Panasonic LUMIX FZ80D Point and Shoot Digital Camera 4K Photo/Video Recording with Power Optical Image Stabilizer, Vlogging Camera with 60X Optical Zoom & 20-1200mm Wide-Angle Lens - DC-FZ80D

I bought this camera for an Alaskan cruise. I was recovering from back surgery, so did not want to carry my heavy Canon with a long lens. This little "bridge" camera was perfect. I got some great photos, good quality. The zoom worked great. It's nice and small, lightweight. My only complaint is the battery goes down quickly if you zoom in and out a lot, as the zoom is not manual. Be sure to take at least one extra battery, two would be better.

This is a GREAT camera FOR ITS INTENDED PURPOSE. Please read before buying. This camera is a "superzoom bridge" camera. That means it has a small sensor (it's physically impossible to get this much zoom out of any portable camera with a large sensor). So, it is NOT a professional grade large sensor camera to get the best depth of color and pin sharp detail. BUT, it IS fantastic to take traveling or hiking to get ALL the shots you cannot get with your phone. Your phone is amazing at wide landscapes, panorama vistas, portraits, low light, etc. HOWEVER, your phone SUCKS at natural looking macro shots (close ups of small things) and it REALLY sucks at long zoom shots - that wildlife off in the distance for example. This camera does a great job of taking the pictures your phone simply can't. It takes really good macro shots - like really good. Not expensive DSLR or mirrorless quality, but pretty close. AND this camera has lots (tons!!!) of OPTICAL zoom and high enough resolution that you can still crop to zoom in even a bit further and still have very solid resolution and quality (though not professional level by any means). Superzoom bridge cameras are, in my opinion, the best travel companion to your phone when you really need long zoom reach. And I believe this one is the best option for many people. It is cheaper, lighter, and smaller than the competition that can compete for image quality. Problems with (ALL) superzoom cameras: They SUCK in low light especially when zooming in - don't bother, get out your phone instead - it's great in low light. Once you get into twilight this camera will be mostly useless - but so will all similar cameras. They are a niche tool. Consider carefully whether you really need this amount of zoom. You can find 20X or even 30X large sensor compact cameras that will get better image quality and be even more portable, and 20x is still quite a bit of zoom, plenty for most uses. Problems with (THIS) superzoom: The physical and digital interface is not intuitive. You will need to spend some time learning how to use this. Having to push a button to switch from viewfinder to LCD screen is annoying (but not a big deal really). Taking any control over ISO, shutter speed, aperture, etc is a bit wonky. It also lacks some bells and whistles like wifi connectivity. Great things about (ALL good) superzoom cameras: Optical zoom is the ONLY good kind of zoom. Digital zoom is just cropping down your picture and losing resolution. It has its uses, but it's better to just do it in the computer when you'll have more control. These cameras have TONS of optical zoom in a small package, making it possible to get shots that are simply impossible with anything else you can afford or carry around - to give you an idea, the Canon 1200mm zoom costs about $20,000 and weighs a "surprisingly light" 7.4 lbs and is 21 inches long. This camera will get you the same distance optically at 1/50 the price of just the lens, less than 1/5 the weight of just the lens, and at a size you can pop in a purse or day pack. Good things about (THIS) superzoom: It is cheaper by far than all other options that get this kind of quality. Half the price or less of the Nikons that are only marginally better. It is smaller and lighter than the competition. The Nikons are nearly twice as long when turned off (lens retracted fully). They also weigh about twice as much (the Nikon P1100 weighs 3.1 lbs compared to this camera at 1.4 lbs). Weight and size really make a big difference in a travel/hiking camera. The Image Stabilization on this one is as good as it gets in a superzoom, which REALLY REALLY matters when zooming. I've managed to get very acceptably sharp photos at 1200 mm (full zoom) while handheld with NO support. That is incredibly impressive. You'll need good technique - holding the camera properly, watching your breathing, and pressing the shutter without jiggling the camera body. To sum up, if you have been frustrated with the limitations of your phone when traveling, hiking, etc. and want something that can get all those pictures your phone simply can't without having to carry around a dedicated camera bag, this is a FANTASTIC option - especially when out in nature to capture the wildlife that can often be very far off in the distance. If you don't really need all this zoom, then maybe look at some of the more compact large sensor options that still have good zoom and can do good macro shots. If you have lots of spare money, and want the maximum possible zoom, and don't care about carrying a larger heavier camera, then consider the Nikon P1100. But for the sweet spot of those who need the zoom that goes well past 20 or 30x, and want the most compact lightweight option, or people who have a budget to stay inside, this is the best option on the market, in my opinion. I'm a backpacker who is also a photography enthusiast, and after doing tons of comparisons and research, this is the camera I choose to carry on the trail because it solves all the problems I had with every other option. I'm giving it 4 stars out of 5 only because of the lack of wifi and the less than intuitive interface. Otherwise, I think this is a perfect camera for my needs.

