Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX30

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.

The best things about this camera are:
- 28mm is awesome. It is possible to take an arms-length self portrait and get ample scenery in the background. And it is not obvious I photographed myself. Invaluable when you can't find someone to take your picture.
- Image stabilization works well
- Fast performance. I can power on and snap off a well focused shot in a little over a second. Using a 66x 1GB SD card, I can take several shots per second in burst mode indefinitely (I've never tried more than 30 shots in burst mode but I'm sure it could do more)
- Hi-res widescreen videos look good on HDTV.
- Some manual controls such as AWB, ISO, and AF mode. Other point-and-shoot cameras had almost no manual adjustments.
- extra batteries (non-panasonic brand) can be found for cheap on well-known auction site. Look for model # BCE10E.

What I don't like:
- Low light shots are average. Most come out well-focused (due to IS), but they have more noise reduction artifacts than my Canon A510. However, the A510 tends to be blurrier. I prefer the FX30 shots due to less blur.
- No manual control over exposure time. There are a few modes for night shots with long exposres (15-60 sec) but I like to adjust shots in the 1/4-1/30 sec range and I cannot seem to do this with the FX30
- Flash is sometimes too bright in AUTO mode.
- Videos in QuickTime format. Windows users would be better served by AVI or MPEG format, as XP comes bundled with decent video editing and playback software for these formats.
- No optical viewfinder. I rarely use it but it is nice to have.

Canon sd1000 takes a much better picture. Canon has better sound with video recording, less noise, better detail in shadows. I wanted to like the fx30, I really did. The wide angle was promising, but I held both cameras with the same settings side by side and took a lot of pictures to compare and the Canon wins every shot. Even with the anti-shake on the FX30, the shots came out blurry. The Canon Sd1000 has no anti-shake but the pictures are much better. The final straw was when taking a video the sound on the fx30 just couldn't be heard when played back on the computer. Sd1000 sound was crisp, loud and clear. Seriously, read the reviews... if you have not used the Canon sd series you may think the fx series is great, but once you use a Canon you will notice the difference right away. If you really want the wide angle and anti-shake go with a Canon sd850is. I would have but my sd1000 return would require a restocking fee from the box store I purchased it from, and besides I like it even without wide angle and Image-stabalization... It's that good.

The reason I bought this camera was the wide-angle and the Image Stabilizer. Both features should be standard on any camera. The wide-angle allows you to take more of a scene and often those pictures just look nicer.

The IS works great. Does not do miracles and I wouldn't expect sharp pictures taken during an earthquake but sure helps take picture inside without using the flash. I was really impressed.

The camera is very small and be aware there's no grip and view finder. Can't have everything. Choose your poison.

Buttons are well positioned and very easy to use. Difficult to change setting by accident. That is the reason I did not buy the newest small canon.

There's enough options to please most of us. Quality of the pictures is good enough for me. Yah there's noise at high ISO and if you blow the picture 16X and look at them with a microscope but if you buy a small digital camera for [...]$ to produce movie posters, well the problem might not be the camera but the person holding it.

Overall it is a great point-and-shoot digital camera. If you want better quality picture, buy a DSLR.

This little guy is about the size of a cell phone, but it's able to perform as well as the larger point and shoots. After a few test shots, I "tweaked" the factory settings a bit, and my "tweaking" seems to be remembered when the camera is turned off. A morning of shooting at a "robot wars" competition in a local high school gym included some film clips with sound. I would have gotten better quality with a dedicated film camera and external mike, but these are usable for electronic scrapbooking, and great for a camera of this size. (Warning: movies are in Apple Quick Time format, which does not seem to be compatible with Windows Vista.)

I have the black non-metallic version of this camera, and the softer plastic coating is helpful in keeping a grip on this little guy. The build quality seems to be very good. It's not the equivalent of a DSLR, but this is more apt to be carried on casual Saturday morning adventures.

Update to the above, 6 weeks later:

I took this little camera on a recent trip to a family wedding in another area. As a travel camera, this little guy excels. Even when you're dressed up, it slips easily into a pocket.

Outdoor candid photos were clear and sharp. Indoor photos tended to be overexposed if the subject was too close to the flash. It actually worked better in a small room to have the flash off and raise the ISO. (I set 800 as my highest ISO, and chose "natural" as the color setting.) The image stabilization technology gave sharp photos with most handheld shots, I found, even in lower light.

Main weakness of the small lens is noticeable inward curve of vertical lines (buildings on a city streetfront) when shot at extreme wide angle (to maximize available light by using the widest aperture) -- a somewhat surreal effect. Scenes without dominant vertical lines look OK.

I found the shutter lag on this camera to be a vast improvement over my older travel camera, approaching the quickness of a film camera. Much better for those candid shots. Battery held up for about 300 shots, without flash.