118 of 122 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 because of 5 stars An outstanding camera at settings below ISO 400, with the exceptional wide angle lens, and some deficiencies and omissions, March 11, 2008
This review is from: Panasonic Lumix DMC FX35K 10MP Camera with 4x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) (Electronics)
The camera found its way to a minute box, with accessories, i.e., USB and AV cables, battery having storage case, charger, CD, wriststrap, software pamphlet, along with 125 page printed Operating Instruction manuals.
The battery must be charged leading to a camera is usually used. This took about couple of hours. Your camera was simple to operate even without reference to the user manual. I've used earlier Panasonic models so others have a unique first impression. On my Vista system, the transfer software installed quickly and automatically when camera was linked with my computer's USB port.
A short while back I took interior pictures using a 28mm wide angle zoom. Not long ago i took photos of the same locations when using the FX35 at its 25mm settings. It might just seem that the photographic distinction between 28mm and 25mm will be small. However, visually a big difference was obvious. The 25mm setting produced almost panoramic wide angle coverage. Your camera worked as a chef well in the wide end, nonetheless telephoto end is, for my uses, probably about 20mm quite short. Fortunately, the graphic quality at lower ISOs allowed for modest crops in Photoshop to locate the results I wanted.
Considering the relatively small sensor, noise was reasonably well controlled at ISO settings below 400. At lower ISO values images are usually good. ISO 100 images setback well under considerable enlargement. I recently came across ISO 400 was the very best level at which I achieved acceptable, although slightly grainy, images. Above ISO 400 noise is obvious and distracting, using a significant decrease of image detail. At ISO 800 noise already shows an uncertain 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 do a slightly better job of detail preservation.
The camera posesses a very nice assortment 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 is proven to work to mend a multitude of common problems, all turned out to be of real value. The Optical Image Stabilization, set to Mode 2, was helpful; pictures accessories at 1/4th from a second were blur free. The covers to cable compartment(DC in, Audio Visual, and component out cables), and battery and SD memory compartment are solid, unlike covers on other sorts of cameras. I recommend the dedicated switches about the back from the camera for playback, and exposure compensation. Furthermore , i appreciate the dedicated Q(uick) Menu/Delete button. Pressing this button selects the fast menu in record, and also delete menu during playback. During record this button provides access to options appropriate to the current mode. To illustrate, in Intelligent Auto mode you makes most of the choices, so only four main teams of options are provided for the user available. In Normal mode, 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 the highest quality setting run around 3.5 to 4.5 MB, while using the occasional smaller or larger file. On my single core computer, USB data transfer speed from you concerned 2.6 MB/sec.
The camera is simply not without some disappointments. In high contrast situations, small sensor cameras typically blow out highlights or lose shadow details. The FX35's "intelligent exposure" is designed to correct this. However, I didn't take in a major improvement during the few high contrast situations Not long faced. Some omissions are understandable even over a relatively expensive point and shoot, e.g., insufficient raw mode, and manual aperture and shutter adjustments. Although clearly desirable, they are less critical to many buyers. However, its quite disappointing obtain the zoom can't be changed while recording movies. This serious omission will be due to the proximity of the zoom mechanism plus the microphone. None the less, We would have liked to have seen this selection included. Another disappointment will be the slightly small, although acceptable, 2.5", and not 3.0", LCD. Canon, Fuji, Nikon, and Kodak can now package larger displays in certain within their ultra compacts. Appraisal also have liked a good minimal optical viewfinder. It is used in sunlight scenes the spot where the LCD brightness is insufficient in making for simple screen viewing. The utmost telephoto aperture of F5.6 is comparatively small. The EXIF data recorded with my photos shows aperture values from F2.8 to 8.0 at 25mm, but only F5.Six to eight.0 at 100mm.
The FX35's on/off switch is sort of poorly designed and positioned. Unlike some models where this switch is found in an elevated well, varieties where it has to be pressed to turn the camera on, the FX35's slide switch is raised above the camera's top, and may be inadvertently switched on when inserting the camera right pocket or carry case, allowing the lens to extend. This potential issue will be solved by moving the play/record start the camera's here we are at play before storing your camera. Set to relax and play, the lens will remain retracted if for example the camera is activated.
An earlier sharp eyed poster noted the fact that legend across the camera lens while in the picture says 28mm in lieu of 25mm. Fortunately, the picture posted is essentially identical to my FX35, with the exception of the legend error and then the AF Assist Lamp/Self Timer LED indicator missing of your top right front within the camera. Gleam minor discrepancy between Amazon's listings of "27MB Internal Memory", and therefore the Manual's "Approx. 50 MB" of built in memory.
The Final conclusion: The digital camera is fast and responsive. Image quality at low ISO values is beyond I anticipated for one sensor this small. This truly exceptional wide angle lens, and nicely implemented HD movie mode. Exposure, focus, and scene mode capabilities usually worked flawlessly. Though there were compromises, notably higher ISO performance, deficiencies are minor compared to the totality in the camera's capabilities. Its state of the art contact produced excellent images. Practically in shooting situations the FX35 made the ideal decisions to deliver superior results. Its well chosen offering of dedicated controls causes it to be particularly easy to use. Outfitted that have an 8GB SDHC Extreme III card, valuable in HD movie mode, the camera will record about 1,600 photos at its best setting. Overall, it is really an excellent camera.
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