The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX30 is a stylish
and ultra compact digital camera ("world's
slimmest digital camera with a 28mm wide-angle
lens") that can be easily slipped in a trousers
pocket or small fashion purse. It uses the Secure
Digital (SD and large capacity SDHC) memory card.
The FX30 is available in 4 different colours:
black, silver, blue and taupe (light brown). My review camera has the light brown colour
with a satin finish. Depending on how the light
falls on the camera, the brown is at times just
suggestive (a hint) rather than obvious. An absolutely
beautiful camera!
The build is very good with a clean design and
intuitive controls. The one negative I have is
that the camera does not have a grip: the "clip"
that usually serves as a minimalist finger grip
in these ultra compact digital cameras is too
slippery to serve that purpose here. So, the use
of the wrist strap is highly recommended.
The lens is flush with the body when the camera
is off, but powered on, the lens extends approx.
a further 23mm (< 1 in.).
Performance is great: startup time is about 1
sec., shot to shot times about 1 sec., and there
is no practical shutter
lag. Autofocus is fast and precise.
STYLE
-
Colours: black, silver, blue and taupe
(light brown)
-
Looks: clean and elegant design
FEEL
-
slippery (no "finger grip")
-
Controls are well positioned and spaced,
and intuitive to use
DIMENSIONS &
WEIGHT
-
Ultra Compact
-
Dimensions: 94.9 x 51.9 x 22.0 mm
/
3.74 x 2.04 x 0.87 in.
Startup with lens extension and LCD
turning on in approx. 1 sec.
-
Shot to shot time approx. 1 sec.
-
No practical shutter lag
Included in the box is a rechargeable Li-ion
battery that can take about 280 shots with LCD
on (CIPA standard) on a fresh charge and a Battery
Charger DE-A39 that will recharge a new battery
in approx. 120 min. The Battery Charger is of
the type that plugs directly into a wall electrical
socket.
Controls
The top of the camera has the Power ON/OFF
switch, the Shutter Release Button, the Zoom Lever
around the Shutter Button, and the Mode Dial which
has only a small portion of its wheel outside
the body. The Mode Dial has Print, Motion Picture,
Macro, Normal Picture, Intelligent ISO, Playback,
Simple, and SCN (Scene Modes).
A visual representation of the Mode Dial displays
on the LCD monitor whenever you turn the dial.
The Mode Dial rotates easily using your thumb.
It clicks positively in place and I've not had
any problem where the setting on the Mode Dial
is inadvertently changed.
The Zoom Lever is around the Shutter Button and
it takes about 2.5 sec. to zoom from wide to tele.
I counted 19 intermediate steps, which makes it
possible to stop the zoom pretty much at the point
where you want it to. This is is excellent since
other digicams typically give you only 9 or less
steps.
To select an Optical Image Stabilizer mode, you'd
need to go into the Menu: set it to OFF when putting
the camera on a tripod; MODE 1, if you want to
see the effect of image stabilization at all times;
MODE 2, for the most effective stabilization,
which takes place just before the image is taken.
Burst Mode allows you to take up to 5 or 7 images
(depending on Quality selected) at 3fps in High
Speed mode and 2fps in Low Speed, and an unlimited
number of images (depending on the space available
on your memory card) at approx. 2fps in Unlimited
mode.
You can record movies with sound (until the memory
card is full -- though a clip is max 2GB) at either
848 x 480 (16:9 aspect ratio) or 640 x 480 or
320x240 pixels (both at 4:3 aspect ratio) at 30fps
or 10fps. You cannot zoom during movie recording.
Sound is always recorded. You cannot use MultiMediaCard
(MMC).
Video Storage Capacity
2GB
16:9
848x480
30fps
19m 32s
10fps
58m 10s
4:3 VGA
640x480
30fps
22m 47s
10fps
1h 07m 43s
4:3 QVGA
320x240
30fps
1h 07m 42s
10fps
3h 16m 45s
On a 2GB SD card you will be able to record about
22m 47s of 4:3 VGA (640x480 pixels) at 30fps.
If you plan to record lots of clips, we recommend
using a 2GB SD or 4GB high-speed (at least 10MB/s)
SDHC memory card. [Note than if you opt to use
a 4GB card, ensure it has the "SDHC",
and not just the "SD", logo; only the
SDHC 4GB card is usable in the FX30.]
FUNCTIONS ACCESSIBLE
BY CONTROL BUTTONS (top to bottom starting
from the Mode Dial)
-
The Mode Dial is mostly inside the
camera's body with only a small portion
of its wheel protruding from the body.
