Panasonic Lumix FZ-200 Review (after 4 long years of use)
INTRO
- This review will mainly contain come of my favorite pictures I shot with this camera, so from the photos you can judge for yourself. I use Aperture priority almost all the time.
- I will look at the pros, cons and also a look at its worth after 4 years after release.
- At the bottom of this article, you will be able to take a look at the edited files for my web use.
- I now use an Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II as my main camera but I still use the FZ-200 at times when I need better reach.
DESIGN & HANDLING
The FZ-200 is designed like a mini DSLR and one could easily mistake it to be one. Its when we notice we see the fixed zoom lens and the EVF. Its an all plastic construction but the built quality is great. The buttons are well damped but still have a click sound when a press is confirmed. The rear dial is also good, with good resistance and clicks. It has a button in built to change between different parameters while shooting. For example, when I shoot in aperture priority mode, the rear dial button switches between aperture and exposure compensation and hence compensates for the absence of a second dial.But the dial failed after 3 years of use, but luckily I got it repaired free of charge as the camera was just under the 3 year warranty period.
The shutter button is chrome plated and I think its a nice touch. The ring around it with a small lever lets us zoom in and out but I use the lever in the left side of the lens barrel to perform this function. Using this lever means, there is not need to take our finger from the shutter button to zoom, hence more control over the shots. Its one of the best ergonomic touches this camera has. Near this lever, there is a focus mode selector with AF, AF-Macro and MF as options and a button below this selector to do manual focusing.
The rear fully articulating rear LCD have decent sharpness and brightness but lacks touch functionality, and the EVF is tiny but has great resolution resulting in a tack sharp view. This camera has a mic input jack, but its a 2.5mm port rather than the conventional 3.5mm one. There is a hot-shoe on top for mounting mics or flashes.
THE LENS
The FZ-200 is an amazing camera...and even 4 years after release, I would still consider it as one of the top bridge camera in the market right now. The main reason is the lens. The 25-600mm lens have a constant aperture of F2.8, and it clearly demonstrates the advantage it has compared to other bridge cameras. For example, the hyper zoom Nikon P900 at 600mm has an aperture roughly equivalent to 5.6, which is 2 stops slower than the FZ-200. This means, if the FZ-200 at 600mm F2.8 shoots at a shutter speed of 1/200s, then the P900 can only shoot at 1/50s considering the ISO and exposure values are same. That difference is more than enough tolose the shot. This is just an example, and also keep in mind that the P900 can go all the way to 2000mm, which by any means is just astonishing. (more than 3x zoom of the FZ-200 at its maximum focal length).
The lens in the FZ-200 is sharp from the widest end to the longest end. I got the best sharpness from this lens from an aperture of F4-5.6 at focal lengths above 400mm equivalent, but it doesn't mean that at F2.8 its not. Take a look at this image at F2.8 and 600mm straight out of camera jpeg.
600mm eq, F2.8, ISO-100. 1/50s, -0.7 step
AUTO-FOCUS
The FZ-200 has a decent AF system, but it is no way near as fast as the latest DFD system seen in the Panasonic camera's these days. Single point AF works well, and confidently locks on to subjects but changing focus points from near and far away subjects can sometimes lead to slow hunting. But I have found the AF intelligent enough to lock on to obvious subject in the frame when all 39 F points are employed, but it is not accurate all the time though but still better than the one in my OM-D, which when compared is a great thing. C-AF with tracking is surprisingly good and it still holds even compared to my new OM-D E-M5 Mark 2.
These are taken with all 39 AF areas employed and setting the camera to tracking.
284mm, f2.8, 1/2000s, ISO-100
69mm, f2.8, 1/2000s, ISO-100
204mm, f2.8, 1/1600s, ISO-100
Lack of an LCD touch screen for quick AF position change and shooting is something I started to miss when I started to use my OM-D but before that I didn't care. And besides, Panasonic have upgraded the FZ-200 to the FZ-300 with almost all the features I've craved for, hence, there will be an article coming soon, comparing those two cameras.
IMAGE QUALITY
Image quality from the 12MP 1/2.3" sensor is great. JPEG's have nice colors already and with some small tweaks in the picture profiles, I got even better JPEG's. For maximum detail, it is always better to shoot RAW and edit them in a software, and I use Lightroom all the time.
Here are some images taken with this camera. Keep in mind that all of these are untouched straight out of the camera JPEG's...though little cropping have been done for framing. Also, the images that shows the focal length more than 600mm is because of the slight use of digital zoom functionality.
F4, 1/160s, IS0-100, 536mm
F3, 1/125s, ISO-100, 624mm
F4, 1/100s, ISO-100, 686mm
F3.5, 1/40s, ISO-100, 648mm
F3.2, 1/160s, ISO-100, 84mm
F2.8, 1/250s, ISO-100, 624mm
F4, 1/250mm, ISO-100, 1200mm
F4, 1/200s, ISO-100, 624mm
F4, 1/500s, ISO-100, 600mm
F4, 1/500s, ISO-100, 600mm
As you can see, the colors are vibrant and there is enough detail to play with even in the out of the camera JPEGS.
I've found ISO's above 1000 to be a bit too messy for my use, so that is the limit for me. Here are some high ISO images. But I mainly use this camera in good lit conditions to extract the best out of the sensor and lens.
