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Review Summary
2021-08-14T08:30:33
This is from a review I originally wrote for this camera on Amazon nearly 10 years ago... Ok, first let me admit that I may be a little biased... I used to work part-time in a camera store back in 2005 when the Lumix FZ-30 came out and used to play with it every moment I had when there were no customers around. Finally purchased one in 2008 when the price dropped and it's been my main "go to" camera ever since. Last year (2011), went on a trip to Europe and--traveling light and not wanting to pay a whole lot of bag fees with all my DSLR equipment--took the Lumix (and a Macbook) with me instead. Figured that the single 12X Optical should be all I might need taking pictures of the German countryside. After all, anything that was shot wouldn't be for assignment or commission, these would be for me and the Lumix had been used before for personal portrait shoots and performed admirably. Plus the 12x Leica Optics and the Optical Image Stabilization in an all-in-one package make it perfect in it's portability. Boy, was I glad reached that conclusion...upon my return, I dumped my cards on my main desktop and was in awe of the RAW files (up to this point, I'd only viewed the JPGs). Since then, a few friends have asked for large prints of some of my shots from the Germany trip--and more still have requested them as desktop wallpapers. Mindful of the potential for noise, all or most photography was done at ISOs 80 and 100 with a tripod whenever possible. See, the thing that sets the Lumix FZ-30 (and FZ-50) apart from many of Panasonic's current offerings (at least for me) is that the (then) current FZ line--while quite functional and more than adequate in it's output--no longer has the manual focus option. This is what contributed to it's feeling like a DSLR in my hands. I'm an "Old School" shooter (started in the early `80's, had a home darkroom in my parents' basement...the whole nine yards), so--IMHO--a camera in a photographer's hands needs to FEEL like a SLR/DSLR even when it's not. For snapshots, I'll use my cell phone. The only thing about my FZ-30 now that had slowed down it's use is time and the technological curve. The FZ-30 only uses plain 1GB/2GB SD cards (not SDHC or SDXC). With the advent of HD video being recorded on so many devices, plain SD cards of that vintage are not readily available except through online venues. So I'm on the hunt for a Lumix FZ-50, which will use SDHC cards up to 16GB, in great condition. These are exceptional cameras. If you have the opportunity to pick one up in excellent condition...DO IT! [addendum written in 2021] Of late, I've a need to keep a camera close at hand when I'm out and about and--not wanting to pay a ton of money for a new offering and knowing the capabilities of this one--am thinking of getting another FZ30 (I was able to find an FZ50 since the above review was written, and, even later, bought an FZ1000 but would rather not have the distress of loss if the camera "went missing" while running around (Gave my first FZ30 to my daughter and she LOVES it!).
Rodrick L.
CCD: 1/1.8", 8.32 Total Megapixel, CCD Primary Color Filter
Camera Effective Pixels: 8.0 Megapixels
Leica DC Vario-Elmarit Lens, 14 Elements in 10 Groups,
(3 Aspherical Lenses/3 Aspherical Surfaces, 1 ED Lens)
Focal Length: f=7.4-88.8mm (35mm equivalent: 35-420mm)
Aperture:
Wide: F2.8 - F11
Tele: F3.7 - F11
Optical Zoom: 12x
Conversion Lens Compatibility
2x / 4x pre-select (Max. 48x combined with Optical Zoom without Extended Optical Zoom) (Max. 76.5x combined with Extended Optical Zoom)
Extra Optical Zoom: 4:3 Aspect Ratio: 15.3x for 5 Mega, 19.1x for 3 Mega, 2 Mega, 1Mega
3:2 Aspect Ratio: 15.3x for 4.5 Mega, 19.1x for 2.5 Mega
16:9 Aspect Ratio: 19.1x for 2 Mega
0.44" diagonal Color EVF (235k pixels)
Field of view: approx. 100%
2.0" Diagonal Polycrystalline TFT LCD Display (235k pixels)
Field of view: approx. 100%
Playback Mode: 25, 16 or 9-Thumbnail Display, Zoomed Playback (16x max), Image Rotation, Slide Show, Favorite Pictures, Resizing, Trimming, Protection, DPOF Setting
AF
AF Macro
MF switchable
Manual Focus (Ring)
Continuous AF On/Off
One-Shot AF
AF Assist Lamp
AF Metering: 1 point, 1 point high speed, 3 points high speed, 9 points, Spot, (Selectable focus area on 1 point/1 point high speed)
Normal: Wide 30cm / Tele 200cm - infinity
Macro: Wide 5cm / Tele 200cm - infinity
8 - 1/2000 sec.: Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE 60 - 1/2000 sec.: Manual
Auto, Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual, Program Shift (P mode)
Exposure Compensation: 1/3 EV Step, +/- 2 EV
Backlight Compensation: Yes (at auto mode)
Auto Bracketing (AE): +1/3EV-1EV Step, 3 Frames
Light Metering: Intelligent Multiple / Center-weighted / Spot
Mega Burst Shooting Mode: Full-resolution image: Standard Mode: Up to 9 images at 3 or 2 frames/sec. Fine Mode: Up to 5 images
Unlimited Consecutive Shooting
Still Image Recording with Audio: 5 seconds
10 seconds / 2 seconds.
