Location:Home :: TV :: All Panasonic :: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500S 10.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)
Poor Image QualityJuly 6, 2008 3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I really liked the features and specifications. The wide angle, touch screen, zoom and higher resolution video really lured me to this camera. However, the photo image quality was poor compared to my older Sony DSC-N1 or the replacement Canon I bought. (Sony N1 video is poor & jerky)
I think some reviewer are impressed with their first touch screen - as they are impressive - but I am used to them since my Sony DSC-N1 has a touch screen.
I have a critical eye for image quality, and the colors from the Lumix FX500 had a blah quality and yellow tint. I tried to compensate by setting the white balance to Warm - it helped a lot - but it still could not compete with the Sony or Canon. Also, the FX500 focus was often soft and not sharp. When in focus, FX500 resolution was equal to my Sony N1 that has 8 MegaPixels. In general the Sony Color looked better in the side-by-side shoot-out comparison. (even when tweaking the FX500 settings, and leaving the Sony on Auto). Though Sony saturates colors a bit, the overall photos just looked better. The Color was not true in DMC-FX500 photos - and the photos had a yellow tint (yuck!). I bought a Canon SD870-IS, and returned this Lumix DMC-FX500 camera. Wow, the Canon SD870 photos have great true colors and are sharp (Much better color that Lumix and truer color than Sony). The Canon video is standard 640x480 resolution - but very good quality. Living without a touch screen is fine. I am technical and did not have issues with the Canon interface. I was hesitant to buy a Canon - as I had reliability issues and experienced poor customer service 9 years ago with a high end digital Canon camcorder (broke just out of warranty with little use). A friend also had a Canon digital camera break easily and Canon repair is expensive. But the images from the Canon SD870 camera are fantastic and the video is good (much better video than the Sony N1). You can Zoom while shooting video with the Canon - but focus gets blurry with video zoom above 3.8x. The Canon SD870 has been working like a champ for the past 3 weeks with heavy daily use. I am really glad I returned the Lumix and bought the Canon. I wish the Lumix DMC-FX500 image quality was comparable to the Canon - because the Lumix features and specs are great.
I REALLY wanted to like this camera... but I don'tMay 27, 2008 16 out of 16 found this review helpful
I completely fell in love with my Panasonic DMC-FX01, which has taken many unbelievable photos over the last 3 years until it finally ingested too much sand and died. I badly wanted a pocketable camera with 5x optical zoom, manual controls, a wide angle lens, and above all, great image quality. I have been so happy with Panasonic compacts that I decided to wait 2 months for the DMC-FX500, but I feel like that was a complete waste of time. With all its bells and whistles, and the promise of full manual settings, this camera just doesn't take good photos.
For the steep $350, I expected the camera to at least somewhat approach the image quality of my Canon G7, which has near-DSLR IQ. This camera sadly doesn't even hold a candle to my wife's DMC-FX03, an older, low/middle-range Panasonic. Photos are generally very soft, and lacking focus. Highlights are often blown out, and lack vibrant colors. About 1 in 4 photos actually comes out decent, with somewhat acceptable focus. The 9-point auto focus setting turned in the best results, but even those were spotty.
I spent much of a 3-day weekend trying to tweak the manual settings, white balance, megapixel levels, sharpness and noise reduction controls, and came up with about the quality I'd expect from a $100 camera. Neither close-ups nor wide shots lacked sufficient detail. The "intelligent" auto setting is odd b/c there seems to be nothing intelligent about it - the results are almost random - some are way under-exposed and others are badly blown out. Some shots are relatively well-focused, while others are soft/blurry. Almost none approach a "great" shot.
I keep wondering if I've gotten a bum unit, but I'm so disappointed with this camera that I don't feel like bothering. Even with the Canon SD870IS' questionable reliability (our friends had trouble with theirs), I'd rather drop down to 4x zoom and 8 megapixels, which will be better anyway due to not having to stuff too many MP into a small image sensor. I don't have any doubt it will take the quality of photos I expect from a higher-end compact, and for about $90 less than this one.
Terrific Camera!May 15, 2008 11 out of 14 found this review helpful
Others have written reviews that capture the key features of this camera. I want to add that this is a very easy camera to use -- even for someone like me who is not especially tech-savy. The interface is quite intuitive and, indeed, fun to use. Intelligent Auto works well in most situations, though as other writers have suggested, in low light situations it's best to go to one of the specific "scene" modes intended for such instances.
