Dr Gadget - Gadget Shop - Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 Digital Camera - Black (8.1MP, 18x Optical Zoom) 28mm Wide-Angle Lens

	List Price: £329.99 Our Price: £197.00 Your Save: £ 0.00 ( % ) Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Manufacturer: Panasonic
Average Customer Rating:
Batteries Included: 0 Binding: Electronics Brand: Panasonic EAN: 5025232440061 Feature: Pixels: CCD - 1/2.5" CCD sensor - 8.32 megapixels (including 8.1 effective) / Resolution (in pixels) - 3264 x 2448 Is Fragile: 0 Label: Panasonic Manufacturer: Panasonic Model: DMC-FZ18EB-K Publisher: Panasonic Release Date: 2007-09-26 Studio: Panasonic
Features Pixels: CCD - 1/2.5" CCD sensor - 8.32 megapixels (including 8.1 effective) / Resolution (in pixels) - 3264 x 2448 Optical: Optical Viewfinder - 0.44" EVF electronic viewfinder - 188,000 pixels 100% coverage / LCD display - 2.5" polycrystalline LCD screen - 207,000 100% coverage / Macro Distance - 1 cm / Normal Distance - From 30 cm upwards / Optical Zoom - 18x Optical construction: 11 elements (including 3 aspherical lenses and 4 aspherical surfaces) in 8 groups With additional optical zoom: up to 28.7x (2 megapixel resolution, 4:3 format) / Digital Zoom - 4x Storage: Image formats - JPEG / Memory Card Type - SD, SDHC card, MMC / Included Memory Card - No / Internal Memory - 27 MB Video: Video mode - Yes, with sound / Video Sequence - 640 x 480 at 30 images/sec. / TV Output - NTSC or PAL video output / Webcam - No Computer InterFace: Port - USB 2.0 / Wireless function - No / Compatibility - PC and Mac / Included software - LUMIX Simple Viewer, PhotofunStudio, Studio developper SILKYPIX 2.1SE, ArcSoft PhotoImpression, ArcSoft PhotoBase, ArcSoft Panorama Maker
Accessories SANDISK 2GB ULTRA II SD CARD Sandisk 2GB Secure Digital Card SanDisk Video HD SDHC 4Gb SanDisk Video HD SDHC 8Gb ULTRA II SD PLUS 8GB 15MBS
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Lumix FZ-18 Comment: Absolutely fantastic. The best camera I have ever owned. I'm no professional, I wouldn't know what to do with a DSLR so whats the point. This is really easy to use and takes great pictures. Customer Rating: Summary: Great Value Comment: I have owned this camera for about 2 months now and am constantly amazed at the quality of photos it takes. The stabilizer means that using the 18X zoom gives excellent results - even when hand-held. Images are sharp and they produce superb prints. I have used many camers but this must rank as one of the best. I have found that the Ai (Auto-intelligence) setting is very good for most purposes, only occasionally have I found that manual settings using the Programme or other modes give better results. Battery life is good and a spare battery not expensive. Use the fastest SD card you can get to minimise recording time for each photo, Customer Rating: Summary: Excellent general purpose camera Comment: I bought this for my holiday to Cuba and found it to be excellent. I have steered clear of DSLRs because I don't fancy lugging round such a heavy and bulky camera. This Panasonic is about half the size of the average DSLR and has a zoom range that would cover most DSLR owners extra lenses. I have enlarged some of the photos to 12" x 18" i.e. enormous and found that the images are perfectly acceptable. They are not as razor sharp as a decent DSLR but they are ok and when you consider the weight, bulk and cost saving it is a compromise that's worth going for at least for the average kind of person i.e. not a super critical photo fanatic. I suggest you keep the setting to the best quality ones as otherwise the photos mught not be so good if you want very big prints. Basically its an excellent general purpose 'walk around' family camera. Customer Rating: Summary: Consummate prosumer performer Comment: I bought this camera to complement my two other digital cameras, a role for which it is ideally suited. It can't always match the quality of my Canon DSLR, but then it is light and small enough to take with me on ordinary days out and walks, whilst the wide zoom range and the ability to use manual settings means it can get those shots that my compact digital camera struggles with. The more I use it the more I like it, in fact it reminds me of my much loved Nikon EM film camera that I used for 25 years. Many people will take perfectly good photos just using the various automatic settings, but this is a camera with multiple personalities and can operate in a variety of modes including full manual. This gives you lots of automatic controls, and I think this would be a great camera to learn about photography with whilst still providing the safety net of the automatic features. Note that the printed manual that comes with the camera is not the full operating manual - you'll find that on the cd-rom in the box and on the Panasonic website. Yes there are some issues with noise and sharpening, but you won't notice it most of the time, and they are reduced if you shoot RAW, which I would do for any image I was expecting to reproduce at above A4 size. Customer Rating: Summary: !!!!!!!!!!FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!! Comment: I spent weeks thinking about purchasing this camera, and eventually i could not contain myself anymore. When it arrived I was dubivous as to the quality it would produce. I should not have worried. The camera is absoultly FANTASTIC. The detail is enormous, even at 18x zoom (See flower pic) I realy am so pleased that i bought this, it far exceed my expectations. It was this or the Fujifilm, and the Panasonic won. The range of Lumixs, realy give credit to Panasonic, with my faith restored, I will be purchasing more Panasonic items. I recommend this camera 100%, you will not be disapointed. Update Read the user manual, it really does help in unserstanding the settings and maximising the picture quality. If you know how to use the setting, then taking pictures can be more enjoyable, when you view and share them! More Reviews
Editorial Reviews: Powerful 18x Optical Zoom, 28mm wide-angle Leica DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens and unique Intelligent Auto Mode. The perfect choice for any photographer with varied photographic needs and high ambitions - Panasonic is pleased to introduce the new DMC-FZ18 8.1-megapixel Lumix camera, featuring a powerful 18x optical zoom (equivalent to 28-504mm on a 35mm film camera), newly developed 28mm wide-angle LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens and Panasonic's new and unique Intelligent Auto Mode. Panasonic's award winning FZ series of Lumix cameras has been highly praised across the world, for concomitant realisation of both high performance and ease of use, and the FZ18 is no exception. Bridging the gap between high-end compacts and digital SLRs, Panasonic's DMC-FZ18 offers a level of control close to that of an SLR, but without the need for interchangeable lenses. Perfect for photographers on the move and families who want to shoot pictures outdoors for example, the FZ18 offers an easy way to enjoy the fun of capturing beautiful digital pictures.