Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18

Connectivity
Software (7.5)
The Panasonic FZ18 comes with a CD-ROM that is loaded with software. When the disc is put into a computer drive, a Setup menu appears with the plethora of software that can be installed. These must be individually installed and it takes longer than one would think.

Software options

In addition to the USB driver, Adobe Reader, and QuickTime programs, there are several photo viewing and editing programs. Panasonic’s Lumix Simple Viewer 1.3E is included on the CD-ROM; this only allows users to view images and not to edit them. The USB Driver, Photo Fun Studio, and Viewer programs are only available on Windows operating systems. The other programs, SilkyPix Developer Studio 2.1 SE and ArcSoft’s Software Suite, can be run on either Windows or Macintosh.

The Lumix Simple Viewer is just what it says it is: simple. It pops up as a small window with very few functions: acquire to PC, view, print, and send by e-mail. Its so-called "advanced" options include adding pictures, exporting to a memory card, and starting the Photo Fun Studio program. Pictures have to be manually loaded into the Simple Viewer. That can be done individually or in batches of images. Once the image is opened for viewing, its full file information is shown just below it. Pictures can be marked as favorites, deleted, printed, or e-mailed.

Simple Viewer

The Photo Fun Studio is another Panasonic special. It automatically accesses files and images from computers and displays them as categories along the left side of the window. This program is much more advanced than the Lumix Simple Viewer. The Photo Fun Studio allows users to view, organize, browse, and edit images in one program. Images can be viewed in thumbnails of different sizes and on a full-screen view. There is also a view that combines a film-strip of thumbnails with a larger preview and a slew of file information and comments.

Photo Fun Studio

From the right side of the window, users can print and e-mail images, acquire more images from a memory card, change the DPOF setting, and redo the computer’s wallpaper with a selected image. Along the top there are plenty more options: acquire, categorize, tools, retouch, rotate, refresh, launcher, help, and Simple Viewer. In-camera editing is still a bit scant. Images can be rotated and color filters added. There is an automatic picture adjustment and red-eye removal feature, which worked well on the red-eyed images from the FZ18.

The SilkyPix Developer Studio allows users to exercise full manual control of RAW images. There are options and sub-menus and icons all around the window to represent the many manual controls that can be adjusted. It goes beyond white balance and exposure compensation and into sharpness, tone, color, lens, noise reduction, and lens rotation.

SilkyPix Developer Studio

The ArcSoft Software Suite includes MediaImpression and Panorama Maker 4. MediaImpression is mainly to build slide shows and movies, but has many of the same editing tools like crop, red-eye, and color adjustments. It adds a few like straightening and blurring of the background. It doesn’t have the organizational features though. Panorama Maker 4 is an interesting inclusion because the camera doesn’t have a stitch assist or Panorama mode on it. That means users have to line up shots themselves and the software has to work harder to fix all those human mistakes. This program allows users to create horizontal, vertical, and 360-degree panoramas with a few clicks of the mouse.

There is a lot of repetition between all the software programs so it is unlikely that users will employ all of them for different needs. It is more probable that users will have a favorite program and use it for their viewing, editing, and organizing.

Jacks, ports, plugs (6.0)
On the camera’s left side is a plastic door on a spring hinge. It covers two ports: one is a combo for the USB and AV jacks and the other is for the DC-in power adapter. The AV-out function has a few options in the Setup menu: it can be set to NTSC or PAL standards, and the output TV aspect ratio can be set to 4:3 or 16:9.

Direct Print Options (5.0)
Print orders are created in the Playback menu. Users can select all the images for printing or scroll through the batch to pick and choose certain pictures. The number of prints to be made can be set from 0-99 and the date can be printed on the image if the display button is pushed while adding it to the print order. For pictures to actually be printed, the camera must be connected to a PictBridge-compatible printer with the supplied USB cable and the mode dial must be rotated to the designated print position.

Battery (7.0)
The FZ18 has the same battery as the FZ8. It is fairly thick and has 7.2V and 710 mAh of power. The lithium-ion battery can snap up to 380 shots. According to the specs, there is no significant power difference between using the electronic viewfinder and the larger LCD screen. The camera comes with a wall-mounted charger that is convenient and doesn’t take up much space. The battery takes about two hours to fully charge. There is a port for a power adapter on the left side of the camera; the adapter can be purchased through Panasonic and allows the camera to run indefinitely without the battery but at the expense of being tethered to a power outlet.

Battery/Memory

Memory (3.0)
The FZ18 comes with 27MB of internal memory, the same amount as the FZ8. The internal memory is a nice backup, but a SD or SDHC card is a necessary accessory. The internal memory can’t record decent videos; it can only save 320 x 240-pixel movies. Only one RAW image or eight JPEG images can fit in the internal memory. MMC media can fit into the slot, but users are better off with SD or SDHC. The camera’s Burst mode slows down when recording to a MMC card, and movies can’t be recorded to that card either.

Other features (7.0)
Still image recording with audio – This feature can be turned on and off in the Recording menu. When activated, it records five seconds of audio immediately after a pictures is taken. The audio isn’t great, but could be a reminder of a hearty rendition of "Happy Birthday."

Audio Dubbing – This feature is in the Playback menu. It records 10 seconds of audio and attaches it to an image file.

Flip Animation – This mode snaps 320 x 240-pixel images at a selectable frame rate of 5 or 10 fps for up to 100 continuous shots. Once the string of pictures is shot, users can create a small movie (with 100 shots, it comes out to about 20 seconds at most). This will keep the kids busy on a rainy day.

Title Edit – This feature is located in the Playback menu. This new function allows users to scroll around and select letters on a virtual keyboard to create titles more interesting than the ones automatically assigned to the images.

Custom Modes – The Panasonic FZ18 has a Custom position on the mode dial, but it really houses three custom modes. In these three custom sets, users can preset the following: exposure mode, white balance, ISO, aspect ratio, image size, image compression, metering, AF mode, continuous AF, auto focus assist, AF/AE, exposure compensation, audio, world time, composition pattern, review display, burst, and sleep mode. The Custom modes can be specialized in the Setup menu.