Digital Cameras Ratings

I don’t write reviews of everything I buy.I make reviews when I am especially disappointed, or when I’m really really happy about something.

This the best camera I have ever used.I love this camera!

The wide angle is really appreciated.You can get the shot you want every time.

Nice bright screen, with super-handy controls for common things like Timer Mode, Exposure, Flash on/off and Macro mode. The power switch is never hit by accident. The menus are fast and very well laid out.

Picture quality is excellent.

This camera has fast startup, 2.5 seconds after hitting the power switch, you are ready to take pictures.In addition, the image processing runs very fast, and your picture is ready for viewing so quickly that it is ready by the time you have a chance to put the switch in play mode.

The camera is very small and light, which is amazing considering how much of it must be dedicated to the Leica lens and the optical zoom mechanicals.

The on/off switch, mode selection and the quick menu buttons are a joy to use, very positive action with tactile feedback.Very well organized layout, making the common settings like flash/on/off/auto, and exposure control very easy to get to.

Macro mode works down to 5 cm.The camera makes good choices for exposure while in general purpose mode.However, you have lots of good choices for white balance and exposure control if you don’t like the default.You can even point the camera at something white and get a custom white balance to make the pictures look correct no matter what the lighting is.

Battery life is excellent, I’ve taken hundreds of pictures and only recharged once. The display is nice and bright, outdoor use works well unless the sun is directly shining on the LCD.

The only thing I don’t like about is all these silly modes you can put it in like ‘Baby1′ and ‘Baby2′. Do you really need a separate camera mode for baby pictures? These modes go on and on, and it seems kind of nuts to me.

However, these can be ignored easily.

My family has late-model Nikon and Cannon Cameras. I wanted a wider-angle camera and this is the one I chose, after reading some positive comments on Trusted Reviews. This camera is better than the Nikons and Cannons in almost every way.

If you are deciding between this camera and different one, chose this one, it is a truly exceptional device.

Product Description
With four aspherical lenses and six aspherical surfaces, including an EA (Extra High Refractive Index Aspherical) lens, Panasonic’s DMC-FX35 Lumix digital camera features a 25mm wide-angle Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens with a 4x optical zoom that’s compact enough to fit in a slim, stylish body. This advanced lens system allows you to capture images with a sense of spatial breadth and depth that simply isn’t possible with a 35mm camera. Set the FX35 to iA mode and let the five Intelligent Auto functions team up to help prevent shooting errors. Intelligent Exposure corrects lighting differences, so images come out just the way you see them; Intelligent Scene Selector chooses the mode that best fits the situation; MEGA Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.) helps prevent blurring from hand-shake; Intelligent ISO Control helps prevent motion blur; and Face Detection helps produce clear portraits by optimizing the focus and exposure settings. The FX35 can record motion images with sensational 1280 x 720 HD resolution at 30fps. You can use the zoom, too, and capture some truly dramatic shots. f=4.4-17.6mm (35mm Equiv. -25-100mm) Focal Length 2.5 Diagonal Polycrystalline TFT LCD Display (230K dots) Focusing Area Normal -50cm – infinity, Macro / Intelligent AUTO / Clipboard-wide 5cm/Tele 50cm – infinity8 – 1/2,000 sec. Starry Sky Mode -15, 30, 60sec. Shutter Speed Auto / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 (High Sensitivity Mode-Auto(1600 – 6400) ) ISO 27MB Internal Memory (additional memory recommended to store more photos and video) Built-in Microphone and Speaker SD/SDHC, MultiMedia Card Slot Built-in Flash with Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced Off modes DC Input, AV Output (NTSC/PAL), HD AV Output (Component), USB Connection PictBridge Compatible Approximate Battery Life -300 Shots (CIPA Standard) Approximate Unit Weight -0.291 lbs

Click Here to see more reviews about: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35A 10.1MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Blue)

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The camera arrived in a small box, with accessories, i.e., USB and AV cables, battery with its storage case, battery charger, CD, wriststrap, software pamphlet, and a 125 page printed Operating Instruction Manual.

The battery needed to be charged before the camera could be used.This took about two hours. The camera was easy to use even without reference to the instruction manual. I’ve used earlier Panasonic models so others may have a different first impression. On my Vista system, the image transfer software installed quickly and automatically when the camera was first connected to my computer’s USB port.

