Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 Review

Almost exactly a year after the introduction of the DMC-FZ7, Panasonic's popular compact super-zoom camera, comes its replacement; the Lumix DMC-FZ8. Where the FZ7 was a fairly major upgrade to the camera that came before it (the FZ5), the FZ8 is, perhaps inevitably, more evolutionary. The body design and operation is almost identical - no bad thing, given the huge improvements made over the FZ5 - and the only really big news is the inclusion of Raw shooting and a much better electronic viewfinder.

More controversially the new model squeezes even more pixels onto a 1/2.5-inch sensor, and uses the latest Venus III processor, which has had - to put it kindly - a mixed reception from reviewers and users alike. We are assured by Panasonic that the Venus III has been tweaked for the new Lumix generation (based, perhaps, on the less than stellar reviews and comments), and that the noise reduction system and sensor in this camera are delivering significantly better output. So let's find out if Panasonic has got it right with the DMC-FZ8 - and if it really has solved the few (admittedly important) issues we had with its predecessor, starting with a detailed look at what's changed:

Major changes / improvements over FZ7

• 7.38 megapixel sensor
• Venus III processor
• Raw mode (SILKYPIX Developer Studio included)
• Higher resolution screen
• Larger, higher resolution electronic viewfinder
• Manually selectable ISO 800 and 1250
• A handful of new scene modes including an ISO 3200 High Sensitivity option
• SDHC support and 27MB built-in memory
• Minor feature and interface tweaks

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 vs DMC-FZ7 (feature & specification differences)

	Panasonic DMC-FZ8	Panasonic DMC-FZ7
Sensor	• 1/2.5 " Type CCD • 7.38 million pixels total • 7.2 million effective pixels	• 1/2.5 " Type CCD • 6.37 million pixels total • 6.0 million effective pixels
Processor	VENUS III	VENUS II
Raw mode	Yes	No (TIFF mode)
Image sizes (max)	• 3072 x 2304 (4:3) • 3072 x 2048 (3:2) • 3072 x 1728 (16:9)	• 2816 x 2112 (4:3) • 2816 x 1880 (3:2) • 2816 x 1584 (16:9)
Shooting modes (new modes in green)	• Program AE • Aperture Priority AE • Shutter Priority AE • Manual • Program Shift (P mode) • Scene • Simple • Intelligent ISO • Portrait • Soft Skin • Scenery • Sports • Night Portrait • Night Scenery • Panning • Food • Party • Candle • Fireworks • Starry Sky • Baby 1 & 2 • Aerial photo • Snow • High Sensitivity • Beach • Sunset • Pet • Snow	• Program AE • Aperture Priority AE • Shutter Priority AE • Manual • Program Shift (P mode) • Simple • Scene • Macro • Portrait • Soft Skin • Sports • Scenery • Night Scenery • Panning • Night Portrait • Fireworks • Party • Food • Candle • Starry Sky • Baby 1 & 2 • Snow
Continuous (burst) shooting	• 3 or 2 fps • Max 7 images (JPEG Standard) / 5 images (JPEG Fine)	• 3 or 2 fps • Max 13 images (JPEG Standard) / 7 images (JPEG Fine)
Sensitivity	• Auto • ISO 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1250 • High sensitivity mode: ISO 3200 • Intelligent ISO mode	• Auto • ISO 80, 100, 200, 400 • High sensitivity mode: ISO 800 / 1600
Viewfinder	• 0.44" Color EVF • 188,000 Pixels	• 0.33" color EVF • 114,000 pixels
LCD monitor	• 2.5" Polycrystalline TFT • 207,000 pixels	• 2.5" Polycrystalline TFT • 114,000 pixels
Battery life (CIPA)	380 shots	320 shots
Storage	• SD / SDHC / MMC • 27 MB built-in memory	• SD / MMC
Other	• Enhanced Multi Focus function • Lower Shutter lag (claimed) • Enhanced white balance fine tuning (2 axis) • User interface tweaks

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 specifications

If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).

Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C.

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