Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28

I purchased this camera to replace an old Sony. I needed one with a good zoom and that could take good, clear shots of my son's varsity soccer games. This one definitely delivers. Out of over 1500 shots… I've taken, only a handful were blurred, and that was because I moved, not the fault of the camera. It also does a great job on macro shots, like flowers. Without me even trying, it gave me a great shot of a hummingbird in flight! I love that you can adjust settings as much or as little as you want, depending on your level of expertise. It gives me lots of room to grow as a photographer. For the money spent, it really is a lot better camera than I expected to find.

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Super Zoom captures a great images. Convenient auto modes for the inexperienced. Images suffer after ISO 400. Typical for Lumix. Takes near HD video with quick-time format although the audio is sub par. The… price has ballooned to Six hundred plus. I paid under three hundred for this unit October '08. Maybe a testament to the quality of this camera. This unit has never found a way to disappoint me.

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I currently own 2 Panasonic cameras, an older FZ5 and this recently purchased FZ28. I have been extremely happy with the FZ5. I can't say enough good things about it. But when I saw an FZ28 that offered a… manual focus and a larger LCD panel for less than what I payed for my trusty FZ5, I bought. I have already returned it to Panasonic because pictures that were focused routinely with the FZ5 were anywhere from poor to totally unusable. Panasonic promptly replaced my "new" FZ28 with a "refurbished " unit. I don't feel comfortable with that tradeoff and the refurbished unit has the same lack of sharpness in pictures as the new one. The problem seems most pronounced in medium to long zoom shots. With the FZ5 I could count the whiskers on my cats face across the yard. With the FZ28, I am not sure he has whiskers. Functionally, I dislike the position of the review button. I find my thumb bumps it too easily in to the review position . And the lens hood is the most Rube Goldberg device I have encountered on any camera. On the FZ5 it just twisted on to the lens, bayonet style. On the FZ28 a screw on adapter ring is required and the lens hood the clamps to the adapter ring by turning a small thumb screw on the side of the hood. I gave the camera 2 stars because the macro works fairly well and I like the larger LCD. But I would say that only about 40% of the pictures I take are acceptable keepers compared to a 90% or better success rate with the old FZ5. Unfortunately, it is too late to return the FZ28 but I know which camera is going along on my upcoming vacation. My trusty FZ5! Anyone interested in a cheap FZ28???

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