Panasonic Lumix FZ80

A bridge camera from Panasonic, with a whole lotta zoom

Another addition to Panasonic Lumix’s long legacy of excellent big zoom cameras, the FZ80. As is common-place with these releases, the FZ80 is the ideal bridge between your basic Digital Compact Camera and the generally dearer and heavier DSLR kit. With a 60x optical zoom, with a 35mm equivalent range of 20-1200mm, the fZ80 can perform the tasks of an interchangeable lens camera and several other lenses, making it a much lighter and more portable option for getting the job done.

When you are using the full extent of this long zoom range, you will be very pleased to have Power OIS included to offer exceptional stability and make it possible to shoot at these long magnifications, handheld! For capturing the most speedy and elusive of subjects Panasonic has been so kind as to include depth from defocus technology, which is more than up to the task. This contrast-detection technology can quickly measure the distance of a subject and adjust the focus accordingly and is suitable for tracking moving subjects, shooting continuous bursts and videos.

To actually record the events unfolding before you, you are blessed with a 18.1MP high-sensitivity MOS sensor that produces images of an impressive quality, right through to the top ISO of 6400. The quality of these photographs are possible at a whopping continuous rate of up to 10 frames per second, while for those not content to stick with the still image format, there is UHD 4K resolution video.

Utilise one of two options of equally high-quality when framing your subjects with the FZ80, either a 3-inch 1.04 million dot Touchscreen LCD monitor, or a 1.166 million dot electronic viewfinder. The later option is perfect for those fond of more traditional compositional techniques, while those with a more modern approach and movie shooters will appreciate the former.

Other Key Features

• Various 4K video modes for a more-rounded videography experience
• Built-in WiFi connectivity allows for sharing of images to and remote control by a smartphone with the Panasonic Image app installed
• RAW image capture
• 1cm Macro