Panasonic Lumix Camera Review

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 ($699) is the latest addition to Panasonic’s family of ultra zoom cameras. It replaces the DMC-FZ20, which was my favorite ultra zoom camera of last year. New features on the FZ30 include:

* 8 Megapixel CCD (versus 5MP)
* Slightly slower lens (F2.8-3.7 versus F2.8)
* Manual zoom ring
* Flip-down, rotating LCD display
* Extra optical zoom feature can boost zoom power to 19.1X
* New high speed autofocus system
* Support for RAW image format
* Two command dials for adjusting aperture and shutter speed
* Improved battery life

There are a few more differences between the FZ20 and FZ30 that I’ll mention in the review.