Home / Digital cameras

RSS Feeds

News | Forum | Store

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150 review

1 of 10

Gallery

Verdict:

Record-breaking performance, dependable image quality, superb controls and a fantastic video mode make this versatile camera worth the high price.

Review Date: 26 Aug 2011

Price when reviewed: £369

Buy it now for: £317
(see more store prices)

Supplier: http://www.morecomputers.com

Reviewed By: Ben Pitt

Our Rating 5 stars out of 5

User Rating

ExpertReviews Award

The FZ100's weakest area was its photo quality, with its 14-megapixel sensor displaying significantly higher noise than its 12-megapixel predecessor. The FZ150 drops the resolution back down to 12 megapixels, and is all the better for it. There was still a suggestion of noise reduction suppressing subtle details such as grass and skin textures in bright light, but much less so than on the FZ100 and not to any significant degree.

When low-light environments demanded fast ISO speeds, noise reduction was applied liberally but it did an excellent job of hiding noise without degrading the image too obviously. We found high-ISO image quality to be slightly better than from the FZ48, and among the best we've seen from an ultra-zoom camera. Only the Nikon S9100 is significantly better, but large zoom aside, it's quite a different camera to the FZ150.

Other aspects of photo quality were consistently excellent, with sharp focus, flattering colours and superbly judged automatic exposures. The Intelligent Auto mode made life very simple (although as with the FZ48, we could do without its digital zoom function), while the program, priority and manual modes offered extensive control over exposures and picture quality in general.

The FZ150 won't be cheap, but compared to dedicated video cameras of similar quality and capabilities, it's far from overpriced. Throw in the fastest performance we've ever seen from a compact camera, superb quality photos and great controls, and the FZ150 has comfortably earned itself five stars and an Ultimate award.

Prev Next

Get more reviews, tutorials and in-depth advice, every month with Computer Shopper.
Click here to try 3 issues for £1

User Reviews

See more Lumix DMC-FZ150 reviews on Reevoo.com

Best Prices

Price comparison powered by

Prices, delivery and availability at 2 retailers		Go
	£320	Go

< Previous Reviews : Digital cameras Next >

Sponsored Links

User comments

FZ150

Sounds like what I've been waiting for. Excellent spec, and a viewfinder so I don't need reading glasses.

By tonyd on 5 Sep 2011

To bulky --> over 500 g

...and a tiny sensor. Buy a SLR instead.

By weha24 on 6 Sep 2011

FZ150

This seems an excellent Bridge camera, perhaps "weha24" could let us know which DSLR with this spec can be obtained at the same price?

By philipgt on 13 Sep 2011

HDR

Am much intersted in HDR photography. why is that EV increment just 1.

By maha4india on 16 Sep 2011

Zoom difference

Zoom feature

I would like to know the difference in the zoom capability of 35X from that of 24X. Is it significant enough to consider buying Canon's SX40 HS better zoom instead of a faster Panasonic's FZ-150. It would be great if you can post sample images from both the cameras taken at full extended zoom.

By Bahlit on 19 Oct 2011

EddieP

1/2.33 12mp down from 14mp ? why would they not use a larger chip say 5/8 or 3/4
I have a FZ100 should I upgrade to aFZ150.

By EddieP on 21 Oct 2011

Panasonic Lumix FZ-150

Last week purchased this camera mostly based on reviews.
But I am very disappointed about the performance and the image quality of this camera indoor.
Continuous autofocus in video mode is unable to keep the image sharp as the zoom lens changes. Sometimes it takes more than 3 seconds to have the object sharp!
How is it possible that all expert are so extremely positive about this camera?
Have they tested the camera only outside in the sunny weather?
Havenn't they noticed the autofocus problem?
Does anybody know which one from the other superzooms doesnn't have this problem because I am not going to keep this camera and I Will change it with another one.

By Simac on 3 Jul 2012

Leave a comment

You need to Login or Register to comment.