Very satisfied

After my Olympus SP-550UZ compared unfavourably with my experiences of Panasonic Lumix cameras, I went out and got myself another Lumix - the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 to be precise.

I'd already had good experiences with the Lumix DMC-FZ5 and DMC-FZ50, so I knew what I would be getting: a solid camera that reacts pretty quickly, with fairly sharp images due to an effective image stabilisation system; wonderful colour; and a great zoom.

As with the other Panasonic cameras I've had, the FZ8 is pretty easy to use. I confess that I don't read the manuals much, but you don't really need to. There is a fully automatic function - just twist the top dial to the red heart logo - and the usual range of manual (M), aperture priority (A), and shutter priority (S) functionality. I usually end up on P mode as that allows me to play with flash functions as required.

What I like:

Like my previous FZ5, the FZ8 comes with 12x optical zoom. Unlike the FZ5, and like the FZ50 however, the centre part of the CCD is used to achieve even better zoom ratios, provided you're willing to take resolutions below the maximum 7.2 megapixels. I take most of my pictures at 5 megapixels anyway, which result in image files of slightly over 2 megabytes on average, and generally don't bother with using more "zoom" than that.

For a comparison of the difference in zooms:
Maximum zoom, 5 megapixels: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shimmertje/533103373/
Maximum zoom, 3 megapixels: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shimmertje/533004290/

Colours have been placed on high colour saturation in-camera but otherwise nothing else has been changed.

This is my first camera with built-in memory. It doesn't allow for many pictures but if you're faced with something you absolutely must snap, and you don't have any more space left on your SD card, it gives you a little more leeway to get that picture you want. I prefer not to use the function though as I'm really used to taking out the SD cards and popping them into the built-in SD card reader on my laptop.

What could be improved:

There's very little to dislike about the FZ8 - these are more like petty annoyances. The FZ8 seems to have more buttons that do very few things. These buttons can be useful, but only if you happen to need those functions. There's an additional joystick at the back of the camera, which seems to control just the area of focus for example. Unfortunately, I'm more used to locking the focus with the shutter button halfway and then moving the camera.

There is also a new button for cycling between autofocus, manual focus, and macro mode. I like macro mode for taking pictures of flowers but it is a bit of a pain to have to cycle between the three options rather than to have an on/off macro mode. You can however go pretty close to things even in auto or P mode.

This is my first camera with built-in memory. It doesn't allow for many pictures but if you're faced with something you absolutely must snap, and you don't have any more space left on your SD card, it gives you a little more leeway to get that picture you want. I prefer not to use the function though as I'm really used to taking out the SD cards and popping them into the built-in SD card reader on my laptop.

What I dislike:

The lens cover doesn't seem to fit properly, whether I try it on the lens or on the free UV filter that was thrown in with the camera (I also got two Lexar 2GB cards). The cover jiggles a bit but hasn't actually fallen off by itself so I suppose that's OK.

This is my first time using a filter so I'm not really sure whether it makes much of a difference, other than perhaps protecting the actual lens. I do get additional reflections on my pictures, especially at night, with the UV filter on. This is annoying when you have to unscrew the lens hood adapter before taking a picture and then screw it back on afterwards (I haven't bought a dSLR yet).

But my main annoyance with this camera is the rainbow light effect in sunlight that occurs if I don't shield the top of the lens area:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shimmertje/572428665/

The camera does come with a lens hood, but that sticks out a lot and I've never used it with the FZ5 or FZ50 so I haven't bothered with it just yet :)

Overall, I'd say I have not been disappointed. Given my recent experiences so far, I'm sticking with mid-range to high-end models by Panasonic and to compact Canon cameras. The FZ8 is basically the latest in a series of the mid-range single-digit FZ family of Panasonic Lumix cameras. If you want something more compact or more prosumer, Panasonic (or any other camera vendor) has other ranges. But if you're looking for an in-between model that isn't too bulky or heavy, the FZ8 is well worth considering.