The bridge-style Panasonic FZ38 compact camera has the key features which are same as of 27-486mm focal length. These include an increase to 12 megapixels, new Power O.I.S anti-shake technique, Venus Engine HD5 processing engine, support for AVCHD Lite movies, faster auto-focus speed, longer battery life and updated iA (intelligent auto) mode with Face Recognition. The FZ38 retains the manual shooting modes, RAW format support and ISO 1600 at full image resolution from its predecessor. Retailing for £329.99 / $399.95, find out if the FZ38 can over on where the FZ28 left off in the World’s first review.

4 things we like about the Panasonic DMC FZ38

• Auto focus is fast
• Supports raw file
• Hi-def movie mode
• Good value for money

2 things we don’t like about the Panasonic DMC FZ38

• Joystick controller is tiny
• Macro mode is irritating

Panasonic DMC FZ38 Review

In terms of its external design, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38 is virtually identical to its predecessor. Available either in black or silver, the more serious-looking former version was supplied for this review, & boasts both a ‘DSLR-lite’ shape & styling. Panasonic have upgraded the anti-shake process, now dubbed ‘Power O.I.S.’ (optical picture stabilization). They noticed a slight improvement in effectiveness compared to the previous Mega O.I.S. variant, which was already an excellent performer.

Pleasing also to find a viewfinder – here electronic (EVF) – which is 0.20″ in size, offers 100% field of view & 201K dots. There is also an eye relief that juts out clear of the LCD so that you don’t automatically smear your nose all over the monitor when you put your eye close to it. There is as well as a dioptre manipulation wheel immediately adjacent, enabling the short sighted to use it without clashing spectacles.

In being dominated by that gigantic lens, the front of the FZ38 is sparse looking, save for a lamp for the AF assist light/self timer to the right of the lens (if viewed head on). Moving to the top of the camera, controls start to get a small busier, but not overwhelmingly so. Here you find a comprehensively featured black mode wheel with 14 shooting options. This demonstrates a cool firm action as you twist it around to your selected setting, as well as a certain click as you line up each.

Panasonic have tried to make things as easy as possible for the complete beginner by providing this shooting mode, which allows you to point & shoot the camera without having to worry about choosing the right mode or settings.

Face Recognition is a new addition to the FZ38’s Smart Auto mode. This is a fun & genuinely useful new feature, which “remembers” up to 6 registered faces & then always prioritizes the focus & exposure for that person in future pics. useful for group shots where you require your loved ones to be the centre of attention. You can specify the age of the registered subject, stamp the age of the subject onto your photos, alter the focus icon for a particular person, & playback only the photos that contain a certain face. The camera will even automatically switch to Child mode if somebody registered as less than 3 years elderly appears in the frame!

In practice the Smart Auto Mode process works well, with the camera seamlessly choosing the most appropriate combination of settings for the current situation. It makes it possible for the less experienced photographer to easily take well-exposed, sharp pics of people, scenery & close-ups by basically pointing & shooting the camera.

Also catering for the beginner are a total of 20 scene modes, including Pin Hole & Film Grain modes that add two of a kind, film-camera-like effects to your images (quirky than useful). The new High Dynamic Range mode helps to capture a scene with moderate exposure even if it contains both bright & dark area together. Three options are available, Standard, Art, or B/W, each developing a different effect – you can see some examples on the Picture Quality page. Also worthy of mention are the white-balance options.

The single new addition to the rear of the FZ38 is the Motion Picture button. As you’d expect, it allows you to start recording a movie with a single push of a button, & then stop recording by pressing the same button, regardless of which shooting mode is currently selected. This is a lot more intuitive than having to select the movie mode then press the shutter button, as on most cameras.

The FZ28 can record high-resolution HD 1280 x 720 movies at 30 frames in the AVCHD (MPEG-4/H.264) format. AVCHD features double the recording time in HD quality compared with Motion JPEG, but program support is currently a bit narrow on the ground. Panasonic report it as the best mode for playing back on a HD TV direct from the camera, & Motion JPEG best for email & playing on a pc.

In practice this process works well, allowing some really creative effects, but there’s a couple of major drawbacks. Firstly the operating sound of the control dial is audible in the movie, so you’ll require to edit the soundtrack later to remove it. Secondly, you cannot set the shutter speed to below 1/30 seconds, instantly ruling out more creative slow shutter-speed effects.

