I bought this camera last night after much study of various makes and models. I really considered almost everything, but it came down to the new Fuji S7000, Canon 300D, Nikon 5700, Sony V1, Sony F828 (if it ever appears) and Canon G5. Without consideration of price among these, the Panasonic Lumix FZ10 with its Leica 35-420mm F2.8 zoom lens and optical (that is, not digital, it runs on gyroscopes) image stabilization won me, because I think it will fit my style of shooting best, so don’t take my word for anything.

I got your OIS right here (click for original image, 1600×1200, BIG download):

That’s available light, ISO 50, f2.8 1/4 second, my first test shot with OIS. if you’re a Windows user, I apologize for the darkness of this picture. I didn’t adjust it. It looks deep and shadowy on Mac, as I like some garden shots.

Uh-oh. Click and look what happens when I use the built in flash with the lens at full wide angle with the included lens hood in place. There is a shadow at the bottom of the photo. I tried out my old swivelhead strobe from my Nikon SLR and it works well, and of course doesn’t have this problem, which is due to the size of the lens.

(Click for 1600 X 1200)
Again with the OIS. Its a winner. I can’t wait for the next festival. In Kyoto, you don’t have to wait long for a festival. I’m going to be getting long shots and close-ups handheld without changing lenses. That’s basically why I ended up going with this camera. And then an omen appeared. Five minutes after I left Naniwa Camera, I found a gold and diamond ring, it just appeared at my feet as I waited to cross the busiest intersection in Kyoto, Shijo-Kawaramachi. (It’s already with the police, BTW, my fantasies lasted less than a minute.)

wide, 5X zoom, 12X zoom

ERGONOMICS: This camera is rather blocky, so I am going to have to adjust to it, there’s no way it’s going to adjust to me. However, I don’t think I’m going to have the tilting problem I had with the little Cybershot instamatic. I ruined many pictures by holding it slantwise, because it’s not shaped like a camera. The lens hood provides a stable handhold for my big hands. An EVF is something new for me, so I’m not really ready to comment on it, I’ll probably be using the LCD for awhile.

CONTROLS: the zoom control is not in a very good place, again I’ll have to get used to it. This camera has fewer buttons than most. I think more controls could have been put on the outside of the camera, but instead you have to navigate menus a bit. They have tried to make the most important ones easy to reach. I’m already getting fast at the exposure comp, which is important. Just tap the 4-way button up once, then right or left for plus or minus. Easy and fast.

So far the OIS and lens seem good, and that’s what I hope is going to make me glad I chose the Lumix. We’ll see.