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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS35 Digital Camera
by Tarapea
There is nothing more confusing than shopping for a camera. At least, in my opinion. I hope this review helps you decide whether to opt for this little Lumix or not!
Lets start with the technical bits:
Camera Effective Pixels: 16.1 Megapixels
CCD
Sensor Size / Total Pixels / Filter: 1/2.33-inch / 16.6 ... Total Megapixels / Primary Color Filter
Lens
Aperture: F3.3 - 5.9/ 2-Step (F3.3 - 10 (W) / F5.9 - 18 (T))
Optical Zoom: 8x
Focal Length: f=5-40mm (28-224mm in 35mm equiv.)
Extra Optical Zoom (EZ): 10.1x (4:3 / 10M), 14.4x (4:3 / 5M), 18x(4:3 / under 3M)
Intelligent Zoom: 10x
Lens: LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR
Optical Image Stabiliser: MEGA O.I.S.
Focus
Focusing Area: Normal: Wide 50 cm - infinity / Tele 200 cm - infinity, Macro / Intelligent AUTO / Motion Picture: Wide 5 cm - infinity / Tele 100cm - infinity
Focus Range Display: Yes
AF Assist Lamp: Yes
Focus: Normal / Macro, Zoom Macro, Quick AF (Always On), AF Tracking
AF Metering: Face / AF Tracking / 11 pt / 1pt
Shutter
Shutter Speed: Still, approx. 8 - 1/1600 sec, Starry Sky Mode: 15, 30, 60sec.
Shutter Interval: Approx. 1.1 sec
Unlimited consecutive shooting: 1.5 frames/sec
Motion Picture Recording
4:3: VGA: 640 x 480 pixels, 30fps (Motion JPEG)
16:9: HD Movie 1280x720 pixels, 24fps (Motion JPEG)
Exposure Parameters
Exposure: Program AE
Exposure Compensation: 1/3 EV step, +/-2 EV
Backlight Compensation: Yes (only in Intelligent AUTO mode)
Light Metering: Intelligent Multiple
ISO Sensitivity: I.ISO / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600, High Sensitivity mode (ISO 1600-6400)
Image Parameters
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 / 3:2 / 16:9
Still Picture Recording: 4:3, 4608x3456(16M) / 3648x2736(10M EZ) / 2560x1920(5M EZ) / 2048X1536(3M EZ) / 640X480(0.3M EZ)
3:2, 4608 x 3072 (14M)
16:9: 4608 x 2592 (12M)
Others
Composition Guide line: Yes (1 pattern)
Auto Review: 1sec, 2sec, Hold, Off
Easy Zoom: Yes
Macro Zoom: Yes
Orientation Detector: Yes
Scene Mode Help Screen: Yes
Self Timer: 2sec / 10sec
Calendar Display: Yes
Playback Motion Picture: Yes
Slideshow Mode: All / Category / Favorites
Travel Date / World Time: Yes / Yes
Monitor
LCD Monitor: 6.7cm (2.7") TFT Screen LCD Display (230K dots)
Field of View: approx. 100%
Flash
Built-in-Flash: Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced Off
Media
Recording Media: Built-in Memory, SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card
Built-in-Memory: approx. 70MB
Audio
Microphone / Speaker: Mono / Yes
Interface
Interface: AV Output (PAL), USB2.0 High speed
Power
Power: Li-ion Battery Pack (3.6V, Minimum: 660mAh) (Included)
Battery life (approx.): 250 pictures (CIPA Standard)
Now that's out of the way, lets talk user friendliness.
I'm technically minded when it comes to computers and phones, but a bit of an all round novice when it comes to cameras - basically, I was after a simple point and shoot compact with great auto settings. Being able to work well in low light conditions was a must too. The Panasonic Lumix FS35 ticks all those boxes for me.
Those in the know say that a Leica lens is the best you can get. I can't vouch for that, but I can see that this camera offers superb picture quality.
The build of it is a little chunkier than most of today's compacts, which are usually much slighter. However, I actually prefer this - it's much easier to hold, without getting your fingers in the way of the flash! It does have quite a plastic-y feel to it though, and the battery door is pretty flimsy.
