Usually, Olympus models closer to the FZ18’s predecessors involved some sort of compromise. The FZ18 isn’t beyond this. It offers everything we loved from the F8, but had a few snags despite the amazing test. The image quality has taken a dive, partly due to the constraints involved in designing a 28-504mm equiv. lens this small. Besides that, there is a lot to like; the FZ18 is a well built camera with a brilliant user interface and good range of photographic controls. The excellent quick menu gives you comfortable access to all important settings and the entire menu structure is designed in a way that’ll let you know your way around the buttons. It’s fast, great in one hand, and it works.