Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18

Model Design / Appearance (7.75)
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 is plainly styled without many flourishes or highlights. There are few chrome elements in the mix, but the body is mostly unadulterated plastic. The FZ18 comes in black and silver. Besides the meager color offerings, Panasonic doesn’t give much attention to this camera’s appearance; the ultra-zoom FZ18 is all about performance, which is a good thing.

Size / Portability (6.25)
The Panasonic FZ18 isn’t as large as we thought it’d be. We’d assumed that a longer 18x optical zoom lens would come in a larger package than its 12x predecessor. Apparently not. Panasonic fit the long lens into a camera body of similar size to the FZ8. The FZ18 measures a very chunky 2.96 x 4.63 x 3.47 inches. It weighs in at 12.7 ounces unloaded and 14.4 ounces with the battery and memory card inserted. This camera is heavier than its predecessor, which weighs 12.6 ounces loaded.

Its chunky SLR shape requires users to carry it around in a camera bag. It would fit into a purse or tote bag, but it should have its own case to protect the large lens. Cameras with fewer protrusions are better suited for storing in bags and purses, but the Panasonic FZ18 is chunkier than those compact models.

Handling Ability (8.0)
The Panasonic FZ8 is easy to handle and it only gets better with the FZ18. The FZ18 retains the sizable rubber-coated right hand grip. The rubber surface is great; it is lightly textured like leather, but also has a silky feel at the same time. At the top of the rubber panel but just below the shutter release button is a divot in the rubber wide enough for the index finger to rest and grip the camera around the front.

On the back of the hand grip is a new addition to the FZ18: a wavy thumb grip made out of the same silky rubber. It provides a nice balance on the grip that makes it easier to support the weight of the camera. The older FZ8 has only a few plastic bumps and a tiny lump in the plastic shell in its place.
The left side of the FZ18 is slightly different from its predecessor too. The new model has a beveled edge instead of a crisp one, making it more comfortable for the left fingers to wrap around that side.

The SLR-shaped Panasonic FZ18 feels great to handle with the rubber surfaces and contours. The controls are all nicely placed within reach of the thumbs and index finger.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (7.5)
The FZ18 may be shaped like an SLR but it doesn’t have the same controls. That said, it does have more controls than the average compact digital camera – it’s in that gray space between compacts and DSLRs. The controls are relatively small and scattered across the back and top surfaces of the camera body. There are a few designated buttons on the top and back, but there are multifunctional ones too.

The four-way navigational control on the back accesses features in the Recording mode, but navigates through pictures in the Playback mode. The joystick on the back of the camera is used to adjust the manual exposure settings; unfortunately, the joystick is small and finicky. The mode dial on the top of the camera is large and chock-full of exposure modes. In addition to the standard exposure modes, Panasonic added more dedicated positions on the dial including Custom and four scene modes: Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, and Sports.

The shutter release button is also on the camera’s top. It is nicely sized and framed within the zoom ring. The shutter release is problem-free, but the zoom ring is difficult to turn.

Menu (7.5)
The menu system is set up in the same way as in other Lumix digital cameras with the title of the menu at the top of the screen, the page number (e.g. ¼) in the upper right corner, and two tabs on the left side. The top tab has a camera icon and houses the Recording menu, while the bottom tab has an image of a wrench and opens the Setup menu.

The menus are displayed in large text printed in capital letters. The selected item is highlighted by a yellow background. Navigational cues are printed along the bottom of the screen, but it’s intuitive to navigate with the multi-selector.

When in the Manual mode and the menu/set button is pushed, the following Recording menu appears. A live preview appears behind the text for many of the menu items such as white balance and color effect.

Recording Menu
White Balance	Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Flash, Fluorescent, Custom 1, Custom 2, Custom Set
White Balance Adjust	+/- 9 amber to blue, +/- 9 green to magenta
Intelligent ISO	Off, ISO max 400, ISO max 800, ISO max 1600
ISO Sensitivity	Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1250, 1600
Aspect Ratio	4:3, 3:2, 16:9
Picture Size	8M, 5M, 3M, 2M, 0.3M
Quality	Fine, Standard, RAW, RAW + JPEG
Audio Recording	Off, On
Metering Mode	Evaluative, Center-weighted Average, Spot
AF Mode	Face Detect, 5-point, 3-point high-speed, 1-point high-speed, 1-point, Spot
Stabilizer	Off, Mode 1, Mode 2
Continuous AF	Off, On
AF Assist Lamp	Off, On
AF/AE Lock	AF, AE, AF/AE
Digital Zoom	Off, On
Color Effect	Off, B/W, Sepia, Cool, Warm
Picture Adjust	Contrast (+/- 2), Sharpness (+/- 2), Saturation (+/- 2), Noise Reduction (+/- 2)
Flip Animation	Picture Capture, Create Motion Picture (Frame Rate 5 or 10 fps, Create Motion Picture), Delete Still Pictures
Conversion Lens	Off, Teleconverter, Close-up
Clock Set	Date, Time, M/D/Y order

The Setup menu is easy to access, but is a lengthy five "pages" (five screens of five options each) long.

Setup Menu
Clock Set	Date, Time, M/D/Y order
World Time	Home, Destination (choose time zone on world map)
Custom Set Memory	C1, C2, C3
Monitor	+/- 3
Guide Line	Recording Info (Off, On), Histogram (Off, On), Pattern (Rule of Thirds, Fourths with cross-hairs)
Travel Date	Off, Set
Play on LCD	Off, On
Auto Review	Off, 1 sec, 3 sec, Zoom
Power Save	Off, 1 min, 2 min, 5 min, 10 min
Zoom Resume	Off, On
MF Assist	Off, MF1, MF2
Beep	Off, Low, High
AF Beep	Off, Low, High
Shutter	Off, Low, High
Volume	7 levels
Number Reset	Yes, No
Reset	Yes, No
Video Out	NTSC, PAL
TV Aspect	4:3, 16:9
m/ft	M, ft
Scene Menu	Off, Auto
Dial Display	Off, On
Language	English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese

The menu system isn’t the cleanest design out there, but it’s not terrible either. It is nicely divided into Recording and Setup menus, but then there are long lists to scroll through within those tabs. Some other digital cameras further organize the menus so that a particular feature is only a few pushes of a button away at all times.

Ease of Use (7.25)
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 may look intimidating to some consumers because of its SLR-like shape, but it is just as easy to use as a point-and-shoot. It has an Auto mode along with a set of Scene modes, many of its controls are intuitively labeled (with the exception of the unlabeled joystick), handling feels good, and there is a nice large mode dial. The mode dial makes Shooting modes easily accessible, and the virtual mode dial that appears on the LCD screen (when the physical dial is turned) makes it easier to pick a mode while still looking from behind the camera rather than looking straight down on it.

Mode Dial