Panasonic FZ18

[RobinP]

Hi

First post on here (hopefully not the last).

Has anyone had any experience with the Panasonic FZ18 yet? I'm thinkking of using it for birds and butterflies primarily.

Robin

[Brocker]

Hi Robin. Welcome to WAB. I have had no experience with this camera but a friend has the previous model to this I believe and loves it. Thats about all I can give you but I am sure someone else has or is using one. . . . Enjoy the site

[Pete Collins]

Hi Robin,

Welcome to WAB!

I bought a Panasonic FZ18 just before Christmas, and I'm quite happy with it. But I'm not really a photographer - my main hobby is walking and I just wanted something to take snaps with as I go along, plus I wanted something with a reasonable zoom lens so I could maybe start taking photos of birds. I didn't want a digital SLR, as it would be too heavy and bulky for my long walks. From the reviews I read on the internet, this seemed to be the best 'bridge' camera with a reasonable zoom.

As you probably already know, the FZ18 can be used fully manually (just like a digital SLR) or automatically, with different amounts of control in between. I've just been experimenting with Apperture Priority (whatever that is!) and have tried ajusting the exposure. I do hope to eventually learn how to take photographs properly, rather than just 'point and shoot', and this camera does have all the necessary facilities. You can even shoot in RAW mode (not that I've tried it yet). The 'intelligent Auto' mode seems to work well, recognising whether your taking a nature photo or a portrait, for instance.

You can see some of my photos (snaps would be a better word!) taken with the camera here - note that they've usually been 'cropped' and the quality reduced to lower the file size:

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/ar...00&ppuser=3287

All the photos from 15/12/07 onwards were taken with the FZ18. Someone who actually knows about photography would certainly get much better results with the camera than those!

It has an 18x optical zoom (made by Leica), which actually goes to 28.7x if you reduce the image size to 3 Megapixels (I think - might be 5). I don't use the digital zoom on top of that, I think it's better to just enlarge the photo using software on a PC. But even at 28.7 times, you still need to be fairly close to get good shots of birds. The Image stabilisation works very well, but you do really need to use a tripod or hide clamp to get the best results at a distance (though I think I've got particularly shaky hands).

Hope that helps. In general I am very happy with it, my only slight disappointment (not the camera's fault!) is that the 28.7 zoom doesn't bring the birds quite as close as I'd hoped. I'm thinking of saving up for the adaptor and 1.7x converter, just for use when I go bird watching rather than walking.

[Ukwildlifeo]

I havr the Fz7 and my gf has the Fz18. They work well but you do have to get closer than you think to smaller birds. While my gf has got some better/closer up pictures than me - the fz7 has 21x optical zoom and 6mp while the fz18 has 12x optical zoom and 8mp sensor - I have notice that at 1x zoom the picture is large (the lense is wider angled?) which i think means the 8mp wont mean I can crop harder than my current 6mp images. But that aside it has many other advantages over my fz7: better shutter speed in lower light, with less noise
and the iA mode is the best 'idiot mode' ive seen on a camera. Also the fzs have a fantastic super macro, which takes macros at full zoom from 1m away, which is brillant for dragonflys, butterflies and reptiles. So I would recommend it

[mh68]

I was just about to post mentioning the telemacro mode, but Ukwildlifeo beat me to it

The 18x zoom on the fz18 is a bit misleading as the short focal length is less than standard 12x compacts (fz18 being 28mm at the wide end compared to 35mm on most others).It does give more reach than the 12x models, but not as much as the 18x figure suggests.
Image quality wise, the fz18 is on a par with the fz50, which is rated as the best non-dslr you can buy at present, so unless you want to go the dslr route, the fz18 will be a good choice

Mark H

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by mh68

I was just about to post mentioning the telemacro mode, but Ukwildlifeo beat me to it

The 18x zoom on the fz18 is a bit misleading as the short focal length is less than standard 12x compacts (fz18 being 28mm at the wide end compared to 35mm on most others).It does give more reach than the 12x models, but not as much as the 18x figure suggests.
Image quality wise, the fz18 is on a par with the fz50, which is rated as the best non-dslr you can buy at present, so unless you want to go the dslr route, the fz18 will be a good choice

Mark H

Thankd for clearing that up. Thinking about it her camear does have 28mm written on the side. On a previous thread on fz18 some suggested the fz50 is better than the fz50 by having less noise. Ive never used a fz50 (which is more dslr style/use) but i think that is offset by the greater range of the fz18. I'd say look at both and decide for yourself

[mh68]

Originally Posted by Ukwildlifeo

Thankd for clearing that up. Thinking about it her camear does have 28mm written on the side. On a previous thread on fz18 some suggested the fz50 is better than the fz50 by having less noise. Ive never used a fz50 (which is more dslr style/use) but i think that is offset by the greater range of the fz18. I'd say look at both and decide for yourself

Not so much "less noise" Neil, more that the fz18 processor has improved upon the original Venus III engine in the fz50, so it smears detail less and isnt so aggressive, it isnt a huge difference, but an improvement all the same.

Mark H

[RobinP]

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies, I will be trying it out this weekend if the weather improves, hopefully on something more interesting than the harlequin ladybirds that are invading the house so if I get some pics I will put them in the Gallery.

I've also ordered the lens adapter and teleconverter so I will report back when those arrive too.

I did consider the FZ50 but the extra zoom on the FZ18 and the fact it is £50 cheaper just swung it, I'm not too bothered about the megapixels.

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by RobinP

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies, I will be trying it out this weekend if the weather improves, hopefully on something more interesting than the harlequin ladybirds that are invading the house so if I get some pics I will put them in the Gallery.

I've also ordered the lens adapter and teleconverter so I will report back when those arrive too.

I did consider the FZ50 but the extra zoom on the FZ18 and the fact it is £50 cheaper just swung it, I'm not too bothered about the megapixels.

Which teleconvortor did u get. is it the offical one or did u hunt down another one?

[RobinP]

Yes, I've ordered the Panasonic DMW-LT55E teleconverter from Amazon but it is yet to arrive. The adapter is even more elusive, nobody seems to have any stock of the DMC-LA3 so I've got it on back order.