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"While snapshooters might experience a learning curve when stepping up to the FZ28 from a point-and-shoot camera (except when they're using the Intelligent Auto, Program AE, or Scene modes), more-experienced users will be able to easily transition to the FZ28."

"There's enough here to keep serious shooters occupied, but with Panasonic's excellent Intelligent technologies reprised for this model, novice users should be able to quickly intuit their way into consistently good shots as well."

This capable camera can be used as a simple point-n-shoot by everyone in your household or office.

"The FZ28 will suit anyone looking for a super-zoom camera, whether they want the creative power of its extensive manual options, or the reliable simplicity of its advanced automatic features."

"Also catering for the beginner are a total of 21 scene modes, including new Pin Hole and Film Grain modes that add unique, film-camera-like effects to your images (quirky rather than useful). All very useful for the novice user."

"Shooting with normal settings, exposure metering, white balance and colour rendition are all extremely good, and the overall picture quality is excellent, even more so if you shoot in Raw mode."

"Image quality is solid but not outstanding. It produces natural-looking colors (shoot in RAW or RAW + JPEG or use the saturation adjustment to pump up vibrancy if the colors aren't vivid enough for your taste). And exposures are generally even and accurate, especially outdoors."

"Most users will find that the camera's functions, features, and form conform perfectly to just about any shooting situation, making it easy to trust the Lumix to haul in great images time after time."

"The FZ28 also boasts a Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens: excellent glass, to say the least. But surprisingly, in the PC World Test Center's subjective tests, the Lumix FZ28 lagged some of the competition when it came to image quality."

"The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 produced images of very good quality during the review period."

"The Panasonic FZ28 continues the tradition of good quality imaging with a surprisingly good lens."

"The Intelligent ISO mode is the third way in which the DMC-FZ28 attempts to avoid subject blur in low-light conditions. The camera automatically sets the appropriate shutter speed AND ISO speed for the subject that you are taking pictures of."

"[The autofocus system is] extremely fast and accurate and copes well in low light situations.... [And] the camera can be set up to cope with almost any lighting conditions. It’s an impressive system, and you’d have to buy a DSLR to find more adaptability."

"This remarkable lens is also fast, with a wide angle aperture of f/2.8 and f/4.4 at telephoto, which enhances your ability to capture sharp images in marginal lighting conditions."

"The inclusion of HD video is the icing on the cake. The video may have a visible graininess that won’t come near to the quality of a dedicated camcorder, but it’s still a step-up from standard definition modes on other cameras, again including the SX10 IS."

"The movie mode function on this camera has been updated in several ways. The FZ28 is the first "motorized zoom" model in the 'FZ' series that allows you to have full use of the 18x optical zoom lens while recording video."

"Other improvements include...the video mode, which can now shoot in 1280x720p at 30fps, although the component video output is only in 1080i."

"One standout feature is the FZ28's ability to shoot 720p HD movies (1280 by 720 pixels at 30 frames per second). Although to my ears the sound quality was less than stellar, the videos themselves were excellent, making the camera an acceptable substitute for a video camera when you want to travel lightly."

"While it sounds great on paper and fits in well with Panasonic's vision of an HD-enabled home, the DMC-FZ28 is no match for an entry-level dedicated video camcorder.... 720p HD video in a pocketable camera is still a nice-to-have feature, but don't buy the DMC-FZ28 solely because of this headline-grabbing feature."

"In short, the ability to capture 720p video may be appealing, but in light of its obvious limitations compared to even a moderately priced video camera, it's hard to recommend purchasing the FZ28 on the merits of this feature alone."

"The fact that the camera feels quite robust, with basically no flex or creaking, should also help make a polycarbonate shell more palatable to those who obsess over camera construction details."

"The camera feels solid and rugged in the palm, while at once portably lightweight – a slightly contradictory sounding summation that translates as build quality being 'as it should be'."

"Normally we recommend you purchase a second battery, however I feel as long as you are not going on a vacation where you plan on taking 500+ images a day, the included pack should server you well."

"If you're conservative and rely heavily on the more power-friendly EVF, you could potentially milk an entire week-long vacation out of a single charge."

"In the PC World Test Center's tests, its battery life maxed out at 500 or more shots on a single charge (up from just 420 shots with the Lumix FZ18)."

"A single charge is good for about 460 shots. That's above average, but still consider buying that spare battery."