Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic DMC-FX07EB Digital Camera [7.2 megapixel, 3.6x optical zoom, 2.5" LCD monitor]

I have been looking for a decent pocket to take with me in my pocket instead of my big digital SLR - and here I have found one.

My criteria were:

- 28 mm equivalent
- small
- decent quality build
- good to very good picture quality
- fast
- decent stabilizer

The Panasonic Lumix series fulfills all these criteria. I had originally thought about the FX01 with 6 MPixels but got such a fantastic price that I went for the extra MPixel.
It is fast, from switching it on to extending the zoom and be able to shoot. Autofocus is decent, with many programs to choose from. A red light will illuminate the object if there is not enough light available for focus. There is no manual focus, but I haven't needed one yet. The LCD screen is big and bright, and has two additional brightness settings for bright sun and if you want to take a picture by holding the camera high.

Many people have complained about the picture quality of the Panasonic Lumix series, especially noise. I can say that noise at low ISO is not a problem. Do not expect to get the same quality as with a digital SLR though - there are physical limitations. For decent 10x15 cm prints the quality is absolutely fine.

I had some disappointing pictures using the flash, although most turned out fine. There are a great many options to choose from and I guess I have to get to know the camera more in detail.

Definitely recommended.

Superb camera let down by image quality

I bought this camera and I really loved it. Fantastic build quality, excellent LCD screen with intuitive menus, fast focusing, very quick at taking pictures, fast and smooth zoom. A real gem.

But I was shocked and very disappointed that the pictures produced were worse than my four year old Canon Powershot A70 with only 3.2 million pixels. This camera has 7.2 million pixels and a Leica lens which should produce superb pictures, so the problem must be the Venus III digital processing engine inside just not doing justice to the rest of the camera.

Many pictures, taken in similar light conditions, came out with unexpectedly odd colours that required subsequent software processing. The camera struggled both in low light and in bright light conditions. Interestingly, it couldn't cope with my dog - the pictures came out with such heavy noise reduction that all hair texture was lost, making the picture more like a water colour, even in normal light conditions.

I really liked the camera and wanted to keep it, but after several days of taking hundreds of photos using all sorts of settings in wide range of conditions, I had to admit defeat and return it.

I thought I might be expecting too much from an ultra compact like this, but there are other ultra compacts that produce consistently better results.

Wanted a good point-and-shoot camera with excellent anti-camera shake as many of my pictures end up blurred. This is it. Great shots, and it is robust.
Took it on the river in Kafue National Park in Zambia, all shots crisp and clear, and I even got great close ups of Hippos without going up close and too personal, using the excellent zoom. The battery lasted for the entire 8 day trip. Worth purchasing the special hard leather case for it if you are going bush.

Compact, neat, takes great pictures and video clips - everyone who sees my camera coments on what a nice camera it is. I love it. It is so compact, I take it everywhere with me.