Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55 Review
Review Date: September 14th 2007
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were captured using the 8M Fine (3264
x 2448 pixels) JPEG image size option producing a file that
is around 3.5Mb in size.
Noise
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55 has 6
ISO settings. There is virtually no discernible noise at
the slowest settings of ISO 100 and 200, but noise and slight
loss of detail is apparent at ISO 400, particularly in the
shadow areas. At ISO 800 image quality has deterioated quite
a lot as the camera blurs detail to try and hide the noise.
ISO 1250 and 1600 should only be used as a last resort,
if at all. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise
levels for each
ISO
setting.
High Sensitivity Mode
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55 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 6400 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 FX55 manual that "The resolution of the recorded picture decreases 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 and obvious blurring of detail:
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 at the default setting are soft and benefit
from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop.
Unfortunately you can't change the in-camera sharpening level
if you don't like the default results.
File Quality
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55 has 2 different image quality settings available,
with Fine being the highest quality JPEG 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-FX55 dealt
very well with chromatic aberrations during the review, with
only limited purple fringing present around the edges of
objects in certain high-contrast situations. Here is a 100%
crop which shows the typical chromatic aberrations that you
can expect:
Macro
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55 offers
a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that
is 5cms away from the camera. The first image shows how close
you can get to the subject in Macro mode (in this case a
compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
Flash
The flash settings on the Panasonic
Lumix DMC-FX55 are Auto,
Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye
Reduction and Forced Off. These shots of a white coloured
wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
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Auto
Flash - Telephoto (100mm) |
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And here are some portrait shots.
As you can see, both the Auto and Red-Eye Reduction
options caused a tiny amount of red-eye.
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Auto (100% Crop) |
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Flash
- Red-Eye Reduction (100% Crop) |
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Night Shot
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55 maximum
shutter speed is 60 seconds in Starry Sky Mode, which is
excellent news if you're interested in night photography.
The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 15 seconds,
aperture of f/2.8 at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of
the image to show what the quality is like.
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Night
Shot (100% Crop) |
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Anti Shake
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55 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 100. 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-FX55 produced
images of good quality during the review period.
The 8 megapixel images were 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-FX55 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 a little red-eye and accurate
exposure. The night photograph was very good, with the maximum
shutter speed
of 60 seconds allowing you to capture plenty of light. 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 Panasonic
Lumix DMC-FX55 produces noise-free images at ISO 100 and
200, but ISO 400 shows some noise and loss of detail. ISO
800 exhibits obvious noise and blurred detail, and the fastest
setting of 1600 should only be used in an emergency. The
High Sensitivity mode extends the ISO range to 6400 and
allows
you to freeze subject movement effectively, but does so by
reducing the effective image resolution and signifcantly
blurring image detail.
 PhotographyBLOG
is a member of the DIWA
organisation. Our test results for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55 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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