Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The Lumix DMC-FH20V is my 5th digital point & shoot but my first Panasonic. I really like it for what it packs in its incredibly small and thin body. Of course it isn't perfect but no camera ever is. After playing with it for a while, here are my thoughts:
The Color:
I was a bit apprehensive before ordering the camera in the violet but really like it. Truth be told, I was a bit tired of the endless parade of silver-tone cameras and ready for something new. This purple color is not a candy-color purple but instead looks quite classy and nicely muted, especially with the brushed-metal surface.
Pros:
- Size & weight. The FH20 is perfect for anyone whose priority is to go light. I still cannot believe how they packed that many features into such a small and light-weight body (sorry for repeating myself).
- The price. For roughly $170, this is a very good deal and the price contributed to my decision to buy this camera. When looking at other brands and models, most that had comparable mega pixels and zoom cost quite a bit more.
- The combo of 14 mega pixels and an 8x optical zoom is great and was another deciding factor for me. I plan on taking this camera with me on an up-coming vacation,and felt that this allows for the versatility I will likely need and want when shooting all kinds of scenes. Beats shlepping my heavy and bulky Canon Powershot SX10IS with me...
- The auto-focus is fast and accurate. It locks reliably even in low-light conditions, much better than any of my previous cameras, including the aforementioned Canon SX10IS. One of my favorite features when it comes to this camera!
- Easy to operate. I really did not need to consult the manual, which by the way comes in its entirety only in PDF-format on CD. The hard-copy manual included in the box only discusses the basic functions. But like I said, operating the camera is pretty straight-forward and logical. At first I had been a bit concerned with the tiny camera size and consequently small buttons but it works very well, and I do NOT have particularly small hands :-).
- Tons of scene modes available for almost any situation imaginable. There are even two different portrait and scenery (i.e. landscape) modes - one regular and one for night!
Cons (if one wants to call it that):
- No manual control of aperture and shutter speed. I personally do not think of this as a negative simply because this camera is not geared to that type of photographer, but I know that some people like to have that option so I am including this in my list because of that only.
- I found that image noise is very dependent on the zoom setting, even at lower ISO settings such as ISO80 or ISO100. While the camera shoots spectacularly well at short focal lengths and low ISO settings, it does not so well at long focal lengths. This is not too much of an issue when printing regular 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 prints but enlarging an image that was taken at full zoom might be problematic. Of course this is more or less the same for any camera but I still feel (admittedly subjectively) that the FH20 does not do the greatest job here and is on the same noise level (if not more) as my 4 yr-old Canon PowerShot A700 6MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Zoom. That was slightly disappointing to me.
- White Balance is also something that I was not entirely happy with. Pictures taken indoors often have a very yellow tint which looks unnatural. But the white balance settings can be changed and also allow for manual adjustment, so this is not too big of an issue.
Summary:
All in all I am quite happy with this camera. I researched a lot before I bought it and still think that the combo of price, size & weight and features is hard to beat. With every camera there will be something that one person loves and another does not care for much, it is an oftentimes subjective trade-off. But anyone looking for a great, lightweight and feature-rich camera likely won't be disappointed as long as he/she keeps in mind that this is a true point & shoot camera for people who want to take good pictures without having to take a photography class first.
Last but not Least:
When looking for a camera case for the FH20, I compared a lot of measurements for different cases to make sure it would fit the FH20. I finally settled on the Caselogic TBC-302 Ultra Compact Camera Case with Storage (Magenta). It fits and does the job without adding too much bulk, plus it accommodates a spare battery. Just thought I'd add that in case you don't want to look around too much for a suitable case...
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Violet)The 28mm wide-angle lens lets you easily capture large groups of people indoors or expansive architectural structures and scenes with dynamic width and rich perspective, even from short distances.The DMC-FH20 sports a powerful 8x optical zoom lens (35mm camera equivalent: 28-224mm). This gives you highly natural expressions from people and animals that you can't get close to. And its slim, compact, pocket-sized body can easily go wherever you do for both everyday snapshots and traveling.When you don't know which mode will give you the best shooting results, or when a sudden photo opportunity pops up and you don't have time to make any settings, simply choose iA (Intelligent Auto) mode by simply pressing the dedicated button and let the camera do it all for you. You just choose iA mode, aim at your subject, and shoot. 4 detection and correction functions are simultaneously activated to optimize the settings, so you get stunning photos every time.The DMC-FH20 can record motion images in high-definition (1,280 x 720 pixels at 30 fps in motion JPEG format). The pixel mixed readout method enables bright motion-image recording even in low-light settings. The DMC-FH20 can also record full-size motion images in WVGA (848 x 480 pixels at 30 fps) or standard motion images in VGA (640 x 480 pixels at 30 fps) and QVGA (320 x 240 pixels at 30 fps).The energy-saving Venus Engine IV image-processing engine and the efficient, rechargeable lithium-ion battery which has been slimmed down to fit into thinner camera bodies work together to extend the shooting time of the DMC-FH20. This lets users take approx. 300 shots on a single battery charge.FEATURES:
28mm Wide-angle Lens - The 28mm wide-angle lens lets you easily capture large groups of people indoors or expansive architectural structures and scenes with dynamic width and rich perspective, even from short distances.
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