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Introduction
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ62 (also known as the DMC-FZ60) is a new super-zoom bridge camera featuring a wide-angle 24x zoom lens and 16 megapixel MOS image sensor. Successor to the year-old FZ48 model, the Panasonic FZ62 compact also offers a 3-inch 460K-pixel LCD screen, 1080i Full HD movie recording in AVCHD formats at 50fps, 10fps burst shooting, ISO range of 100-3200, 3D stills, a range of creative effects, built-in stereo microphone, Power O.I.S anti-shake system with Active mode, Intelligent Auto mode for beginners and full manual shooting modes. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ62 is available in black and retails for £349.99 / $399.99.
Buy a printed and bound Panasonic Lumix camera manual from us today. Don't read the manual for your Panasonic Lumix camera online. Order from us and we'll send you a beautifully printed and bound Panasonic Lumix camera manual by return. 100% guarantee on all orders. If you aren't completely happy just return the manual for a full refund. Aug 24, 2012 - Looking for a Panasonic FZ60 / FZ62 review? Alternatively get yourself a copy of my In Camera book or treat me to a coffee! The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ60, or Lumix DMC-FZ62 as it's known outside North. Manual focusing is selected by pressing the AF/AF Macro/MF button on the rear panel.
Ease of Use
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ62 shares a lot in common in terms of its external design with its predecessor, the FZ48, so a lot of comments that we made about that camera apply equally to this new model. The FZ62 looks to all intents and purposes just like a DSLR camera, albeit one with a fixed lens and a built-in electronic viewfinder. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ62's design is dominated by the non-interchangeable 24x zoom lens that provides an incredibly versatile focal range of 25-600mm. While this isn't quite as big as the class-leading 36x zoom of the Olympus SP-810UZ, in real-world use it provides enough width and reach to satisfy most photographer's needs.
Panasonic's proven Power O.I.S (Optical Image Stabilization) is on-board to help combat any unwanted camera shake, although you'll still need to use either a fast shutter speed or a tripod at the telephoto end of that massive zoom. When shooting video, Active Mode is automatically added to the POWER O.I.S. system. This compensates for the extra blur that can occur when you're walking and shooting video at the same time. The lens' maximum apertures of F/2.8 at 25mm and F/5.2 at 600mm are pretty good for this class of camera. Note that the more expensive DMC-FX200 model has a constant aperture of F/2.8 throughout the range. A stubby barrel with chrome detailing encases and protects the optic when not in use. Note that the lens extends by 6cms when it's fully zoomed and the camera measures almost 15cms in depth, making it quite conspicuous. To help avoid unwanted flare and ghosting, the lens has a special Nano Surface coating and a detachable lens hood is supplied in the box. There's also a clip-on lens cap that you can attach via a thread to one of the available catches for a shoulder strap.
In being dominated by that big lens, the front of the FZ62 is very sparse looking, save for a lamp for the AF assist light/self timer to the left of the lens (if viewed head on). A good-sized hand-grip with tactile, leather-effect detailing houses the lithium-ion battery pack in its base. Above the lens is a pop-up flash with a dedicated activation button sitting just behind it at the rear, but there's no hot shoe as on the FZ200. The flash coverage is improved on the FZ48, now offering a maximum range of 13.5m at wide-angle. On top of the pop-up flash is a very useful built-in stereo microphone which is retained from the FZ48.
While this is not a camera for slipping into a pocket by any means, measuring 120.3 x 80.8 x 91.9 mm (virtually identical to the FZ48) and being more at home in a small shoulder bag, the all-plastic Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ62 certainly feels like it could withstand the odd knock. It feels solid and rugged in the palm, while at the same time portably lightweight at just under 500g. It's also pleasing to find a viewfinder – here electronic (EVF) – which is 0.20' in size, offers 100% field of view and 202K dots, although disappointing that it doesn't improve in any way on the FZ48's viewfinder. There's also a prominent eye relief that juts out clear of the LCD so that you don't automatically smear your nose all over the monitor when you put your eye close to it. A dioptre adjustment wheel is immediately adjacent, enabling the short sighted to use it without clashing spectacles.
Moving to the top of the FZ62, we find a comprehensively featured black mode wheel with 10 shooting options. This demonstrates a nice firm action as you twist it around to your chosen setting, and a definite click as you line up each. Ranged around the wheel are the usual suspects of program, aperture priority, shutter priority and manual modes, creative movie mode, scene modes, plus C1 and C2 modes for attributing your own custom settings, the Creative Control mode (now with 14 different effects) and Panasonic's much talked about and copied Intelligent Auto mode.
