Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ70 Pro Reviews

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ70 packs a long zoom and an attractive price tag, but omits some of the refinements found on pricier models.

If you're after a big zoom at a fair price then the Panasonic Lumix FZ72 has a lot going for it. Premier to its feature set is that massive 20-1200mm equivalent zoom which offers more range than the competition out there. In practice we found above the 1000mm equivalent to be a bit too soft, but it was rare we needed to max out the zoom. Even so, none of these long-zoom cameras are quite perfect, and while the FZ72 has its shortcomings - overexposure being among its most irritating - the likes of decent raw file shots and good results at the low-mid ISO sensitivities and middle zoom settings will see you snapping great shots in no time. If anything it's yesteryear's superzoom successes that cost the latest Lumix superzoom the most. The similar top-end zoom of the Canon Powershot SX50 HS remains a strong competitor at a similar price, while the alternative, shorter-zoom Lumix FZ200 already set Panasonic's superzoom standard. In saying that, we've shot plenty of keepers using the FZ72. That in itself proves that the camera is well worthy of consideration, particularly if super-wide-angle and a considerable top-end focal length are a must have on your shopping list.

The race between manufacturers, or rather between their respective marketing departments, to sell more cameras by printing ever bigger numbers on the box, has led to some impressive technical innovation over the years, with incredibly high-resolution sensors and ever-more-powerful zoom lenses. However this has not always resulted in better cameras. Small over-powered sensors are prone to image noise, and beyond a certain limit very long zoom lenses become unwieldy and difficult to use. Unfortunately the Panasonic Lumix FZ72 is well beyond that limit. While having the equivalent of a 1200mm lens might seem like a good idea on paper, in practice it's very difficult to get a satisfactory shot under real-world conditions. The camera's excellent image stabilisation and lightning-fast AF system certainly help, but it's almost impossible to aim the camera accurately or steadily enough to frame the shot at full zoom, and if you're not going to be able to use the full potential of that enormous focal length, you'll be better off saving some money and getting a camera with a less boundry pushing lens.

In all fairness, Panasonic have done a very good job with the DMC-FZ72. It's well built, takes nice photographs that are in focus and exposed perfectly. There's certainly room for improvement, such as the zoom switch could do with being on the side of the lens barrel (or at least an extra one) and the live viewfinder isn't as good as we'd like, but then they never are and they're limited to what they can do in such a small space. We understand this, but it doesn't stop us wanting more, does it?

The Panasonic Lumix FZ70 / FZ72 raises the bar once again for super-zooms with a massive 60x optical zoom. Panasonic has stuck with the same 24x zoom lens for several generations of its FZ range, so perhaps it's not surprising that they've leapfrogged the competition so spectacularly. What may surprise many is that rather than extend the maximum telephoto over what's currently available from Canon, Sony and Fujifilm, the Lumix FZ70 / FZ72 adds the extra range all to the wide angle end with an ultra-wide 20mm equivalent focal length. This is a pretty smart move as that 4mm on the wide angle end is actually a lot more useful and makes a much bigger difference than 240mm on the telephoto, particularly given the availability of an optional 1.7x teleconverter lens. In other respects the Lumix FZ70 / FZ72 shares a lot of similarities with what's now the next model down in the range, the 24x FZ60 / FZ62. The body is bigger and heavier to accommodate the new lens and, though the sensor is redesigned, like the one in the FZ60 / FZ62 it shares the MOS design and 16.1 Megapixel effective resolution. The FZ70 / FZ72 also now has a wind-shielded built-in microphone, RAW shooting, a hotshoe and Panoramic shooting and there are other minor differences like one fewer custom position on the mode dial and and extra Creative control effect. If you can live with a shorter, but nonethelss pretty impressive 24x zoom as well as those other differences, it's certainly worth considering.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ72 packs a number of features that will appeal to many users, highlights including the 60x optical zoom lens, 1cm minimum focusing distance, 9 fps continuous shooting and HDR shooting. There are plenty more features that will help justify the £330 price tag. The 9 fps continuous shooting mode is a little misleading, it only takes three shots, but if you want to shoot for longer you can switch to some of the slower modes. The camera has a small sensor, so image quality isn't the best, but when you're getting a camera with so much zoom, it is to be expected.

A good all-rounder with a massive 60x zoom range, but overshadowed by the competition