request score

8.0
final rating

reviewed on
this review has been viewed 38 times

Criteria Comments Rating
  • Image quality No comments
  • Video quality No comments
  • Battery life No comments
  • Design and form factor No comments
  • Durability No comments
  • Speed (start-up time, lag) No comments
  • Ease of use No comments
Detailed review
I really like this camera a lot. I wanted to upgrade from my small pocket point-and-shoot (I was sick of the lack of zoom!). I did my homework and choose the FZ18. The camera is everything I was looking for in a nice, affordable package. The camera is great for the "prosumer", someone who wants great zoom but doesn't want the hassle of interchangeable lenses. A vast majority of my shots look great, and the ability to take decent video is a nice plus.

One major trade-off with this camera is its sensor. While it is stabilized, which is nice, pictures taken above ISO 400 have a LOT of noise, and with noise-reduction on you get a lot of smearing. I never shoot above ISO 400 unless I have no other way to get the shot.

Overall, for the price, a great camera.