Panasonic Lumix FZ38

The basics

A bridge-style camera that’s capable of shooting 12.1MP stills and capturing 720p high-definition movies – it’s even got an HDMI output for connecting to an HD telly.

The powerful 27mm wideangle Leica lens is complemented by an 18x optical zoom and face-recognition technology, while you can choose to frame images on the 2.7in LCD or 0.20in colour viewfinder. A high-speed start-up has the FZ38 up and running in 1.2 seconds.

The good

The FZ38 has compact dimensions but these don’t stop it being comfortable to hold and easy to snap with. It focuses quickly and the 18x optical zoom takes you as near to the action as you’re likely to need – producing great close-ups.

The FZ38’s optical image stabiliser sees improvements from its predecessors as well. Unlike rivals, such as Fuji’s Finepix S200EXR, the FZ38 has a dedicated button for shooting HD video, making it straightforward when you want to swap photos for movies. The 720p video is impressive with accurate colours a particular standout.

The bad

The shutter just isn’t as responsive as we’d have liked and it increases the risk of missing that great shot by a fraction of a second. And, while HD video is vivid, there is occasional stuttering on playback, which somewhat spoils the overall viewing experience. The biggest disappointment is a low-light performance that sees still images displaying grain and digital noise.

The bottom line

Superb still images, clever design and high-quality video mark the FZ38 as a bridge camera with potential but its low-light results and slightly slow response times do irritate.