A short while back I took interior pictures using a 28mm wide angle zoom. I recently took photos of the same locations using the FX35 at its 25mm settings. It might seem that the photographic difference between 28mm and 25mm would be small. However, visually the difference was obvious. The 25mm setting produced almost panoramic wide angle coverage. The camera has worked well at the wide end, but the telephoto end is, for my uses, probably about 20mm too short. Fortunately, the image quality at lower ISOs allowed for modest crops in Photoshop to get 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 very good. ISO 100 images hold up well under considerable enlargement.I found ISO 400 was the highest level at which I achieved acceptable, although slightly grainy, images. Above ISO 400 noise is obvious and distracting, with a significant loss of 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 do a slightly better job of detail preservation.

The camera has a very nice array of quite useful features as well as some, arguably, ‘gimmicky’ ones. The 25mm ultra wide angle, 1280 x 720p HD movie mode, and the Advanced Intelligent Auto Mode, which actually works to correct an array of common problems, all proved to be of real value. The Optical Image Stabilization, set to Mode 2, was very effective; pictures hand held at 1/4th of a second were blur free. The covers to the cable compartment(DC in, Audio Visual, and component out cables), and battery and SD memory compartment are solid, unlike covers on some other cameras. I like the dedicated switches on the back of the camera for playback, and exposure compensation. I also appreciate the dedicated Q(uick) Menu/Delete button. Pressing this button selects the quick menu in record, and the delete menu during playback. During record this button provides access to options appropriate to the current mode.For example, in Intelligent Auto mode the camera makes most of the choices, so only four main categories of options are providedfor the user to select from.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 at the highest quality setting run around 3.5 to 4.5 MB, with the occasional smaller or larger file. On my single core computer, USB data transfer speed from the camera was about 2.6 MB/sec.

The camera is 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 see a major improvement in the few high contrast situations I recently faced. Some omissions are understandable even on a relatively expensive point-and-shoot, e.g., lack of raw mode, and manual aperture and shutter adjustments. Although clearly desirable, they are less important to many buyers. However, its quite disappointing to find the zoom can’t be changed while recording movies. This serious omission might be due to the proximity of the zoom mechanism and the microphone. None-the-less, I would have liked to have seen this option included. Another disappointment is the slightly small, although acceptable, 2.5″, rather than 3.0″, LCD. Canon, Fuji, Nikon, and Kodak are able to package larger displays in some of their ultra compacts. I would also have liked even a minimal optical viewfinder. It would be useful for sunlight scenes where the LCD brightness is insufficient to make for easy screen viewing. Themaximum telephoto aperture of F5.6 is relatively small. The EXIF data recorded with my photos shows aperture values from F2.8 to 8.0 at 25mm, but only F5.6 to 8.0 at100mm.

The FX35’s on/off switch is somewhat poorly designed and positioned. Unlike some models where this switch is located in a raised well, or others where it needs to be pressed in to turn the camera on, the FX35’s slide switch is raised above the camera’s top, and can be inadvertently turned on when inserting the camera into a pocket or carry case, causing the lens to extend. This potential problem can be solved by moving the play/record switch on the camera’s back to play before storing the camera.Set to play, the lens will stay retracted if the camera is turned on.

An earlier sharp-eyed poster noted that the legend around the camera lens in the picture says 28mmrather than 25mm.Fortunately, the picture posted is essentially identical to my FX35, except for the legend error and theAF Assist Lamp/Self Timer LED indicator missing from the top right front of the camera. There’s also a minor discrepancy between Amazon’s listings of “27MB Internal Memory”, and the Manual’s “Approx. 50 MB” of built in memory.

The Bottom Line: The camera is fast and responsive. Image quality at low ISO values is higher than I anticipated for a sensor this small. It has 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 of the camera’s capabilities. Its state-of-the-art zoom lens produced excellent images. In most shooting situations the FX35 made the right decisions to produce superior results. Its well-chosen selection of dedicated controls makes it particularly easy to use. Outfitted with an 8GB SDHC Extreme III card, useful in HD movie mode, the camera will record about 1,600 photos at its highest quality setting. Overall, this is an excellent camera.

Product Description
With four aspherical lenses and six aspherical surfaces, including an EA (Extra High Refractive Index Aspherical) lens, Panasonic’s DMC-FX35 Lumix digital camera features a 25mm wide-angle Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens with a 4x optical zoom that’s compact enough to fit in a slim, stylish body. This advanced lens system allows you to capture images with a sense of spatial breadth and depth that simply isn’t possible with a 35mm camera. Set the FX35 to iA mode and let the five Intelligent Auto functions team up to help prevent shooting errors. Intelligent Exposure corrects lighting differences, so images come out just the way you see them; Intelligent Scene Selector chooses the mode that best fits the situation; MEGA Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.) helps prevent blurring from hand-shake; Intelligent ISO Control helps prevent motion blur; and Face Detection helps produce clear portraits by optimizing the focus and exposure settings. The FX35 can record motion images with sensational 1280 x 720 HD resolution at 30fps. You can use the zoom, too, and capture some truly dramatic shots. f=4.4-17.6mm (35mm Equiv. -25-100mm) Focal Length 2.5 Diagonal Polycrystalline TFT LCD Display (230K dots) Focusing Area Normal -50cm – infinity, Macro / Intelligent AUTO / Clipboard-wide 5cm/Tele 50cm – infinity8 – 1/2,000 sec. Starry Sky Mode -15, 30, 60sec. Shutter Speed Auto / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 (High Sensitivity Mode-Auto(1600 – 6400) ) ISO 27MB Internal Memory (additional memory recommended to store more photos and video) Built-in Microphone and Speaker SD/SDHC, MultiMedia Card Slot Built-in Flash with Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced Off modes DC Input, AV Output (NTSC/PAL), HD AV Output (Component), USB Connection PictBridge Compatible Approximate Battery Life -300 Shots (CIPA Standard) Approximate Unit Weight -0.291 lbs

Click Here to see more reviews about: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35K 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

The Product deserves 4 stars as long as you don’t upgrade to Windows 2000.I bought this camera for my wife one year ago and at the time it was a pleasant surprise to see how well it worked. About six months after we bought it our computer crashed and we lost everything – not too bad because it gave us the incentive to upgrade to Windows ME… that was a mistake because this great product is not compatible with anything past Windows 95/98. $400 dollars later we have a great camera which we can’t use. We called Panasonic to inquire about an upgrade on the camera driver so that we could continue to enjoy the camera and they said “that product is old and we are not working on upgrading the driver because we are working on a newer version of the camera.” Well, needles to say, we are very upset at their reaction. The camera was sold to us in December 1999 and by December 2000 it became a useless object. If you are planning to upgrade your computer – DO NOT PURCHASE THIS ITEM!!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Panasonic PV-DC2090 1.3MP Digital Still Camera

I set out to purchase FX07, but ended up w FX30, which was offered at the same price and I think is the same camera w FX07 feature-wise, except that it is slimmer and newer.

I set out to purchase an ultra compact, because I was reluctant to bring my DSLR in my first trip to China.Used to DSLR, I have high expectation of a camera.

My ground criteria: must have 28mm wide angle and optical stabliser.This significantly narrowed my selection to only 3: Lumix FX07, Lumix LX2 and Canon SD800/850IS.

Since I usually shoots w DSLR, I need 3:2 aspect and Canon does not support it, so it’s out of the game.

Reading the reviews, I was initially deterred with the complaints of noise and water colour effects in Lumix.However, after seeing some samples, I decided that those noise and water colour are probably a nuisance only to those pixel peepers, not me.

It was a tough choice betw FX07 and LX2.Finally, I decided in favour of FX07’s compactness and full 28mm lens, and foregoing LX2’s supposedly better images, RAW support, and A/S/P exposure modes.

In a span of 1 week, I shot >600 pics.These included difficult photos: night scenery, low-light night & indoor photos, sunset, panning photos of people in the street.And wow…., this little gem camera exceeds my expectation.Extremely easy to use and very intuitive (at least for me – I hardly need to read the manual to master this camera).The quick access function menu (which provides quick access for most-frequently-changed settings such as changing ISO, white balance or single/multiple shots) is very handy.Accessing some photographic functions such as exposure compensation, flash setting and bracketing are also quick by pressing buttons instead of diving into the menu structures.

Noise turns out to be more tolerable than what I had anticipated (having read the reviews).I used ISO800 often for night photos with no flash; just do not use High Sensitivity (ISO3200) mode – this produced photos worse than mobile-phone camera. Of course, I try to use as lowest ISO as possible to minimise noise.I can handhold the camera at 1/4s with no apparent blur in the photos, thanks to the optical stabiliser, i suppose.

Being much more compact than DSLR, I think this camera is also not intimidating.I have taken many more candid photos of people in the street than I could have using DSLR.

I have not printed any of the photos, but I do not think that should be a problem.

I bought a black one, but the surface is not metal unlike the silver one.It’s like a black suede material, which I just hope will not get thinned or peel off over time.

Product Description
The DMC-FX30 is a remarkably slim and super-stylish camera than previous models. The body features a distinctive finish with a different texture to match its cool design and lightweight. The 7.2 Megapixel DMC-FX30 houses a 28mm wide-angle f/2.8 Leica DC lens with seven elements in six groups. The DMC-FX30 is equipped with a bright 3.6x optical zoom lens (equivalent to a 28mm to 100mm zoom on a 35mm film camera) that captures beautiful shots of people or landscapes. Use the Extra Optical Zoom when you want to pull the subject in just a little closer. With this powerful zooming function, you can easily capture and magnify distant subjects.Low Energy Consumption Venus Engine III reduces noise level for crisp, clear images ISO Sensitivity Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1250 (High Sensitivity Mode 3200) White Balance -Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen and White Set Self-Timer -2 & 10 seconds Recording Format -JPEG and DPOF corresponding Built-in-Flash -Auto, Auto & Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync & Red-eye Reduction and Forced Off Dimensions -Width 3.74 x Height 2.04 x Depth 0.87 inch (94.9 x 51.9 x 22.0 mm) Weight -154 grams (0.34 pounds) with Battery and SD Memory Card

Click Here to see more reviews about: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX30S 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)

This camera just feels good. This particular (black) body is rubberized (but all-metal underneath the rubber coat), something not apparent in the pictures or description. It’s a small camera, smaller than the Canon SD870, but not as small as the Canon SD1000. Slim and pocketable, easily.

I was trying to decide between these three cameras, and I got the Lumix because of it’s optical image stabilization (SD1000 does not have this) and because it felt better in my hands than the SD870.

This camera has a wide-angle lens (28mm equivalent), which REALLY makes a difference when you’re taking a group picture in a small room or trying to fit a cathedral into a shot when you’re standing in front of it.

Optical image stabilization will help remove your hand jitter in low-light situations. Possibly the best new, real feature to hit digital cameras since 7 megapixel resolution.

The other major feature on this camera is the new “Intelligent Auto” mode which works great, but it basically detects between 4 different scenes, not every single scene mode as I was led to believe. Face detection really does work, but I don’t think it’s any better than any other autofocus system.

Image quality is average, whatever that means. For a point and shoot though, nobody should be expecting SLR-quality shots on such a tiny camera, tiny lens, and tiny CCD sensor. I think it’s ridiculous how anyone expects SLR quality at all. Physics people! So for it’s size, the pictures come out great, and I am not disappointed.

Video quality is great – it supports a really high 848×480 (widescreen) resolution, higher than most (if not all) other compacts out there right now. The audio quality does suck. To me, it sounds like it’s underwater compared to my old Sony or Nikon digital compacts. However, it’s good enough, and if you want better, get a real camcorder. Caveat – the “Video” mode is on the opposite side of the mode dial from “Picture” mode. Somebody missed the usability memo.

Screen is sharp and is covered by glass, not plastic. This means greater scratch resistence, but since the glass protrudes a little from the body of the camera itself, it might also attract more scratches, too.

The only major downside to this camera is that from power-on until picture-taken, it’s about 3-4 seconds. This is bad for when you just have to get that once-in-a-lifetime shot. However, if that moment only lasted 3 seconds, I don’t think anyone could have gotten a good picture of it.

Look to this camera as a real alternative to the insanely popular Canon digital elph line. Hands down, Lumix cameras look cooler and have all the important features Canon has. I agonized between Canon and Panasonic, but I have no regrets with my choice. Do it!

Product Description
The Panasonic DMC-FX33A Lumix 8.1 Megapixel Digital Camera comes equipped with advanced Mega O.I.S. Optical Image Stabilization that detects even the tiniest camera movement so it can automatically adjust the lens to compensate. Get clear pictures every time without any loss of image detail or clarity with Mega O.I.S. This camera will not only help eliminate blurring from hand-shake or subject movement, but it will also automatically detect up to 15 faces to select the focus, exposure and scene modes for the best results. Intelligent ISO lets Panasonic Lumix digital cameras capture crisp, clear images while your subject is moving. Intelligent Scene Selector will sense the ambient conditions and automatically select Scenery, Portrait, Macro, Night Portrait or Night Scenery mode accordingly to get beautiful results every time you shoot.Face Detection for Blur-Free Portraits Backlight Compensation at Intelligent Auto mode Burst Shooting Mode -Full-Resolution Image, 3 frames/sec Max. 7 images (Standard Mode), Max 4 images (Fine Mode) High-speed Burst Mode -approx. 7 frames/sec Built-in Flash Mode -Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction and Forced Off Shutter Speed -8 – 1/2,000 seconds Power Supply -Lithium-ion Battery Pack (3.6V, 1000 mAh) for up to 280 pictures Dimensions -Height 2.04” x Width 3.74” x Depth 0.87” Weight -0.29 pounds

Click Here to see more reviews about: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX33A 8.1MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Blue)