Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50S (silver)

Manufacturer: Panasonic Part number: DMC-FZ50

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CNET Editor rating:
3.5 stars Very good
Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 7 reviews

More product information:: Editors' review; Product brief; User reviews; Specifications; Manufacturer info

Bottom Line:: If you can get past its large size, Panasonic's DMC-FZ50 is a decent choice for a superzoom.

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12-Megapixel Digital SLR Includes 18-55mm Lens 3" TFT Color LCD

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Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 7 reviews

Showing opinion 1 to 7 out of 7

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4 stars

One of the noisiest cameras ever

by kholland15 on December 12, 2006

Pros: The camera and functions are beautiful

Cons: Anything other than flash photos or very bright light yeilds unacceptable picture quality

Summary: I read so many mixed reviews about the noise of this camera. I read a few professional reviews that lead me to believe the noise was worse than the S3IS, ...

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Summary: I read so many mixed reviews about the noise of this camera. I read a few professional reviews that lead me to believe the noise was worse than the S3IS, but that it was compensated for by the quality Leica lense. The fact of the matter is that this camera is only good for flash photos or very bright sunlight because the noise for anything above 200 ISO is unbelievable. You can forget about taking pictures of your childrens indoor band concerts. It makes me sick to my stomach to have to send such a beautiful camera back because it just isn't any good for taking pictures.
Updated
After going to great lengths to fully test all the modes and quirkes of this camera, I have found that it CAN produce excellent quality photos even at ISO settings as high as 800. The camera's shortcoming, in my opinion, is that the fully automatic settings yeild underexposure in moderate to low light without flash. By using manual settings this problem is easily overcome. If I could change my rating, I would agree with the editors rating of between 7 and 8.

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7 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
8 stars

$500 for 420mm image stabilization lens

by eteune on November 4, 2006

Pros: $500 for 420mm image stabilization lens

Cons: not as good as $2500+ equivalents

Summary: This camera only costs $500. And for that amount of money to get a 420mm equivalent Leica lens WITH image stabilization is outstanding. Did the CNET review say 'tungsten lighting'??? ...

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Summary: This camera only costs $500. And for that amount of money to get a 420mm equivalent Leica lens WITH image stabilization is outstanding. Did the CNET review say 'tungsten lighting'??? This is a $500 prosumer camera, not a professional studio DSLR! Yes, the body is big, but for a reason: the lens. Yes, the image quality is not on par with more expensive cameras, but that is why they are more expensive. If you want the great zoom with a great lens and tons of other options to tweak just about everything, but don't want the weight or much greater expense of buying a separate image stabilization zoom lens to add to your already expensive DSLR, then this camera is great! I think it is an outstanding compliment that people compare this camera to DSLRs even though it costs much less.

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6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
8 stars

Better than Canon S3

by elstonhill on October 23, 2006

Pros: filters screw on lens, manual focus easy to use, optional wide screen photos

Cons: Noise, small screen

Summary: Feels like a SLR. Love the ability to screw on filters without a stupid tube. The Manual focus is so easy to use. Manual shutter speed and aperature also easy ...

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Summary: Feels like a SLR. Love the ability to screw on filters without a stupid tube. The Manual focus is so easy to use. Manual shutter speed and aperature also easy to use. A lot more megapixels than the Canon S3. Optional wide screen photos including movies.

Advantages of Canon S3 is small size and use of AA batteries.

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4 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
6 stars

Beautifully Desgned but Deeply Flawed Camera

by archangelmr on May 7, 2007

Pros: Excellent build quality, superb lens, ergonomics, balance, wonderful articulating LCD, 16 x 9 movie mode

Cons: inconsistent image quality, inadaquate sensor, chroma noise, limited dynamic range, short warranty

Summary: As an experienced (25+ years) photographer, I can only say that this camera is a paradox.

On paper, the FZ-50 is without quesstion the best camera of its type. In

...

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Summary: As an experienced (25+ years) photographer, I can only say that this camera is a paradox.

On paper, the FZ-50 is without quesstion the best camera of its type. In the day-to-day use, the reality is quite different, however.

Although I absolutely love the handling and build quality of the FZ-50, its tiny, over-crowded 10MP sensor and image processing algorithms simply don't do the excellent Leica optics justice. As a result, the camera is a beautifully-desgned, but flawed tool that will ultimately disappoint most enthusiasts or serious amateurs.