It is easily thumb operated.
As you rotate the Mode Dial, a corresponding
visual representation displays on
the LCD monitor. This is perfect in
low-light situations where there may
not be enough light to read the dial.
The Mode Dial rotates freely clockwise
or anti-clockwise (i.e. you can keep
rotating one direction only).
-
CURSOR buttons.
UP ARROW (Exposure Compensation,
Auto Bracket, WB Adjust); RIGHT ARROW
(Flash); DOWN ARROW (REView); LEFT
ARROW (Self-timer 10s, 2s).
Bringing up Auto Bracketing using
the UP ARROW (press twice) is super
convenient!
Though Playback is on the Mode Dial,
the REView button [DOWN Arrow] is
more convenient to use. It allows
you to review all your captured images
and even allows Multi Delete/All Delete.
When in REView, a touch of the Shutter
Button takes you quickly back to shooting
mode.
Note: To play back your movies, you
must rotate the Mode Dial to
Playback.
MENU/SET button in the middle calls
up the Menu; use CURSOR buttons to
navigate the Menu screens; press MENU/SET
again to accept a screen choice.
-
DISPLAY/LCD MODE. Press button repeatedly
to cycle through: Normal, add Histogram,
add Grid Lines, No Info displayed.
Press and hold button for more than
1 sec. to activate Power LCD (use
in sunny situations) or High Angle.
-
FUNC/DELETE button.
Recording Mode: FUNC. Press to bring
up a convenient way to change options
without going into the Menu proper.
Playback Mode: DELETE. I've always
loved the way the Delete function
is implemented on Panasonic digital
cameras. Press once to delete image
displayed; press twice to invoke Multi
Delete/All Delete. No need to access
the Menu!
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
-
Exposure Compensation is accessed
with the UP ARROW
-
Once set, the Exposure Compensation
Indicator conveniently stays displayed
on screen until it is reset to "0"
-
Range: -2 EV to +2 EV (13 steps in
1/3 EV increments)
-
The screen brightness will increase
or decrease to reflect the value you
use
-
Note: the exposure compensation value
selected is retained even when the camera
is turned off. So remember to reset
to "0" after using it or the
next time you turn the camera on, your
shots may be over- or under-exposed.
-
Press UP ARROW again to call up Auto
Bracket. Very convenient.
-
When a White Balance is selected,
press UP ARROW repeatedly to call up
WB Adjust.
SHUTTER SPEED RANGES
-
P: 1 - 1/2,000 sec.
Fireworks scene mode: 2 sec.
Night Scenery scene mode: 8 sec.
Starry Sky scene mode: 15, 30, 60 sec.
LCD & Menus
There is no viewfinder but a large 2.5 in. LCD
monitor with a high 207,000 pixels resolution.
The LCD has a fast enough refresh rate for a smooth
display. The LCD monitor's brightness can be adjusted
in MENU/SETUP. The LCD gains up only slightly
in low-light. A Power LCD function boosts the
LCD backlighting by 40% and makes it easier to
view when shooting outdoors in bright sunshine.
There is an effective AF-assist Illuminator and
I've found auto focusing to be quite fast and
precise in low-light situations.
Panasonic's menu structure is probably the best
there is. It is very easy to understand and use.
Where necessary, the menu becomes transparent
to allow you to see the effect of your choices
(e.g. for WB and Color Effect). There are 3 RECord
and 4 SETUP pages worth of menu settings.
REC 1 of 3
- White Balance
- ISO Sensitivity
- Aspect Ratio
- Picture Size
- Image Quality
REC 2 of 3
- Audio Recording
- AF Mode
- Image Stabilizer
- Burst
- AF Assist Lamp
REC 3 of 3
- Slow Shutter
- Digital Zoom
- Color Mode
- Clock Set
WHITE BALANCE 1 of 2
- Auto WB
- Daylight
- Cloudy
- Shade
- Halogen
WHITE BALANCE 2 of 2
- White Set (Use)
- White Set (Set)
WB ADJUST
- When a WB is selected, press UP ARROW
twice to bring up WB ADJUST
ISO SENSITIVITY
- Auto
- 100
- 200
- 400
- 800
- 1250
ISO LIMIT
- Applies only when Intelligent ISO mode
is selected on the Mode Dial
- Camera will not go above selected ISO
- 400
- 800
- 1250
ASPECT RATIO
- 4:3
- 3:2
- 16:9
PICTURE SIZE
- 7M
- 5M
- 3M
- 2M
- 1M
- 0.3M
IMAGE QUALITY
- Fine
- Standard
AF MODE
- 5-area
- 3-area High Speed
- 1-area High Speed
- 1-area
- Spot
OPTICAL IMAGE STABILIZER
- Off
- MODE 1 - Stabilizer is continuously on
- MODE 2 - Stabilizer is most effective
and acts only when the shutter button is
pressed
- Press RIGHT ARROW when in the Stabilizer
menu to see a demonstration of the effectiveness
of IS
BURST
- Off
- High 3fps - max. 5 frames
- Low 2fps - max. 5 frames
- Unlimited approx. 2fps
SLOW SHUTTER
- 1/8 sec.
