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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 review: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Headshot of Joshua Goldman
Headshot of Joshua Goldman
Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials
  • More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
Joshua Goldman
8 min read

Full-size megazooms, especially the pricier ones, are generally viewed as bridge cameras--something more than a point-and-shoot, but less than a digital SLR. However, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 is really the only megazoom I've tested in the past couple of years that has the features and design to be called a bridge camera.

8.0

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

The Good

Outstanding feature set and shooting options; fast shooting performance.

The Bad

Menu system can get confusing; JPEG photo quality tanks at ISO 400.

The Bottom Line

As long as you're willing to work with raw image files, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 is one of the best full-size megazooms you can get.

The main problem is that buyers tend to see the body style and think they're getting digital SLR-quality photos and performance, just without the interchangeable lens part. The FZ100 uses the image sensor of a point-and-shoot (albeit a better, more capable one), so the photos for the most part are still the quality you get with a pocket camera. Combined with Panasonic's apparent inability to produce a JPEG photo taken above ISO 200 without yellow blotching and heavy smearing from noise reduction, and you end up getting pretty average photos straight from the camera. Fortunately for the FZ100, that's not the end of the story.

8.0

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Score Breakdown

Design 8Features 9Performance 8Image quality 7