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| Photo by Jack Howard |
| Shot with the Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd at ISO 62 Program Exposure, Evaluative metering. There's great detail throughout most of the tonal range, although, like all of the cameras in this test, the sun side of the boathouse is completely blown out, and overall it's a bit too contrasty. Click photo for more image quality photos. |
Burst Rates
You've got a lots of asterisks, footnotes, (parenthetical notations) and downsampled high-speed rates to wade through when looking at the boxes and tech specs of these three cameras!
For example, the Olympus SP-560UZ can burst 40 shots at 15 frames per second! But that's at just about 2MP: 1600x1200 px. Or it can do 7 frames per second for 23 frames (at just under 5MP.) And how cool is this -- in playback mode, click on the first photo in a high speed burst, and they are played back at capture speed! At full resolution, the spec sheet caps it at 1.2 frames per second for seven shots at normal JPEG (HQ) setting -- though we were sometimes able to get a few more in our burst tests. You'll get three or four shots before the buffer locks at the highest full-resolution (SHQ) setting.
Additionally, HDR fans will love that the Olympus SP-560UZ will autobracket five frames, albeit at only one EV apart (in other words: -2,-1,0,+1,+2).
The Fujifilm can burst 15 shots in row at either 7 frames per second or 15 frames per second, but at 4MP or less for 7fps, and 2MP or less for 15fps. (Sadly, the Fujifilm doesn't do the playback animation of high-speed bursts like the Olympus.) But with the Fujifilm at full resolution, you're limited to 3 shots at 1.3 frames per second either in Top 3 or Last 3. (Last 3 will make an impressive machine-gun spray while it is shooting away, but only the last three shots in the long burst will actually be recorded to the memory card.) For extended "bursts," the Fujifilm plods along at a leisurely pace of a frame every 2 seconds or so.
The Panasonic doesn't set any land speed records with its burst rate at any megapixel rating -- but at the same time it doesn't have nearly as many footnotes! It caps out at three frames per second, regardless of image size. At finest quality JPEG at full resolution, it'll grab 4 frames before locking up. At Normal quality it'll grab 7 frames. Drop it down to VGA (640x480) and the FZ18 keeps firing away, probably until the card is full. But if you want to fill the SDHC card with full-rez images, it slows down the burst rate to just about a frame per second in unlimited burst. (With higher ISO images, however, the camera may start to slow down after 15 or 20 shots. It'll keep firing away, but you'll notice the rate slowing down a bit.)
Generally, we are most interested in full-resolution bursts and buffering, and between its normal 3fps burst and its almost 2fps unlimited burst, it's pretty much a no-brainer that the Panasonic will finish ahead of the pack in this category.
But wait! We're starting to see some really cool applications and ideas involving these lo-rez megabursts. Golf and tennis instructors can capture a tee-off or backhand and pinpoint exactly where the form is off. For online multimedia slideshows, the small megapixel count isn't nearly the issue it is for print output. Sure, the shots are small, and it's basically single unstitched frames from 15fps video, but it's a heck of a lot easier and cleaner than pulling a frame from video.
Full Resolution Burst and Buffering Rankings (with lo-resolution results in parentheses):
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 (Olympus SP-560UZ)
- Olympus SP-560UZ (Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd)
- Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd (Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18)
LCDs and EVFs and Display Blackouts
The Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd packs a 2.5-inch TFT LCD with 230,000 dots, and a .24 inch Electronic Viewfinder, also with 230,000 dots. The Olympus SP-560UZ also packs a 2.5-inch TFT LCD with 230,000 dots, and a .24 inch 230,000 EVF with an eyepoint and feel that is virtually identical to the Fujifilm's. The Panasonic's 2.5-inch TFT LCD packs only 207,000 dots, and its EVF is .44 inch, with 188,000 dots.
Despite the lower pixel count, the Panasonic's EVF edges out the competition. We found the Fujifilm's EVF too contrasty, and prone to color casting and noise in previews. The Olympus EVF isn't as contrasty as the Fujifilm's, but it did also display casting and some noise in previews.
The Panasonic's EVF autocorrects for the ambient lighting, and doesn't feel as prone to casting or noise in preview, and displays high contrast scenes better than its competitors. However, there is an annoying internal reflection below the LCD unless you are perfectly aligned through the viewfinder.
All three LCDs are fixed (non-articulating) and offer very wide viewing angles. This means you will get a decent preview display pretty much as far as you can swing your arm to frame a shot. We did however notice a problem with glare issues at extreme angles in bright daylight conditions with all three cameras, most notably with the Olympus SP-560UZ.
Whether you're using the LCD or EVF, blackout between shots, particularly in bursts, is an issue with most compact and EVF digicams. These three are no exception, although all three bring their own set of issues to blackout.
The Olympus, which is the slowest from shot-to-shot, has the longest blackout period after a single shot. The Fujifilm is a little quicker, but not nearly as fast as the Panasonic in single-shot mode.
In full-resolution burst mode, you'll spend a lot of time staring at a black screen with both the Olympus and the Fujifilm. With both of these cameras, it's dark between frames, then there's a flash of the next shot for a split second, and back to a blank frame between shots. But with their lo-rez hi-speed modes, the display does a good job of keeping up with the burst of shots.
In normal burst mode the Panasonic locks the display after the first frame, and it just stays like that, regardless of camera movement until the burst is captured. It's more interesting, but no less helpful than a completely dark display. In unlimited burst, it shows the last frame captured and keeps tiling through the last shot until the burst is over. Again, it's interesting, but for the most part you are chasing, rather than truly framing, your next shot.
