Review based on a production Panasonic DMC-FZ5
Announced just before PMA in February 2005, the DMC-FZ5 is one of two direct sucessors to the popular (and dpreview Highly Recommended) DMC-FZ3. Like its predecessor the FZ5 sports a Leica-branded DC Vario-Elmarit zoom with a whopping 12x optical range (35-420mm equiv), though the larger sensor has resulted in a slightly slower F2.8-F3.3 aperture range. It also boasts the same newly-improved optical image stabilization system and the Venus II engine, which, according to Panasonic's documentation, is now equivalent to shooting at 3 or 4 shutter speed steps faster - (the figure for the FZ20 was quoted as 2 or 3 shutter speed steps).
Aside from the boost from 3 to 5 million pixels (bringing it in line with the high-end DMC-FZ20), the FZ5 has a range of relatively minor changes over the FZ3, including longer battery life, a repositioned shutter release and improved grip design, larger LCD screen, orientation sensor and a new fast focus mode, which Panasonic claims gives a 30% improvement on the previous model.
 Panasonic FZ20 |
 Panasonic FZ5 |
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|---|---|---|
| Lens Max Aperture | F2.8 | F2.8-3.3 |
| Flash hot shoe | Yes | No |
| Built-in flash range | 7m (22.9 ft) | 4.5m (14.7 ft) |
| Manual focus | Yes | No |
| Orientation sensor | No | Yes |
| Screen | • 2.0-inch • 130,000 pixels |
• 1.8-inch • 130,000 pixels |
| Weight | 556 g (19.6 oz) | 326 g (11.5 oz) |
| Size (HxWxD) | 87 x 128 x 106 mm (3.4 x 5 x 4.2 in) | 68 x 102 x 85 mm (2.7 x 4 x 3.3 in) |
| Battery life (CIPA) | 240 | 300 |
| Converter lenses | Optional | Not available |
The FZ5 closes the gap between the high end and mid-range Panasonic 'super zoom' to such a degree that the arguments for the DMC-FZ20 come down to size (some people prefer the bigger camera), flash (the FZ20 has a hot-shoe for external units and a more powerful built-in flash) and manual focus. Although Panasonic doesn't sell add-on lenses for the FZ5, third-party solutions are available.
Like the FZ20, the FZ5 will be available in two colors; black and silver. The camera used for this review is a silver model, though we much prefer the 'mini FZ20' look of the black version.
| Street price | • US: $499 (tbc) • UK: £360 (tbc) |
|---|---|
| Body Material | Plastic |
| Sensor | • 1/2.5" CCD, 5.36 million total pixels • 4.9 million effective pixels |
| Image sizes | • 2560 x 1920 |
| Movie clips | • 320 x 240 pixels @ 30fps • 320 x 240 pixels @ 10fps • Duration only limited by card capacity (streaming) • Motion JPEG (.mov) • With sound |
| Lens | • 36 - 432mm equiv. (12x optical zoom) |
| Focus | • 1-point, 3-point, 9-point Autofocus • Spot-focusing • Single shot or Continuous AF • Switcheable focus trigger • 5cm macro mode (Wide), 100cm (Tele) |
| Shooting mode | • Program |
| Shutter speeds | • 8-1/2000 sec • Shutter speeds of over 1/1300 sec only available at apertures over F4.0 |
| Apertures | • Wide: F2.8 / F3.6 / F4.0 / F4.5 / F5.0 / F5.6 / F6.3 / F7.1 / F8.0 • Tele: F3.2 / F3.6 / F4.0 / F4.5 / F5.0 / F5.6 / F6.3 / F7.1 / F8.0 |
| Sensitivity | • Auto • ISO 80,100,200,400 |
| White Balance | • Auto • 4 presets • Custom WB (manual) |
| Image parameters | • Color Effect (Cool, Warm, B/W, Sepia) • Picture Adjust (Natural, Standard, Vivid) |
| Continuous | • 3 fps, up to 4 frames (fine), 7 frames (standard) • 2 fps (limited only by capacity of card) |
| Flash | • Built-in pop-up flash • Auto, Manual on/off, Red-eye reduction: on/off, Slow sync: on/off • Range (ISO auto): W 0.3m - 4.5m (0.98 - 14.8 ft) • Compensation (-2.0EV to +2.0 EV in 1/3EV steps) |
| Storage | • SD/MMC • 16 MB SD supplied* |
| Viewfinder | • EVF (114,000 pixels) • Field of view approx 100% • -4 to +4 dioptre adjustment |
| LCD monitor | • 1.8" TFT, 130,000 pixels |
| Connectivity | • USB 2.0 Full Speed • AV out • DC-in |
| Power | • Panasonic CGA-S002A Lithium Ion pack • 7.2V, 680 mAh • (Optional AC adapter) |
| In the box* | • Panasonic DMC-FZ5 camera |
| Other features | • Spot, Center-weighted & Multi-pattern metering |
| Weight (inc batt) | 326 g (11.5 oz) inc memory card and battery |
| Dimensions | 108 x 68.4 x 84.8mm (4.25 x 2.7 x 3.3in) |
* Supplied accessories may differ in each country or area
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).
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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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This article is Copyright 2004 and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author.
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