- 1/4 sec.
- 1/2 sec.
- 1 sec.
- This is the slowest shutter speed made
available in P (Normal) mode
COLOR MODE 1 of 2
- Standard
- Natural
- Vivid
- Cool
- Warm
COLOR MODE 2 of 2
- B/W
- Sepia
SETUP 1 of 4
- Clock Set
- World Time
- Monitor Brightness
- Guide Line
- Travel Date
SETUP 2 of 4
- Auto Review
- Power Save
- Economy
- Beep
- Shutter Sound
SETUP 3 of 4
- Volume
- No. Reset
- Reset
- Video Out
- TV Aspect
SETUP 4 of 4
- Scene Menu
- Dial Display
- Language
GUIDE LINE
- Rec. Info
- Histogram (Live)
- Pattern
GUIDE LINE - Pattern
- 2 patterns to choose from
SETUP - Auto Review
- Off
- 1 sec.
- 3 sec.
- Zoom (the picture is displayed for 1 sec.
then enlarged 4x and displayed for 1 more
sec.)
LANGUAGE 1 of 2
LANGUAGE 2 of 2
QUICK SETTING FUNC 1 of 6
- Optical Image Stabilizer
QUICK SETTING FUNC 2 of 6
- Burst (Drive)
QUICK SETTING FUNC 3 of 6
- White balance
QUICK SETTING FUNC 4 of 6
- ISO sensitivity
QUICK SETTING FUNC 5 of 6
- Image Size
QUICK SETTING FUNC 6 of 6
- Image Quality
PLAYBACK MENU 1 of 3
- Slide Show
- Favorite
- Rotate Disp.
- Rotate
- Date Stamp: will resize the picture (or
a copy) to 3M
- Normal (Programmed Auto), Flash mode
Auto Red-Eye, WB Daylight, ISO 400, Picture
Size 5.5M in 16:9 aspect ratio, Image QUality
Fine, Battery Indicator
- Stabilizer Mode 1, Burst High, Color Mode
Sepia, Space for 746 images left, Using
memory card
- Histogram
- Slow speed indicator
- Exposure Compensation
SCENE MODES 1 of 2
- Portrait, Soft Skin, Self-portrait, Scenery,
Sports
- Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Food, Party,
Candle Light
- Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Sunset, High Sensitivity
SCENE MODES 1 of 2
- Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Aerial
Photo
- Underwater
MOVIE MENU 1 of 2
- White Balance
- Aspect Ratio
- Picture Mode
- AF Mode
- Image Stabilizer
MOVIE MENU 2 of 2
- AF Assist Lamp
- Digital Zoom
- Clock Set
MOVIE MENU - Picture Mode
MOVIE MENU - Image Stabilizer
- Only Mode 1 is available
SELF-TIMER
- Off
- 10 sec.
- 2 sec.
LCD MODE
- Press LCD MODE for 1 sec. to bring up
the LCD MODE menu
LCD MODE
- Off
- Power LCD (for sunny situations)
- High Angle
ON SCREEN MODE DIAL
- Visual representation of Mode Dial
FLASH
- Auto
- Auto Red-Eye
- Forced Flash (Fill-in Flash)
- Slow Sync/Red-Eye
- Forced Off
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
- Displays in combination with the Histogram
DELETE SINGLE
MULTI/ALL DELETE
A couple of other nice features: the hinged plastic
Terminal door opens up wide to allow unimpeded
access [don't you hate fighting with a rubber
flap?] to the AV OUT/DIGITAL (USB) socket and
DC IN socket. There is a very nice Battery/Card
door and the battery has a latch to keep it from
accidentally falling. You are able to change battery
when the camera is on a tripod. Last, but not
least, the tripod socket is metal though not inline
with the lens.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX30 has first
class construction, an excellent and intuitive
menu structure, and well designed controls. What
these all add up to is a digital camera that is
both beautiful to see and a pleasure to use.
