Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 review

Panasonic is a dominant force in the ultra-zoom digital camera market, and with the launch of the Lumix DMC-FZ18 it looks set to stay that way.

The headline specification is an 18x zoom, optically stabilised lens, which stretches from a wide-angle 28mm to a distant galaxy-peering 504mm focal length. Otherwise, the design closely resembles Panasonic's FZ8, which we rated highly in What's New, Shopper June 2007.

Performance is good, with just 1.7 seconds between shots and a 2fps continuous mode, slowing to around 1.4fps after 10 shots. Sadly, this marks a steady decline from the 6-megapixel FZ7 and 7-megapixel FZ8, presumably because the increased resolutions haven't been matched by a faster processor. The control system, carried over from the FZ8, means you can adjust key settings quickly thanks to a mini-joystick and smart onscreen cues. It's the best system we've seen without resorting to dedicated hardware controls for each function. When you enable manual focus, the central area of the preview screen is enlarged, but a bigger magnification would be even better to help fine-tune focus with more confidence.

There are plenty of other features for people who are less interested in manual settings, including the DMC-FZ18's face-detection feature. This proved extremely effective both in its ability to identify faces at jaunty angles, including profiles, and in its talent for pleasing exposures when confronted with a dark or bright background. There's a strong selection of scene presets, plus an Intelligent Auto mode that automatically switches to macro, night scenery, portrait or various other scene presets. It also employs Panasonic's Intelligent ISO feature, which adjusts the camera's sensitivity based not just on the available light but also movement of the subject. You can't set the maximum ISO speed available to this mode, as you can with other recent Panasonic cameras, but the chosen maximum of 800 is wise. In program, priority and manual exposure modes, ISO speeds from 100 to 1600 are available, but the Auto ISO option limits it to 200, which seems a little conservative to us.

Image quality is among the best we've seen from a non-SLR camera. Photos were super-sharp and captured incredible detail in skin textures and dense foliage. Panasonic's flair for flattering, lifelike colours was clearly evident, with superb handling of highlights in high-contrast scenes. ISO 400 gave smooth, detailed results, and although noise reduction removed some detail at ISO 800, the effect was subtler than with previous Panasonic cameras.

With its 18x zoom and 8-megapixel sensor, the DMC-FZ18 is in direct competition with Fujifilm's S8000fd and Olympus's SP-560 UZ. We'll be reviewing these next month, but the FZ18 certainly sets a high standard.