Panasonic DMC-FZ50

Reviewed November 2006

Test Photos

STILL LIFE PHOTO

This subject is photographed in a room that has a mix of fluorescent and incandescent light, but which is not brightly lit. The camera's flash is used to add fill light. The backdrop is 1.95 m (6.5 ft) from the camera.

Most of the images in this section were captured using the RAW mode and then processed using SilkyPix Developer Studio, the software Panasonic provides with the camera, and saved in TIFF format.

The pop-up flash produces a sufficient amount of light at 100 ISO to light the subject evenly.

ZOOM PHOTO

Now we zoom in on a specific area. The intent is to test the sharpness of the image at the zoom's maximum setting. The camera remains at the same distance as with the preceding photo.

At this distance, with the powerful zoom of the FZ50, it was necessary to switch to the macro mode as it allows the camera to focus at a closer distance.

The level of detail the lens can capture is impressive, and the RAW format ensures that none gets lost. In the image section shown below, cropped from the full size image, the camera is able to capture subtle details such as the printing screen that underlies the printing.

The FZ50's Macro mode allows the lens to focus on a subject that is 5 cm (1.95 inch) from the front element of the lens when the zoom is at the wide angle end, and 2 m (6.56 ft) at the telephoto end. At the telephoto end, the width or the field of view the camera captures is approximately 5.8 cm (2.26 inches) at the closest focusing distance.

The minimum focus distance and the width of the field of view increase rapidly when the zoom is used, making it more suited to portrait-type photos.

BUILDING PHOTO

This image is our outdoor test. The architecture of the building, in particular the angled girders, immediately show the presence of jaggies. The shadowed entrance can also often reveal the quality of the exposure.

With the zoom set to the wide angle end, the FZ50 captures an image that is free of any chromatic aberration or barrel distortion. Similarly, the FZ50 yields an image that is well exposed as details can be seen in both shadow areas such as the entrance, and areas that are directly lit by the sun.

Using the RAW mode, it is possible to eliminate most of the shadow noise, and obtain a high quality image.

ZOOM PHOTO

The powerful zoom of the FZ30 makes it possible to capture a small area of the entrance while remaining in the same spot as for the wide angle shot presented above.

This JPEG Fine format image is shown here as a reference. Shot at 100 ISO, it exhibits noise in the shadows and on the doors' chromed handles as graininess.

Still, the multiple exposure mode yields an excellent exposure which, as was the case with the wide angle shot, exhibits a good balance between bright and dark areas.

NIGHT PHOTO

This camera is capable of long exposures, and an image captured late at night is presented to give an idea of its capabilities.

The DMC-FZ50 is equipped with a Starry Sky mode that offers exposure times of 15, 30 or 60 seconds. However, while the mode limits sensitivity to a maximum of 100 ISO to avoid noise, it also prevents any user control over the white balance, a control that is often desirable when capturing night photos that contain artificial lighting.

The alternative is the Manual mode, which not only provides complete control over both the aperture and the shutter speed, but also allows controlling the white balance as well as the sensitivity, while still offering exposure times that are as long as 60 seconds.

As we have observed with the DMC-FZ50, the best results are obtained when the RAW format is used, and the sensitivity left at its minimum of 100 ISO. Nevertheless, as can be seen in the image below, cropped from the full size image, even with noise processing some noise remains visible as grain in the image.