Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50

Introduction

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 is the successor to the highly popular FZ30. The FZ30 justifiably earned itself many loyal owners thanks to its huge 12x optically-stabilised zoom in a relatively compact package with plenty of manual control. It was - and continues to be - a compelling alternative to an entry-level DSLR, with the additional benefits of a live flip-out screen and movie mode.
The major selling point of the FZ50 is of course its 12x optically-stabilised Leica zoom lens, which is identical to the earlier FZ30. It delivers an impressive range equivalent to 35-420mm with an optically fast focal ratio of f2.8-3.7; the actual focal length is 7.4-88.8mm. The zoom itself is operated by a tactile mechanically-linked ring, and unlike many of its rivals, the actual barrel doesn’t extend during this process. A lens hood is supplied and the front lens element doesn’t rotate during focussing, allowing easy use of polarising filters.

The 12x optical range is truly impressive in practice, with the telephoto end really pulling in distant detail, or throwing backgrounds out of focus on portraits. The wide-angle end is usable at 35mm, although many may prefer sacrificing the extreme long end for something wider, such as the 28-300mm range of the Fujifilm S9600 / S9100. Setting the lens to manual focus temporarily enlarges the central area.

To illustrate the FZ50’s coverage, we mounted it on a tripod and took photos of the same scene with the lens zoomed out to wide angle and all the way in to telephoto. These are taken from exactly the same position (albeit on different days) to the examples in our recent reviews, so are comparable in terms of coverage. For other examples, see the Canon 400D / XTi and Panasonic Lumix TZ1 coverage pages.

www.cameralabs.com