Best digital camera brands Panasonic digital cameras
A number of models from Panasonic's Lumix FS-series can be found for under £100
Panasonic is one of the biggest names in audiovisual manufacturing, with a strong presence in LCD and plasma TVs, Blu-ray players, home cinema systems, camcorders and digital cameras.
Panasonic has maintained a reputation for producing quality products across all of these areas, and its digital cameras are no exception. We’ve awarded a number of Which? Best Buys to Panasonic digital cameras and micro-four-thirds system cameras.
Best cheap Panasonic digital cameras
Panasonic’s FS-series of slim digital cameras offers some good budget options, including the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS16 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS18.
If you're looking for a touchscreen camera but keeping to a budget, then the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS37 is a good model to consider.
Panasonic’s latest compact cameras benefit from a very good auto mode, which detects the kind of scene you are shooting and adjusts the camera’s settings intuitively. This makes these cameras a great choice for simple point-and-shoot photography.
The Panasonic Lumix TZ series of digital cameras offers a compact zoom option that's great for an all-in-one camera.
Panasonic Lumix TZ series
One of the best compact Panasonic Lumix options is the compact travel zoom TZ-series.
The TZ20 is a pocketable model that's terrific if you're travelling - it has a built-in GPS receiver so it can geo-tag your exact global location as you take a shot.
The camera also boasts a 16x zoom lens that starts from a terrific wide angle of 24mm, which is handy when you're taking landscape or indoor shots.
We have full Which? reviews of the Panasonic Lumix TZ20 and the Panasonic Lumix TZ22.
Best Panasonic bridge cameras
If you’re looking for more manual control over your pictures, Panasonic has some great models to choose from.
The Panasonic Lumix FZ-series of superzoom bridge cameras offers full manual control and large zoom lenses.
Superzoom bridge cameras - Panasonic Lumix FZ100 and FZ48
Superzoom cameras such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ48 offer huge zooms as well as full manual control.
Panasonic has updated its superzoom range with models such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ48 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100.
Both of these models boast huge 24x optical zooms, beginning from 25mm wide angles.
They have full manual control options and electronic viewfinders.
Compact bridge cameras - Panasonic Lumix LX5 and LX3
Panasonic is one of the few manufacturers to have staked a claim in the tightly-contested compact bridge market.
Compact bridge cameras are slim enough to fit into a jacket pocket, but they offer full manual control and even features like hot-shoes and RAW shooting.
For over two years, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 was Panasonic's only compact bridge model on offer.
This has finally been updated with the newer Panasonic Lumix LX5, which offers an f2.0 lens, 720p HD video, and a 24mm wide angle 3x zoom lens.
Watch our hands-on video on the Panasonic Lumix LX5:
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We also have a full Which? review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 based on our extensive lab testing.
Compact system cameras combine small mirrorless bodies with large image sensors.
Panasonic micro-four-thirds system cameras
Though Panasonic never managed to be a major presence in digital SLR manufacturing, the company has recently led the way in the innovative compact camera system market.
The micro-four-thirds (MFT) camera – a joint initiative between Panasonic and Olympus – is neither a compact model nor a digital SLR.
It features the interchangeable lens approach of a DSLR, but it has no internal mirror system, keeping the body smaller and lighter.
The first camera of this class, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, fared very well in our expert testing. This has since been followed by an expanding family of Panasonic G-series MFT cameras.
Full Panasonic Lumix micro-four-thirds range:
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 - 12.1Mp, max ISO 3200, high resolution electronic viewfinder, no movie mode, rotatable screen
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 - 12.1Mp, max ISO 6400, high resolution electronic viewfinder, 720p HD video, external mic input, rotatable touchscreen
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 - 15.8Mp, max ISO 6400, high resolution electronic viewfinder, Full HD 1080p video, no external mic input, rotatable touchscreen
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10 - 12.1Mp, max ISO 6400, lower resolution electronic viewfinder, 720p HD video, fixed screen
- Panasonic Lumix-DMC-GF1 - 12.1Mp, max ISO 3200, no viewfinder, 720p HD video, mode selection dial, fixed screen
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 - 12.1Mp, max ISO 6400, no viewfinder, 1080i HD video, external mic input, fixed touchscreen
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 - 12.1Mp, max ISO 6400, no viewfinder, Full HD 1080p video, no hot shoe, fixed touchscreen
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 - 12.1Mp, max ISO 3200, high resolution electronic viewfinder, 1080p Full HD video, external mic input, rotatable screen
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 - 16Mp, max ISO 12800, high resolution electronic viewfinder, 1080p Full HD video, external mic input, rotatable touchscreen
The G1, G2, G3, G10, GH1 and the GH2 have fairly conservative designs and look extremely similar to a standard digital SLR, despite their smaller frames. All of these cameras have electronic viewfinders instead of traditional DSLR-style optical viewfinders.
However, Panasonic was braver in its design of the Lumix GF series. The GF cameras are more compact models altogether, with no built-in viewfinders, and in the case of the latest model, the GF3, no hot shoe for adding a flash. These cameras are almost the size of a point-and-shoot model.
Watch our hands-on video First Look review of the Panasonic Lumix GF2:
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For more on the micro four-thirds camera class, see our Which? reviews of the best digital SLRs and compact system cameras.