If Panasonic's Lumix DMC-FX500 skipped out on
PMA in order to get fitted with a touchscreen LCD monitor and HD recording capabilities, we'd say it was certainly a smart move. This well-spec'd shooter sports a pocket-friendly design, a 10.1-megapixel sensor, a 25-millimeter ultra-wide-angle lens, 3-inch touchscreen, 5x optical zoom and a swank movie mode capable of logging clips at 1,280 x 720 at 30fps. For those worried about said feature chewing through their SD / SDHC card (or the 50MB of built-in memory), WVGA (848 x 480) and VGA (640 x 480) video modes are available as well. You'll also find such niceties as optical image stabilization, red-eye correction, face detection and Auto Focus tracking for good measure. Drooling yet? Chew on the choice of black or silver and get your $399.95 ready to drop come May.
[Via
PCMag]
posted Mar 18th 2008 2:14PM
Nice.
i have been searching for a new camera... maybe this can be it
If this is like any in Lumix past, this will be a great camera.. Ive used one that came out last year, I think.. I wanna throw my camera away after using it.. PQ is great, video great.. This will prob be a must buy for me.. Great Pics and HD video too...
whats that little piece of plastic
I think that's the stylus
oh yah duh
720p on a point and shoot!? sounds awesome!
Maybe for someone who doesn't give a crap about the quality of either product -- guess its for the same crowd as the ones w/ the toothbrushes w/ a radio built-in...
Iduno... maybe I'm missing something here; but why would one wanna two half-assed products instead of a good dedicated one... - other then being able to shove it in your ass pocket I mean
@Michael,
Sure, because it always makes sense to carry around two large devices. I take lots of video of my kids, but I don't have my video camera around as often as I have my tiny digital camera. So sometimes I use that to take video. I would love a digital camera with a nice video mode, and this seems to fit the bill. The only problem I've encountered with Lumix cameras (which are by and large AMAZING and underrated) is that you can't zoom in video mode.
Agreed. But if you are going to have high res video capture, there's one other thing you absolutely must have: realtime firewire or hdmi output.
@myself,
This camera has HD output, but its component, not digital. Sammy's NV24 HD has a 720p recording mode with HDMI output with an optional docking accessory. I think I like this form factor / design better, although I have not seen either.
@DT - maybe this camera is an exception - I don't know - I'll have to wait for reviews -- but lets be honest, most of the time you're lucky if these PnS cameras take a decent picture - much less any decent video... Maybe my standards are just too high - but I'd rather carry 2 devices and be able to take great quality photos and video - rather then saving half a pound and ending up w/ half-decent photos and videos... But maybe my standards are just too high :/
I was just thinking the same thing. Everyone of my friends has a point and shoot camera, now while I would love a SLR (like a Nikon D60 or D40x) I can't take a SLR to my friends house, or a concert, or party, or club, etc.
However, being a tech and mac user, I'd like to have a little more functionality than a regular point and shoot. THIS SEEMS NICE!! I'd love to take 720p video! (Yes, I'm sure it's not super crisp and the compression probably will be crappy) I'd buy one of those 8 or 16 GB SDHC cards too.
I have the older version and the video on it is pretty darn good (but not a true video camera). Clear images, great video (848x480 pixel so it's widescreen), I highly recommend Lumix'. I just wish I weren't so happy with it so I could justify the new one :)
Wow this is a little gem. If it comes to the UK at £200 (as it should!) it'd be enough to drag me out of my 3MP world
I'm a hardcore Canon fan (have owned 7 Canon cameras in the last 4 years) but this thing looks tempting to me too. Although, I'm not a big fan of touch screens (except for the iphone)
Ofcourse, ultimately it'll boil down to the picture quality. I hope its not the jack of all trade and master of none.
at least this camera has a touchscreen PLUS buttons so you don't have to solely depend on the touchscreen
I'm a long-time Canon fan too. I don't know how many I've had. I
currently have a G7, a G6, an S80, and an SD700.
I got the Sony DSC-200 because of the touch screen, and it's a decent
camera, but the proprietary cable is a downer. Gimme plain ole USB
please.
Can't wait to order this Panasonic. Canon needs to pay attention!
why not try to perfect on its core ability? with the processing power available, why not opt for higher demosaicing algorithms and super-resolution.
real men shoot in raw anyways.
this is a niche that hasnt been filled. i cant think of any other 720p camera that can fit in my pocket, so thats an easy sell. "better image processing" is much harder to sell, especially when there is RAW.
Let's see if Panasonic has finally bumped up the USB transfer to "hi-speed" instead of just "full-speed". Else people will be waiting a while to transfer those 720p videos.
