Panasonic Lumix FZ100 Hybrid Superzoom Camera

Panasonic is stepping up their superzoom game with a new CMOS-powered camera. The top-of-the-line Panasonic Lumix FZ100 has a new 14-megapixel CMOS sensor that allows full 1920 x 1080 HD video in the AVCHD format and a crazy fast 11 frames-per-second full resolution burst rate. That’s faster than the fastest Nikon and Canon pro digital SLRs! The lens is a 24x 25-600mm f/2.8-5.2 (35mm equivalent) Leica DC Vario-Elmarit zoom with Panasonic’s Power O.I.S. image stabilization. That’s a hell of a combination for anyone that wants a small, lightweight camera for travel, the family, a business or whatever. I’m wondering how the FZ100 would measure up against my digital SLRs for outdoor action sports shooting. I’d love to have that 600mm lens in my pack when I’m on the mountain bike or skis.

Traditionally, superzoom cameras like the Panasonic Lumix FZ100 have been “bridge” cameras for people who didn’t want or couldn’t afford a digital SLR. They were the family camera, the student camera or the office camera. The speed and video power of the FZ100 makes me wonder if we aren’t seeing the beginnings of a whole new camera category here. Panasonic has been using the word “hybrid” with this recent batch of camera announcements (see all Panasonic News) and with the lens and full HD video, I don’t see any reason why the FZ100 couldn’t replace the traditional camcorder for most people. Putting HD video features in the superzoom format isn’t brand-new or anything. This is just the first time that my eyes are opening to its real potential.

Panasonic Lumic FZ100 Superzoom Camera - front and back

Although it offers all the consumer-friendly auto features anyone could ask for, the Panasonic Lumix FZ100 offers plenty of control for those who want it. You can shoot RAW and it’s got a full set of exposure controls – aperture priority, shutter priority, full manual, scene modes as well as Panasonic’s excellent iAuto idiot mode, which works better than I’d like to admit. For photographers who are used to “real” cameras, there’s even a big boy exposure control dial on the back of the camera. Other than some image quality compromise (compared to digital SLRs), it doesn’t seem like you’re giving up much at all using the FZ100. I expect auto focus is where experienced photographers will take the biggest hit. The FZ100 does have continuous auto focus at up to 5 FPS. But my experience with even the best point-and-shoot camera auto focus has been pretty disappointing. That doesn’t mean good photos and video can’t be made, though. Photographers will just have to use the tried and true pre-focus action shooting technique – it never fails and you can do it with any camera.

Other Interesting Panasonic Lumix FX100 Features:

New Venus Engine FHD processing
3-inch 460k-dot tilt / swivel LCD display
60 frames-per-second 3.5-megapixel burst mode
Face Recognition recognizes up to six registered faces
Dedicated video record button
Dolby Digital Stereo Creator
Motion Deblur and Intelligent Burst modes
My Color mode includes Pin Hole, Film Grain, High Dynamic and High Dynamic B&W effects

My interest in Panasonic’s new top-of-the-line superzoom comes as a surprise to me. I would expect to be more excited about the new Panasonic Lumix LX5 as it’s designed to appeal to photographers like me. Usually, I think of superzoom cameras like this as something that other people will use. Sure, they’re neat with all their features and a monster lens. But I’m a pro (read irony) and I either want powerful digital SLRs or point-and-shoots that fit in my pocket. But I can’t help myself. I can totally see myself taking the Panasonic Lumix FZ100 on mountain bike and ski adventures for epic backcountry stills and video. It’s been a while since I seriously used a real superzoom camera. But I aim to get my hands on the FZ100.

The new Panasonic Lumix FZ100 superzoom digital camera will be available in late August and the list price is $499.95. Start saving your lunch money!

For more details on the Panasonic Lumix FZ100, you can read the official press release, here: