Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ80 - Review 2022

We liked the Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ70 thanks to its long zoom lens, depression cost, and strong image quality. But it had some serious shortcomings in the bells and whistles department. The DC-FZ80 ($399.99) keeps the aforementioned lens and ticks up the price, only for the extra money yous get Wi-Fi, a better EVF, a touch LCD, and 4K video capture. It'southward a ameliorate overall photographic camera, though not quite our favorite bridge superzoom. The Canon PowerShot SX60 HS is withal our Editors' Option, only the Panasonic is a good alternative if you don't accept the budget for the Canon.

Pattern

The FZ80 is your typical bridge point-and-shoot. It marries a small (ane/2.3-inch) image sensor to a large zoom lens, putting the two together in a body that'south most the size of a small-scale SLR. Putting that glass in forepart of a sensor blazon developed for pocket-friendly cameras allows for an incredible zoom range, much more y'all'd go from whatsoever SLR lens, in a package that measures 3.7 past 5.1 by four.7 inches (HWD) and weighs about ane.4 pounds.

The fixed lens covers scenes from an ultra-wide (20mm full-frame equivalent) perspective when zoomed all thew style out. Information technology extends to a beyond-extreme telephoto (1,200mm) at its maximum extension. It not simply has an advantage in telephoto reach over pocket cameras—models like the Sony HX90V attain virtually 720mm—only it besides covers a wider bending. The FZ80'south 20mm lens is significantly wider than the more typical 24mm at which most meaty cameras kickoff.

The shot above shows the lens at its widest angle, with the moon a faint dot visible in the eye of the frame; the image beneath shows the lens zoomed all the way in.

The FZ80 has a deep handgrip, just similar an SLR. The shutter release is at its top, surrounded by a zoom control lever. Behind those you'll find programmable Fn1/4K Photo and Fn2/Post Focus buttons, along with a dedicated Tape button for video capture. There's also a Mode dial and the camera's power switch. The hot shoe sits atop the middle, just backside the pop-upwards wink.

Rear controls include a mechanical release to raise the pop-up flash, situated to the left of the eyecup. On the correct you'll find the LVF/LCD toggle push button, the AF/AE Lock button, and the rear control dial. The rear dial doubles equally a direct EV compensation control—you need to press it in to switch its function from aperture or shutter control to EV adjustment.

Below those, to the right of the rear display, at that place'due south a button to change focus modes, forth with Play, Delete/Q.Card, and Display buttons. Finally there'south a four-mode command with Carte du jour/Set up at its center and direct aligning over ISO, White Balance, Drive/Cocky-Timer, and Focus Area.

Physical controls are supplemented by the Panasonic Q.Menu. Every camera maker has its ain take on this interface, which shows translucent shooting controls over the live view frame, then you lot tin make adjustments to settings without losing sight of what your lens is seeing. The FZ80's menu is customizable, and can be navigated using rear control buttons or via touch.

The rear LCD is a fixed console, not similar the more than useful vari-angle display offered by the Canon SX60 HS or Panasonic'southward own premium FZ1000. It is quite sharp, yet, at i,040k dots packed into a 3-inch frame. And it is sensitive to affect, so you tin tap to set a focus point or navigate menus equally you would with a smartphone.

At that place'south also an eye-level EVF. That's something you really need with such a long zoom lens. Even with in-photographic camera stabilization, information technology's easier to get a precipitous zoomed shot with the photographic camera raised to your eye than it is holding it at arm's length. At that place'southward no eye sensor, so y'all'll have to use a button to switch between the EVF and LCD manually.

Connectivity

The FZ80 has Wi-Fi for prototype transfer and remote control. It works with the Panasonic Image App, a free download for Android and iOS. It lets you copy photos from the camera to your phone for editing and sharing, and likewise offers full manual control and a live feed then you tin use your telephone as a remote control.

There are micro HDMI and micro USB ports on the body, the latter of which is used for in-camera charging. The camera is rated to nab virtually 330 shots using the rear LCD or 240 shots using the EVF, both solid marks for a bridge model. The ability to add juice via a USB ability bank is certainly a benefit for travelers, though if you're the type of lensman to comport a spare bombardment, it's wise to invest in an external charger equally well so you tin can charge ane in camera and i out of camera concurrently.

The memory card slot is in the battery compartment. The FZ80 supports SD, SDHC, and SDXC media at upward to UHS-I speeds.

Performance and Imaging

Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ80 : Benchmark Tests The FZ80 takes a little while to turn on, focus, and fire—about 1.viii seconds—due to its lens having to motility in position to catch an image. But one time information technology's on and and set to go it'southward quite speedy. The autofocus system locks on in virtually 0.05-2nd at both the wide and telephoto cease in vivid light. In dim conditions it takes some fourth dimension, about 0.9-second, to focus and burn down at the wide end, and tends to hunt when acquiring focus at ane,200mm. A bridge camera isn't the the best choice for shooting in dim weather, unless you opt for a model with a larger i-inch sensor and shorter zoom lens, like the Panasonic FZ1000 or Sony RX10.

Burst shooting is available at about 10fps at full 18MP resolution in Raw or JPG format. You tin snap 13 Raw+JPG, fifteen Raw, or 52 JPG shots at a time, with nigh 15 seconds required to clear the buffer after a Raw burst and about 8 seconds to do the same for JPGs. The camera supports Panasonic'south 4K Photo fashion too, which tin shoot 8MP JPGs at 30fps with your choice of fixed focus through the burst or Panasonic'southward Mail service Focus mode, which changes the agile autofocus point between each shot.

Tracking focus is available when shooting full-resolution files. Setting the photographic camera to AF-C will cause it to acquire focus for each shot in a burst, but it does slow the capture rate down. You're limited to shooting at 5.4fps when tracking moving subjects. It works well, delivering solid results in our lab tests and in the field, where nosotros used the FZ80's long lens to snap shots of bald eagles in flight.

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I used Imatest to check the sharpness of the FZ80's lens. At its widest angle and discontinuity, 3.6mm f/two.8, it matches the field of view of a 20mm lens on a full-frame camera. It scores two,078 lines per film height on a center-weighted sharpness exam, better than the 1,800 lines we want to see out of a camera of this type with an 18MP image sensor.

At the 140mm equivalent position, the maximum aperture is f/5.three. Image quality remains solid at 1,811 lines. Zooming farther, to the 235mm equivalent focal length, cuts the maximum discontinuity to f/5.5, merely resolution remains potent, 2,007 lines. Testing beyond that is impractical in our lab—there'southward simply not enough room to back upwards from the test chart and keep it in frame.

I shot numerous images at total zoom in the field. The lens certainly loses some sharpness at its maximum extension. If you're hoping to make big prints of a handheld shot of the moon, you'll exist disappointed. But the results are however very Instagrammable.

Imatest also checks photos for noise. Noise can detract from detail and add a grainy quality at college ISO settings. When shooting JPGs the FZ80 keeps noise under 1.five percent through ISO 1600, and so you shouldn't accept trouble capturing low-racket images in sunlight, even when keeping the shutter speed short to freeze motion.

But just because the camera controls racket through ISO 1600, information technology doesn't mean that epitome quality is perfect through that setting. In reality you lot tin shoot through ISO 400 without any noticeable drib in quality. There's some mild smudging of fine particular at ISO 800, which is more prevalent at ISO 1600. Results at ISO 3200 and 6400 are noticeably blurred.

If you're more serious near images, you lot can set the FZ80 to capture photos in Raw format. Raw images crave mail-processing earlier sharing, but concur upwardly better at college ISO settings. You see a lot of grain at ISO 1600 when shooting in Raw, but detail holds upwards well. But you don't desire to button too far beyond that—grain starts to overwhelm the image at ISO 3200, and at ISO 6400 it's even more distracting.

The FZ80 shoots video at 4K resolution at a fixed 30fps frame rate and 100Mbps pinch rate. You tin also shoot at 1080p at 60fps (28Mbps) or 30fps (20Mbps), and at 720p at 30fps (10Mbps), all in MP4 format. It also supports AVCHD compression, but but at 1080p quality. There's no 24fps option available at all, a downer for those who prefer video with a cinematic look.

At wider angles video looks quite expert, with crisp detail and strong colors. But the limitations of optical stabilization for handheld video show when zoomed in. Handheld footage at extreme zoom levels, beyond 500mm, show significant wobble. You lot'll desire to utilise a tripod to steady the photographic camera when recording at extreme focal lengths.

Conclusions

The Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ80 delivers an incredible amount of zoom coverage for not a lot of money. It uses the same lens as its predecessor, but improves on fit and finish, sporting a better, bear on-enabled rear LCD, a sharper EVF, Wi-Fi, and 4K video, all missing on the deal-oriented FZ70. It costs about $100 more, but at $400 information technology still falls well into the range of affordability, especially given how far of a achieve the lens delivers. You tin can spend a bit more on our Editors' Choice, the Catechism PowerShot SX60 HS, which has a similar zoom range and adds a vari-angle LCD. If you lot're able to spend more than than that on a superzoom model, consider getting 1 with a 1-inch sensor, like the Panasonic FZ1000 or whatever member of the Sony RX10 series.