Competitive price, but keep your expectations low

[Phaser]

Pros:

1. Competitive price

2. Hotshoe

3. Touch Screen

4. Can shoot in RAW

5. Good Handling

Cons:

1. Focus is slow

2. JPG Picture quality is fair

3. 4K Video is wobbly, lots of "jello" effect

4. Sound quality in video is very poor (only 128kbps) , especially when zooming

5. Mechanical Shutter is quite loud

6. Noticeable Chromatic Aberration

7. Digital Zoom is poor

 

[Jon_T]

Pros:

1. Competitive price

2. Hotshoe

3. Touch Screen

4. Can shoot in RAW

5. Good Handling

Agree, as with most online reviews.

Cons:

1. Focus is slow

In lower lighting and tele focal lengths smaller f-stops—on par with any similar inexpensive bridge type camera.

2. JPG Picture quality is fair

On par with any similar inexpensive bridge type camera with the small 1/2.3" high MP sensor. With the small max apertures well known cameras of this genre need GOOD daylight type lighting for good IQ.

3. 4K Video is wobbly, lots of "jello" effect

4. Sound quality in video is very poor (only 128kbps) , especially when zooming

Do not do video; but if one wants good video/ sound quality this genre of camera not the one to get.

5. Mechanical Shutter is quite loud

What your 'Shutter Volume' set to? With 'Shutter Volume' "OFF" shutter barely makes noise,

6. Noticeable Chromatic Aberration

Again typical for a bridge camera of this price/ genre.

7. Digital Zoom is poor

Yes the "Digital Zoom" is poor as with any camera compared to it's optical IQ, especially if the subject (e.g., bird) covers a small sensor area; the "i.Zoom" can provide 'acceptable' IQ when properly used at base ISO.

Appears the majority of your "Cons" are due to you not reading any of the FZ80 online reviews that had sample images; e.g., Imaging Resource FZ80 Review HERE, the CamerLabs Review HERE, etc'; or looked at the DPR's FZ80 sample images HERE.

If your images are consistently worst than the sample images, then you may have a bad sample, user errors, and/ or simply expecting to much from a inexpensive P&S bridge camera camera with small 1/2.3" sensor and long zoom range/ small max apertures lens.

With all Panasonic P&S cameras the default in-camera settings NEED to be adjusted for getting good IQ to your preferences, and some post processing to personal tastes.

This has been discussed many, many, many, times for quite awhile by users' posts in this forum.

Also the majority of the FZ80 images posted in forum have been downsized to 2MP - 3MP.

For the optimum IQ possible shoot RAW; especially with lower lighting/ higher ISO shooting conditions to avoid the in-camera noise reduction.