Panasonic have tried to make things as easy as possible for the complete beginner by providing the Intelligent Auto mode, which allows you to point and shoot the camera without having to worry about choosing the right mode or settings. Intelligent Auto mode automatically determines a number of key criteria when taking a picture, including selecting the most appropriate scene mode (from 5 commonly used presets) and ISO speed, and turning face detection (up to 15 faces, even sideways on), image stabilization and quick auto-focus on. The Intelligent Auto mode includes Intelligent Exposure, which increases exposure only in the under-exposed areas of the image, Digital Red-eye, which automatically detects and removes red-eye, and AF Tracking, which continually tracks a moving subject and keeps it in focus, without you having to hold the shutter button halfway down as on most other cameras.
Front | Rear |
Face Recognition is a fun and genuinely useful new feature which 'remembers' up to 6 registered faces and then always prioritizes the focus and exposure for that person in future pictures. Very useful for group shots where you want your loved ones to be the centre of attention. You can specify the age of the registered subject, stamp the age of the subject onto your photos, change the focus icon for a particular person, and playback only the photos that contain a certain face. The camera will even automatically switch to Baby mode if someone registered as less than 3 years old appears in the frame!
The Motion Deblur mode is an automatic combination of Intelligent ISO Control and Intelligent Exposure. The former automatically adjusts ISO setting and shutter speed according to the subject’s movement while the latter optimizes the exposure. The camera then sets the appropriate shutter speed to keep the subject sharp, raising the ISO speed if necessary. Four different Colour Effects are available in iA mode, including the rather curious Happy mode, which optimizes color, saturation and brightness to make both photos and movies more vivid.
Note that the camera's Intelligent Resolution technology is always activated in the iA mode. This makes a standard image look like a higher resolution one by processing the contour areas, texture areas and smooth areas individually, and it also digitally boosts the zoom magnification from 24x to 48x. New additions to the FZ62's Intelligent Auto mode are iHandheld Nite Shot and iHDR. As their names suggest, the former makes it easier to take sharper photos at night without the use of a tripod, while the latter expands the image's dynamic range. iA Plus mode is also newly added to the FZ62, providing control over defocus, exposure compensation and white balance adjustment via onscreen sliders, complete with a live preview of your changes on the LCD screen and EVF.
In practice the Intelligent Auto Mode system works very well, with the FZ62 seamlessly choosing the most appropriate combination of settings for the current situation. The 6 available scene modes are Macro, Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery and Sunset, so obviously not all situations are covered by Intelligent Auto Mode, but it does work for the majority of the time. It makes it possible for the less experienced photographer to easily take well-exposed, sharp pictures of people, scenery and close-ups by simply pointing and shooting the camera. In addition to Intelligent Auto, also catering for the beginner are a total of 18 scene modes.
The Intelligent Resolution main menu option performs two main functions - it either makes a standard image look like a higher resolution one by processing the contour areas, texture areas and smooth areas individually, or it digitally boosts the zoom magnification from 24x to 48x with minimal loss of quality and no reduction in resolution. In both cases, it's easy tell which image was taken with Intelligent Resolution turned on and which ones with it turned off, particularly if viewing onscreen at 100% magnification, as our test shots on the Image Quality page show. The difference isn't quite so apparent on a print up to A3 in size, but we're still not convinced enough to recommend it except when you really need the extra reach - it undoubtedly improves on the digital zoom, but not so much that we'd regularly use it.
Also worthy of mention are the white-balance options. As well as the usual range of presets and Auto options, you can set the camera using two measured white balance settings, providing useful shortcuts if you commonly shoot in mixed lighting conditions not covered by the presets. In addition, the Colour Temperature option allows you to dial-in an exact Kelvin value - you effectively get a white-balance preview via the LCD screen.
Pop-up Flash | Top |
The handy Motion Picture button is found on top of the FZ62, a logical position that can be easily operated with your forefinger while holding the camera at eye-level. As you'd expect, it allows you to start recording a movie with a single push of a button, and then stop recording by pressing the same button, regardless of which shooting mode is currently selected. This is much quicker and more intuitive than having to select the movie mode then press the shutter button, as on most cameras.
The FZ62 can now record full 1080i video at 1920x1080 pixels or 1280x720 at 50/25fps in the AVCHD format, or 1920x1080, 1280x720, or 640x480 at 25fps in the space-saving MP4 format. AVCHD features almost double the recording time in HD quality compared with MP4, but software support is currently a bit thin on the ground. Panasonic describe it as the best mode for playing back on a HD TV direct from the camera, and MP4 best for email and playing on a computer.
The Creative Movie shooting mode allows you to set the shutter speed, aperture or both settings manually during recording (a Program option is also available). Changing the shutter speed is especially suitable for shooting fast-moving subjects, whilst the ability to control the aperture is convenient when there are several subjects at different distances. In practice this system works well, allowing some really creative effects, but there are a couple of major drawbacks. Firstly the operating sound of the control dial is very audible in the movie, so you'll need to edit the soundtrack later to remove it. Secondly, you can't set the shutter speed to below 1/30 seconds, instantly ruling out more creative slow shutter-speed effects.
The Panasonic FZ62's Intelligent Auto mode also works in movies as well as for still photos. Simply select iA on the mode dial and press the Motion Picture button. The Intelligent Scene Selector automatically determines the most suitable Scene mode from Normal, Portrait, Macro, Scenery, and Low Light, Face Detection automatically detects a face in the frame and adjusts the focus, exposure, contrast, and skin complexion, Intelligent Exposure continually checks the ambient light level and adjusts the exposure setting as conditions change to prevent blown highlights and blocked shadows, and the POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) and Motion Deblur mode help prevent blurring from hand-shake when using the zoom lens.
Stereo sound is recorded during video capture via the large internal mic on top of the camera, which is a big improvement on the rather muffled noises recorded by most digital cameras, helped by the automatic wind cut function which blocks out most of the noise from background wind. The HDMI port allows you to connect the FZ62 to a high-def TV set, but only if you purchase the optional HDMI mini-cable. You can simultaneously take still images while recording movies, although only at a reduced resolution, while the Video Divide function divides the video into two sections to shorten or delete them in-camera.
You can use the zoom lens during recording and really make the most of that versatile 25-600mm focal range, although the zoom speed is unfortunately much slower than for still images and you can hear the zoom mechanism during recording. Also on the negative side, you'll find that if you choose continuous auto-focus, areas of the video will be blurred before becoming sharp again as the camera tries to refocus. On a more positive note, the the FZ62 is quite fast at re-focusing, and having this system is much better than not being able to auto-focus at all. Hand-holding the FZ62 during movie recording inevitably leads to obvious shake, despite the optical image stabilizer, so for best results you'll need a dedicated video tripod.
Front | Side |
Also adjacent to the shooting mode wheel is an Off/On slider switch. Flick this to On and the camera powers up in just over 1 second, the rear LCD bursting into life and that zoom extending to maximum wide angle setting, slightly proud of its protective barrel. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ62's auto-focus system is fast to determine focus and there's no shutter delay to speak of when you take a shot, with full 16 megapixel resolution JPEGs committed to memory in a second. To the right is a dedicated Focus button that lets you set the focus point anywhere in the frame – useful should you be shooting for example in anything other than Intelligent Auto mode. Located on the the slope that forms the top of the camera grip is the main shutter button. Springy to the touch, this is encircled by a lever for operating the zoom, the action of which is impressively smooth and mechanically quiet.
Activated by the new Continuous Shooting button on top of the camera, the FZ62's new hi-speed MOS image sensor means that the headline continuous shooting speeds are excellent for this class of camera. You can take 10 frames per second in the highest quality Fine Mode, or 5fps with auto-focusing enabled, but there is a big caveat - you can only actually shoot up to 3 frames at 10fps, or 2 frames at 5fps, which rather curtails what you can capture. We'd rather see slower shooting rates with longer burst sequences. Disappointingly support for RAW images is still absent from the FZ62, now a feature reserved for the range-topping FZ200.
As with all current Panasonic models, the FZ62 has an anti-shake system, on this model the Power O.I.S. variant. Turn it on via the Stabilizer option in the main menu and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ62 automatically compensates for camera shake, which is a slight blurring of the image that typically occurs at slow shutter speeds when the camera is hand held. There are three different modes, Mode 1 is on all the time including image composition, Mode 2 is only on when you press the shutter button, and there's also an Auto mode. In practice I found that it does make a noticeable difference, as shown in the examples on the Image Quality page. You don't notice that the camera is actually doing anything different when anti-shake is turned on, just that you can use slower shutter speeds than normal and still take sharp photos. The camera manages 450 shots using the supplied rechargeable Li-ion battery, a 50 shot increase on the FZ48.
