Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1

My dad bought me the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1 Digital Camera in Singapore, and I was disappointed at first (I wanted a smaller one), but once I used it I was hooked!

The Leica lens enables you to take very sharp pictures, pictures that still look sharp even when used for large prints. The 12x zoom also helped cover events for work with ease, and it takes excellent videos as well.

My only gripe is the battery life, but this can easily be remedied by using the viewfinder instead of the external screen. Still, I bought a spare just in case.

The Panasonic DMC-FZ1 is just about the best digital camera I have seen at this price. Sure, it only has a 2-megapixel CCD, but it has a positively priapic 12x zoom - that's optical, not an utterly useless digital zoom - pushing it right to the front of the pack for semi-serious amateur snappers who don't want to blow their wad on a hideously expensive Canon or the like. Panasonic uses a technology it calls the Venus Engine to boost CCD sensitivity up to the equivalent of 3-megapixels and believe it or not it actually does look like more than mere marketing puff, with very high quality snaps on the highest resolution setting. Finally, the zoom is helped along by the new Mega Optical Image Stabilizer (MOIS) to prevent vibration.

This Panasonic DMC-FZ1 is a great digital camera. It takes great pictures, has a stylish & professional look, it is fast, and the zoom with image-stabilization gets you pictures others cannot. Don't let the 2mp fool you, because the pictures will speak for themselves. This camera is better han any 3mp and most 4mp cameras, plus there is an upgrade available to provide more manual features. Anything 8X10 or smaller will come out great. Remember, its the lens, not the pixels that make great pictures. You will never go back to a 3X zoom.

The Panasonic DMC-FZ1 is a very fine camera! The 12x optical zoom lens with image stabiliser is simply awesome, and makes it easy to take lovely pictures. Definately good value with all the pixels most people should need. 5x7 prints are sharp and detailed. Burst mode means the FZ1 takes 4 full quality pictures in a second so you can pick the best one and delete the other three. This camera stands well out from the crowd and deserves more recognition.