118 of 122 people found the below review helpful:
5.0 of 5 stars An outstanding camera at settings below ISO 400, which has an exceptional wide angle lens, by deficiencies and omissions, March 11, 2008
This review is from: Panasonic Lumix DMC FX35K 10MP Video camera with 4x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) (Electronics)
The camera found its way to a small box, with accessories, i.e., USB and AV cables, battery utilizing its storage case, wall charger, CD, wriststrap, software pamphlet, rrncluding a 125 page printed Operating Guide.
The battery needed to be charged until the camera might used. This took about couple of hours. Your camera was user friendly and uncomplicated even without reference to the manual. I've used earlier Panasonic models so others could possibly have another first impression. On my Vista system, the picture transfer software installed quickly and automatically if your camera was first linked with my computer's USB port.
A short while back I took interior pictures by using a 28mm wide angle zoom. Not long took photos of the identical locations when using the FX35 at its 25mm settings. It could possibly seem the fact that photographic difference between 28mm and 25mm might be small. However, visually the visible difference was obvious. The 25mm setting produced almost panoramic wide angle coverage. Your camera did well around the wide end, however telephoto end is, for my uses, probably about 20mm way too short. Fortunately, the style quality at lower ISOs allowed for modest crops in Photoshop to acquire the results I need to.
Considering the relatively small sensor, noise was reasonably well controlled at ISO settings below 400. At lower ISO values images are quite good. ISO 100 images setback well under considerable enlargement. I recently uncovered ISO 400 was the best level in which I achieved acceptable, although slightly grainy, images. Above ISO 400 noise is obvious and distracting, along with a significant loss in image detail. At ISO 800 noise already shows a rough texture. At ISO 1,600 shadow areas showed large blotches of color noise. My longer zoom Panasonic camera with Venus III LSI processor occasionally smeared fine details. Happily, the FX35's Venus IV engine seems to perform a slightly better job of detail preservation.
The camera features a comfortable array of quite useful features including some, arguably, 'gimmicky' ones. The 25mm ultra wide angle, 1280 x 720p HD movie mode, and also the Advanced Intelligent Auto Mode, which really works to improve an array of common problems, all proved to be of real value. The Optical Image Stabilization, set to Mode 2, was helpful; pictures accessories at 1/4th on the second were blur free. The covers in to the cable compartment(DC in, Audio Visual, and component out cables), and battery and SD memory compartment are solid, unlike covers on other cameras. I prefer the dedicated switches in the back in the camera for playback, and exposure compensation. Alongside this appreciate the dedicated Q(uick) Menu/Delete button. Pressing this button selects the short menu in record, and also the delete menu during playback. During record this button provides having access to options appropriate to the current mode. Including, in Intelligent Auto mode you makes almost all choices, so only four main categories of options are provided for ones user one could use. In Normal mode, the spot where the user has more choices, eight main categories are provided. Main categories include ISO, picture size, white balance, LCD brightness, etc. JPG images along at the most suitable setting run around 3.5 to 4.5 MB, while using occasional smaller or larger file. On my single core computer, USB data speed from you involved 2.6 MB/sec.
The camera seriously isn't without some disappointments. In high contrast situations, small sensor cameras typically fly out highlights or lose shadow details. The FX35's "intelligent exposure" is made to correct this. However, I didn't see a major improvement inside the few high contrast situations Lengthy ago i faced. Some omissions are understandable even for the relatively expensive point and shoot, e.g., absence of raw mode, and manual aperture and shutter adjustments. Although clearly desirable, there're less important to many buyers. However, its quite disappointing to determine the zoom cannot be changed while recording movies. This serious omission can be a result of the proximity on the zoom mechanism and also the microphone. None the less, Phoning have liked to enjoy seen this feature included. Another disappointment could be the slightly small, although acceptable, 2.5", as opposed to 3.0", LCD. Canon, Fuji, Nikon, and Kodak can easily package larger displays in some of the ultra compacts. I will likewise have liked a minimal optical viewfinder. It is a good choice for sunlight scenes while LCD brightness is insufficient to help make for easy screen viewing. The highest telephoto aperture of F5.6 is pretty small. The EXIF data recorded with my photos shows aperture values from F2.8 to eight.0 at 25mm, but only F5.Six to eight.0 at 100mm.
The FX35's on/off switch is poorly designed and positioned. Unlike some models where this switch is located in a raised well, forms of languages where it requires to be pressed directly into turn the camera on, the FX35's slide switch is raised above the camera's top, and can be inadvertently started up when inserting your camera in a pocket or carry case, resulting in the lens to give. This potential problem can be solved by moving the play/record start the camera's in to play before storing the digital camera. Set to try out, the lens will stay retracted when the camera is started up.
An earlier sharp eyed poster noted that the legend within the camera lens around the picture says 28mm as an alternative to 25mm. Fortunately, the image posted is basically just like my FX35, with the exception of the legend error additionally , the AF Assist Lamp/Self Timer LED indicator missing within the top right front of the camera. Gleam minor discrepancy between Amazon's listings of "27MB Internal Memory", and also the Manual's "Approx. 50 MB" of internal memory.
The Final conclusion: Your camera is fast and responsive. Image quality at low ISO values is higher than I anticipated for just a sensor this small. It features a truly exceptional wide angle lens, and nicely implemented HD movie mode. Exposure, focus, and scene mode capabilities usually worked flawlessly. Although there were compromises, notably higher ISO performance, deficiencies are minor compared to the totality belonging to the camera's capabilities. Its state of the art zoom lens produced excellent images. To all shooting situations the FX35 made the precise decisions producing superior results. Its well chosen selection of dedicated controls causes it to become particularly easy to use. Outfitted with the 8GB SDHC Extreme III card, beneficial in HD movie mode, your camera will record about 1,600 photos at its most useful setting. Overall, now you have an excellent camera.
Help some other clients choose the most helpful reviews