Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 Digital Camera Review

by Patrick Singleton
Published on October 21, 2005

Navigation
Intro	Testing / Performance
Physical Tour	Components
Design / Layout	Modes
Control Options	Image Parameters
Connectivity / Extras	Overall Impressions
Conclusion	Specs / Ratings

Model Design / Appearance (7.5)
The Panasonic DMC-FZ30 is a small yet appealing compact model.  While it’s shaped like an SLR – a grip for the right hand, a wide flat back, a viewfinder bumped up on top, and a big lens poking out on the front - the FZ30 exaggerates that look, because the lens is proportionally big in relation to the small body. The lens is relatively long, but it's also wide and heavy; the barrel assembly is metal, while the chassis of the camera is plastic. The fit and finish of the lens assembly is excellent. The controls are oversized for durability and ease of use, and they look simple and robust. The plastic assemblies on the camera are less appealing. The joints between the top and sides of the camera don't meet perfectly, and on our sample, their colors don't exactly match. The grill holes for the microphone and speaker pick up dirt – particularly the microphone holes, which are drilled into the thumb rest. The rubbery cushion around the eyepiece seems to attract and hold dust. The viewfinder hump is low, but to accommodate the pop-up flash, it juts far forward, much farther than the handgrip. Its rounded shape echoes the lens barrel's curve. The general effect is that of an impressive lens with a little camera stuck on it from behind, almost like an afterthought.

Size / Portability (6.5)
Like most SLR-shaped compacts, The Panasonic DMC-FZ30 is smaller than the typical DSLR. It's about 5 3/16” wide, 3 11/16” tall, and 5 3/8” deep, and weighs 11.5 ounces ready to shoot. It won't fit in any normal pocket, so it requires a small camera bag. Compared to a DSLR with the lenses needed to cover the FZ30’s 35 – 420mm equivalent focal length, the camera is tiny. With an accessory flash (and the FZ30 would benefit from one) and a few SD cards, the FZ30 amounts to a very portable kit but will require a camera bag.  

Handling Ability (7.5)
The Panasonic DMC-FZ30 is a generally comfortable camera. The lens barrel is a near-perfect size. It seems as though it could have been thinner without compromising the optics or electronics, but its size makes the barrel a great grip. The camera grip for the right side is also very comfortable, with an indentation for the middle finger and a well-placed ridge to form a thumb rest on the back of the camera. Unfortunately, the right shoulder strap lug interrupts the handgrip, and may get in the way of the user's hand. The pivoting LCD panel helps with high- and low-angle shots, though the LCD itself has a limited angle of view. It's easy to find the basic controls on the Panasonic DMC-FZ30, so users will probably find it easy to operate in short order.  

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (7.0)
Fortunately, the Panasonic DMC-FZ30 has two jog dials. One is for the thumb and one is for the forefinger of the right hand, but they're a little stiff, and the back one is misplaced. It pokes out of the back right corner of the camera, so the user will have to pull their thumb away from the thumb rest to get to it.  This will loosen the user’s grip on the camera and disrupt the shot. Worse, it’s susceptible to being bumped accidentally; instead of doing the sensible thing and moving it, Panasonic made the dial stiff and sunk it into the camera body so it is difficult to access. Both those steps make it harder to use than it should be.

The mode dial is large and clearly marked. With only nine settings, it's not overcrowded, and it clicks into place with confidence-inspiring certitude. It wobbles a little, so it may not be built for the long run. The buttons are spaced far enough apart such that it's easy to avoid tapping the wrong ones. The buttons actuate very easily – you don't have to press them very far. That may speed up operation, but it makes me wonder about their durability. Buttons on sturdy SLRs usually take more of a push than these, and they're built to last. However, the FZ30’s zoom ring and manual focus ring are both great. Their rubber grips are comfortable, and each has a distinctive texture, making it easy to tell them apart without looking. This is a thoughtful touch. The rings turn smoothly, without binding or wobbling, and with an appropriate amount of resistance.

The Panasonic DMC-FZ30 menus vary according to the operating mode. Manual modes offer more menu options than scene modes, and Playback offers its own set of menu options as well.

In auto mode, the menu items for shooting are: Aspect ratio, Picture Size, Quality, and Conversion lens. They are also available in manual mode, which includes many more options, which are listed in the table below.

 

The mode dial has two settings for scene mode shooting. All the scene modes are available in each setting, and the modes are available via the menu. In scene modes, pressing the Menu button twice will bring up the regular shooting and Setup menus.

 

The Set-up menu is available in any of the modes.

 

The Playback mode has its own menu, which is accessible only when the camera is in that mode.

 

Ease of Use (6.0)
There isn't anything tricky about the Panasonic DMC-FZ30. Its controls are typical of DSLRs and other elaborate compact models, so they'll be familiar to users switching from prosumer-oriented cameras. It's appealing that the FZ30 has dedicated controls for many basic functions – in manual shooting mode, for instance, it has one dial for aperture and another for shutter speed. Other cameras use a single dial for both, but the user has to press a button while turning the dial to access one of the settings. The FZ30's arrangement is faster and easier to learn.

 

Panasonic's manual is both good and bad. The writing and organization of the material is great, but unfortunately, there are quite a few errors in the book. Here are some examples: the manual says the camera measures 4 1/4” x 2 11/16” x 3 11/16” “excluding the projection part.” We measured it, and it's actually 5 3/16” wide, 3 11/16” tall and 5 3/8” deep. Maybe it had taken a really cold shower before Panasonic measured it – but we don't see how it could have lost an inch of width. Along the same lines, the manual says the FZ30's CCD is 1/3.2,” but the Panasonic website reports it as 1/1.8.”  If it were 1/3.2” that might explain the excessive noise levels.  The manual lists the pixel resolutions of both the EVF and the LCD incorrectly; they are actually both 235,000, but the manual lists them at a measly 114,000 and 130,000, respectively. Other sections apparently weren't finished. The tables showing how many images will fit on SD cards of various sizes are a case in point – according to the tables, zero RAW files will fit on SD cards with capacities of 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512 megabytes, or of 1 gigabyte. Whole sections of the tables show only zeroes, where there should be numbers ranging from 1 to 800.