Even in low light, the FZ300 was able to autofocus accurately on this piece of ice, which is itself a difficult autofocus subject.
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Autofocus algorithms have also seen improvement, which according to Panasonic should double the tracking autofocus performance of the camera.ĩ0mm equivalent (16.1), f/4.0, 1/2s, ISO 100. The new Light Speed AF autofocus system includes Depth from Defocus technology and Panasonic states that it is twice as fast as the autofocus system found in the FZ200 with a refresh rate of 240 fps. The FZ300 is rated to autofocus down to an impressive -3 EV. At less than extreme telephoto focal lengths, focus is very quick, even in low light, despite being contrast-detect only. Dependable and quick autofocus in low lightĪutofocus performance is good with the FZ300 overall. When auto white balance isn't delivering the expected results, or if you just want to fine-tune the white balance, pressing the Fn2 button on the top of the camera allows you to quickly change the white balance setting by using the focus dial on the lens. I found auto white balance worked very well in almost all situations. Likewise, white balance metering was good with the FZ300.
Overall, considering the class of the camera, I was impressed with the FZ300's sensor and image quality.Ĩ9mm equivalent (16.1mm), f/5.6, 1/4s, ISO 100 You will be able to rescue highlights and shadows to some extent when working with RAW files, but the FZ300 does not provide the dynamic range you would find from a camera with a larger sensor. On the other hand, RAW files come out of the camera quite dull, but they process easily. Around fine details in particular, JPEG files straight from the camera appear over sharpened. JPEG files from the FZ300 are sharp, although this sharpness brings with it some artifacts. I was impressed with how much processing I could do with this file. This was a difficult scene to photograph because the late day sunlight was hitting the snow in the background and also parts of the water. Even at ISO 640 I was able to recover a lot of shadow detail in this image, particularly within the tree at the top of the frame. Although this limits your ability to crop images from the FZ300, its 600mm equivalent telephoto lens does help to compensate for this limitation.ħ0mm equivalent (12.5mm), f/2.8, 1/80s, ISO 640. Given the small size of the sensor, I'm glad that Panasonic has opted to keep the megapixel count relatively low for the sake of image quality. Using the same 12.1-megapixel 1/2.3" High Sensitivity MOS sensor as the FZ200, the FZ300 delivers good image quality across a wide range of ISO speeds and situations. The command dial is conveniently-located and rotates well, although it can be difficult at times to make precise selections. There are a lot of external controls on the FZ300, including four customizable function buttons and a convenient focus mode switch surrounding an AF/AE lock button on the rear of the camera. I found it to be a very nice EVF that worked well in the field, even when photographing fast-moving subjects or capturing continuous images. The 0.39" OLED viewfinder has a very nice picture and is sharp (it has 1,440K dots). Where the FZ200 had only a 0.46x magnification for its EVF, the FZ300's EVF has 0.7x magnification. I found that the display worked well, especially with its tilt-swivel capabilities. The 3" rear touchscreen display has a higher resolution, now 1,036,800 dots and is brighter overall. Other improvements to the camera body include enhancements to both the rear display and the electronic viewfinder. The ergonomics of the front grip have changed too, making the camera more comfortable to hold.
The front grip is slightly larger, and the body is slightly taller. Compared to its predecessor, the 24.4 ounce (691 grams) FZ300 is a bit bigger and is 3.6 ounces (just over 100 grams) heavier. This FZ200 successor has a completely redesigned camera body and even includes weather-sealing. What it lacks in mobility it makes up for in versatility and overall build quality. Five-axis Hybrid Optical Image Stabilization Plusīuilt similarly to a DSLR, the FZ300 is far from compact.
25-600mm equivalent f/2.8 Leica-branded lens.Ultimately the FZ300 won't blow you away with resolving power or zoom capabilities but it is a versatile all-in-one camera that, overall, does nearly everything well. Not only that, but the camera body itself has seen an overhaul. During those three years, some things have remained the same between these two models, such as the sensor and lens, but many other things have changed, such as autofocus performance and video features.
In 2012, Panasonic released the FZ200 bridge camera, and then last October, just over three years later, Panasonic released the FZ300.