Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200

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FZ200
Design
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Optics
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Basic Specifications
Resolution:	12.10 Megapixels
Lens:	24.00x zoom (25-600mm eq.)
Viewfinder:	EVF / LCD
LCD Size:	3.0 inch
ISO:	100-6400
Shutter:	60-1/4000
Max Aperture:	2.8
Dimensions:	4.9 x 3.4 x 4.3 in. (125 x 87 x 110 mm)
Weight:	20.7 oz (588 g) includes batteries
MSRP:	$599
Availability:	08/2012

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12.10 Megapixels	24.00x zoom	3.0 inch LCD

Panasonic FZ200 Preview

by Mike Tomkins
Posted: July 18, 2012

Sure, your smartphone can do a lot of things today. It keeps you up to date with Facebook, it searches the web at your verbal command, it even grabs pretty good snapshots! Unless you care to go back to phone styling from the 1980s, though, there's one thing it can't so far manage. With the best will in the world, it won't bring you much closer to your subject then your feet can. Optical zoom lenses are still fairly rare on phone cameras, and long-zoom camera phones just don't exist at all.

Not surprisingly, then, this is a market niche in which a lot of camera manufacturers find themselves. (And one in which a lot of photographers dissatisfied with their smartphones find themselves shopping.) With all those manufacturers competing, they really need to find a way to differentiate themselves. With the Panasonic FZ200, the Japanese manufacturer looks to have found a pretty good strategy. Ultrazooms are all about the lens, and oh, what a lens does the FZ200 bring to the table!

OK, perhaps it isn't fair to say it's all about the lens--there's quite a lot to the FZ200 beyond its optic--but it sure does grab the attention. It does so with a constant f/2.8 aperture, all the way across the zoom range from its generous 25mm wide angle to its see-the-whites-of-their-eyes 600mm-equivalent telephoto. The FZ200 isn't the first long-zoom camera to feature a lens like this--Panasonic's had no less than six models boasting f2.8 constant apertures--but it's been a long time since we've seen one. (The simultaneous announcement of the Lumix FZ3, FZ15, and FZ20 back in mid-2004 brought that era to a close.) Those cameras were also all based around relatively less powerful 12x zooms, where the FZ200 sports a 24x zoom range!

It's a real shame we can't show you this photo full-sized, because the level of sharpness and detail is absolutely stunning. This was shot with the lens zoomed to maximum telephoto (600mm equivalent), and we were shooting at f/4.5. At 1:1 onscreen, this is count-the-peachfuzz-hairs territory. Just amazing sharpness; we think the best we've ever seen from a long zoom lens, let alone one at 600mm!

The FZ200's lens bears Leica DC Vario-Elmarit branding, and while we can't yet show you full-resolution samples from the camera, we're mighty impressed with how the optic on the prototype camera we've handled performed. Take a look in the gallery for some reduced-resolution samples from our Panasonic FZ200 prototype, and watch this space for more samples, just as soon as we can get our hands on a production camera.

The complex optical formula includes 14 elements in 11 groups, of which there are five aspherics, four of them double-sided, plus three ED lenses, There's also one nano surface coated element. As you'd expect given the zoom reach, the FZ200 includes Panasonic's Power O.I.S. image stabilization system. A contrast detection autofocus system offers 23-points, and can also operate in a single-area mode with adjustable point size. Face detection and tracking functions are included, and there's an AF assist lamp to help out in low light.

We said there's more to the FZ200 than just the lens, though, and there is. The Panasonic FZ200 is based around a brand-new 1/2.3-inch 12.1 megapixel High Sensitivity MOS image sensor. Total resolution is 12.8 megapixels, and output is handled by Panasonic's Venus Engine image processor. ISO sensitivity varies from 100 to 3,200 equivalents at full resolution, and can be extended to ISO 6,400 equivalent. There's also an Auto ISO mode, and an Intelligent ISO function. The latter detects subject movement, and boosts ISO as needed to freeze motion.