Auto / 80 / 100 / 200 / 400
Auto/Daylight/Cloudy/Halogen/ Flash/White Set1/2 White Balance Adjustment (except for Auto WB)
Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction
Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction
Forced On/Off
Flash Output Adjustment (1/3EV step, -2 +2EV)
0.3 - 7.0m (ISO Auto)
External Flash Hot Shoe
Media: SD Memory Card and Multimedia Card.
Still Image: JPEG (design rule for camera file system), DPOF corresponding Still Image with Audio: JPEG (design rule for camera file system) + QuickTime Motion Images: QuickTime Motion JPEG
RAW/TIFF/Fine/Standard
Recording Image Size (Pixels )
4:3 Aspect Ratio (Still Image)
3264 x 2448
2560 x 1920
2048 x 1536
1600 x 1200
1280 x 960
3:2 Aspect Ratio (Still Image)
3248 x 2160
2560 x 1712
2048 x 1360
16:9 Aspect Ratio (Still Image)
3072 x 1728
1920 x 1080
Motion Image (Quick Time Motion JPEG)
4:3 Aspect Ratio:
30 or 10 fps (320 x 240 pixels)
(640 x 480 pixels)
Motion Image (4:3 Aspect Ratio)
640 x 480
, 320 x 240
Still Image Recording with Audio: 5 seconds,
Audio Dubbing: Maximum of 10 Seconds.
Microphone : Yes
Speaker; Yes
DC Input, A/V Output (NTSC / PAL), USB
Direct Print: PictBridge
Included: Lithium-ion Battery Pack (7.2V, 730 mAh)
Optional: Battery Charger/AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC)
Battery Life : Up to 280 pictures (CIPA Standard)
Up to 300 pictures with EVF
A/V Output (NTSC / PAL)
Dimensions (H x W x D) 3.37" x 5.54" x 5.44"
1.63 lbs.
Each ArcSoft program requires Microsoft Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP or Macintosh OS 9 - OS X (Classic mode).
Optical Image Stabilizer: MEGA O.I.S. (Mode 1 / Mode 2 )
Auto Review: 1 sec/3 sec/zoom
Review: 1x/4x/8x
Picture Adjustment: Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation, Noise Reduction
Color Effect Mode: Cool, Warm, Black & White, Sepia
Real-time Histograms
Composition Guide Lines
Scene Mode Help Screen
Auto Angle Detection
Flip Animation
OSD Language: English, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese (Traditional), German, Italian, French
Powerful 12x Optical Zoom - LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT Lens & ED Lens The DMC-FZ30's LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens features 14 elements in 8 groups, including 3 aspherical lenses & an ED lens which helps to suppress the color bleeding that often occurs in telephoto shots, plus a 12x optical zoom (35mm equivalent: 35 to 420mm).
This combines with the large, 1/1.8" diagonal 8-megapixel CCD to give you enormous expressive power. The new Extended Optical Zoom, which minimizes the image degradation that normally occurs with digital zooming, gives you up to 19.1x power in 3-megapixel photos, & up to 15x power in 5-megapixel photos.
Plus, the 12x optical zoom can be used together with the 4x digital zoom to produce a maximum of 48x zooming power.
Accurate, Flexible Focusing - Both Auto & Manual
In addition to five auto focus modes (1-point, 3-point high-speed, 9-point, spotAF, & 1-point h.s.AF), the FZ30 features a ring that lets you manually adjust the focus from 0.98 feet to infinity. Manual Focus Assist, shows an enlarged image of the subject's center in the viewfinder. The One-Shot AF function in manual focus mode lets you focus automatically for a single shot by pressing the "FOCUS" button. The Continuous AF function keeps moving subjects in sharp focus, & the AF Assist Lamp helps in dim lighting. This all adds up to easy, accurate focusing.
Panasoni MEGA Optical Image Stabilizer Helps Eliminate Blurry Pictures
Jitter from shaky hands is 1 of the main reasons why cameras produce blurry images. That's why Lumix cameras help solve the problem with advanced MEGA Optical Image Stabilizer technology. The DMC-FZ20K has a built-in gyrosensor that detects any hand movement & relays a signal to a tinymicrocomputer which instantly calculates the compensation needed.
A linear motor then shifts the Optical Image Stabilizer lens as necessary to guide incoming light from the image straight to the CCD. You won't even notice it, you'll see are the outstanding results!
Manual Focus & Zoom Rings with Intuitive Control
The manual focus ring lets you focus on whatever part of your subject you wish, & the zoom ring lets you zoom in & out easily & accurately as you compose the perfect shot. They're both fast, so you can capture moving subjects in your composition.
Free-Angle 2.0" Diagonal High-Resolution LCD
Change the angle of the high-resolution 230,000-pixel 2.0" diagonal LCD monitor any way you like. You get the flexibility to catch a high-angle shot over a crowd, or a low-angle shot of flowers in a garden, all with a comfortable posture.
MEGA BURST Consecutive Shooting
You can snap off consecutive shots at 3 frames per sec. with full resolution. In addition, the Unlimited Consecutive Shooting function lets you continue shooting until the memory card is full. You can take macro shots instantly by flicking the switch on & get as close as 0.16 feet from the subject.