| Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38EB-K Digital Camera - Black (12.1MP, 18 x Optical Zoom) 2.7 inch LCD | 
| Brand: Panasonic
Rating:  117 reviews
Media: Electronics
Optical Zoom: 18
Display Size: 2.7
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 6.4 x 4.1
MPN: DMC-FZ38EB-K
Model: DMC-FZ38EB-K
EAN: 5055356984257
ASIN: B002KHMJ78
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| Features:
| • | HD Movie in AVCHD Movie Mode | | • | 18x Optical Zoom | | • | Seamless Operation | | • | Full Manual Operation | | • | Megapixels: 12.1 |
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 117
 Almost Perfect, just some niggly negatives December 31, 2009
Split-Pea Soup (Baden)
705 out of 706 found this review helpful
I bought this camera two weeks ago and have since tested it with 6 hours of video, and over 3000 pictures in various conditions, indoor, outdoor, in snow, sunshine, cold weather, warm weather, and decided to write a short review about the camera. I have about twenty years of hobby old-school SLR experience and my first digital camera was the Ixus 50 which we have donated since purchasing this camera. I have uploaded some photos I have taken with this camera that you can see above as well.
THE POSITIVES:
* Truly excellent outdoor photography, I would venture to say near SLR quality
* The zoom is excellent, and gives nice clear shots at great distances
* Full Automatic is excellent and nearly idiot-proof, and fully manual is also possible (see negatives below)
* Camera is light and very transportable
* Indoor photography is VERY GOOD, however not excellent (see negatives below)
* Easy to use menus, very straightforward controls and easy to use controls, surfaces, and all is very reachable, with just the thumb.
* Macro shots are very nice
* Nearly every imaginable setting possible that could be wanted, needed or used is available on this camera.
* Stabilizer is excellent and allows shots at 1/4 second without a tripod (with my analog SLR at less than 1/60 it was already iffy)
* Battery life is good, but I still recommend a backup (OEM work as of version 1.0)
* Auto Focus is super fast, and with AF tracking you can really get some nice sport shots
* HD video is excellent quality (720 not 1080) but unfortunately limited to 30 minutes in the EU (tax regulations I guess).
* Raw photos and does RAW+JPEG simultaneously, this means you get a RAW AND a JPEG saved on your card for each picture.
* The software that comes with it is useful. In the slideshow you can click on properties and see exactly which fstop/shutterspeed was used, which setting, etc. You can also search your database per each and every camera setting you want. i.e. it categorizes all photos taken in "nightlandscape" or "high dynamic range". Can be useful when you have thousands of photos to look through.
* 16:9, 4:3, 3:2 shot formats possible
* comes with a lenscap!
THE NOT SO POSITIVES:
* Fully Automatic indoor photos can be grainy with flash
------THE FIX: In P mode on your camera, you can turn off intelligent ISO and manually set the ISO to 80 or 100 and you get excellent quality pictures anyway with little or no grain. In intelligent ISO mode, you can set the max ISO as well, (200, 400, 800, 1600 are possible). If you set this at 200 you can get very nice indoor photos.
* Zoom is a bit noisy in video mode
* Auto focus is really annoying in video mode, constantly focusing and unfocusing.
------THE FIX: you can turn off constant auto focus in the menu while shooting in Manual video mode. I recommend this for most situations, especially fast moving targets, or party situations where there are a lot of different areas to have to focus on. Also, set the zoom at say 3x and leave it for most applications
* Video limited to 30 minutes at a time (not a big issue for me)due to EU regulations, though this is not the camera's fault ;)
* Manual focus for pictures is possible only by using the toggle stick, joystick thingy, the lens itself is not manually focusable. This means you only have a digital manual focus. The AF is so excellent though, I have rarely used the manual focus on this camera.
* Raw photos not useable with Irfanview, the program I use. They are viewable with the supplied software, but I guess also not with photoshop. EDIT- There is an Irfanview Update which allows you to work with RAW photos!
* No BULBS (leaving the shutter open indefinitely) setting, however, in the night landscape, and starry night modes, shutterspeeds of 8,15,30, and 60 seconds are possible which enable some pretty creative shots.
SUMMARY:
This camera more than fulfills its role as a bridge camera and I am extremely pleased with both the quality of photos as well as the video quality. It is very light, very transportable and is an excellent allround camera which satisfies the point and shoot crowd as well as the more photo savvy crowd as well. The very small negatives to the camera have very doable and acceptable workarounds or fixes and as such, this camera gets a full five stars for doing exactly what it states and doing it very well. Even hobby SLR enthusiasts will find this camera has enough manual settings and creative setting possibilities to keep you well satisfied and keep your creative juices flowing without having to slap down big bucks for an SLR.
