The Panasonic Lumix FZ30 is very good value for money, providing a large 12x optical zoom lens with image stabilisation, an 8 megapixel sensor, a 2″ swivel screen and a metal body. Cheaper than all Digital SLRs, the FZ30 is especially good value for money when compared to how much money would have to be spent to equal the zoom range with a Digital SLR.

The Panasonic Lumix FZ30 is an excellent ultra zoom digital camera, offering excellent image quality, an excellent Leica 12x optical zoom lens with image stabilisation, and a manual zoom ring. The high resolution 2″ swivel screen is very good, and the camera is very good value for money. The easy to use camera offers speedy performance, good battery life, with good controls and excellent build quality thanks to a solid metal camera body. I would highly recommend this camera, especially to people who like it’s SLR styling, although be aware that noise is on the high side. If you can stick with the lower ISO settings or only wish to print small images then this camera should be high on your shopping list! I’d recommend trying the camera before buy, as this camera is definitely large when compared to your average sized ultra zoom camera.

Taken from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 - Digital Camera Review at DigicamReview.co.uk

The Panasonic Lumix FZ30 is a new 8 megapixel digital camera with a Leica 12x optical zoom lens - and built in optical image stabilisation called “Mega Optical Image Stabilization”. The cameras 12x optical zoom lens has a 35mm - 420mm film equivalent. The Panasonic Lumix FZ30 is enclosed in a black or silver metal body with a rubberised hand grip. The FZ30 records 640×480 movies with sound at 30fps and allows the use of the optical zoom during recording. The camera is quite large roughly the same size as a small Digital SLR, however with a much more powerful zoom. The camera takes a proprietary lithium-ion battery and measures: 140.75 x 85.5 x 138.1 mm (without protruding parts), and weighs Approx. 674g (excluding batteries and media).