Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07 Review

Review Date: November 20th 2006

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Page 1
Introduction / Features
Page 2
Ease of Use
Page 3
Image Quality
Page 4
Sample Images
Page 5
Design
Page 6
Specifications
Page 7
Conclusion

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:

ISO 100 (100% crop)

ISO 200 (100% crop)

   

ISO 400 (100% crop)

ISO 800 (100% crop)

   

ISO 1600 (100% crop)

 
 
   

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:

Original

(100% crop)
   
   

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.

Original (100% crop)

Sharpened (100% crop)

   
   

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.

7M Fine (3.09Mb) (100% crop)
7M Normal (1.69Mb) (100% crop)
   

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.

Example 1 (100% crop)
 

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.

Macro Shot

Macro Shot (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.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (28mm)

Auto Flash - Wide Angle (28mm)

ISO 64
ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (102mm)

Auto Flash - Telephoto (102mm)
ISO 64
ISO 64
   

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.

Flash On

Flash On (100% crop)
   

Flash - Red-Eye Reduction

Flash - Red-Eye Reduction (100% crop)
   

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.

Night Shot

Night Shot (100% crop)
   

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.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length

Anti Shake Off (100% crop)

Anti Shake On (100% crop)
1/8th / 49mm
1/8th / 63mm

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.

Page 1
Introduction / Features
Page 2
Ease of Use
Page 3
Image Quality
Page 4
Sample Images
Page 5
Design
Page 6
Specifications
Page 7
Conclusion

DIWAPhotographyBLOG 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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