The High Sensitivity mode also helps combat the effects of camera shake. When this scene mode is selected, the camera automatically raises the ISO speed from 3200 up to a maximum of 6400 and therefore allows for a faster shutter speed. This mode allows you to handhold the DMC-FZ62 without using the flash and get more natural results, whilst at the same time freezing subject movement more successfully. There are some obvious drawbacks with this special scene mode, principally a significant reduction in resolution to a maximum of 3 megapixels in the 4:3 aspect ratio, and the Quality is also set the the lowest level. The user guide states that 'you can take pictures suitable for 4x6 inch printing' using the High Sensitivity mode. You also need to select the right scene mode and therefore have some idea about when it is applicable to your subject.
When the 3D scene menu option is selected, the camera instructs you to pan 10cms from left to right, during which it takes 20 consecutive shots at high-speed, another benefit of the high-speed sensor. It then automatically selects the best 2 shots from the sequence to create a 3D image. You can only view the results on a 3D TV (the FZ62 records standard MPO files), and although it isn't as effective as images taken with Panasonic's 3D Micro Four Thirds lens or the Fujifilm 3D W3, for example, it does create quite a convincing effect which particularly suits subjects that are close-up to the camera.
Moving to the rear of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ62, the left-hand side is dominated by the 3.0-inch, 460,000-dot fixed LCD screen, the same screen as on the FZ48. The screen is bright and clear as a means of composition whether shooting inside or out, and if visibility does suffer in sunlight there's the option to switch to the electronic viewfinder via the dual EVF/LCD button on the camera's rear, though 90% of the time the LCD was our preferred method of composition.
Memory Card Slot | Battery Compartment |
Above the LCD screen and to the right of the viewfinder, just like you'd find on a budget DSLR, is the aforementioned EVF/LCD button and a useful AF/AE Lock button, which also doubles up as the customisable Fn1 button. Alongside and falling naturally under your right thumb is a very welcome rear control dial for easily changing the aperture and shutter speed. Depending on which shooting mode is currently selected, this dial can also be pressed in to switch to setting the exposure compensation.
Beneath the control dial is the AF/AF Macro/MF button. When MF is selected the focus range can be manually set between 1ft and infinity with the central portion of the frame enlarged so sharpness can be more accurately determined. Underneath that are the self-explanatory Playback and Display buttons. A quick press of the latter either activates or deactivates the number of shooting settings displayed on screen, calls up a live histogram alongside them or displays a nine zone compositional grid for those experimenting with the Rule of Thirds.
Underneath is a familiar four-way control pad that you'd expect to find on most digital cameras. At its heart is a Menu/Set button, for calling up the user-friendly if uninspired looking regular menus on the LCD screen. The menus comprise three separate folders; the first for shooting/playback options – dramatically pared down if you're using Intelligent Auto mode – the second for Motion Picture options and the third for the generic Setup menu. A subsequent press when you've located the various options goes on to effect any changes, which are quick and precise. Ranged around the central Menu/Set button are four buttons. Although these are used for tabbing through menu options or captured images, press them when in capture mode (and you haven't summoned up a menu) and, starting from the top, you find an ISO speed button, one for accessing the White Balance options, a third for the Self-timer options, and the fourth for the customisable Function2 option, which can be configured to activate one of seven key settings.
Underneath the four-way control pad is a combined Quick Menu / Delete button. This opens a pull down Quick Menu containing a smattering of useful settings appears on screen to save you having to delve into the main menus for similar. This enables on-the-fly access to an Aladdin's cave of options, including the likes of film mode, flash modes, metering (spot, centre weighted and average), auto focus areas (or opt for face detection mode), white balance, aspect ratio, image resolution and image quality, movie recording quality and LCD mode. Like other Panasonic Lumix compacts you get the choice here to brighten the overall display ('power LCD' mode) or opt for the more useful high-angle setting, which aids screen visibility when you're holding the camera at arm's length for a shot over the heads of a crowd. The same button is also marked with the familiar trashcan icon for deleting unwanted shots quickly.
At the base of the FZ62 we find a metal screw thread for a tripod, alongside which is a sliding compartment that houses both the chunky rechargeable battery – necessarily providing a good long life as there's no optical viewfinder to fall back on as a power saver – and a slot for an optional SD / SDHC / SDXC card. The right hand side of the camera has a slot for threading through a strap, as does the left, which also houses an AV out / Digital port and an HDMI socket for connecting the FZ62 to a HD television or monitor. Unfortunately, Panasonic have decided to cut costs and not include either a component or HDMI cable as standard in the box, which means that you'll have to purchase one separately to take advantage of this camera's HD connectivity.