The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 remains the ultra zoom digital camera that sets the standard for the others to follow. It has pretty much everything a beginner to serious amateur photographer could wish for: very good to excellent image quality, superb 18x optical wide-angle zoom with an effective optical image stabilization, fast and precise AF even at the long end of the zoom and in low light.

The Panasonic FZ18 has a superb Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens and it shows in the quality of the images. The effective optical image stabilization allows hand holding shots at the long focal lengths and slower shutter speeds. The wide-angle makes this a great camera for landscape and group shots. Read the rest of this entry »

The D80 slots nicely between the entry-level D50 and the semi-professional / professional D200, clearly based on the D70 design but also different enough to be seen as a completely new model. It features a ten megapixel DX format CCD (the same we presume as used by Sony in the DSLR-A100), the metering sensor from the D50 and numerous other items taken or modified from the D200.Key features

* 10.2 megapixel DX format CCD (1.5x FOV crop)
* Image processing engine (similar to D200 / D2X)
* 3D Color Matrix Metering II, 420 pixel sensor (same as D50)
* 11-area AF system (new version of Multi-CAM 1000, similar to D200)
* Custom Auto ISO (selectable maximum ISO, minimum shutter speed)
* Configurable high ISO and long exposure noise reduction Read the rest of this entry »