Name of product:
Panasonic Lumix FZ40Approximate date of purchase:
June 2011My Review
This is my third Lumix "super-zoom" camera. I owned an FZ28 and the FZ35, as well. I also own a DSLR and an interchangeable lens camera. In short, photography is my life. I have also owned the Canon SX30IS and Canon SX20IS. So I have lots of experience with super-zoom cameras. The Lumix FZ40 is perhaps the best handling super-zoom ever made. The controls are easy to use, and their layout is well thought out. The camera is very responsive. Focus is good in bright light and better than most cameras in low light. Image quality is great up to ISO 200. Unfortunately, image quality falls off quickly at ISO 400. With a small 1/2.33-inch sensor and 14 megapixels of resolution, you cannot expect great image quality from this kind of camera in low light. A trick is to use the menu system and bump up the noise processing to +1 and the saturation to +2. It's easy to do and will give a better quality low light image. Some people complain about not having a bracket for an external flash, however, there are very inexpensive slave flashes that can be had for under $30 that will augment the onboard flash. While we are on the subject, the onboard flash can be compensated and you can boost its output by setting flash compansation to +2. The reviewer noted that the zoom barrel casts a shadow on flash close ups. It isn't the zoom barrel, it's the lens hood. I remove it for close up flash photos. The Lumix FZ40 has a great JPEG engine. In fact, the camera has the ability to process RAW files, but it is seldom necessary as the results are no better than the high quality JPEGs that the camera produces. Video with the Panasonic is a joy to use. The AVCH Lite codec gives you excellent recording capacity, even on smaller SD cards. The video is 720p. Many super-zoom cameras today, like the Nikon and Canon cameras, offer 1080p. Don't be fooled though, without the AVCH codec they are almost useless except for short video clips. The Lumix FZ40 can actually replace a separate video camera. The Panasonic Lumix FZ40 is a fast, responsive, well-built camera that produces excellent images in low ISOs and very mediocre images at ISO 400 or above. This is true of all super-zoom cameras, however, it was less of a factor with the Canon SX30IS. I sold that camera because it is just slow at whatever it does and that was unacceptable to me. I believe that the Lumix FZ40 is the best of the new super-zoom crop.
Camera "pros"
Very responsive, excellent handling, great build quality, fantastic low ISO performance, perhaps the best in the super zoom class, excellent Leica lens, AVCH video codec
Camera "cons"
Mediocre at best image quality with higher ISOs (ISO 400+), no hot shoe (you can use a slave flash though), video is only 720p