F2.8, 1/8s, 33mm, ISO-1000
F2.8, 1/8s, 32mm, ISO-1000
VIDEO
This is the area, where I've felt like this camera shines a bit more. There is AVCHD and MP4 formats at 50p and 25p respectively. The video quality is amazing, and there is tons of details when used in conditions with good light.
Here are some samples that I took with this camera and shared in YouTube.
The sunset is without any edits whatsoever. And even the other 3 have minimal contrast adjustments. There are no log modes or high bit-rates for heavy post processing but we have to keep in mind that this is just a 1/2.3" point and shoot camera.
With the good quality video, the availability of the mic jack means high end audio as well, though a 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter is needed. In short this camera is amazing in the video front and still could be considered a good option for vlogging. The continuous AF during video is good as well, and I have found it to be as good or sometimes better than my OM-D.
BATTERY LIFE
I get around 600 shots on a single charge and I think it is simply great. Generally, I do not shoot like a maniac, so most of the time, I get back home with sufficient battery life to go through the photos and videos in camera. And even now, after 4 long years, the battery life is brilliant.
Love the article. As a FZ200 lover I'd like to add the ease-of-use and low weight, which makes it an ideal camera for travelers. About 2% of my pictures are 3D, which is great for reliving the vacation. One serious drawback: the build. You need to take good care of any camera and this one is definitely no exception. My FZ200 has travelled a lot in 4 years, now the diaphragm and autofocus start failing.
Thank you Arjen. Yes, you are right about the build, but this is something I started to notice after I got the E-M5 II, because back in 2012, the FZ-200 felt better than the counterparts. Sad to hear about the diaphragm and AF. Luckily, mine is still working like a charm. The only issue I had was with the rear dial, which I got replaced under warranty. Anyways, I'm glad you liked my article.
Great review and nice to hear the FZ200 is appreciated. Bought this camera in 2013 only used it for a month not satisfied with the quality I was used to back to using Nikon DSLR both full frame & crop sensor. Again those camera and lenses are too heavy & bulky. Acquired Olympus OMDs much lighter acceptable image quality results. One day in 2016 decided to check out the FZ200 in my dry cabinet tried a few shots and suddenly it felt comfortable and the images were acceptable this time probably I was expecting too much initially when I bought it. Keeping the ISO down helps. It is a great camera still.
Also I am happy with video quality for home & family use much better than OMDs and Nikon DSLR despite the lack of 4K the results are acceptable. There is a mic socket sometimes I need better audio, it does its job well. Lastly the battery life is superb! So my FZ200 is out of the dry cabinet most of the time.
Thank you Ramli for the kind words. The video quality is indeed amazing, especially considering the sensor size. I hope you will use it more and discover more..!
Hi, very good Review, i bought my first lumix fz200 a week ago, unfortunately as soon as i turn the camera on for the first time, it started apearring this "system error Zoom" or something like that, so i returned it. Now i dont know if i was just unlucky or its a regular problem in this camera, by the way, it was the chinese version not the japanese one. can you help me? do you think i still should buy the fz200, im also have Canon sx60 in mind. Thank u again.
Love the article. As a FZ200 lover I'd like to add the ease-of-use and low weight, which makes it an ideal camera for travelers. About 2% of my pictures are 3D, which is great for reliving the vacation.
ReplyDeleteOne serious drawback: the build. You need to take good care of any camera and this one is definitely no exception. My FZ200 has travelled a lot in 4 years, now the diaphragm and autofocus start failing.
Thank you Arjen. Yes, you are right about the build, but this is something I started to notice after I got the E-M5 II, because back in 2012, the FZ-200 felt better than the counterparts.
DeleteSad to hear about the diaphragm and AF. Luckily, mine is still working like a charm. The only issue I had was with the rear dial, which I got replaced under warranty.
Anyways, I'm glad you liked my article.
Happy Shooting
Great review and nice to hear the FZ200 is appreciated. Bought this camera in 2013 only used it for a month not satisfied with the quality I was used to back to using Nikon DSLR both full frame & crop sensor. Again those camera and lenses are too heavy & bulky. Acquired Olympus OMDs much lighter acceptable image quality results. One day in 2016 decided to check out the FZ200 in my dry cabinet tried a few shots and suddenly it felt comfortable and the images were acceptable this time probably I was expecting too much initially when I bought it. Keeping the ISO down helps. It is a great camera still.
ReplyDeleteAlso I am happy with video quality for home & family use much better than OMDs and Nikon DSLR despite the lack of 4K the results are acceptable. There is a mic socket sometimes I need better audio, it does its job well. Lastly the battery life is superb! So my FZ200 is out of the dry cabinet most of the time.
Thank you Ramli for the kind words. The video quality is indeed amazing, especially considering the sensor size. I hope you will use it more and discover more..!
DeleteHappy Shooting.. :)
Hi, very good Review, i bought my first lumix fz200 a week ago, unfortunately as soon as i turn the camera on for the first time, it started apearring this "system error Zoom" or something like that, so i returned it. Now i dont know if i was just unlucky or its a regular problem in this camera, by the way, it was the chinese version not the japanese one. can you help me? do you think i still should buy the fz200, im also have Canon sx60 in mind. Thank u again.
ReplyDelete