Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35

Handling (7.00)

The FZ35 has a familiar shape in an unusual size. At 4.63 × 1.98 × 3.50 inches (117.6 × 75.8 × 88.9mm) and 12.9 oz. (367g), it’s noticeably smaller and lighter than other cameras with this zoom range. The weight difference is even more substantial when you factor in the AA batteries used in many ultrazooms (including the Canon SX1 IS). The small size and weight are certainly good news from a portability perspective. The camera’s too bulky to be pocket-friendly, of course, but whatever backpack or shoulder bag you tote around will be minimally burdened by the FZ35. As for handling, the right hand grip is a bit small for those of us with large paws, but still manageable with a delicate touch. and the textured surface and prominent middle finger indent help significantly. If you have daintier digits, the feel of this camera should be just about perfect.

Buttons & Dials (9.25)

There are a heck of a lot of buttons on a small camera body. For the most part, this isn’t a problem. The four-way controller, with its four assigned functions, is on a slightly raised circular pad, helping to keep it distinct from the other back-of-camera buttons. We’re not crazy about the itsy-bitsy joystick, particularly the need to press it in to access the quick menu, but your thumb becomes acclimated to the slightly twitchy behavior of this control after a few hours. As noted elsewhere, the dedicated movie record button is very useful, providing spur-of-the-moment video access.

Unlike most camera manufacturers, Panasonic likes using a physical switch to move between record and playback mode. We find this a bit clumsy, especially when you want to move quickly from reviewing your pictures to shooting mode – you have to move a switch instead of just tapping the shutter button. The workaround here is to set the programmable function button to access Image Review mode.

The southernmost button in the four-way controller cluster is a programmable function button (labeled Fn). It can be assigned to image review, or to provide quick access to settings for ISO, white balance, metering mode, autofocus mode or Intelligent Exposure. We found the hardware switch for moving between record and playback mode inconvenient, so generally left Fn mapped to Image Review.

On top of the camera, the shutter is well positioned, the variable-speed zoom control reward a gentle touch with enhanced precision, and the mode dial is crowded but clearly labeled.

There are three Custom Settings slots on that mode dial, which can store 20 recording settings, including both still and video choices, for quick access. To record settings combinations, you adjust the camera to your liking, then use Custom Set Memory in the Setup menu to save the current status. To access a Custom Memory setup, turn the mode dial to CUST; this brings up a menu with the three stored options, which can be reviewed by pressing the DISPLAY button. This would be even better if you could label each group with a meaningful name (Sports or Indoor Available Light, for example), but it’s certainly a useful advanced feature as is.

Menus (6.00)

The FZ35 uses both a quick menu, which overlays the recording screen with frequently changed options, and a standard full-screen menu system. You access the quick menu by pressing in on the joystick (which is labeled Q. MENU). You can then navigate through a drop-down menu of settings using either the joystick or the four-way controller. In program, aperture-priority, shutter-priority or manual mode, the quick menu includes settings for image stabilization, metering mode, focus mode, white balance, ISO, Intelligent Exposure (dynamic range adjustment), picture size, movie record quality and LCD display. Shooting in other modes eliminates settings that aren’t relevant from the quick menu.

The main menu changes depending on whether the camera is in record or playback mode. While shooting there are three sections, for still image recording, video recording and camera setup. The main menu during playback has a playback mode section (normal, slide show, mode play or category play), a playback tab with editing options, and the same camera setup options as found in the record mode menus. The menu layout is easy to read, with clean white type on a black background, but a bit tedious to use. Sections can have multiple pages (the setup section has 7 separate pages), and the only way to get from one page to the next is to cursor through all the options in between.

The quick menu accesses key shooting features.	Scrolling through multiple screens can get tedious.

Manual & Learning (4.75)

We often have issues with the user manuals Panasonic provides. The writing, illustration and organization aren’t bad, but actually finding the information you’re after can be a royal pain. Expected words are missing (video or movie, for example) in favor of idiosyncratic terms (motion picture), a real problem when browsing the table of contents or index. And this time out, for some unknown reason, there’s no index at all, an astonishing flaw in a 219-page publication. But then again, the publication itself has disappeared too. There’s a very brief printed getting started guide, but the camera manual is delivered in PDF format on an included CD. That means, unless you’re carrying your computer with you or choose to laboriously print out over 200 pages and lug them along, you have no reference manual at hand while traveling with a camera that has a multitude of settings and features, and no way to add notes or bookmark key pages. This was not a user-friendly decision.

If you’re curious, you can download the PDF manual directly from Panasonic’s support site by clicking here.