The FZ18 performs typically for its class. From power on to first shot takes only 1.8 seconds, pretty quick for a long-lenser. Time to focus and shoot runs only 0.7 second in good light, rising to 1.1 seconds in dimmer situations - good for a non-dSLR, but still slower than you want.
The interval for two consecutive shots is a brisk 1.3 seconds, which rises to an uncommonly fast 1.8 seconds with flash. Raw capture runs a bit slower - 2.3 seconds for two sequential shots, which makes raw shooting a suboptimal workaround for the JPEG issues discussed earlier. In burst mode, it snaps at a clip of about 3.7 frames per second, but the camera’s continuous shooting is limited to 7 frames at standard quality and 4 frames at fine quality.
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The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 is a bit of a jack of all trades - you can get crisp close ups with the minimum of fuss whether shooting from safe distance away, and also get cracking macro shots with the camera’s lens practically resting on your subject matter. Plus, that 28mm wide angle lets you capture the whole scene before you without having to step back too far.
The only things putting me off an unequivocal recommendation is that the zoom functionality is disabled when shooting video clips, the joystick that affords quick access to the most important settings in one go is too short, too small and thus tricky to operate, plus - that old argument again - you can now pick up a starter DSLR for round about the same price. That said, you won’t have the same focal range, and will need a large and expensive optic to achieve anything near it.
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The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 is light enough to bring along just about anywhere, and the lens stays in closer than competing 18x designs, a design feature that will likely minimize damage over the life of this fine digital camera. If the lens is the big story with the Panasonic FZ18, the rest is just gravy. Face detect autofocus, multiple aspect ratios, optical image stabilization, white balance fine-tuning, adjustable flash intensity, and live histogram are all good to have with this excellent optic.
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Panasonic has created a really nice ultra zoom camera in the FZ18, though once again, image quality needs improvement. It’s clear from shooting in RAW mode that the camera is capable of capturing a lot of detail, but unfortunately the Venus III engine removes a lot of it in the name of noise reduction.
If you’re a typical point-and-shoot user who will be sticking to smaller-sized prints, then this really isn’t an issue, and you’ll be very satisfied with the Panasonic Lumiz DMC-FZ18. But, if you’re making large prints, viewing them at 100% on your computer screen, or shooting at high ISOs, then you can still love the camera, but be prepared to post-process to get the best results. While it’s not the ultra zoom image quality champion, the FZ18 has so much to offer that it easily earns my recommendation.
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The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 continues to be a best value for money and one of my very favourite.
In a compact, light and solidly built body, it includes all the features desirable in a digital camera and throws in a couple that are hard to find in many other digital cameras: an effective image stabilization (the real type) and an accurate High Speed AF. All of this wrapped in an interface that is intuitive to use.
If you are in the market for an ultra zoom, you definitely owe it to yourself to try the Panasonic FZ18 before finalizing your decision. It is an impressive digital camera and easily the ultra zoom that sets the standard for the others to follow.
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