Panasonic FZ300 Flash

Coverage, Exposure and Range
Good flash performance for its class.

Coverage. Flash coverage was a little narrow and uneven at wide angle, leaving dim corners in our flash coverage test image, but not as bad as some cameras we've tested. We no longer test flash coverage at telephoto, as it is invariably better, making wide angle the worst case scenario.

Exposure. Our standard Indoor Portrait test scene came out a bit dim at ISO 200 and f/4, even with +1.0 EV flash exposure compensation. The camera used a decently quick shutter speed of 1/60s. (Some cameras reduce shutter speed to 1/40s or below when using the flash, which can be problematic and lead to subject motion blur.) Slow-sync mode came out brighter with no flash exposure compensation, however as expected, it had a very warm cast from the ambient tungsten lighting.

Manufacturer Specified Flash  Range Test. The Panasonic FZ300's flash range is rated at 8.8 meters or 29 feet throughout its zoom range (thanks to its constant max f/2.8 aperture), with ISO sensitivity set to Auto. As you can see from the test shot taken at f/2.8 above, the Panasonic FZ300 produced a well-exposed flash target at the specified distance, though it boosted ISO to 1600 to achieve that result.

We shoot this test shot using the manufacturer-specified camera settings, at the range the company claims for the camera, to assess the validity of the specific claims.