Panasonic's DMC-FZ8 is the
newest version of a camera that features a powerful 12X zoom,
and very effective image stabilization that goes a long way
in ensuring that shots captured at the maximum telephoto of
the lens are going to be free of camera shake.
Although it has a number of bells and whistles, the DMC-FZ8
is designed so that a novice can take advantage of its powerful
zoom as well as an advanced user.
The Simple mode is probably one
of the easiest to use point and shoot modes of any camera. The
scene modes offer additional flexibility, providing tailor-made
camera settings to fit most situations.
The Program mode adds yet
another level for users, offering the possibility of shifting
the program, albeit in a way that is a bit too complicated
for most people, since it involves obtaining an aperture and
shutter speed from the camera by pressing the shutter release
halfway, and then tickling the joystick to engage Program
Shift.
Finally, more advanced users will appreciate the presence
of priority modes and of the Manual mode, which offers a maximum
exposure time of 60 seconds.
Aperture: f8, shutter speed 3.2 sec., 100 ISO.
This said, while the optics of
the FZ8 are impressive, there is little distortion throughout
the focal lengths covered by the lens and chromatic aberration
is minimal, the DMC-FZ8 may end up disappointing some users
by its JPEG image quality, even when set to the least compression
represented by .
Left to its default image settings, controlled by the Picture
Adjustment option of the Recording menu, an option that gives
control over contrast, sharpness, saturation and noise reduction
but which is only accessible with the more advanced modes,
images tend to be lacklustre when inspected closely at their
full size on a monitor.
Seen at 100%, the smaller
details often look a little bit fuzzy, particularly with wide
angle shots that tend to be softer than those captured at
other focal lengths. Moreover, even with the sensitivity set
to 100 ISO, well exposed images often contain some colour
noise, which appears to be slightly emphasized by the compression
process.
A small change in the settings, however, improves the situation
considerably when it comes to JPEG images.
Adjusting both Contrast
and Noise Reduction to Low
yields JEPG images at the lowest compression that are smoother,
and which, in our opinion, are better than what the default
camera settings produce. Then, the JPEG
format is well suited to photos that will be printed at a
4x6 or 5x7 size, a process that tends to eliminate minor defects
and artefacts.
But, with the FZ8, unlike its predecessor which only offered
a TIFF format, there is also the alternative of using the
RAW format.
As it is with other RAW formats,
the DMC-FZ8's RAW format simply records the data coming from
the CCD, noting the camera's settings but, with the exception
of the noise processing applied to long exposures, leaving
any image processing up to the software included with the
camera: SilkyPix.
The program allows further tweaking of the image quality
by providing fine controls over exposure, white balance, sharpness,
tone, colour, noise reduction, and by including tools to reduce
colour noise.
Aperture f5.6, shutter speed 1/200 sec., 100
ISO.
The penalty for using the RAW
format are that the Burst mode is not available and that each
RAW image takes a few seconds longer to store, taking 11.8
MB of memory space.
Higher ISO settings, however, are not helped
by the use of the RAW mode. The High Sensitivity Scene mode,
which uses a sensitivity of 3200 ISO, yields images that have
a watercolour appearance, a look that can be acceptable with
some subjects, but which will, more than likely, be disappointing
when used to capture images of family or friends under low
light. The 1250 ISO level is also very noisy, and even when
the image is reduced, noise is pervasive.
As noted earlier, some colour
noise is detectable in the images of the FZ8 as of 100 ISO.
However, the noise level shows only a slight increase at 200
ISO, and even at 400 ISO, making these sensitivity levels
useable. 800 and 1250 ISO are clearly noisy, limiting their
use.
The FZ8 is equipped with a pop-up flash that works well.
At 100 ISO it lights up to 2 meters (6.5 ft). Used as fill-in
light to overcome a backlit subject, the flash is effective
and in combination with the metering, produces evenly lit
images.
Clearly, the DMC-FZ8 seems to
be a bit more prone to noise than we would like. It does offer,
however, a RAW format that makes it possible to circumvent most
of the problem with minimal effort using the software included
with the camera. Moreover, an adjustment to the camera's default
settings — as long as the camera is used in the more advanced
modes — usually produces good images, and will allow users
to take full advantage of a good and powerful lens and and an
effective stabilization system.
Compare Prices for Panasonic DMCFZ8 Digital Camera Battery (BLI-283)
Image Quality
.
Left to its default image settings, controlled by the Picture
Adjustment option of the Recording menu, an option that gives
control over contrast, sharpness, saturation and noise reduction
but which is only accessible with the more advanced modes,
images tend to be lacklustre when inspected closely at their
full size on a monitor.