I received this camera for Christmas 2025. And I am still learning, but a great choice for my needs and my wants in a camera. Beautiful and superior fast focus photos with the zooming in or out. Also, superior stabilization with the focus and resolution without the use of a tripod is awesome. Clarity of each photo is sharp, crisp, and great quality. Tons of features and the settings are fantastic and are simple and easy to use. This Lumix FZ80D Bridge Camera is superb. I love it. I'm learning so much more than I thought I would. It's not only taking nature photos but also slowing down the pace of life with waiting on nature to reveal that perfect moment. And, to get that beauty in a photo is an amazing feeling.

I wanted so much to really love this camera, and the price and zoom were indeed awesome, but final results were mixed. I am admittedly, a "pixel peeper" and immediately after feeding my pics to my PC, I begin giving them great scrutiny to edit slightly etc.. These pics on the face looked great but upon close inspection looked a bit grainy despite my best efforts at keeping ISO low. It's also a pretty "slow" camera" and in shade or lower light at the end of the day there's was practically no way to get a nice shot unless cranking the ISO and putting up with the resulting grain. I even tried using Topaz de-noise programs and there was just not much to work with. I returned the camera and ended up with a used Sony RX10 IV which only has half the zoom at 600m but at least double the resolution (and cost twice as much). If a light, somewhat cheap way to get a 1200mm zoom for use only in bright light, and you're only interested in posting to social media, this camera might be a good choice, otherwise, you might be disappointed.

I bought a new Canon T7 at a great on-sale price and returned it later. I hadn't owned a real camera since the advent of I phones and I pads, and thought that returning to a camera would be better for some picture taking scenarios. I spent hours researching cameras, hence the T7, with the Panasonic a close second. I have had the Panasonic for about a week now and can report my opinion. The telescopic lens is wonderful, in that you don't need to carry and swap lenses for any photo shot. The rear display is great with a touch-screen. I just charged the battery, turned it on, set time and date and point and shoot. Pictures are outstanding. This is a great camera, easy to use, many options to set and change photo settings (before and after the shot), and now fills the void between I-phone and I-Pad picture taking. With the memory card I can put the card in my MacMini base and view, review, and do more editing... they don't need to be stored in space first, but can be moved to the Apple Photos app for more permanent storage.

Thought this DC-FZ80D would be a great travel camera with super zoom capability. Got it set up and wanted to try the zoom feature. Camera would suddenly stop working and unexpectedly display a "turn camera off and back on again" message. After cycling the camera off and on, this would randomly recur. When the camera stayed fuctional for brief periods, zooming in would cause the subject to blur completely out of focus. The auto focus feature appears not to function while zooming. Also camera would stop working and display a "system error (focus)" message. Not the user-friendly point and shoot automatic camera I was hoping for. Will contact Panasonic to see if the problem is me or the camera, or both.

I have been using this for over a year and it is amazing. I use it for bird identification and the optical zoom (60x) is perfect for my needs. (I often use the camera instead of my binos.) Having the 'live view' viewfinder is crucial. (I previously owned a Kodak PIXPRO AZ528, but I lost many shots due to the the lcd screen, which is almost impossible to use in sunlight.) The autofocus is quick, and I am even able to quickly focus on hawks in flight, well enough to ID! It's not perfect: The zoom/focus is noisy, which can be heard on movies. And the picture quality is less than ideal in low light.

The images are just not good. At any range. I didn't realize that I owned pretty much this same camera 7+ years ago, and didn't like it. This camera is just a refresh of its predecessor the FZ80. The only differences are the charging cable type, and touch screen, and a few things like that. The pictures it takes are still the exact same quality. So in 2018, I had the previous version of this camera, and was truly underwhelmed by its picture quality.It has been sitting in a box for years, untouched, and I had completely forgotten about it. I have been using my phone instead because the pictures come out 20 times better than on these cameras. After getting this FZ80d, and using it for a day, I was also underwhelmed at the pictures, and thats when I realized it's pretty much my old camera. When you're out taking pictures, you look at the picture on the camera's screen, and you think it looks great! It's got great zoom, the picture looks like it's in focus and properly exposed, and you then go home, look at these same pictures on a larger computer screen and realize how bad they really are. They're not sharp. The details are just not there. Now I understand you lose detail at max zoom. But the pictures are disappointing at every zoom level, and at every light level. I tried out this camera on a landscape, on people, on my dog sitting still 2 feet away, on birds at varying distances, and on other still objects at varying distances on a Florida afternoon with perfect light conditions and not a single photo came out sharp. The lens was perfectly clean, and I tried many shooting modes and fine tuned some of the settings in manual mode, but the results are the same. This camera is not worth the price, if the one thing it's supposed to do, it doesn't do well. I returned this camera, and purchased another brand for $300 more than this one, and the results are so much better. It's also a superzoom bridge camera, with even better zoom, and actual beautiful results. Don't waste your time on this one if you want decent quality pictures, which I'm sure you do if you're looking to get a dedicated camera in the first place.

Small, light & easy to carry around when travelling. Zoom range is sufficient for bird & animal video/photo.