I had the camera with me on a recent 2 week vacation. Both the wide angle lens and the 5x zoom paid for themselves, I felt, with the scenes I could capture using them. (The wide angle of this Panasonic may not add much width in a living room scene, but it certainly does when shooting a mountain panorama.) Battery life was more than adequate for a full day of picture taking; and it's of note that the battery's charger comes (free) in the camera box. Best of all, I'm really pleased with the quality of the photos taken with this little camera.
Sophisticated but not better than othersMay 14, 2008 15 out of 20 found this review helpful
I have this camera. I got it in Japan. It has many automatized features that looks very nice. The stabilization works well. The menu is very easy to use. However, I have been disappointed by the poor quality of the pictures. It does not show better results than most other compact cameras whereas it is rather more expensive and heavier. Most outdoor pictures are over-exposed (intelligent mode), and it is not easy to check with the display. I took many pictures that I thought were nice but finally looks very bad on the computer and print. Indoor pictures with flash and artificial lighting looks yellowish unless the subject is very close to the camera (<1 m). The pictures looks grainy or soft in many circumstances. Maybe Panasonic is not ready for 10 Megapixels. As mentionned by others no zoom in video mode.
Nice wide angle but there is noticeable distortion at the edges. A person at the edge of a picture taken without zoom looks somewhat deformed.
I compared with my canon powershot 710IS. The canon (7 MPx, X6 optical zoom, stabilizer, digital zoom in video) is much better though just a little bit thicker. I was planning to give it to someone and keep the FX500... I may do the contrary!
Conclusion: nice piece of technology but disappointed by the results considering the price and the weight compared to other products.
Excellent at it strengths, good even at it's weaknessesMay 14, 2008 29 out of 31 found this review helpful
First of all, I can't comment much on the value for the money, since my purchase was based solely on features and I was willing to pay for them. I searched for 6 months for a camera that met my requirements (in this order).
Must Haves: -fast first picture from 'off' state -good low light pictures (as good as a compact anyway) -small enough to fit in pocket (for bars, parties, etc) -HD Video -7MP or more
Nice to have: -manual photo options -Zoom while video record -.avi video recording -4x zoom or more
I was originally going to purchase the TZ5, but this model's manual options and smaller size won me over. For my purposes, giving up the 10x optical zoom was well worth it.
PROS: -excellent (amazing) "Auto Ai" mode: It's truly point-and-shoot if you want it to be -image stabilization 'mode 2' works very well to reduce blur -about 1.25 second to first pic from off (about 2 sec with flash) -battery life (second only to the Casios that I've purchased for friends and family) -low-light pictures: if you set the correct scene mode, you can get a very decent picrture without flash - better thatn any other compact digitals I've seen. -great video quality: 720p .MOV format is compatible with iMovie and looks great on a 42" 1080P LCD TV on a computer (you'll need to pay extra for the cable that goes directly from the camera to the TV) -25mmm wide-angle is surprisingly useful, but you have to remember to zoom slightly if you don't want a slight 'fisheye' view. -there is a 'quick menu' that gives you 2-button access to all the most often used functions (they change with each mode) -one touch access to self-timer (great for quick self-portraits)
CONS: -no zoom while video recording (TZ5 only as far as I know) -sometimes it's unclear whether to use touchscreen or the joystick (I think anywhere that uses the touch should also be able to use the joystick) -flash pics are about 6 seconds shot-to-shot (with 2/3 battery on full iA mode with double red-eye reduction flash)
MINOR ANNOYANCES: -the LCD turns off after a some flash pictures for 1.5 sec or so (I suppose to help the flash recharge more quickly) -tripod mount is to far left of body: bad for tiny portable tripods, but placement allows you to change battery/card without disconnecting tripod -USB cable is not a (current-standard) mini-USB on the camera end. This may be a plus later on as more phones and cameras use micro-USB
SUMMARY: This is the best camera available for my requirements, and an excellent overall compact. It has the best low-light pictures (with defeated flash) that I've seen on a digital compact (aside from the old, old Fujis). It's the first camera that I've been truely comfortable setting on 'auto' and knowing I will almost always get a good picture. If you want a pocket-sized camera that you can just whip out at an event and be assured of a good picture or take a great looking video clip, while retaining the ability to do some limited manual exposures, this is the one for you.
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