Panasonic DMC-FZ150K 12.1 MP Digital Camera with CMOS Sensor and 24x Optical Zoom (Black)
- Leica DC Vario- Elmarit 24x Zoom Lens
- Shoot 3D images and view on your 3D capable TV
- 3 inch free-angle 460K dot resolution LCD screen
The 12.1-megapixel DMC-FZ150K continues a long line of great hybrid digital cameras from Panasonic by giving you more options not only in how you take pictures, but including the ability for full HD 1920×1080 60p AVCHD movie recording. The camera’s 24x Leica DC Vario- Elmarit lens system featuring two aspherical lenses, three aspherical surfaces, three ED elements, and one Nano Surface Coated Lens gives you more options for framing both your photos and movies, and the intelligent auto shooting mode allows you to take great worry free photos and movies. A new High Sensitivity MOS imaging chip, hybrid digital camera technology, and an improved processing engine make sure that you’re able to capture photos and movies in the moment by reducing shutter lag and increasing burst shooting potential. Add in a bevy of scene options, movie color modes, and an anti-glare treated 3.0″ LCD view screen and you’ve got one incredible package in digital camera form! And it shoots 3D still images that ca
List Price: $ 499.00
Price: $ 499.00
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Complete set of features,
Can one review a camera before using it? Yes and no. This preliminary review is to explain why I have pre-ordered the FZ150.
I bought an FZ100 when it was a fairly new item. It had all the features anyone could want, except one: it did not generate good images. I sent it back; thank you Amazon, for standing behind the product and taking it back if it isn’t up to snuff. Even Panasonic had to recognize that the FZ100 was not a winner.
The FZ150 has a totally different sensor, with fewer megapixels to generate noise. The IQ appears to be much better. So I’m going to try it. The four stars are based on the feature set, and images I have seen from review cameras. This will be revised when I have a chance to see first-hand how the IQ is.
What’s to like about this camera? Panasonic is making one of the few, if not the only, P&S cameras with all the small features that enable serious picture taking.
–Front threads (52mm) for filters. This means being able to use CPL and other filters for great effects without having to resort to add-ons, apapters, etc. The more you get into photography (especially in high-contrast or glare situations), the more you’ll appreciate this.
–Articulated LCD. This is truly convenient for odd angles, so you don’t have to get down in the dirt or climb a tree to get the low or high shot, or twist yourself into a pretzel for that perspective shot around the corner. Also good to avoid screen glare.
–EVF. The articulated LCD is great, but there are times, especially with bright sun or long range with full zoom, that you’ll see and frame your subject far more easily with the EVF than the screen.
–Serious continuous mode. 12fps (no AF) or 5.5fps (AF) at full resolution. Lots of cameras tout fairly high burst rates; they don’t promote the fact that this is only possible at very low resolution, like 3mp.
–Decent buffer. The FZ100 was pretty good in this area, and since the FZ150 caputures smaller images (12mp vs. 14mp), in theory the burst depth should be a bit better. For many types of action shots, 5-6fps is adequate, so if you keep AF on and shoot JPEG at 5.5fps you can get several seconds of action before there’s a slowdown.* Lots of cameras tout high burst speeds; they don’t tout the fact that you only get 1 second of burst before the buffer is full.
–RAW. If you care about color, this is major.
–Remote. Less commonly used, perhaps, but very useful if you need to put your tripod in an awkward place, where it would be difficult to trigger the shutter by hand. Also avoids tripod shake in bulb shooting.
–Hot shoe. I never use one, but for many people, it’s a must for better flash, etc.
–Plenty of manual control, for getting the picture you want.
*Here is some review information for the FZ100: “At 5 fps Burst Mode RAW+JPEG fills the buffer after ~10 captures while JPEG manages ~17 captures. At 11 fps Burst Mode RAW+JPEG fills the buffer after ~10 captures while JPEG manages ~15 captures. A continuous auto focus option is available on 2/5/11 fps Burst Modes, but slightly reduces the frame rate.
At 2/5 fps Burst Modes, the capture speeds are practically the same with either RAW+JPEG or JPEG only. The only difference being that with JPEG the cameras continues to record at a slow speed when the buffer is full. The bad news is that once the buffer fills up when recording RAW+JPEG, it took 46.83 seconds to clear the buffer. At 11 fps Burst Mode, there is a marginal and negligible difference in capture speed between RAW+JPEG and JPEG.”
In short, this camera has all the features of a good enthusiast DSLR, and some features that are lacking even on some DSLRs. If the IQ is improved from the FZ100, it will be a very nice thing to have. I’ll let you know what happens.
PS: If you believe I’ve jumped the gun, I feel your pain. But it’s very hard to find a camera with all the features listed, and all of them make a difference. I would have bought the Canon G2, but it has no filter threads, no serious burst and no serious zoom. I would have bought the Canon SX230, but it has no filter threads, no EVF and no serious burst. And so on. This is the only P&S (given the extensive manual controls, a total misnomer) that has “all of the above.” This merits a review on its own.
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