Panasonic DMC-FZ18

It’s hard not to be impressed by such a zoom: 18x with a true wide angle and focal range of 28 to 504 mm.  On a "simple" bridge for less than 500 Euros, this is a dream for reflex owners and was unthinkable several years ago.  In addition, the 18x zoom is complemented by a high performance optical stabilization system which is indispensable for good photos when zooming in on subjects.  So in short, a zoom you can really count on.
In the family of new 18x bridges, the Pansonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 has been particularly awaited.  Indeed, the Japanese manufacturer has dominated in the bridge market producing several gems such as the FZ20, FZ7 or FZ50.  Now with the FZ18, Panasonic tries again by offering a compact bridge equipped with an impressive 28-504 mm zoom, optical stabilization and 1 cm macro mode.  So, the almost perfect bridge?

Handling

The FZ18 is truly compact and light.  Maybe too light.  This little bridge seems a bit fragile given it holds so much technology inside.  Beyond our first impression, we were rather delighted by this camera’s interface which is both simple and well conceived.  You will find the usual adjustments and especially a joystick for navigation allowing to display a menu with rapid access to the main parameters (stabilization, autofocus, light measurements, white balance, size and quality of images).  The LCD screen isn’t bad (particularly fluid and detailed), but viewing angles are a bit narrow.  As for the viewfinder, it is the Achilles’ heel of bridges with poor definition and small size. 

In fact, the Panasonic FZ18 is intended for beginners as much as expert photographers.  It is loaded down with automatic modes, including an interesting intelligent Auto which adapts parameters according to what you are shooting (choosing the scene mode and sensitivity).  At the same time, it’s possible to work in manual mode (M) and record files in RAW format to « develop » them yourself on a computer.  The FZ18 is therefore a bridge which is suited for many different situations.  Finally, there is an unfortunate (relative) sluggishness in startup and recording files but luckily the burst mode (1.7 i/s for 4 shots) is faster.

Image quality

With such an arsenal, we can legitimately expect nice results.   This turned out to be the case and the zoom is of excellent quality.  In wide angle shots, precision is very good and practically equivalent to that of current bests like the Canon Ixus 860 IS or another bridge, the Fujifilm S9600.  Automatic white balance produces results that are slightly warm  under tungsten lighting; however, outdoors images have good colors.  There are no surprises in noise control processing and at 100 ISO there is very little while at 200 ISO the image loses a little precision.  Photos are still very acceptable up until 800 ISO, while beyond this, details are strongly diluted by significant smoothing.  The high performance optical stabilization allows avoiding going up too quickly in sensitivity on our Barbie test shot and results are very convincing.  As for distortion and vignetting, they are both well controlled and there is only a rather visible purple fringe phenomenon.  The macro mode is really quite fun while the flash is well controlled even if it lacks a bit of intensity.  Finally, the video mode offers satisfactory sequences; however (and this is frustrating!) you still cannot zoom while recording.