The new sensor and Venus Engine processor combine to allow full-res burst shooting at 12 frames per second, for as many as 12 frames. If tracking autofocus is enabled after the first frame, this falls to 5.5 frames per second. Startup time is also reasonably swift for a fixed-lens camera, at 0.95 seconds.

Befitting its SLR-like form factor, the FZ200 sports a built-in, electronic viewfinder. It has a 100% field of view, and is time-multiplexed to show red, green, and blue sequentially at every pixel location. Resolution is around 437,000 pixels.

Beneath the viewfinder window is a three-inch LCD panel with 460,000 dot resolution. The panel has a 3:2 aspect ratio, approximately 100% coverage, and a wide viewing angle (although Panasonic doesn't specify the actual horizontal / vertical viewing range).

On the top deck are both a built-in popup flash, and a flash hot shoe for external strobes. The built-in flash has a range of 13.5 meters using Auto ISO.

The Lumix FZ200's exposure modes include Program, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, and Manual, plus two Custom modes. There's also an Intelligent Auto mode, a Scene position, and a Creative Control mode that tweaks the look of images by automatically adjusting variables such as color, saturation, contrast, brightness, and tone curve.

The FZ200's uses Intelligent Multiple metering by default, and you can also opt for Center-weighted or Spot modes. Exposure compensation is available within a range of +/-3.0EV, in 1/3 EV steps. There's also a bracketing function, providing for three frames with a step size of 1/3 to 3 EV. Shutter speeds for the Panasonic FZ200 vary from 1/4,000 to 60 seconds in still image mode.

There are nine white balance modes on offer in the Panasonic FZ200: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Flash, Incandescent, two Manual modes, and a direct color temperature setting. White balance settings can also be fine-tuned on two axes.

The FZ200's in-camera HDR did a great job with this shot, handling a range from bright sun to deep shadow with aplomb, and a very natural look to boot.

The FZ200 offers quite a range of creative options. There are several multi-shot options merged in-camera, including high dynamic range, panorama, and 3D photo modes. Filter effects include Expressive, Retro, High Key, Low Key, Sepia, Dynamic Monochrome, Impressive Art, High Dynamic, Cross Process, Toy Effect, Miniature Effect, Soft Focus, Star Filter, and One Point Color. Seven photo style choices are available, including Standard, Vivid, Natural, Monochrome, Scenery, Portrait and Custom. There are also both Intelligent Auto and Intelligent Auto Plus modes, the latter of which allows control over background defocus, exposure compensation, and white balance.

The FZ200's video capabilities also look impressive, especially given that powerful, bright, stabilized lens--and note that the stabilization system operates with increased strength for movies, too. It's possible to record AVCHD movie clips at up to 60p frame rate at Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) or HD (1,280 x 720) resolution, and that's using 60 frames per second sensor data. You can also opt for 30p capture at either resolution, as well as at VGA (640 x 480), in MPEG-4 mode. (PAL cameras replace 60p with 50p, and 30p with 25p.)

Additionally, there are two high-speed video modes which captures 720p MPEG-4 video at 120 fps, or VGA video at 240 fps (NTSC models; PAL models record at 100 / 200 fps). These play back at about 1/4 and 1/8th speed respectively, for slow-motion effects. Audio is recorded with a stereo microphone located in front of the hot shoe, using Dolby Digital Stereo Creator technology. Another interesting feature is built-in zoom noise reduction, and there's also a wind cut filter. Unusually for a fixed-lens camera, it's possible to control both shutter and aperture for videos manually.

Connectivity options include USB for data, a composite standard-def output, and a Mini HDMI output. Images and movies are stored in 70MB of built-in memory or on Secure Digital cards, including both the higher-capacity SDHC and SDXC types, and the higher-speed UHS-I types. Images are stored in JPEG or raw file formats. Power comes from a 7.2 volt, 1,200 mAh lithium ion battery pack, said to be good for 540 shots on a charge to CIPA testing standards.

Panasonic will not be announcing pricing and availability until roughly 30 days before the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ200 goes on sale.

Similar to the FZ200 but smaller lighter larger sensor cheaper But ...