Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50EB-K > Reviews > Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 Black

Author's product rating:   

Picture Quality	Excellent
Range & Quality of Features	Diverse
Ease of Use	Easy
Overall Look & Design	Satisfactory
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	fantastic 12x optical zoom and superb image quality
Disadvantages:	no case and standard memory card is too small

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

We decided to buy a new digital camera just after the birth of our new son back in July. We went to a local camera store and had a look at the promotional publication they had instore. We wanted something with a great optical zoom and digital zoom and were looking for something that would be fairly simple to use- my hubby is a bit of a technophobe and so we had to find something with enough gadgets to do the job and keep me happy, but simple enough so as not to annoy my husband! We decided to buy a panasonic as they have a great reputation, but couldn't pick between three similar models. I spoke to the shop assistant and logged onto kelkoo and eventually decided to buy the Lumix FZ50.

The list price was £420, but we bought one from camera4u.com for £366.00

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 Black is a fantastic camera and is very sturdily built. It feels like an expensive camera. It has a huge 12.0 optical zoom, and at 10.1 megapixels the image quality is excellent.

There are some great features on the lumix, which include a high-quality movie mode with sound which can easily be uploaded to your PC, image stabilisation, which I've found fantastic as I've filmed my toddler running whilst running behind him and the film is fab. It has full manual control and the directional buttons give you complete control, the display menu is very straightforward. The camera comes supplied with a manufacturers guarantee, lens cap and hood, AV, AC & USB cable, and an informational software CD- but It only comes with a 32Mb memory card, enough to store about 5 high quality images. so you'd probably need to buy about a 512Mb card, which will store roughly 85 pictures on the highest image quality setting. It does come with a rechargeable battery and battery charger but no case. I've copied some of the specifications off the box;

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 Black features:
10.1 effective megapixels
12x optical zoom
2.0 inch LCD screen
Manual focus and zoom rings
Full manual control including shutter and aperture priority
In the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 Black box:
Camera, 32Mb SD card, Li-ion rechargeable battery, battery charger, lens cap, lens hood, AV cable, USB cable, AC cable, strap, software CD.

And this information is taken from the manufacturers description;
"The DMC-FZ50 boasts a 10.1-megapixel high resolution CCD for its image sensor and Venus Engine III for the image processing LSI, making it possible to record a image at max. ISO 1600 high sensitivity setting at full resolution. Furthermore, by dramatically reducing the noise levels that challenged its predecessor, the DMC-FZ50 is able to capture 10.1-megapixel full resolution images even in high sensitivity recording"

This is the best camera we've ever owned, I hate to admit it but it's been knocked over a few times by Jake (aged 2) as well as being manhandled by him, dropped by my hubby whilst drunk, sat on... yet it never blips or lets us down. It uploads quickly and everyone always comments on the quality of the pictures we email them. Ian (my husband)'s sister lives in America and she loves the home movies of the kids we send her. The sound quality is as good as the picture quality. I think the camera is a bit bulky if you are looking for a fun compact camera, but is ideal to people who enjoy photography, have active lives, or maybe those with children who want pictures to record high quality, accurate images of all the special milestones your little ones reach.