I do recommend at least an 8GB, class 6 or better memory card for this camera. I bought the 16GB verbatim class six card from here at Amazon, and this allows the 30 minute max video (so does my 8GB card though) and 1600+ photos at the highest setting (Raw 12M.)
Enjoy! I will post some photos soon that I have taken with this camera.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38 - One Stop Shop February 6, 2010
AD (England)
31 out of 31 found this review helpful
Historically, my camera choices have tended to reflect my situation at the time.
When single, it was a heavy 35mm with a variety of lenses, with the results similarily variable on the "creative" shots.
When married with kids and with less hands and time, it was a smaller compact 35mm and camcorder.
The last few years it has been a small digital camera with 3x optical zoom and an inbuilt video function.
Now the children are older and more self conscious and the Christmas present opening marathons have passed, I've graduated back to looking for a quality camera to go back to those more creative shots (with the added ability to delete the disasters!)coupled with a higher level video function.
After extensive research, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38 seemed to fit the bill and having road tested it, I am very pleased with the results. It is compact for it's type, light and the photographs produced are excellent. If we're all honest, the modern camera in "intelligent auto" mode flatters any photgrapher and this camera is no exception. The pictures produced are crisp and colour rendering faithful. There is the obvious option to change to manual mode and this can all be explored during quieter times - it's nice having the choice.
The video function is first class and as my videos only represent 2-3 minute "snapshots", this is ideal. I personally don't use the full AVCHQ mode as this format is only playable with the enclosed software (ie not with Windows Media Player). The level below (HD) is fine and can be played with Quicktime or Realplayer. I have an 8Gb Transcend SDHC card(Class 6 - faster transfer within and from the camera)and this allows 1157 shots on the highest JPEG setting or 30 minutes of video (there is a 30 minute limit apparently) My only obsevation is that the sound of the zoom can be heard during quiet shots, but this is not the end of the world, particularily as the camera is the primary function for me. Both the pictures and video look fantastic through the television (40" LCD).
The battery time is excellent, although I have invested in a second one as they are quite cheap through Amazon. It is also worth considering a UV filter or similar, more to protect the lense than anything else (there is a plastic lense cover supplied)
In all, a fantastic "one stop shop", with both camera and video functions complementing themselves in quality.
Don't look too deep - this is not a top of the range DSLR nor a happy snapper - it is a fully functional, useable, grown up camera, which has a versitile zoom and the ability to take pictures in all conditions with confidence.
I thoroughly recommend this one if you want the next step up.
Outstanding bang for buck September 7, 2009
P. Penman (Scotland)
147 out of 152 found this review helpful
The FZ38 is a fantastic little camera. Perfect for those like myself who aren't quite willing to part with DSLR money just yet but want something that's both easy to use and will produce high quality results. I've had the camera for around three weeks and although it gives you manual control, the AI on the camera is superb at picking the correct mode for you in a split second/focusing and snapping a photo. It is essentially a new, improved FZ28, so perhaps not worth upgrading from the FZ28 to, but otherwise it's definately worth considering. As a bridge camera it's definately one of the best currently on the market. The proper 1080p hi def video and stereo recording is just an added bonus and gives quite gorgeous video on the high quality LCD screen. I have no complaints about build quality or the camera as yet, it's sturdy without being heavy and accessories supplied are all of a similar high standard.
excellent camera November 17, 2009
K. Hucknall (London)
41 out of 42 found this review helpful
The Panasonic Lumix DMC is fab. I bought it for my husband who wanted a camera to take better photos of the children (we had a digital camera with no zoom). having previously owned an SLR and not used it much because it was too big to lug around I wanted something lighter. it's really light and very easy to use, the High Definition for taking video is amazing quality. You have to purchase a memory card, I got a 16MB so that we can do plenty of video and take alot of photos without running out of memory on holiday. All round, a good value great quality camera.
Great quality photos at a great price! December 14, 2009
Gristy
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
I bought this camera recently as I wanted something with a decent zoom and could take better pictures than my Sony T100, but I didn't want to go for a full SLR, as I'm a real photography novice. This camera is perfect, firstly it is priced really well considering the feature set it has. It is really easy to use, having an intelligent auto setting that detects the surroundings and chooses the right settings. If you want to take a bit more control you can select the setting type (night, portrait, landscape etc) and finally you can also have manual control of all the finer settings if you want, making it a great stepping stone to a full SLR.
The photos I have taken with it on a recent trip to New York are great, just using the auto setup. I intend to start learning more about photography and hopefully work my way onto the manual setup.
It also comes with some really good panorama photo stitching software, which with some carefully taken photos, allows you to stitch them together to make fantastic panoramic shots.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 117
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