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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20

By: Dave Etchells

Panasonic introduces a five-megapixel digicam with the high quality optics of a 12x Leica lens.

<<Intro and Highlights :(Previous) | (Next): User's Report>>

Page 2:Comparison With Other Panasonic DMC-FZ Models

Review First Posted: 12/17/2004

MSRP $599 US

Comparison With Other Panasonic DMC-FZ Models

As of this writing (in early December 2004), Panasonic currently has three long-zoom, optically-stabilized digicams on the market. While there's a steady progression of sensor resolution as you move up the line, other features are not so consistently distributed. Here's a table showing how the features of the different "FZ" models compare:

	DMC-FZ3	DMC-FZ15	DMC-FZ20
List Price (At introduction)	$399	$499	$599
Megapixels (Effective)	3.2	4.0	5.0
CCD Size	1/3.2"	1/2.5"	1/2.5"
Size	108 x 68 x 85 mm 4.3 x 2.7 x 3.3 in	128 x 87 x 106 mm 5.0 x 3.4 x 4.2 in	128 x 87 x 106 mm 5.0 x 3.4 x 4.2 in
Weight (With Batteries)	323 g (11.4 oz)	556 g (19.6 oz)	556 g (19.6 oz)
Body Material	Plastic	Metal	Metal
Lens Zoom	12x	12x	12x
Lens equiv. Focal Lengths	35-420 mm	35-420 mm	36-432 mm
Max. Aperture	f/2.8	f/2.8	f/2.8
Manual Focus Option	No	Yes	Yes
Supports Conversion Lenses	No	Yes	Yes
LCD Size	1.5"	2.0"	2.0"
LCD Pixels	114,000	130,000	130,000
Stated Flash Range (Auto ISO)	4.6 meters	7.0 Meters	7.0 Meters
External Flash Connection	No	No	Hot Shoe
ISO Options	Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400	Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400	Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400
Image Adjustment Options	Sharpness	Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness	Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness
Scene Modes	9, One "SCN" mode setting	9, Two "SCN" mode settings	9, Two "SCN" mode settings
Noise Reduction Adjustment	No	Yes	Yes
Shot to shot cycle times (Full res JPEGs)	1.56 sec.	0.54 sec.	0.86
Sound Recording	Yes	No (Some question on this, but our eval unit didn't seem to record sound clips)	Yes
Included Memory Card	8 MB	8 MB	16 MB