Noise and graininess (at ALL ISO settings above 100) is one problem, but I've seen surprisingly little discussion of the camera's other issues such as its limited dynamic range (dark shadows, blown highlights, anyone?), and its often wildly inconsistent metering and autofocus capability.

I love the feel, feature set and optics of the Lumix FZ-50 more than any other camera I've owned, but also get FAR more throwaway images from it with it than any other, as well. The FZ-50 is an especially poor choice for any sort of indoor or low-light photojournalism-type work. (Don't even think about using the FZ50 for indoor sports, unless you're prepared for cell-phone quality images at its "high sensitivity" ISO 3200 setting.)

I have an ancient Nikon Coolpix 2100 (an entry-level 2megapixel point-and-shoot) that consistently produces higher quality images than the LUMIX FZ-50 in ALL modes under almost all conditions -- except ISO 100 -- Go figure.

So, consider the wonderfully built FZ-50 by all means, but also weigh its limitations, relative to other superzooms and bridge cameras, as well. Some may wish to onsider the Fuji FinePix 6500FD (with its superior sensor and face detection) as an alternative.

Had Panasonic focused on image quality instead of senseless, marketing department-driven pixel stuffing, the FZ50 would be the fineset bridge/superzoom camera available. But they didn't...So it isn't, alas.

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2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
3 stars

Sorely disappointed!

by gplourde on May 3, 2007

Pros: Numerous features, rotating screen

Cons: Picture quality, noise, focus problems

Summary: We purchased this camera prior to its release and had high hopes that we'd get razor sharp pics once the camera arrived. Well, no matter the mode, our shots ...

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Summary: We purchased this camera prior to its release and had high hopes that we'd get razor sharp pics once the camera arrived. Well, no matter the mode, our shots are grainy, out of focus - just plain frustrating. We've taken 2500+ pics in the last several months (new baby) and really only have 30 or so that we would call 'ok'. Don't let the features dazzle you.

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2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
8 stars

a great camera!

by sikkrevenge on November 15, 2007

Pros: great zoom, nice pictures, easy to use.

Cons: hard to control noise, hard to adjust the white balance.

Summary: This is the camera I started out using as a learning photographer. It does really good in most cases, but I've seen better. I love my camera, and I'...

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Summary: This is the camera I started out using as a learning photographer. It does really good in most cases, but I've seen better. I love my camera, and I'm not planning on getting rid of it. I just wish it was a little better. I would recommend it for someone that has a little experience with messing with the settings and someone who is okay with dealing with noise.

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9 stars

VERY NICE!!!

by chrisman34 on May 12, 2007

Pros: awsome detail, as easy or complex as you want it to be

Cons: none yet. have had it 2 weeks and am amazed at quality

Summary: I am a novice that wanted good pics. I have baught higher end point and shoots and have been unhappy. I love this thing....colors are very close to true. ...

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Summary: I am a novice that wanted good pics. I have baught higher end point and shoots and have been unhappy. I love this thing....colors are very close to true. Some very minor tweeks on free photo editing software brings them in perfect. This this has performed great, and I havent taken it off auto mode yet!!! Imagine what I will be saying when I learn all the controls and take it off auto!!

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Showing opinion 1 to 7 out of 7

