Another little Panasonic Jewel: FX50

[John_Reed]

I got this camera because I wanted a pocket-sized camera with a wideangle lens. Its lens zooms from 28mm to 102mm, it has the great OIS system, AND, its i-ISO system is really cool. Here's a couple of examples, first, a handheld of my cat Sam at ISO 400:

http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/110887737-L.jpg

I like to shoot in the 16:9 format, hence the "letterbox" size. I "pixel-peeped" that image and couldn't find any noise, NOR any "watercoloring." And here's one at ISO 800, sharpened only:

http://john-reed.smugmug.com/photos/111259516-L.jpg

That one looked pretty clean too. What's going on here? Both shots were handheld, and shot with Auto WB (I haven't used anything else with this camera).

If you want to see more photos, check out my Smugmug gallery. (http://John-Reed.smugmug.com/gallery/2139027/2/111259516)

[ggordon]

Hi,

Thanks for posting the nice photos! I've just purchased an FX07 (the little sibling of the FX50, if I understand the model names right). And, while it takes very nice pictures in good light, I've been having lots of trouble getting it to work well if the light is at all low. I was wondering if you had to do anything special to get the photos you took? For me, any area of the photo which is not covered by either the flash or direct sunlight seems quite noisy.

Thanks,
-Geoff.

[John_Reed]

Hi,

Thanks for posting the nice photos! I've just purchased an FX07 (the little sibling of the FX50, if I understand the model names right). And, while it takes very nice pictures in good light, I've been having lots of trouble getting it to work well if the light is at all low. I was wondering if you had to do anything special to get the photos you took? For me, any area of the photo which is not covered by either the flash or direct sunlight seems quite noisy.

Thanks,
-Geoff.I use "i ISO" for one thing, which will bump the ISO up to as far as 800 to get better exposure if it needs to. I'll see noise too, if the photo is under-exposed. Another thing I do is set the "SLOW" shutter to 1 second, so that I'm not limited to 1/8 for slow-speed shots. I use the "Standard" "Picture Adjust" setting. That's about it. What conditions were giving you troubles?

[ccsc2299]

Thank you for posting this thread and posting such beautiful pix - especially Sam, what a beautiful kitty!

I'm a relative noobie that's been searching for months for that special p&s. I've scoured the reviews, went into stores multiple times to play with the cameras and nothing really grabbed me. That is, until yesterday.

Yesterday, I happened upon the FX50, played with it awhile, and it was love at first sight. I didn't buy it immediately because I had to run home and check on all the online reviews (which are all predominantly positive - plus I was exhausted at that point). I plan on buying it either today or tomorrow.

So you see, I am greatful that you posted these pix and raved about the FX50, yet another affirmation that this is the special p&s that I've been searching for.
Soooooooooo, any other tips you'd care to share? ;)

~ Carol

[John_Reed]

No other tips, Carol, it's just a fun little camera, and I emphasize little, because I am able to carry it with me in the palm of my hand as I go out for trail runs, as I did on Sunday. Whenever I see a good scene opportunity, I just stop, shoot, and keep running afterwards. But on Saturday I went up to San Francisco with both my FZ30 and its Nikon TC, and the FX50 for scenery. I posted some representative shots of that junket on the Panasonic Talk Forum (http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1033&message=21128983) of dpreview. If you look at the thread closely, you'll see that a couple of the FX50 shots received the most raves from the posters there. Also, I took it to a party last evening, and got some really good flash shots of the people there, though I won't be posting them on-line.

One good thing about the camera is that the screen is so big and friendly, you can hand the camera to any bystander to get a photo of yourself, and they always turn out well!

Enjoy!

[ggordon]

Hi,

Thanks for the tips! I did the things you mentioned (almost -- I actually tried manually experimenting with different ISOs for the same scene instead of using the i ISO). I also bumped up the exposure compensation a few notches, and was able to get fairly decent photos, but never to my complete satisfaction in low light. I wound up returning the camera, even though I liked everything else about it a lot, since I expect to be taking many photos indoors. I am thinking of getting a Fuji F30 to replace it; it lacks the optical image stabilization but is supposedly able to handle higher ISOs without too much noise. If I do get the F30 I'll post how it turns out.

Thanks for the advice,
-Geoff.

[ccsc2299]

Hi John,

I brought the little Panasonic Jewel (aka FX50) home yesterday and have started to play around with it today. I love it!!! It's really easy to operate. And a nice touch is that the large screen and legible lettering makes my 40+ year old eyes very happy :D

I appreciate that you posted the iso and different settings that you've used, as that gives me a jumping off point (along with reading the ole manual).

Well, I'm outta here....time to play with my new pany.

Warmly,
Carol

[John_Reed]

It even works for my 25-year older eyes! (I'm 67) Enjoy your fun little toy. It's a kick.