Get a card reader, man. In my 8 years and >10,000 digital pics, I haven't connected a camera to the computer once.
I can has, just maybe, just maybe, the follow up to the FZ line please? You know, the swanky Bridge camera with freaking awesome Leica Lenses?
Please?
Does this camera record video with stereo sound? It would be pretty pointless to have such a resolution and crappy mono...
Also, what's the codec being used for the video?
I just wish they'd stop cramming 10MP into such microscopic sensors...the drawbacks in image quality are way too severe if you ask me. Now, this camera with a low-noise 4 or 6MP chip? Sold.
Nope.
Not sold.
You, I, and other people here buy when they say "low noise less mpx", not the tech-dumb guy on the street.
Sad but true.
I agree with you anyways.
nice design, hummmm isn't that a canon elph?
I think I will stick with my Aiptek 720P.
So in order words...Panny took the Sony N1/N2 and made a 720 version that doesn't use Memory Sticks?
Ok, I guess that's innovation. I still don't like the stylist that they both (Panny and Sony) use.
That's exactly what I thought. Nice move from Pana, I'm currently looking for a Point & Shoot Cam like the FX500.
Kodak has the V1073 and V1273 which do the same thing (10 or 12MP, 720p video, optical image stabilization, ...) for only $250. The only thing better about this is the 5x zoom (vs 3x on the Kodak). I think I'm going to end up buying the kodak but it would be interesting to see photo/video comparisons between the two.
Actually the Kodak only has a 35mm-111mm lens and I'm not sure of the autofocusing feature. Maybe the Lumix is worth the extra money.
"The only problem I've encountered with Lumix cameras (which are by and large AMAZING and underrated) is that you can't zoom in video mode"
i agree with you on this point but i think i've read on dpreview.com that in video mode, it may record some of the lens movements which implicitly means you could zoom (hopefully)
This looks like a direct competitor to the soon to be released Samsung NV24 HD (10MP, 3.6X optical, 2.5" OLED, optical image stabilization, 720P 30fps video). This offers 5X optical versus 3.6X for the Samsung, but it also costs more (Samsung is $350). I'm looking forward to seeing reviews for both of these cameras.
That looks like a good bet to become my new carry piece!
I'm not a fan of any brand; all 4 of my digicams are of different manufacturers, my latest being the Fujifilm F31fd which I bought 2yrs. back. I would like to have a Panasonic product namely their Lumix TZ4 model for it's zoom capability. I usually decide on the camera's specs rather than it's name... Anywhos, after reading the FX500's features, it got me stalling when I wanted to get the Canon Powershot SD890 IS (as well as the newly released A590 IS for $200 but the reviews I've read stated it has problems with shutter lag and slow AF); although the Powershot SD series have always been brilliant, I just don't understand why Canon only upgrades it's megapixel when they could implement an A/S or Full Manual controls on it. Now I'm thinking maybe I should get this one instead but like others have stated, I too will wait for some reviews before cashing in $400 on this.
ps: an optical viewfinder would make this FX500 perfect...
"ps: an optical viewfinder would make this FX500 perfect.."
exactly!
The great thing about this cam is the ability to shoot wider (25mm) than most PnS out there. The Ricoh GX100 goes 24 but only zooms to 70+. The FX500 is also a lot smaller than the GX and if the previous FX100 is anything to compare, the build quality is great for a PnS. Having a 3 inch screen rocks! It's hard to go back to a smaller screen after this.
Awesome - this camera hits almost all the main checkboxes that I dreamed off in a camera:
- 25 mm wide angle w/ 5X zoom
- HD Video w/ zoom
- Compact size
One thing I wonder if it has and I like is Divx or MP4 video recording to reduce file size.
and I forgot to mention MANUAL CONTROL!
i believe FX500 use motion Jpeg, This is the main concern for me, i try it in a store, a 4G SDHC can record only around 8Minute of HD video
Kodak, use mp4, file size is a lot smaller, but quality wont be as good as motion jpeg, and also when u import into software for editing, some software (i.e. sony vegas) not really support the mp4 and you will need to convert before you edit the video.
Another great camera from Panasonic.
That's why Panasonic more expensive than others
Camera is out. Mine showed up yesterday. Here is post with comment and pictures.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1033&message=27525997
This looks really great, but has Panasonic improved high ISO / low light performance? That was always the bug-bear with these otherwise wonderful cameras.
Can you zoom while filming video?!? optical and digital zoom? how's the sound in videos during playback? thanks so much. I'm close to buying this after being a Canon junkie forever!!!