If you like the idea of a high-end digital camera that looks and feels like a traditional 35mm film camera, but you don't want to pay for a digital SLR, Panasonic may have created the ultimate "tweener" model with its Lumix DMC-FZ50. This unit costs less than $650 up front, but it offers a hot shoe for external flashes, high-end resolutions, and a 12X optical zoom lens. Panasonic doesn't give you the option of interchangeable lenses with the DMC-FZ50 as digital SLR models usually do, but the lower starting price will be an acceptable tradeoff for many people.

Very few consumer-level digital cameras can match the 12X optical zoom lens on the DMC-FZ50. If you're used to the standard 3X zoom lenses on most digital cameras, you'll be amazed at the types of photos you can shoot. Panasonic has included an optical image stabilization (IS) feature, which does a nice job of preventing blurry photos. Cameras with large digital zoom lenses often suffer from camera shake.

With its large zoom lens, this is one of the biggest consumer-level digital cameras around. The DMC-FZ50, which is available in black or silver, feels like a 35mm film camera, and you'll want a camera bag for carrying it. It has a sturdy feel, but it's vastly different from the large number of ultra-thin models in the digital camera marketplace today. We'd recommend using two hands to shoot with the DMC-FZ50 to lessen any problems with camera shake.

The DMC-FZ50's 2.0-inch LCD is smaller than what you'd expect to find on a model in this price range, but it's sharp and bright. As an added benefit, this unit's LCD can move away from the camera body and rotate 180 degrees, allowing for self-portraits and other odd-angle photos. Rotating LCDs seemed to be more popular a few years ago, but they're tougher to find in today's market. You also can use the DMC-FZ50's electronic viewfinder (EVF) to frame your shots, but some people won?t like the way an EVF works.

Finally, although this unit has a very high resolution of 10.1 megapixels, which should be enough for high-quality prints of 13x19 inches, its overall image results just don't quite match what you'd expect from the megapixel count. The DMC-FZ50's configuration forces the camera to use software to try and reduce noise in large photos, which results in soft images. Image quality with photos shot at less-than the maximum resolution yield better quality. The DMC-FZ50 just doesn't seem to live up to its 10.1-megapixel resolution.

Although the DMC-FZ50 can operate as a point-and-shoot model, you'll be wasting a lot of good manual-control features by only shooting in fully automatic mode. You'll also be spending a lot of money. Beginning photographers might want a smaller model before tackling the DMC-FZ50. But, when they're ready for an intermediate-level digital camera, this model is an interesting option. It's a model that's close to a digital SLR without actually being a digital SLR. It's unfortunate the DMC-FZ50's overall image quality at the maximum resolution isn't better, but it's still a good camera.


Pros: 12X optical zoom, optical IS works well, LCD can swivel and rotate, decent price for near digital SLR camera
Cons: Image quality just doesn't match 10.1 megapixels of resolution, EVF won't appeal to everyone, camera body is very large

Warranty
90 days, labor; 1 year, parts