Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07 Review
Review Date: November 20th 2006
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using
the 7M Fine mode, which gives an average image size of around
3Mb - 3.5Mb.
Noise
There are 5 ISO settings available on the Panasonic Lumix
DMC-FX07 which you can select at any time if the camera is
in the normal shooting mode. Here are some 100% crops which
show the noise levels for each ISO setting:
There is virtually no discernible noise at the slowest setting
of ISO 100, but noise and slight loss of detail is apparent
at ISO 200, particularly in the shadow areas. At ISO 400 image
quality has deterioated quite a lot as the camera blurs detail
to try and hide the noise. ISO 800 and 1600 should both be
used only as a last resort.
High Sensitivity Mode
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07 has a new High Sensitivity scene
mode which promises to reduce blurry images, particularly
of moving subjects indoors, by raising the ISO speed to a
maximum of 3200 and therefore allowing for a faster shutter
speed. This mode allows you to handhold the camera without
using the flash and get more natural results, whilst at the
same time freezing subject movement more successfully. There
are some obvious drawbacks with this special scene mode, notably
a significant reduction in resolution - Panasonic states in
the FX07 manual that "The resolution of the recorded
picture decreases slightly because of high sensitivity processing.
This is not a malfunction". You also need to select the
scene mode and therefore have some idea about when it is applicable
to your subject. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise
levels:
Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality
50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening
applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are quite
soft at the default sharpening setting and benefit from some
further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. Unfortunately
you can't change the in-camera sharpening level.
File Quality
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07 has 2 different image quality
settings available, with 7M Fine being the highest quality
option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of
the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.
Chromatic Aberrations
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07 dealt extremely well with chromatic
aberrations during the review, with only very limited purple
fringing present around the edges of objects in certain high-contrast
situations.
Macro
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07 offers a Macro setting that
allows you to focus on a subject that is 5cms away from the
camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image
shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a
compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
Flash
The flash settings on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07 are Auto,
Red-eye Reduction, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro.
and Red-eye Reduction + Slow Synchro. These shots of a magnolia
coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
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Auto Flash - Telephoto (102mm) |
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And here are some shots of yours truly. As you can see, neither
the Flash On or the Red-Eye Reduction options caused any amount
of red-eye.
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Flash On (100% crop) |
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Flash - Red-Eye Reduction (100%
crop) |
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Night Shot
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07 maximum shutter speed is 60
seconds in the Starry Sky Mode scene mode (there are also
15 and 30 second options) and 8 seconds in the Night Scenery
mode, which is good news if you're seriously interested in
night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter
speed of 15 seconds at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop
of the image to show what the quality is like, which as you
can see unfortunately isn't very good. The camera takes the
same amount of time again to apply noise reduction, so for
example at the 15 second setting the actual exposure takes
30 seconds.
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Night Shot (100% crop) |
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Anti Shake
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07 has an anti-shake mechanism,
which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds
than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld
shots of the same subject with the ISO speed set to 400. The
first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second
with it turned on. Here is a 100% crop of the image to show
the results.
As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are
much sharper than with anti shake turned off. This feature
really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing
a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.
Overall Image Quality
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07 produced images of slightly
above average quality during the review period. The 7 megapixel
images were quite soft straight out of the camera at the default
sharpening setting and ideally require some further sharpening
in an application like Adobe Photoshop, as you can't change
the in-camera setting. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07 dealt
very well with chromatic aberrations, with limited purple
fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations.
Macro performance is average, allowing you to focus as close
as 5 cms away from the subject. The built-in flash worked
well indoors, with no red-eye and slight under-exposure. The
night photograph was poor, with the maximum shutter speed
of 60 seconds allowing you to capture plenty of light, but
the resulting picture noisy and blurred. Anti-shake is a feature
that sets this camera apart from its competitors and one that
works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light
conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range.
The 1/2.5 inch, 7 megapixel sensor used in the Panasonic Lumix
DMC-FX07 produces noise-free images at ISO 100, but ISO 200
shows some noise and loss of detail. ISO 400 exhibits obvious
noise and blurred detail, and the fastest settings of ISO
800 and 1600 should only be used in an emergency. The new
High Sensitivity mode extends the ISO range and allows you
to freeze subject movement effectively, but does so by reducing
the effective image resolution.
 PhotographyBLOG
is a member of the DIWA
organisation. Our test results for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07
have been submitted to DIWA
for comparison with test results for different samples of
the same camera model supplied by other DIWA
member sites.
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