Panasonic Lumix FZ35 : First impressions
2. First impressions
Users of the FZ28 will be in familiar territory. The bodies are very similar. The interface is identical except for one thing - the FZ35 has a button to start video recording directly. Aside from that, the back of the camera hasn't really changed. The LCD display still has the same 6.9 cm size and a definition of 230,000 dpi. The surface of the display is glossy, which makes it somewhat uncomfortable to use in full sun. There's an electronic viewfinder with dioptric correction for eyeglass wearers, but it's a rather uncomfortable one (limited in size and definition).
The mode dial is still there, too, with iA (intelligent Auto) mode - extremely effective at adapting the camera's settings to the scene you're shooting -, the creative modes P, A, S, and M, and the preset scene modes. Ergonomics is good, with clear menus and a clever clickable joystick that lets you apply various settings.
The FZ35 has the new Venus Engine HD processor, the same one used in Panasonic's TZ7. That camera, by the way, is one of our favorites for its rapid operation and convincing performance. The FZ35 is no slouch in the rapidity department either - startup took no more than a second and a half and the camera reacted quickly, except in Raw mode, where it took over three seconds to record a shot.
Panasonic has worked hard on the autofocus, and it is extremely reactive for a bridge camera - approximately 0.7 seconds, regardless of focal length. The improvement isn't revolutionary (the FZ28 was already the benchmark in this market segment), but it easily leaves the bridges that hit the market this past Spring in the dust.
Dolby Digital audio input
The FZ35 has a Dolby Digital sound recording system, like the one featured on the TZ7 compact. The stereo mike is located on top of the body. It captured good-quality audio with very little saturation, and the stereo effects were clearly audible.
We should also note that the operation of the zoom and focus mechanisms are quiet enough not to interfere with the sound recording.
I prefer my Canon XS even tho it's in diff class. Still best bang for the buck!
Just received my new FZ35 and had a chance to test the camera at the beach. Zoom is perfect from what I can tell, video is quick to record, sound was pretty fair even in the wind. Feel in the hand is nicely balanced, light weight but very comfortable to hold. Very nice that the still picture settings such as sports mode, worked well for video as well. I no longer need to carry two cameras around for casual family outings. I highly enjoy using this camera and the results even in low light more than meet my needs. In fact I would dare compare the low light ability to that of a good DSLR of two years ago.
Hmmm.. thinking about getting this camera, does anyone know if there is any limit on how long you can capture video, I think previous Panasonic models it was limited at 15min. Let say you have an 16GB SD card can you continuously capture video until the card is full or batteries dies?
As far as know, in AVCHD mode you can record till your memory is full.
Yes - until the card is full or batteries dies.
i just bought this camera and i love it, i used it on my daughter's school program and was never dissapointed with the results,great pix videos in hd plus the audio is awesome the avcdh lite is very useful specially when recording long hd videos i just have to convert it to other format since it's in mts. unfortunately when i'm using the raw format on images..i cant view it on my computer plus the size is more than double the jpeg i just don't how this thing is an advantage to others.overall im satisfied with its performance and price