposed on the display by default includes the capture mode, the stabilizer mode, the flash mode, the ISO setting, the size and image quality setting, the battery state, the remaining number of shots that can be stored on the memory card, the AF brackets and the metering mode. When the shutter release is pressed halfway, the aperture and shutter speed are indicated on the lower part of the screen.

Each press of the DISPLAY button changes the display, cycling from the default to a display that adds a real time histogram; then a display that places the image from the lens in the upper left and the current settings superimposed on black bands on the right side and at the bottom of the monitor; then to a display the adds one of two composition grids while removing all other superimposed settings, and finally one that simply leaves the AF brackets and nothing else.

With the FZ50 in playback mode, the default display shows an image with, superimposed, the playback mode icon in the upper left corner, the image size and quality, the battery state, the image's file number, and position within the images contained in the current folder at the top right side. The date and time of capture are indicated across the bottom.

Pressing the DISPLAY button once adds a histogram along with the shooting mode used, the aperture and shutter speed, the ISO setting, the white balance, and the flash mode. Finally, pressing the button another time removes all superimposed information leaving only the image.

The next button down on the side of the monitor is the FUNCTION button. It displays a quick menu at the top of the screen that contains the most commonly used camera settings. The Cursor buttons can then be used to modify settings for:

• AF mode,
• metering,
• white balance,
• ISO sensitivity,
• image size,
• and image quality.

(see the Characteristics section of the review for more details.)

The fourth button aligned to the right of the monitor is simply labelled with a icon, and serves to delete unwanted images, either immediately after capture when they are displayed on the monitor/EVF, or when the camera is in playback mode.

A group of five buttons complete the external controls of the FZ50. Four buttons in a circle — referred to as the Cursor buttons — serve to navigate menus, or even review images in the playback mode. In addition, each button has an extra function when the FZ50 is in a capture mode:

The left arrow controls the Self-timer, which can have a delay of either 2 or 10 seconds.

	The right arrow serves to select the Flash mode, once the flash has been opened manually: Auto, Auto with Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, and Slow Synch with Red-eye Reduction.
REV	The down arrow starts the instant Review, which displays the last captured image for approximately 10 seconds. If desired, the camera can be set to indicate potentially overexposed areas of the frame. Moreover, in this mode, images can be zoomed into by either 4X or 8X, and deleted if need be. Worth noting, the Review mode does not offer access to the Playback menu.

In the middle of the Cursor buttons, the MENU/SET serves to display the menu that corresponds to the current camera mode, and also serves to confirm settings made therein.

While the external appearance of the DMC-FZ50 is close to the FZ30 it replaces, some important changes have been made internally with this new model, and these translate into changes to some of the function associated with some of the external controls. Ergonomically, however, the camera is very similar and has an excellent in-hand feel, with all the controls well-positioned so that they fall quite naturally under the finger tips. And, while the hinge system of the FZ50's monitor is not as flexible as others, it still offers an advantage over fixed monitors when the camera is on a tripod, or positioned in such a way that viewing either the EVF or the monitor would be difficult.