The Panasonic FZ38’s Smart Auto mode also works in movies as well as for still photos. Basically select iA on the mode dial & press the Motion Picture button. Face Detection automatically detects a face in the frame & adjusts the focus, exposure, contrast, & skin complexion. Smart Exposure continually checks the ambient light level & adjusts the exposure setting as conditions alter to prevent blown highlights & blocked shadows.

Stereo sound is recorded during video capture by the huge internal mic on top of the camera, which is a gigantic improvement on the muffled noises recorded by most digital cameras, helped by the new wind cut function which blocks out most of the noise from background wind. The HDMI port allows you to connect the GH1 to a high-def TV set, but only if you purchase the optional HDMI mini-cable.

Focusing is set by the Focus mode dial on the top of the camera. On a more positive note, the the FZ38 is speedy at re-focusing, & having this process is much better than not being able to auto-focus at all.

RAW performance is slower, taking 2 seconds to save a RAW file in single shot mode & 3 seconds for a combined RAW + JPEG. Note that there is effectively no burst shooting mode for RAW images, despite being able to turn it on in the menu process.

As with all current Panasonic models, the FZ38 has an anti-shake process, now upgraded to Power O.I.S. Turn it on by the Stabilizer option in the main menu & the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38 automatically compensates for camera shake, which is a slight blurring of the picture that typically occurs at slow shutter speeds when the camera is hand held. There’s three different modes, Mode 1 is on all the time including picture composition, Mode 2 is only on when you press the shutter button, & there is also an Auto mode. In practice I found that it does make a noticeable difference, as shown in the examples on the Picture Quality page.

There is as well as a High Sensitivity mode to help combat the effects of camera shake. This mode allows you to handhold the DMC-FZ38 without using the flash & get more natural results, whilst at the same time freezing subject movement more successfully. There’s some obvious drawbacks with this special scene mode, principally a significant reduction in resolution to a maximum of 3 megapixels in the 4:3 aspect ratio, & the Quality is also set the the lowest level. The user guide states that “you can take pics suitable for 4×6 inch printing” using the High Sensitivity mode. You also require to select the right scene mode & therefore have some idea about when it is applicable to your subject.

The Smart ISO menu option is the third way in which the DMC-FZ38 attempts to avoid subject blur in low-light conditions. The camera automatically sets the appropriate shutter speed AND ISO speed for the subject that you are taking pics of. If the subject is still, then the camera chooses a lower sensitivity & slower shutter speed. It is a smart idea that works well in practice, with the camera generally choosing an appropriate combination of shutter & ISO speed.

If visibility does suffer in sunlight – not something I personally found a problem – there is the option to switch to the electronic viewfinder by the dual EVF/LCD button on the camera’s rear, though 90% of the time the LCD was the preferred process of composition. The Camera / Play button enables you to quickly & easily switch from shooting to playback without also changing the shooting mode.

Final Words and Conclusion

We are a little disappointed that Panasonic haven’t extended the reach of the 18x zoom lens to match its main rivals, but the 27-486mm focal length is still a very versatile one, especially given the addition of the slightly more effective Power OIS anti-shake method that reduces the overall number of blurry shots.

The 2.7 inch monitor is also looking a tiny little and low-resolution these days, but the much-improved video mode complete with AVCHD format support, stereo sound, and one-touch recording over makes up for it. Being able to use that big zoom and both the Clever Auto options and new Creative Movie shooting mode makes for a very effective movie mode for both beginners and more experienced photographers alike, although the slow speed of the zooming mechanism does detract a tiny from the overall experience. Panasonic have widely resisted the temptation to alter the FZ-series template too much, whilst adding new features to justify upgrading from earlier models.

Other key improvements worthy of mention include the noticeably faster start-up and focus times thanks to the new Venus Engine HD5 processing engine, longer battery life, addition of Face Recognition to the Clever Auto shooting mode, and the new High Dynamic Range mode which is surprisingly effective. I’d be happy to use ISO 100-800 for most photos, with ISO 1600 reserved for low-light situations. Having said that, picture quality still is not in the same league as even the cheapest DSLR, especially at the higher ISO settings, so if that is your main priority, you’d be better off compromising on the zoom range and looking elsewhere.

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