Advantages: very good long range photos
Disadvantages: bit less megapixels

...Panasonic's Lumix FZ18 is a compact 'super zoom' camera having a host of excellent desirable features. The best feature is the optically stabilized lens, coupled to a whopping 18x (28-504mm equiv.) zoom Hence the long range shots are not blurred and comes out sharp and vibrant. It has newly developed 28mm wide-angle LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens and Panasonic's new and unique Intelligent Auto Mode. It has very easy controls and the wide range of its lens does away with the need of lens change. This camera is best suited for all those who want hassle free, good long range shots. The FZ18 has 1/2.5-inch sensor, with 8.3 megapixels. Other features include a dedicated AF/AE button, Face Detection and a new Intelligent Auto mode which integrates Image Stabilization, Intelligent ISO, Face Detection and Scene Detection into a 'Super' Auto Mode.... Read review

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Advantages: Large zoom, small size, extensive ISO rating and Leica lens
Disadvantages: No remote shutter release, facility, no auxiliary flash shoe, a little fragile.

...Having owned the FZ20 for some time I had no hesitation in buying the FZ18 when I saw it in the QVC shop in Birchwood. The price attracted me at £149.99 and then the 15% discount for my pensionable age on Mondays made it an absolute bargain. The only fly in the ointment? They only had the Silver models available but for that money money hey I can live with it. On first handling it is quite obviously somewhat smaller than the FZ20 and whilst the lighter weight is in some circumstances a bonus it doesn't feel as solid or sturdy as the FZ20. That aside it takes all my Olympus auxiliary lenses with the optional adapter. One good point over the FZ20 is that a 46mm Skylight filter can be left permanently screwed to the front of the lens; something of an oversight on the FZ20. The 18x (even higher if the megapixel raing is reduced) zoom... Read review

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Advantages: excellent colour reproduction and picture capture, strong flash, image stabiliser
Disadvantages: price price price

...Panasonic is not a brand normally associated with digital photography. I have lots of time for their televisions and telephones but of the few digital cameras I have seen they tend to be from the lower end of the market in terms of picture quality and colour reproduction, in my opinion the 2 crucial features of a camera. I will be basing my experience on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 digital camera that we have had in store now for 4 days (it was released onto the market 20th September 2007) and which has proved to be something of a lemon in sales terms as we have only managed to flog one in that time despite being extremely competitively priced. Normally when a new camera is released we sell or have pre-ordered on our books at least 10-15. Needless to say we won't be ordering any more of these cameras in but I think it has had a bit... Read review

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Advantages: Can be fully automatic or manual, produces great images!
Disadvantages: Video capture not great, could have gone a little further with the manual controls!

...As a lot of people on this site already know I am a professional photographer and as such I own many cameras but the camera I am about to review is actually one that I do not personally own but have been spending a lot of time with of late. At my photography club we have access to many cameras as well as the ones we own, this is very beneficial to a serious photographer because different cameras operate in slightly different ways just like the photographers themselves. I gave this one a few weeks run out on the advice of a friend and what sound advice it turned out to be. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18EB-K is not a DSLR camera although it might look like one but it is far more advanced than an average point and shoot digital camera. This type of camera is known as a bridge camera because that's exactly what it is doing, bridging the gap... Read review

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Advantages: produces good images
Disadvantages: manual controls dilemma at times.

...and anxious to know. A bridge camera is the type of photo camera that bridges the gap or creates demarcations between the shooting, DSLR and point as well. There are lots differences between the bridge camera and a DSLR camera. The DSLR camera you as the photographer have almost all the control to the device where by letting the user achieving better results and desired image. This can equally do the job of the DSLR camera because it will enable you to put in features like the focus, aperture setting and shutter speed camera. The Panasonic lumix DMC-FZ18EB-K comes with optical image sterilizer, which helps to take snaps without a tripod because it can eliminate errors from a novice. The camera is cheaper to compare to the great DSLR cameras. I have found out some thing about this particular type of camera and that is the ease of use... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent picture quality, aesthetically beautiful.
Disadvantages: May be a bit expensive for some.

