Feature rich and versatile. Lovely camera

I was in the market for a new camera since my old Sony Cybershot DSCP52 was not really suitable for the kind of photos I wanted to take. I didn't want the bulk and cost of a dSLR and lenses plus I wanted a camera that could do video. I bought my FZ30 for around �330 brand new which was the cheapest I had found it. Some outlets wanted as much as �550 for it.

The day it arrived I began playing with my new toy and what an excellent camera it is. Zooming is smooth, the camera fits nicely in my hand and is simple to operate. I like the fact that it has full manual controls. The video mode is smooth and you can't beat the image stabilisation! I find the EVF nice to look at but prefer the tilt/swivel LCD panel. The EVF is bright and with 230k pixels does actually show a good amount of detail. Focussing is a breeze with the switch on the lens barrel. The camera feels solid and well constructed, performance is good and I haven't noticed any discernible shutter lag. I'd advise getting a larger and faster SD card though for burst shots since the camera slows down taking pictures if it's writing to a slow SD card.

Yes, there is a bit of image noise with this camera - but only really with high ISO (200>) shots. People who say it's unacceptable have either never tried an FZ30 themselves, have listened to here'say or are expecting dSLR quality from a bridge camera. I expect people who dismiss this camera for the noise buy a different 'bridge' camera maybe without Image Stabilisation and find their pictures blurry. A blurry picture cannot be fixed - a noisy one can be post-processed in NeatImage or whatever. It's a trade off really, but having said that I'm very satisfied with the camera and what it can do.