Face Recognition is a fun and genuinely useful new feature which "remembers" up to 6 registered faces and then always prioritizes the focus and exposure for that person in future pictures
full HD 1920 x 1280 60i (NTSC) / 50i (PAL) movies at 30 frames per second at either 17Mbps or 13Mbps in the AVCHD (MPEG-4/H.264) format, and also 1280 x 720 at 30fps.
AVCHD features almost double the recording time in HD quality compared with Motion JPEG, but software support is currently a bit thin on the ground
operating sound of the control dial is very audible in the movie, so you'll need to edit the soundtrack later to remove it. Secondly, you can't set the shutter speed to below 1/30 seconds, instantly ruling out more creative slow shutter-speed effects
Stereo sound is recorded during video capture via the large internal mic on top of the camera, which is a big improvement on the rather muffled noises recorded by most digital cameras, helped by the wind cut function which blocks out most of the noise from background wind
optional stereo microphone (DMW-MS1) is available
You can use the zoom lens during recording and really make the most of that versatile 25-600mm focal range, although the zoom speed is unfortunately much slower than for still images and you can hear the zoom mechanism during recording
and-holding the FZ100 during movie recording inevitably leads to obvious shake, despite the optical image stabilizer, so for best results you'll need a dedicated video tripod
you can take 11 frames per second for up to 15 images. Note that continuous auto-focusing isn't available at the 11fps rate, only single auto-focusing, which can make it tricky to keep fast-moving subjects sharp.
AF-Continuous is only available at 5fps or 2fps. Even faster rates of 40 and 60 fps are available, albeit at reduced resolutions of 5 megapixels and 2.5 megapixels
no speed penalty when shooting in RAW other than having to wait longer for the camera to process all the images
continuous rates apply equally to both JPEG and RAW images
FZ100 has an anti-shake system, on this model the Power O.I.S. variant. Turn it on via the Stabilizer option in the main menu and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 automatically compensates for camera shake, which is a slight blurring of the image that typically occurs at slow shutter speeds when the camera is hand held
Thankfully leaving the anti-shake system on didn't negatively affect the battery-life, with the camera managing just over 400 shots using the supplied rechargeable Li-ion battery.
High Sensitivity mode also helps combat the effects of camera shake
well-constructed, durable camera with a high-quality plastic body
5x lens which provides a focal range of 24-120mm in 35mm terms
It takes about 1 second to store a JPEG image, allowing you to keep shooting as they are being recorded onto the memory card. Storing a single RAW image takes around 5 seconds, but thankfully it doesn't lock up the camera in any way - you can use the menu system or shoot another image while the first file is being written to memory.
WB2000 has a great Burst mode which enables you to take 10, 5 or 3 frames per second for JPEG and even at the same rate for RAW images too, although only for a maximum of 10 images in either format
You can choose to shoot in RAW only, or RAW plus one of the three JPEG quality modes, giving you the best of both worlds
WB2000 also offers a Dual Image Stabilisation mode which utilises both mechanical and digital techniques (increasing the ISO speed up to ISO 800) to ensure that your images remain sharp.
WB2000's has a fantastic video mode which offers 1920x1080HQ, 1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480 or 320x240 pixel footage at 30fps or 15fps in the economical H.264 format.
WB2000 is also one of the few cameras that let you capture a still image during movie recording - simply press the shutter button to take a full resolution still image - pretty advanced functionality for a mid-range compact
shoot super-slow motion video at 1,000, 480, 240 or 30 frames per second, a novel but nice-to-have feature that will at least impress your friends
You'll need to invest in a second battery as the lithium-ion one runs out of juice after a disappointing 175 shots, barely enough for a day's shootin