Product Details

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8K Reviews

Great camera - it will make your next one a DSLR!
by Sierra Chuck from San Francisco, 2010-03-13

This was a great camera for $300. I loved the shots I took with it and so did everyone that saw them. Especially viewing the whole image.

As is mentioned most places the noise reduction is overly heavy handed and when you zoom in and view the images at 100% (view pixels) they don't look so hot. Detail is smeared etc. BUT, you can shoot RAW files with this camera and therefore control the noise reduction, sharpening, white balance, and exposure tweaks on your computer.

The more you master this camera the more it will make you want a true digital SLR, to take care of the few things that this camera is not great at. Examples: not fast enough autofocus for fast-moving subjects (birds in flight); shutter lag, while not terrible I still got the back of my child's head rather than the front more often than not; depth of field: there's too much! With the aperture wide open everything still seems pretty sharp. I was unable to get much background blur, and bokeh is more or less nonexistent. High ISO (film speed): this camera really doesn't look very good shot at faster than 400, and not very good at 400 either. The shots really only look good at 100 ISO.

If I had it to do over again I would have tried to get at least the cheapest Canon Digital Rebel, which NOW are easily less than $600. Instead, last year I upgraded to a Canon EOS 40D, and there's really no comparison. If you're old enough to have used a film SLR well, then you HAVE to get a DSLR. Everything will feel natural again. If you're not that old, or don't care about those things and just want a long lens, then this is, or was, hard to beat.

If you are really interested in photography and want to learn and study the art form, then you really want a digital SLR. You can take great photos with this camera, but I don't think you can learn how and why to make better photos with it. But if you do, you'll also soon learn the limitations of this camera.

I'm using it as my backpacking camera, or anywhere I don't want to take the heavy and expensive DSLR. And shooting only in RAW.

Cmara digital
by Premia Cash Back from Alajuela, Costa Rica, 2010-01-04

Fina, verstil, bien dotada. Es una super cmara y con alta capacidad. En el modo ISO tiene ruido, pero eso es normal en las cmaras digitales.

Oh how I love my Lumix!
by Beth Stafford from Georgia, 2009-09-07

This is a really great camera for those wanting a little more quality than you get with the pocket models.

I am by no means a photography expert, I just enjoy getting the best pics I can of my children, so I can only offer you my opinion as a click happy soccer mom. But in my experience this Lumix takes great shots in all conditions. It does, however, take a little getting used to and I highly suggest you read the manual in order to truly get everything you can out of it.

It is by far my favorite camera (I also have a 35 mm Fuji and a Kodak digital) and not only would I recommend it to a friend but I have, and two of my friends have also bought Lumix cameras with no regrets.

This is simply a great camera.
by Jamie Johnson from Cookeville, TN United States, 2009-06-30

I've been interested in photography for a couple of years now and have been trying to learn as I go. I bought this camera because I was looking for one with a good amount of optical zoom and I found it at a great price. I wish such lucky things happened to me every day! Starting out with this camera after using simpler point and shoots was a bit challenging, but after playing around with it for just a few days, I was taking great pictures before I knew anything about all the advanced settings. The really great part about this camera though is that, as I'm learning more about photography and how to get the shots I want, I'm realizing that this camera can do a lot of the things I'm reading about in books about DSLRs. So, in summary, this is a great camera for someone who doesn't know much about photography, but wants to advance to higher levels.

(A note: I think mine is an FZ8-K, but I couldn't find it in the list of Panasonic products. Not sure what the difference is...)

want a perfect picture?
by Thomas O. Fort from SC, 2009-06-26

This camera is worth buying for one feature alone: the OIS (optical image stabilization). It has a 12x optical (not "digital") zoom. That means you can stand far away and still snap a very clear photo. If you can hold your hands still enough, that is. With this camera I am able to snap the "stealth" photos I like, not just the ones from four feet away when people pose. You can get really good photos of people just being themselves, unaware they are being photographed. All of the other features are what you would expect for a camera like this, all high quality. The feature that makes this camera worth the money, though, is the OIS.

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