Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500K 10.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500K 10.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

#1: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500K 10.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) Reviews!

I was tired of my Olympus XA rangefinder film camera getting stuck so that the film would not advance and the shutter would not fire. I have used it for a long while and really enjoyed a "small shooter" I could pop out at any time and snap a quick candid. This camera is not as unobtrusive as the XA because it has no viewfinder (only the screen) meaning I have to stand there with my arms out staring at the screen and looking a lot more conspicuous. I also lost the three-point stabilization of two hands + face that helped hold the camera steady.
Having said all that, I am very glad I bought this. The photo quality is nice ISO 200 or lower and reasonable up to 400. Compared to a film camera not so good but to other digitals in the same genre I find that it excels. The menu system is so intuitive as to make the manual unneeded for standard shooting (read it anyway -- there are a lot of amazing features available).
The Leica-branded optics are excellent... I have seen very little flair, almost no falloff or vignetting, and no CA (at low ISO). The camera gets noisy quick at 400 and images shot at 800 or higher are not usable unless you just want something to prove you took a picture. This was never my requirement and my intent is to use this camera until a decent, pocket-able DSLR becomes available and affordable (Micro Four Thirds, I would guess, but even the current generation is not quite ready for prime time) or until I am willing to spring for a Leica D-Lux or something comparable.
In the meantime, I find this camera a ready and able street-shooter. The biggest pluses I can mention are:
--Rapid shutter. You push, it shoots. Push again, it shoots again. The shutter release is VERY responsive, one of the biggest problems with most compact digitals.
--Flash is a fill flash. No harsh shadows.
--Image Stabilization. Compensates for the hand shake with a compact.
--Small, light, and unobtrusive. Fits nicely in a shirt pocket or a cell-style belt pouch.
--Extremely well designed and intuitive menu system
--Full manual control over exposure and aperture with an excellent TTL meter. This is rarely available on a compact and makes the term "point and shoot" invalid when applied to this camera, though it can be used that way.
--Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes, as well as Program AE.
--Extremely accurate auto-focus
--Auto-focus is FAST
--Depth of field is displayed right on the screen (e.g. 1.5f to 35ft)
--Auto-focus is easily adjusted shot-by-shot if desired...just touch the AF point on the screen
--Extra wide-angle lens perfect for landscapes and large groups.
--Optical zoom with the ability to completely disable so-called "digital zoom". In fact, it was disabled by default on my unit.
--Battery life is so long as to obviate the need for a spare (but I still have one). I shoot for 10 days or so without recharging and the battery has never been dead yet. Caveat: I almost never use a flash.
--JPEG engine seems to produce high quality files that are not overly large despite the high megapixel count
Cons:
--It is a compact digital, no viewfinder
--So-so image quality at ISO 400, noisy at 800 and useless at 1600. These are not a concern for me. The image stabilization has allowed me to shoot at the lower ISO speeds with a slower shutter speed and not see any motion blur (or only background subject motion, not camera shake).

Overall, I find this to be an outstanding camera compared with ANY compact digital. I highly recommend this camera.

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