Digital Home Thoughts: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 Super-Zoom

"The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 is a new super-zoom camera featuring a wide-angle 24x zoom lens, 14 megapixel high-speed MOS image sensor and 11fps continuous shooting at full image resolution.... [It] shares a lot in common in terms of its external design with its popular predecessor, the FZ38, with a few key improvements that make an already very capable camera even better."

At first look, Panasonic's DMC-FZ100 struck me as an almost ideal upgrade from my Canon S3 IS: a large zoom range that starts at an effective wide-angle (25mm equivalent), 1920x1080i video recording (with built-in stereo mics and the ability to zoom while recording), a large rotating LCD screen, and both a pop-up flash and a hot shoe. Toss in a 14.1 MP image sensor, and the myriad of features that nearly every digital camera seems to come with now, and what is there not to like? And, indeed, Photographyblog.com gives the FZ100 a very thorough - and quite favorable - review. But there are some areas that deserve thought: the price tag is relatively high ($499.99 US), and, like many of its competitors, the FZ100 appears to have advanced its mega-pixel count beyond the capabilities of its image sensor. Most users may not notice the image shortfalls - and, after all, most super-zooms struggle in some areas - but potential buyers should read the full review to obtain a better understanding of the benefits and trade-offs of Panasonic's "Ultimate Hybrid Digital Compact Camera."