Reviews for the Fz 28 Digital Camera Plus Example Pictures
Reviews should be read with impartiality an an open mind. Below is the review for the Fz 28 Digital Zoom Camera from Panasonic
When you first look at the FZ 28, it looks identical to the FZ18, with a body design almost unchanged since the FZ 18. In fact looking at the picture below you’d be hard put to spot any difference at all.
The external differences are indeed very slight.
The LCD monitor is a little larger, but an increase from 2.5 to 2.7 inches isn’t exactly a major change.
The surround of the viewfinder eye piece is slightly different in shape.
There is a slight difference in the options on the main dial, and the right-hand side of the camera now sports a small hatch which hides the video output connector. This is a new feature for the FZ 28 which allows it to be connected to a HD TV. The pattern of holes over the microphone are slightly different.
In terms of features, the changes are only small, but there are a lot of them and the overall effect is a significant improvement on what was already an outstanding camera.
Most of the changes are to the camera’s automated systems.
- Face Detection on the Fz 28 is now capable of tracking 15 faces at once.
- Intelligent Exposure, which helps to reduce the occurrence of black shadows and burned-out highlights.
- The Fz 28 now incorporates a Intelligent Scene Selector, which automatically selects the correct scene mode.
- Intelligent ISO Control, which as the name suggests selects the best ISO setting for the situation.
Same as it's predecessor, the FZ 18, the FZ 28 has an excellent range of manual controls, with shutter and aperture priority and full manual exposure, and these too have seen some improvement.
Aperture settings from f/2.8 to f/8 and shutter speeds of 60 seconds to 1/2000th of a second, in increments of 1/3EV are available, as well as spot metering and a selectable focus point, which offers a lot of creative potential.
The metering spot can be moved to match the AF point too, which is even better.
The white-balance options have been improved, dial-in colour temperature, two measured white balance settings and an option to manually adjust the color balance within quite wide parameters have been included.
This means that the camera can be set up to cope with almost any lighting conditions.
It’s an impressive system, you’d have to buy a DSLR to find more adaptability.
Further improvements include a pop-up flash, which is significantly more powerful with an impressive 8.5m maximum range, and the video mode, which can now shoot in 1280x720p at 30fps, although the component video output is only in 1080i.
The camera fires up in less than two seconds, which is exceptionally fast for a big super-zoom camera, and shuts down again just as quickly.
In single shot mode the shot-to-shot cycle time is approximately 1.8 seconds.
In unlimited continuous shooting mode it can maintain just less than two frames a second until the memory card is full.
In RAW+JPEG shooting mode it can manage a shot every 3.8 seconds, again maintaining this until the card is full. This is impressive performance,
The lens in the Fz 28 is slightly larger than it was in the fz 18 but it's effective focal length has been slightly reduced, from 28-504mm to 27-486mm.
The difference is barely noticeable, but it’s always nice to have a decent wide-angle setting.
The optical quality of the lens is extremely high, as befits the Leica brand name which it bears. It produces almost no distortion at any focal length, and is pin-sharp right across the frame with no trace of chromatic aberration.
The FZ 28 unquestionably has the best lens of any current super-zoom camera.
The image processing engine has been upgraded has gone a long way towards curing one problem that has always dogged Panasonic’s cameras; that of image noise.
Images at 100 and 200 ISO are now noise-free, and 400 ISO, while still showing some signs of noise, has noticeably better co lour fidelity.
ISO 800 and 1600 are also quite noisy and lack fine detail, but the grain of the noise pattern is a lot smoother, has better edge definition, and should make better prints.
Taking pic's with the normal settings:
Exposure metering, co lour rendition and white balance are all extremely good, and the overall picture quality is excellent, even more so if you shoot in Raw mode.
Unfortunately Adobe Photoshop’s Camera RAW module doesn’t yet recognize the FZ 28’s Raw files, so you’ll have to convert them using the supplied software, which is adequate for the job.
Fz 28 Example Images. Click to see larger image.
Fz 28 Reviews. Verdict
On paper it looks like the FZ 28 is only an incremental upgrade on the FZ 18, but an objective analysis cannot convey the overall feel of the camera.
Despite the obvious similarities between the Fz 18 and the Fz 28, all the small changes add up to a camera that feels significantly more accomplished and assured than its predecessor.
It responds quickly, focuses accurately, exposes correctly and produces outstanding results, and is generally a very satisfying camera to use.
The FZ 28 will suit anyone looking for a super-zoom camera, whether they want the creative power of its extensive manual options, or the reliable simplicity of its advanced automatic features.
In our opinion it is currently the best all-round super-zoom camera on the market.