Expert Recommendation
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Overview
The Panasonic FS5 is the best-in-class digital camera for photographing interiors, producing images with minimal distortion and offering great value for your money. It features a sharp lens with a wide angle view, a good zoom range, and a well-built compact body.
My Best In Class Pick
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS5
Panasonic’s partnership with leading lens manufacturer Leica has helped them produce cameras with good quality lenses, and the Pansonic FS5 is one such product, featuring a 30mm (focal length equivalent to that on a 35mm film camera) wide-angle Leica DC lens.
The camera produces images with low (0.4%) barrel distortion (inward bending of straight vertical objects near corners) at widest angle view zoom setting.
Although the camera does not offer full-featured manual controls, it does feature lots of scene modes, which are helpful in shooting interiors (e.g. Night Scenery, Candle light, etc & Intelligent Auto that automatically selects the appropriate scene mode depending on the scene).
The overall image quality is good.
Comparison with Fujifilm FinePix J150W
Lower distortion. Optical image stabilization. Lower minimum shutter speeds possible (15, 30 or 60sec in Starry Sky Mode )
Comparison with Casio EXILIM ZOOM EX-Z100
Optical Image Stabilization, better corner-to-corner sharpness. Lower minimum shutter speeds possible (15, 30 or 60sec in Starry Sky Mode )
Pros
- +Good image quality
- +Low barrel distortion in images
- +Well built body
Cons
- -Lacks Aperture priority, Shutter priority, full manual modes.
Comparing My Best In Class Pick with Other Good Choices
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| Customer Rating |
 
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| Price | $159 - $272 | $124 - $196 | $169 - $279 | |
| Size (W x H x D) | 3.7 x 2.1 x 0.9 in. | 3.6 x 2.3 x 0.9 in. | 3.7 x 2.2 x 0.8 in. | |
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Effective Sensor Resolution
The Effective Sensor Resolution tells you the total number of pixels that are recorded when you take a picture. The units are MP, which stands for megapixels or millions of pixels. For outstanding fine compression prints, 3MP is required for 5x7's, 7.1MP for 8x10's, and 10.9MP for 11x14's. The effective sensor resolution is only one of many important factors that will determine the quality of the photograph when displayed or printed at different sizes.
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10.1 megapixels | 10.0 megapixels | 10.1 megapixels | |
| Shutter Lag Time (including auto-focus time) | 0.3-0.5 sec | 0.3-0.5 sec | 0.2 sec | |
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Min Focal Length (35 mm equivalent)
The 35 mm equivalent focal length is a measure that indicates the angle of view of a particular combination of a camera lens and the sensor size. The term originates from the time when the vast majority of photography was done with 35 mm film. On any 35 mm film camera, a 30 mm or less lens is considered a wide-angle lens.
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30 mm | 28 mm | 28 mm | |
| Optical Zoom | 4.0x | 5.0x | 4.0x | |
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Image Stabilization Available
Image stabilization features are designed to reduce the blur that results from normal, minute shaking of a lens due to hand-held shooting. However, image stabilization does not prevent motion blur caused by the movement of the subject or by extreme movements of the camera.
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Yes | No | No | |
| Auto Focus Assist Light Available | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Aperture Priority Mode Available | No | No | No | |
| Battery Life | 300 shots | 150 shots | 400 shots | |
| Image Quality | ||||
| Barrel Distortion (%) | Approx. 0.4% (lower than average) | approx. 1.0% | approx. 0.5% | |
| Corner to corner sharpness | Very good | Very good | Average | |
Fujifilm FinePix J150W
This camera is one of the newer additions to the recently launched J series featuring easy-to-use cameras. The images retain good corner-to-corner sharpness, and image quality is good but suffers from high barrel distortion (around 1.0% at widest angle view). The featured scene modes, particularly Museum or Night, can be helpful in shooting interiors.
Comparison with Casio EXILIM ZOOM EX-Z100
Better corner-to-corner sharpness. Higher zoom range. Lower minimum shutter speed of 8 sec possible in scene modes, while the Casio Ex-Z100 allows 4 sec in Night Shot and only 1 sec in other scene modes.
Pros
- +Good image quality
- +Well built
Cons
- -High Barrel Distortion
- -Lacks Aperture/Shutter Priority, full manual modes
- -Lacks Optical image stabilization
Casio EXILIM ZOOM EX-Z100
Casio is the pioneer of ultra compact cameras, and its EXILIM series of cameras are comparable in size to a deck of playing cards. They recently launched cameras with wide angle views for the first time, and the Casio EX-Z100 is one of them. The camera is equipped with a low distortion 4x zoom lens with a wide-angle view. The images suffer from excessive corner softness (blurring of fine details near corners of captured frame) at the wide end of the zoom range. The camera features useful AUTO BEST SHOT mode in which it analyzes scenes to determine an appropriate shooting mode (Scenery, night scenes, night scenes with people, etc.).
Comparison with Olympus FE-350
Faster focusing, availability of AF assist lamp, higher resolution & battery life.
Pros
- +Well built
- +Low barrel distortion in images
Cons
- -Lacks Aperture/Shutter Priority, full manual modes
- -Lacks Optical image stabilization
- -Corner softness and blurring of fine details in images
Olympus FE-350
The Olypus FE-350 is equipped with a 5x wide-angle zoom lens in a stylish metal body. It lacks an AF Assist lamp and image-stabilization. Images suffer from corner softness and are lacking of fine details at the wide end of the zoom range.
Pros
- +Well built
Cons
- -Corner softness and blurring of fine details in images
- -Lacks AF Assist lamp
- -No optical image stabilization
- -Slow performance
- -Costly
How It Works
Unbiased experts recommend the best digital camera for you based on the types of photographs you intend to take, your budget, and desired features.
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How to Pick Digital Cameras
- For Travel Photos
- For Photos of Children or Pets
- For Action or Sports Photos
- For Photos in Low Light
