In Search of a Digital Stills/Full HD Video Hybrid Camera

I’ve had a Panasonic Lumix FZ5 for the last five years, and it’s been a great camera. Superb zoom and superior image quality. However, it’s a bulky beast, and I’ve also had to lug around a separate video camcorder to capture movies because the FZ5′s movie mode is pretty paltry.    

Panasonic Lumix FZ5

So, the time has come to think about a replacement.  The driver to replace is a requirement for a single unit, providing comparable image quality, in a smaller form, and with full HD video supported. By full HD, I mean full 1080p (progressive scan), not 1080i (interlaced scan) or 720 HD.    

The specific requirements underpinning my search are as follows:    

• Form:
  • As compact as possible, preferably smaller than the Panasonic Lumix FZ5.
• Image:
  • Superior image quality, at least as good as the 5 year old FZ5.
  • Minimal shutter lag.
  • Decent zoom (at least 10x optical)
• HD Video:
  • Full 1080p HD (not 1080i or 720p)
  • Stereo sound
  • Zoom capability whilst filming
  • Minimal noise transmitted to the microphone from the zoom and autofocus functions.
• Price:
  • ~£300 price-point.

After hours of painstaking research, trawling through the multitude of fantastically detailed review sites which are out there, I have concluded that such a camera does not yet exist. None of the compact cameras on the market support 1080p HD (there were a couple with 1080i), but neither had very good reviews for image quality. So they were out.    

Compacts reviewed:    

• Samsung WB600 – nope.  15x zoom, and stereo sound, but only 720 HD.
• Panasonic Lumix TZ7 – nope.  12x zoom and stereo sound, but only 720 HD.
• Panasonic Lumix TZ8 – nope.  12x zoom, but only 720 HD and mono sound.
• Canon Powershot SX210 SI – nope.  14x zoom and stereo sound, but only 720 HD.
• Sony Cybershot HX5 – nope.  10x zoom and stereo sound, but only 1080i HD, and poor reviews of its soft and mushy image quality.
• Sony Cybershot TX7 – nope.  Stereo sound, but only 1080i HD and only 4x optical zoom.

The one compromise I was willing to make was on size. So, looking up towards the superzooms/bridge category, a handful supported 1080p HD. But where full HD was in evidence, unfortunately, superior photographic image quality was evidently lacking.    

Superzooms reviewed:  

• Panasonic Lumix FZ38 – nope.  18x zoom, and excellent image quality.  But oly 720 HD.
• Canon PowerShot SX20 IS – nope.  20x zoom but only 720 HD.
• Canon PowerShot SX1 IS - a close contender, with excellent shutter lag, 20x zoom and stereo 1080p HD.  Pushing the envelope at a cost of almost £400.  But ultimately, too many questions over image quality – particularly at low light, and with extreme light contrast.  The clincher was Photography Blog‘s review that it’s “no match for a dedicated camcorder”.
• Fuji Finepix HS10 – nope.  Another contender.  An unfeasibly large 30x zoom and 1080p stereo HD.  But there are too many questions over its photographic abilities – in particular a very long shutter lag, images coming up too soft and smeary and poor in low light.  Add to this the fact that the zoom mode is manual rather than motorised, and it becomes an awkward animal for filming smooth movies.
• Nikon Coolpix P100 – nope.  Another contender.  26x zoom and stereo 1080p HD.  But ultimately too many questions over image and movie quality.  Images evidently come up quite soft and smeary, and in movie mode, autofocus is quickly lost (and slow to adjust) when filming moving subjects, and the chatter whilst zooming and autofocussing in movie mode is audible.  The clincher was CNET‘s comment that “those with hopes of replacing a fully-fledged HD camcorder will be unsatisfied”.
• Sony Cybershot HX1 – nope.  Another contender, despite stretching the budget to £350.  20x zoom and stereo 1080p HD.  But evidently its image quality is soft and smeary and ultimately disappointing.
• Pentax X70 – nope.  24x zoom, but only 720 HD, and then it only records at 15 frames per second, instead of the 30 fps which has become standard.
• Nikon Coolpix P90 – nope.  Evidently no HD mode, and evidently you can’t use the zoom in movie mode.
• Olympus SP-800UZ – nope.  30x zoom, but only 720 HD, and only mono sound recording in video mode.

I was very nearly tempted by the Panasonic Lumix FZ38 – superb image quality for a superzoom camera. But it wasn’t any more compact than my existing Lumix, and I would also have had to compromise on the HD video – the FZ38 only provides 720p, not full HD.  

So, to summarise, it would seem that the quality digital camera/true HD camcorder hybrid remains an elusive product - unless you’re willing to make some significant compromises.  

Personally, I’ll keep my powder dry, and keep my fingers crossed, in anticipation of Panasonic releasing the follow up to the FZ38 (the FZ48?), which will hopefully bump up the spec to full HD.

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UPDATED 10TH AUGUST 2010:

It would seem that Panasonic has come up trumps with two new releases:

• The Lumix FZ45 (released 16th August): the successor to the FZ38, it increases the spec from 18x optical zoom to 24x, 12.1 MP resolution to 14.1 MP and 3 inch screen from 2.7 inch.  Disappointly, there’s no full HD video though (it shoots at the same 720 HD as its predecessor).
• The Lumix FZ100 (released 2nd August): the FZ100 has a similar looking spec as the FZ45, but it has a flip-screen, AND full 1,920 x 1,080 HD.  Retailing around the £440 mark at present, I think I’ll wait a few months to let the price drop, and keep checking the reviews in the meantime.

Another contender if the form factor is too bulky is the newly released Lumix FX700.  It’s got your proper full HD, will slip nicely into a pocket, but only 5x optical zoom.  Currently retailing around the £350 mark.