LCD and EVF Rankings:
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18
- Olympus SP-560UZ
- Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd
Modes and Scenes
On all three cameras, the shooting mode is first selected from a mode dial atop the camera. On all three, you'll find the old standards: Auto, Program, Aperture-Priority, Shutter-Priority, Scene, and even Full Manual. But from here it gets interesting, and different. Both the Panasonic and the Olympus allow the user to preload custom settings into a dial position, for quick access to favored settings (three on the Panasonic, four on the Olympus). There's no such customizable speed-setting on the Fujifilm, which is an oversight, in our opinion. Experienced photographers often have touchstone settings for particular lighting conditions, and the less time messing around in camera menus is more time to make the shot!
On the other end of the spectrum are the Scene modes, which offer quick and easy optimization for the beginning photographers.
Fujifilm has 13: Portrait, Landscape, Sport, Night, Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Museum, Party, Flower, Text, and Auction. Combine these with "Natural," "Natural/Strobe," and High-ISO anti-shake, and it's a pretty basic pack of scene settings.
The Olympus SP-560UZ includes 24 scene modes: Portrait, Landscape, Landscape & Portrait, Night Scene, Night Portrait, Sport, Indoor, Candle, Self-portrait, Available Light portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Cuisine, Behind Glass, Documents, Auction, Shoot & select 1 and 2, Beach, Snow, Smile Shot (activated with face detection AF when a smile is detected), Quick Macro, and Panorama, along with Underwater Wide 1 and 2, and Underwater Macro. (Underwater optimization is for use with the optional PT-037 underwater housing. Note that this camera is not waterproof without the extra housing!) Combine these Scene modes with the 15 situations and various solutions offered in Guide mode, and you've got a very helpful camera! (And let's not forget about the Shadow Adjustment setting on the Olympus, which opens up the shadows and improves tonality, even if it doesn't dramatically increase overall dynamic range.)
The Panasonic comes with 14 Scene modes accessible via the SCN mode: Food, Party, Candlelight, Sunset, High Sensitivity, Baby 1 & 2, Pet (basically the same as Baby mode), Panning, Starry Sky (up to 60 seconds), Fireworks, Beach, Snow, and Aerial. But atop the camera with their own modes are Sports, Scenery and Portrait, each of which comes with their own set of drop-down options for different situations and a "creative" option that allows for user-controlled tweaks to the exposure or focus for different effects. It's a nice intermediate step to help the advance beginner take more creative control.
But the coolest Panasonic mode has got to be Intelligent Auto, which can identify challenging exposure situations, and sets the exposure accordingly. This combines Scene Detection, Face Detection, and Motion Detection to select the proper settings, whether it's an ISO boost, Face Detection exposure, backlight compensation, super-macro or more. The advanced photographer may feel they are giving over too much control, but for the beginner, this Intelligent Auto mode offers a lot of appeal in making photography more rewarding and less confusing.
Shooting Modes Rankings:
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18
- Olympus SP-560UZ
- Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd
Playback
None of the cameras go overboard with playback options. There are your typical features such as slideshows, cropping, and DPOF, as well as different sort-by schemes in line with each company's standards. Neither Fujifilm nor Panasonic dazzles us with any playback functions. Olympus adds "Perfect Fix" to the mix, and this claims to automatically remove redeye and adjust the lighting. We also like the high-speed burst animated playback on the Olympus. Our biggest complaint with the Olympus? It's painfully slow between frames. If the Olympus could pick up the pace just a bit, it would come away with a clear-cut victory.
Playback Rankings:
- 3-way tie
There has to be a winner, right? Want some waffles with that?
If you've been following the category rankings thus far, it should come as no surprise that it is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 that we're ready to call the king of the 18x superzooms. The much better control of lens distortion, the image quality at both low and high ISOs, better image stabilization results with both still and video image capture, quicker RAW+JPEG processing, a more advanced RAW software utility, faster long-period burst rate, quicker face detection, along with 16:9 video capture at 30 fps, and the Intelligent Auto mode offers a great set of features that neither of its competitors can quite measure up to. Combine this with a street price that is significantly lower than the Olympus SP-560UZ (with RAW) and just slightly higher than the Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd (sans RAW), and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 is clearly the king of the 18x superzooms.
However, there is a lot to love about the Olympus SP-560UZ, as well, despite its shortcomings compared to the Panasonic. It's one of the only small cameras we've seen that will autobracket five shots for totally nuanced exposure control and HDR imaging. The big shot count, low-rez, hi-speed bursts have the potential for some really cool Web-based animations, flipbooks, and thumbnail printing, along with motion analysis for athletic trainers. And it offers RAW capture which, slow as it might be, has become a must-have function for many shooters. And let's not forget that the Olympus SP-560UZ can be outfitted with a fully-functioned underwater housing with on-board accessory strobe (triggered by the built-in) that allows for full camera control to depths of 133 feet. The whole aquatic kit and camera can be had for a fraction of the price of a housing for most DSLRs (street: approx. $750).
It's tougher to make a case for the price leader, the Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd. If you're shopping for an 18x superzoom on price alone, this one will obviously hold some appeal. However, in every category except for overall build and handfeel, it is outperformed by either the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, the Olympus SP-560UZ, or both. If RAW isn't important to you, and if you want very short, lo-rez, hi-speed bursts, the ruggedly built Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd may be enough superzoom for you. But we'd personally choose to spend either the extra $30 for shootout champion Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 or the extra $110 to add RAW and longer hi-speed lo-rez bursts to the Olympus SP-560UZ, which, after all, employs virtually the same optics but adds a more robust feature set.
Certified Test Results:
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18
• Olympus SP-560UZ
• Fujifilm FinePix s8000fd
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