Panasonic Lexia F27

Energizer

Thinking about getting this camera as it seems to have everything i want.

Panasonic Lexia F27

Good megapixel,
lithium battery,
big Zoom capability,
good shutter speed,
Good Price.

Does anyone have any experience of this camera or the panasonic range?

The camera gets some very good reviews so all looks ok but i wanted to get a second opinion.

Carrigman

Have a look at the review at: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz7/

Not exactly gushingly enthusiastic. I'd imagine there are better products out there for the money.

blastman

I've had a few Panasonic cameras (currently have the FZ5 and FX07 as a snapper). I like them a lot and the FZ5 has been a good starting point to get into more serious photography, as I'm starting to think about buying a proper SLR now. The Leica lens is excellent, and there is a good image stabilisation feature to help keep that massive zoom steady. The only gripe I would have is that they can be noisy in low light conditions. I have gotten some good shots out of the FZ5 at night, but the sensitivity only goes up to ISO 400. Lumix cameras that go above this, which includes the FZ7, can leave you with some very noisy pics, so don't expect miracles.

Otherwise, I've been happy with Lumix cameras and would recommend them. Steve's Digicams give a very in-depth and pretty favourable review here

Energizer

Thanks for the info people.

I had read those 2 reviews on the camera. The both say it is a very good camera but its only real failing is when going over ISO200. It gets very noisy.

They say though that for a novice like me, i probably won't go over ISO200 and the lower ISO's will work fine.

Do you think thats a valid point?

What i really want in the camera is the lithium ion battery as rechargable batteries are just way too unreliable. Panasonic seem to be the only ones making good lithium ion cameras!

Carrigman

I wouldn't worry about noise levels over 200 ISO. You will probably never go over that for the vast bulk of your photography, as one of the reviews said. I have a DSLR and I keep it on 100 ISO nearly all the time.

Energizer

Cool, thanx for the advice man! looks like i'll be the owner of a panasonic fz7 pretty soon!

leuler

I got one a month ago, it is a great camera. It is noisy over 200, but you should never use that if possible anyway. It has good manual controls, and presets. The zoom is excellent if you can hold it steady enough.
Movie mode includes wide-screen and plays back tv quality.
Value for money, it is worth every cent.

Energizer

Thanx for the recommendation man! Will get one tomorrow.

Energizer

Ahhh well! instead of getting one tomorrow i just went to lunch and bought a black version with a 246mb sd card and carry case included. Only cost me
600NZD(300euro).

NZD = New Zealand Dollars!

Needed a good camera for the scenery here!

leuler

Thats good value, cost me 335 with postage.
You will probably need a bigger card. 256 is ok for a spare, but a 1 or 2gb card is essential esp. if you want to use the movie mode.
2gb cards are probably cheap there. I got one from 7dayshop for 30 including postage.
enjoy your purchase

Energizer

Ye looking at the SD cards now! 2gb 150X card will cost me 90NZD (45euro).