It starts up very swiftly, and there's no waiting around after you've taken a picture, as with other cameras i've tried. Infact, before opting for this I made a terrible mistake in buying a little Nikon Coolpix. It felt cheap and flimsy, the flash was far too bright even when the settings were tweaked, picture quality was relatively poor, and terrible in lower light settings.. An all round damp squib. In constrast, the Lumix offers everything i need. It has a great wealth of individual settings to play with, perfect for both novice (*raises hand sheepishly*) and expert and yet at the same time, the auto setting is more than adequate at capturing the perfect snapshot. The Macro setting is brilliant, i've yet to experienced a blurred photo, and even in pitch darkness i still get a brilliant picture to show off at the end of it.
The quality of this camera just speaks for itself, I will never buy anything but a Panasonic camera.
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ8
by Anewfoundglory82
This is my current pocket camera of choice, which I use in combination with, and in addition to, my Nikon D3100 DSLR and my iPhone 4S. The Panasonic TZ8 offers a good mix of features in a convenient, compact body. The lens is very versatile, allowing for 3cm Macro shots (with a macro zoom feature for getting extra close!) and all the way ... from 25mm wideangle, to 300mm telephoto using the 12x zoom. This is a very useful and usable focal range, allowing you to shoot anything from insect close-ups, to Lion's faces while on safari, or birds in the trees.
The JPEG images produced by the camera are of good quality. Obviously they are not on a par with a DSLR, but as compacts go, the results are very good. Shots are sharp, well saturated and free from noise when taken outdoors. Indoors, noise becomes a problem in photos when using any ISO above 400.
The TZ8 offers a great deal of manual control, with full PASM modes (Program, Aperture priority, Shutter priority and Manual). It is very useful to have this amount of control in a compact, as it allows you to do more with the camera, get more creative and learn about what different modes mean, which can be useful in the future if/when you decide to upgrade to a System camera or DSLR.
The HD video recording mode is easy to operate and works well, delivering sharp, smooth HD video with good quality audio. In fact, the audio quality is very good on this camera, as it seems to record acceptable and clear audio even when in a very loud environment (e.g. at a concert).
This camera features Panasonic's 'Power O.I.S' (Optical Image Stabilisation) which helps you to achieve sharp, focussed images even when the camera is shaking slightly. It also helps keep your video recordings smooth. It works well in my experience and images are sharper as a result.
The battery life is great with this camera, and is the rechargeable type. I like rechargeable batteries in cameras, but it's always useful when they allow conventional batteries to be used instead. Unfortunately the TZ8 does not work with regular batteries, so you may want to consider buying a spare battery so you can always have a charged camera ready for use, instead of waiting for the battery to charge again before you can continue shooting.
The TZ8's rear display is 2.7" and is clear and bright. I prefer the 3" display of the TZ10, but the TZ8 model is that bit cheaper, so it's up to you whether you think the GPS and larger screen make it worth the extra cash for the TZ10 over this model.
To sum up: The TZ8 is a great compact zoom camera. It offers a brilliantly versatile lens in a compact and solid body. The camera is great for anything from insect macro's, to wide landscapes and telephoto shots of birds and wildlife. Images are sharp, good quality and well saturated, with noise only becoming a problem with dark shots and an ISO of over 400. Having the ability to manually control everything is a bonus, and something that many compact cameras in this price bracket do not allow.
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT1
by Gozaine
I bought this camera for my husband for his birthday 2 years ago. I wanted one that was compact and transportable. It's great, the picture quality even under water is fantastic. It's easy to use, I'm a point and press girl myself and even I can work it. However if you do want a bit of a challenge it has some really great functions. It ... will even show a slideshow of all the photos stored on the camera with music, not particularly good music, and a choice would be nice, but hey, it's an interesting feature.
It has a good range and is capable of taking photos in all levels of darkness. He did have trouble getting a decent shot of the Northern lights but that could be lack of practice with the time lapse facility.
If I have one complaint, I find the screen somewhat difficult to see in sunlight. Fortunately it's such a good camera, if I point it in the right general direction and press the button it usually turns out OK.
In my view it's biggest asset is the fact it is waterproof and it is completely waterproof. We've taken it snorkeling. We have some lovely photos of fish. This also means you can feel confident taking pictures in wet weather.
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