.... Aesthetically the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 is beautiful, a lovely looking camera and one of the best looking of its kind in fact that I have ever seen. It's all black appearance was greatly alluring for me, and was the reason I looked into the camera further and eventually decided to buy it. For many a year I had wanted to purchase a Nikon SLR, I have long been an admirer of their D40 model and will no doubt one day buy this dream camera of mine, but for the foreseeable future this Lumix is the camera for me. It will be a long time before I'm in the market for a digital SLR camera, and my outlay of £245 therefore seems a lot less substantial than I had previously thought. I tried and tested a number of different cameras before finally settling with this one, and am certainly glad that I made the final choice that I did. Not once has this camera let... Read review

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Advantages: Robust, plenty of features
Disadvantages: Focusing problems, complicated

...aging Camera Care Systems bag (originally purchased to house a 35mm zoom compact back in the old days of film ... ). Filters can be fitted, but require the use of adaptor rings - which, due to the nature of the zoom lens - can be tricky to use (you need to change the number of rings according to how much zoom is used). For someone with prior experience of Olympus cameras, and wanting something better then most digital compacts, but cheaper, lighter and perhaps less complex than an SLR, the SP650uz may well be a good option. However, the similar Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ18 has a better lens, and new models are constantly appearing on the market: I wouldn't recommend paying full retail price for this camera, but if you can pick it up at a discount it's worth grabbing, even if only as a stop gap until funds permit moving up to a full d-SLR... Read review

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Advantages: brilliant operation, easy set up, great screen
Disadvantages: high initial purchase price

...If you need a machine for on the move working then this is the beast to go for. My girlfriend has this laptop and its certainly the best that she has ever had, so of course I would be foolish to disparage it, lol ! This is a laptop that does turn heads with its sharp sleek lines and high definition screen. Not only is it very stylish in its silver and black finish, but its also very versatile which is what every laptop should be based around. Being light, its a doddle putting it in your bag and carrying it around uni, whereever you might wish to work. Combined with a superb quality 15.4 inch LCD screen its a wonderful aethestic creation. Of course what matters most is performance and here the FZ series does not disappoint either. By way of a powerful Core2 Duo processor, in this case the laptop series which is the T700 series, it has... Read review

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Advantages: Quality of image
Disadvantages: Cost Cost Cost

...First off, this IS pretty expensive. RRP is £175 or thereabouts, but you can get it for just over £100, and yes, I've got to say it, I think it's worth it! At least for what I'm interested in using it for anyway, which is VERY amateur astro-photography. I use it with an FZ8, which has a very good lens and a fair optical zoom to start with (and yes, I KNOW I could buy the FZ18 or whatever and get the conversion lens zoom added into the dinky little standard zoom, but it wasn't available when I was buying stuff, ALLRIGHT?) Anyway, fixed to a decent tripod, and pointing at the celestial object of your choice, I've found that taking lots of 1-3 second photos, and then combining them (I use gimpshop, being unable to afford photoshop) gives you a pretty good result. That worked especially well on the Holmes comet recently. For something... Read review

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Advantages: Looks great, great specs and I can connect it to my HD TV
Disadvantages: costs a whole lot of money

...was going to be £500 then realised that this time round I should go a bit higher see what my money could get was about so as to get one that will last a lot longer without me starting to get an upgrade itch. And so I arrive where I am... Buying a really dear laptop that will drop in price 25% when I take it out of the box. I think that the laptop was a bit on the expensive side but it hasn't broke down yet so it must be good. Some specs "what's in the laptop" The Sony Vaio FZ18E is a stylish portable notebooks. My chosen model has … Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8Ghz, 2MB cache, 800Mhz FSB 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 667Mhz 160GB 5400RPM SATA HDD Optical drive: DVD+/-RW/R DL/RAM NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GT (dedicated) Graphics 15.4" WXGA X-black TFT LCD screen Don't ask me what this means if you don't know this is what the guy at the store told me he scared me... Read review

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