Panasonic Lumix FZ200 Digital Camera

If you're searching for a long-zoom camera that falls in between a point-and-shoot and digital SLR experience, look no further than the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200.

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  The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 has an excellent f2.8 25-600mm zoom lens; fast shooting performance, even when shooting in raw or raw plus JPEG; and excellent picture and video quality for its class. It has a ton of shooting options, including full manual for stills and movies.

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  The FZ200 is expensive, especially if all you're after is a long zoom lens. It doesn't have built-in GPS or Wi-Fi, or a proximity sensor for switching from the LCD to EVF. The SD card slot and battery compartment can't be accessed when the camera is on a tripod.

The 24x Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 doesn't have the most ambitious zoom ratio, but a sharp f/2.8 aperture lens and speedy performance make up for it.

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  Fast f/2.8 zoom lens. Speedy performance. Sharp images. Excellent EVF. Hot shoe and mic input. Raw support.

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  Expensive. Rear LCD could be sharper. Not the longest zoom in class. No GPS.

Panasonic has done almost everything right with the FZ200, producing a super zoom with a no-compromises lens. It performs very well, takes photos that are comparable (or better) than other super zooms, and has a top-notch movie mode.

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  Very good photo quality, 24X Leica lens maintains F2.8 maximum aperture from 25 - 600 mm, Power OIS image stabilization, with "active" mode for movies, 3-inch rotating LCD with 460,000 pixels, good outdoor/low light visibility, Super-sharp electronic viewfinder, Full manual controls with RAW...

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  Tends to clip highlights; photos slightly noisy, Redeye a problem; no removal tool in playback mode, No eye sensor for electronic viewfinder; rainbow effect on EVF can be distracting, More expensive than other super zooms (though none have comparable lenses), Rear control dial a bit "sticky", Can't...

For the video enthusiasts out there, the FZ200 is a great one-camera quiver, or a great addition to an existing kit. Between the high frame rate video and stills, good lens quality and versatile zoom, the FZ200 is absolutely a formidable competitor within the saturated market.

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  Good video features, good lens, fast.

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  Good video features, good lens, fast.

It's a rare superzoom camera that features an f/2.8 lens -- especially a Leica-branded 24x zoom lens that maintains that constant max aperture throughout its range. But that's exactly what the Panasonic FZ200 delivers and more.

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  Max aperture f/2.8 across full 24x optical zoom range of Leica DC Vario-Elmarit-branded lens; Relatively sharp and detailed images for a superzoom camera; Full-res burst shooting at 12 frames per second; Advanced photographic capabilities (manual focusing/exposure controls, RAW image capture, etc.

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  Control scheme and menu layout frustrating to use, especially the over-reliance on the rear dial; Higher ISOs produce smudged and blurred images as noise reduction efforts increase; Tendency to clip highlights; EVF doesn't switch on automatically when you look through it.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 takes an impressive 24X optical zoom lens, equivalent to 25-600mm, and makes it even more impressive with a constant F/2.8 maximum aperture. This gives it a huge advantage, two stops at least, towards the long end of the zoom over all other ultra-zooms.

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  Bright F/2.8 constant maximum aperture, Superb lens sharpness, Low optical distortion, Nice rendition of colors with correct WB, Quick autofocus, Very good shutter-lag, Extremely responsive, Impressive 12 FPS continuous drive, Awesome LCD visibility, Usable video framing overlay mask, Good...

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  Softness from NR above ISO 100, Noise visible at all ISO, Useless ISO 3200+, Below average White-Balance system, Self-timer resets, Modal EC control, Minuscule EVF, Not always Exposure-Priority, Rear buttons too flat, Slow startup and shutdown

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 is the first superzoom camera to feature a fixed-aperture f/2.8 lens, which means that the same amount of light is captured, regardless of whether you are zoomed out at 25mm or all the way in at 600mm.

With high framerate video and spot-on exposure abilities, the FZ200 zooms ahead of its rivals

The Lumix DMC-FZ200 ($599) is Panasonic's flagship super zoom digital camera. While recent models have been relatively minor upgrades, the FZ200 returns to its roots by featuring a lens with an F2.8 maximum aperture across its entire zoom range.

We've finally got our hands on Panasonic's Lumix FZ200, their top-of-the-line superzoom for 2012.

one control I don't like is the rear control dial which, like on the DMC-LX7

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  Everything ,Briliiant lens , super Fast Auto focus.

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  Plastic body.

If your looking to upgrade to a higher level camera but don't want to spend DSLR type money, then this bridge camera is a great option. Big zoom range 28mm-600mm(35mm equivalent) while also being able to maintain a constant F2.8 throught.

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  Easy To Use, Fast/accurate auto-focus, Good Image Quality, Good Image Stabilization

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  Poor Flash

I really like this camera. I took it on vacation and it took some great photos in daylight and night, as well as from a moving boat and a moving bus. I had upgraded from a Lumix DMC-FZ35, so it was pretty easy to learn how to use, but had some new features which made it even more useful.

Haven't had a chance to do much more than take a few test photos, but this camera appears to be high quality and all that is advertised. I am excited to learn how to put all of the many features of this camera to work.

The FZ200 was - for me - like meeting an old friend after so many years. He has evolved in those years and now he is somewhat more of an adult. There are some things still where you have to say that he still can grow but overall, he's a much better man.

For those who just want to skip the tutorial and simply start shooting, this camera is for YOU!!!

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  Easy to use, Exceeded expectations