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Specifications

Manufacturer: Panasonic
Part number: DMC-FZ50

General
Product Type Digital camera - Prosumer
Color Silver
Weight 1.5 lbs
Width 5.6 in
Depth 5.6 in
Height 3.4 in
Main Features
Resolution 10.1 megapixels
Image stabilizer feature Optical stabilization helps prevent blurry pictures, especially for handheld cameras at slow shutter speeds or when using high optical zoom.
Sensor resolution 10.1 megapixels
Optical Sensor Type CCD
Effective Sensor Resolution 10,100,000 pixels
Total Pixels 10,400,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size 1/1.8 in
Light Sensitivity ISO 200, ISO 800, ISO auto, ISO 400, ISO 3200, ISO 1600, ISO 100
Digital Zoom 4 x
Shooting Modes Frame movie mode
Shooting Programs Panning, Baby2, Candle, Starry sky, Night portrait, Sports mode, Snow, Soft skin, Fireworks, High sensitivity, Party/indoor, Food, Portrait mode, Baby1, Scenery, Night scene
Special effects Warm, Black & White, Sepia, Cool
Max Shutter Speed 1/2000 sec
Min Shutter Speed 60 sec
Exposure Metering Multi-segment, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure Modes Aperture-priority, Automatic, Program, Shutter-priority, Manual
Exposure Compensation ?2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps
Auto Exposure Bracketing 3 steps in 1/3 EV step
White Balance Custom, Automatic, Presets
White Balance Presets Shade, Halogen, Cloudy, Flash, Daylight
Digital video format QuickTime
Still Image Format JPEG, RAW
Continuous Shooting Speed 2 frames per second
Color support Color
Image Stabilizer Optical
TV Tuner None
Video Capture QuickTime - 320 x 240, QuickTime - 848 x 480, QuickTime - 640 x 480
Memory / Storage
Flash Memory 32 MB Flash - SD Memory Card
Floppy Drive None
Image Storage JPEG 3072 x 1728, JPEG 2048 x 1360, JPEG 3264 x 2448, JPEG 3248 x 2160, Standard RAW 3648 x 2736, JPEG 1920 x 1080, JPEG 1600 x 1200, JPEG 3584 x 2016, JPEG 2048 x 1536, Fine, JPEG 3648 x 2736, JPEG 2560 x 1920, JPEG 2560 x 1712, JPEG 3600 x 2400
Flash memory 32 MB - SD Memory Card
Supported Flash Memory MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card
Lens System
Type Zoom lens - 7.4 mm - 88.8 mm - F/2.8-3.7
Focal Length 7.4 mm - 88.8 mm
Lens Construction 10 group(s) / 14 element(s)
Lens Manufacturer Leica
Additional Features
Self Timer Yes
Self Timer Delay 10 sec, 2 sec
Flash Terminal Hot shoe
Additional Features Cropping an image, DPOF support, Audio recording, PictBridge support, 16:9 widescreen mode, Digital noise reduction, Built-in speaker, Resizing an image, Saturation control, Contrast control, Sharpness control, Digital image rotation, Histogram display
Camera Flash
Effective Flash Range 1 ft - 23 ft
Type Pop-up flash
Flash Modes Flash OFF mode, Fill-in mode, Slow synchro, Auto mode, Red-eye reduction
Red Eye Reduction Yes
Effective flash range 1 ft - 23 ft
Features AF illuminator, Flash +/- compensation
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Type Electronic
Color support Color
Diagonal size (inches) 0.44 in
Resolution 235,000 pixels
Field Coverage 100%
Display
Type LCD display - TFT active matrix - 2 in - Color
Mounting Rotating
Resolution 207,000 pixels
Digital Player (Recorder)
Type None

Microphone
Type Microphone - Built-in
Connections
Connector Type 1 x DC power input, 1 x Composite video/audio output, 1 x USB
Expansion Slot(s) 1 x SD Memory Card
Lens Systems
Type Zoom lens
Focal length 7.4 mm - 88.8 mm
Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 35 - 420 mm
Focus adjustment Automatic, Manual
Auto Focus Points (Zones) 9
Min Focus Range 11.8 in
Macro Focus Range 5cm
Lens Aperture F/2.8-3.7
Optical Zoom 12 x
Zoom Adjustment Manual
Lens construction 10 : 14
Features Aspherical lens, ED glass
Miscellaneous
Carrying Case None
Cables Included A/V cable, 1, 1 x USB cable
Included Accessories Lens cap, Lens hood, Lens adapter, Strap
Min Operating Temperature 32 ?F
Max Operating Temperature 104 ?F
Power
Power Device Battery charger - External
Battery
Supported Battery 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery - 710 mAh ( Included )
Software
Type LUMIX Simple Viewer, ArcSoft Camera Suite, Apple QuickTime, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Drivers & Utilities
CNET Labs' Benchmarks
Labs information All values are expressed in seconds. Please visit our labs information page for information on how digital cameras are tested.
CNET Labs Flash shot to shot time 1.3
CNET Labs Raw shot to shot time 4.5
CNET Labs Shot to shot time typical 1.2
CNET Labs Shutter lag bright 0.5
CNET Labs Shutter lag dim 1.0
CNET Labs Typical burst speed 1.9
CNET Labs Wake up time 1.1

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Manufacturer info

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50S (silver)

Where to buy

CNET editors' review

Product brief

User reviews

Submit your review

Specifications

General

Main Features

Memory / Storage

Lens System

Additional Features

Camera Flash

Viewfinder

Display

Digital Player (Recorder)

Microphone

Connections

Lens Systems

Miscellaneous

Power

Battery

Software

CNET Labs' Benchmarks

Manufacturer info