King Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ72


The FZ72 sits below the flagship FZ200 in Panasonic's ultra-zoom vary, however in contrast to previous generations, it isn't merely a inexpensive various. For one issue, it's solely slightly cheaper, though it's going to in all probability return down to a small degree from its £370 launch worth. the most important distinction is that the lens. The FZ200 pairs a comparatively modest 24x zoom with a bright f/2.8 aperture throughout the zoom vary. The FZ72 goes all out with a best 60x zoom, however – keep with just about all alternative cameras – its aperture becomes progressively tiny because it zooms in.

Panasonic FZ72

The 1200mm (equivalent) most distance is matched by the Canon SX50 HS however the 20mm (equivalent) camera lens setting is that the widest we have seen. this can be nice for photographing buildings and landscapes, though it needs an exact quantity of inventive discipline – perspective appearance quite odd and subjects will wander away within the frame. you'll be able to continually simply pore, of course.

Panasonic FZ72

It's a very little bulkier than most ultra-zoom cameras however at 606g it isn't to a fault serious. the big appendage makes it feel secure and cozy, however the dearth of Associate in Nursing articulated screen restricts however it are often control. The electronic view finder (EVF) is another slight disappointment. it is a good size however the low 202,000-dot resolution appearance coarse. we tend to conjointly found it a pain having to modify between the screen Associate in Nursingd EVF – an eye-level device to perform this mechanically would be desirable.

There's no shortage of controls, with dedicated buttons for burst mode, focus area, ISO speed, white balance and AF/MF/macro. we tend to allotted the customisable Fn button to access the face detection, tracking, multi and spot focus choices. The quick-access Q.Menu covers alternative key functions and is fast to navigate. the most menu is well set out and responded quickly to our input, however we tend to struggled to urge accustomed having to press the proper instead of the centre button to pick out a perform. Pressing the centre button exited the menu.

Panasonic FZ72

This is a quick camera, capturing a photograph each zero.6 seconds and with a 9fps continuous mode. However, it's disappointed by atiny low buffer. The 9fps mode solely lasted for 3 frames before stopping. The 4.4fps mode with change optical device is perhaps a lot of helpful, however this slowed to one.5fps once simply 3 frames. Raw mode created continuous shooting impractical. In single drive mode it slowed the camera to a trial each 2 seconds.

The video mode is well specified , with 30-minute clips at 1080p and full management over exposure settings for people who wish it. Details may well be cheat however image quality control along remarkably well in low light-weight. However, we tend to struggled to capture usable hand-held shots at the complete zoom extension. Even once resting our elbows on a window ridge for support, the camera's optical stabilisation wasn't ready to iron out shakes, leading to jerky movement and a wobbly rolling shutter impact. Admittedly, video stabilisation at a 1200mm (equivalent) distance could be a massive technical challenge, however the Canon SX50 HS managed it.


Video quality is up to scratch however the stabilisation struggles at the complete zoom extension (click-through to YouTube and choose 1080p to look at at the best quality)