Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500S 10.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)

The best Lumix that I had.
Good: easy & portable 4 its capabily.
Bad: zoom do not work in movie mode.

The FX500 was intended 2 replace a Canon TX1 but even in well lit scenes, the TX1 still produces higher quality images - I returned the FX500.

I bought this camera due 2 its compact size, its wide angle lens, its long maximum exposure (60 seconds, I'm an astronomer & amateur astrophotographer), its manual controls, targeted tracking autofocus, & 'intelligent ISO mode'.

I nearly returned this camera because the images seemed 2 have blurry edges & like they were covered in dirt. Eventually I realized the pictures were NOT blurry (see #2 below), & if I was careful with my exposure & noise reduction settings I could make the noise look like film grain.

Combined with a mini travel tripod, I've managed 2 get some pretty nice night scenery (60 seconds, "full" manual controls) & nice portraits. That 25mm is great 4 scenery. (Incidentally, the "Scenery" scene mode fixes the focus at infinity, which is great 4 taking pictures of the Moon. Unfortunately, you can't control shutter speed or aperture, but see #7)

If the noise still bothers you, resizing the pictures 2 7 megapixels or less (which can be done in-camera) should basically remove the problem.

Some random notes:
1.) The on-screen review can apparently zoom in farther (16x) than 100%; your photos are sharper than they appear on screen.
2.) I've seen some noticeable distortion at the corners of images taken at the full wide-angle.
3.) Contrary 2 the manual, switching 2 7 & 5 & 3 megapixel modes is NOT just cropping out the center; they're merely scaled down versions of the full frame just like you'd expect. On the other hand, digital zoom WILL crop out the center.
4.) The Intelligent ISO mode actually works. It seems 2 be like tweaking the gamma in an image editor.
5.) Targeted autofocus does NOT work well. More often than not it can't seem 2 lock on the object I touched. On the other hand, once locked it tracks the object well.
6.) The Mega OIS image stabilization works wonders, but in low light it's usually not enough 2 make up 4 the longer exposures you'll need 2 see anything.
7.) You can set the desired exposure compensation 4 the 'Scenery' mode (and possibly others) by going 2 Aperture or Shutter mode, setting the exposure compensation, & switching back.
8.) The USB connector is microUSB, not miniUSB.
9.) It works with Linux out of the box! When you plug it in 2 a computer, it will ask you 2 select (via the joystick thingy) between MTP & PC connection, which seems 2 be a standard USB Mass Storage mode.
10.) I actually got pretty close 2 what Panasonic quotes 4 battery life.

I read a lot about this camera before buying it. I found, as always, many reviews on both sides saying is great & is lame.

I found it great. The automatic mode recognizes the type of shooting almost perfectly everytime & the pictures looks great on the screen, on my laptop & on y main pc.

The noise factor is there, especially on dark pictures, but is barelly noticeable.

The camera is larger than most Panasonic models making it hard 2 fit in small cases.

But still, the manual controls are amazing & if you're not a pro, go ahead with this one because the auto mode is just magnifique

I'll try 2 keep it simple.

Pros:
- 25mm wide angle is UNBELIEVABLE! My previous camera was a Canon Powershot SD500. So being used 2 35mm & now 25mm is a HUGE difference. So massive thumbs up 2 this camera 4 the 25mm function.
- 3.0 inch screen. I was used 2 a 2.0 inch screen
- Clarity & sharpness of photos are FANTASTIC when at 25mm. Otherwise not so much (I'll describe later in the CONS)
- small compact size.
- Eh??? touch screen is alright. Not all menus etc are accessable via touch. You also have 2 access certain menus/functions via the joystick

Cons:
- NOISE NOISE NOISE! UGH!!!!!! Using the IA shooting mode isn't as beneficial as one would think. Especially 4 indoor shots. It automatically puts the ISO at 400 ... & UGH!!!! at 400 the noise is awfully noticable. south of like ISO 300 is much better, but you really really have 2 play around with the camera 2 get at a lower ISO 4 indoor shot without flash. I've been pulling my hair out trying 2 find the best method 2 accomplish this, & 4 the moment, I think I did find the correct method. Use SHUTTER PRIORITY MODE, & play around with the horizontal & vertical bars & turning the flash off. Depending on the lighting in the room, 4 the mostpart, you can achieve non-noisy shots at lower isos. GOOD LUCK
-Movie quality. even in the 1280 x 720p 30fps mode, sound quality SUCKS & the visual quality is still quite pixelly. I'm not impressed with the video quality at all.
-OH, the zoom (talking about optical zoom ... NOT digital zoom). At 25mm photo quality is perfect. Even if you zoom in a little bit, I've found that photo quality is poor. Blurry (even is beautiful sunny weather outside). I've tried focusing & focusing, & refocusing on the same object in a higher zoom & each time, the image is blurry (non-super crisp). I've even tried putting the camera on a tripod. Same result. So, I 4 the most part do not zoom. Which is annoying.
-Time between taking shots seems slower than I would like. I've set the Autoreview off & it's still slower than I would like.


All in all, as others have said, this is a camera that I want 2 love soooooo much but I just cannot. I preorderd the DMC-LX3 camera hoping that it would be less noisy. I hope amazon will come out with this camera sooner rather than later so I can try it out.

Comments & criticism are welcome. Thanks.

10.1 MegaPixel / 5x Zoom / 3.0" LCD Touchscreen / HD Movie / Picture Adjustment