Introduction

Ease of Use

Successor to the DMC-FX70, the new FX77 almost completely dispenses with any external controls, relying instead on interaction via the large 3.5 inch touch-screen, which is in the 16:9 aspect ratio. Outwardly, the solid feeling, pocket-sized Lumix DMC-FX77 has a slim 20.6mm depth and glossy black and silver finish to our review sample. Weighing just 126g without the battery or card inserted yet still feeling sturdy when gripped in the palm, it's both slimmer and lighter than the FX70 model that it replaces.

Beneath the unassuming but not unattractive metal and plastic exterior the FX77 packs the advantage of a 5x optical zoom, starting at a wide angle of 24mm equivalent (in 35mm terms) and peaking at 120mm at the telephoto end. The bright f2.5 lens is stored compactly within the body when the camera is not in use, and its positioning and eventual prominence ensures, when active, that there's no danger of fingers straying into shot when shooting handheld. Its broad-ish (for a compact) focal range ensures this snapper has most everyday subjects covered, from landscape and group portraits to candid close ups. if you don't mind a resolution drop to three megapixels then use can be made of the device's Extra Optical Zoom function which utilises the central part of the CCD sensor - effectively a crop - to boost the reach to a 9.8x zoom equivalent.

The rounded left-hand side of the FX70 has been replaced with a more conventional boxy design. There's nothing provided on the camera's slightly rounded edges or smooth and shiny front and back surfaces for the user to get a firm grip on when taking photographs without the aid of a tripod, so it's important that the FX77's image stabilization proves effective to avoid external wobble translating into blurred images. Thankfully the FX77 does have an effective anti-shake system, on this model the MEGA O.I.S. variant. Turn it on via the Stabilizer option in the main menu and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77 automatically compensates for camera shake, which is a slight blurring of the image that typically occurs at slow shutter speeds when the camera is hand held.

There are three different modes, Mode 1 is on all the time including image composition, Mode 2 is only on when you press the shutter button, and there's also an Auto mode. It does make a noticeable difference in practice, as shown in the examples on the Image Quality page. Panasonic have introduced a brand new stabilisation mode especially for shooting video. The Active Mode offers image stabilization during movie recording and is especially effective while walking along, greatly reducing (although not eliminating) the shaky movements that you tend to get whilst hand-holding the camera. Thankfully leaving the anti-shake system on didn't negatively affect the battery-life, with the camera managing 200 shots using the supplied rechargeable Li-ion battery, although this is a lot less than the 350 shots that the FX70 offered (presumably because of the FX77's total reliance on its touch-screen).

The High Sensitivity mode also helps combat the effects of camera shake. When this scene mode is selected, the camera automatically raises the ISO speed from 1600 up to a maximum of 6400 and therefore allows for a faster shutter speed. This mode allows you to handhold the DMC-FX77 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, principally a significant reduction in resolution to a maximum of 3 megapixels in the 4:3 aspect ratio, and the Quality is also set to the lowest level. The user guide states that "you can take pictures suitable for 4x6 inch printing" using the High Sensitivity mode. You also need to select the right scene mode and therefore have some idea about when it is applicable to your subject.

The Intelligent ISO menu option is the third way in which the DMC-FX70 attempts to avoid subject blur in low-light conditions. The camera automatically sets the appropriate shutter speed AND ISO speed for the subject that you are taking pictures of. So if you're taking shots of a child indoors, the DMC-FX70 automatically raises the ISO and in turn the shutter speed to avoid blurring the child's movement. If the subject is still, then the camera chooses a lower sensitivity and slower shutter speed. It's a clever idea that works well in practice, with the camera generally choosing an appropriate combination of shutter and ISO speed. You can also limit the maximum ISO speed that the camera can choose, which I'd strongly advise, as the fastest available setting of ISO 1600 produces very noisy images - ISO 800 is a better choice.

Front	Rear

From the front the DMC-FX77 displays a clean, unfussy faceplate, with the retractable lens barrel the most prominent feature, top left of which is a lozenge shaped window for the built-in flash - sufficiently clear of the camera edges to avoid fingers partly obscuring it - and to the right, we also find a small porthole housing the reasonably powerful AF assist lamp/self timer indicator.

Moving to the top, set into silver metal panel that runs the length of the FX77's top plate is the lozenge shaped shutter release button, the largest control here, to the right of which is a small and rather indefinite forefinger operated rocker switch for operating the 5x zoom lens. You can move through the complete focal range from wide to tele setting in just over two seconds, which again is fast without being surprisingly so.

A partly recessed on/off switch powers up the camera in just over a second, with the rear 3.5-inch bursting into life in the absence of any optical viewfinder alternative. The screen has a poor resolution of 230k dots,which is far too low for an LCD panel of this size, resulting in a grainy display. Also set into the FX77's top strip are two small slots housing the mono built-in microphone plus two rows of four further dots for the integral speaker - so barely noticeable that there's nothing to confuse first-time users here.

The useful Motion Picture button sits to the left of the shutter button, a logical position that can be operated with your forefinger. As you'd expect, it allows you to start recording a movie with a single push of a button, and then stop recording by pressing the same button, regardless of which shooting mode is currently selected. This is much quicker and more intuitive than having to select the movie mode then press the shutter button, as on the majority of compact cameras.

The FX77 can record full 1080p HD 1920x1280 movies and 720p 1280 x 720 movies, both at 30 frames per second in the AVCHD (MPEG-4/H.264) format. In addition it can also record Motion JPEG movies at 320 x 240 at 30fps, 640 x 480 at 30fps, 848 x 480 at 30fps and 1280 x 720 at 30fps, useful as this format can currently be shared more easily. AVCHD features almost double the recording time in HD quality compared with Motion JPEG, but software support is still a bit thin on the ground. Panasonic describe it as the best mode for playing back on a HD TV direct from the camera, and Motion JPEG best for email and playing on a computer.

The Panasonic FX77's Intelligent Auto mode also works in movies as well as for still photos. Simply select iA on the mode dial and press the Motion Picture button. The Intelligent Scene Selector automatically determines the most suitable Scene mode from Normal, Portrait, Macro, Scenery, and Low Light. Face Detection automatically detects a face in the frame and adjusts the focus, exposure, contrast, and skin complexion. Intelligent Exposure continually checks the ambient light level and adjusts the exposure setting as conditions change to prevent blown highlights and blocked shadows. The MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) and Motion Deblur mode help prevent blurring from hand-shake when using the zoom lens. New for the FX77 is Subject Detection, which with a press of your finger locks on and automatically tracks the subject as it moves across the frame, constantly adjusting the focus settings and keeping the subject sharp.

Stereo sound is recorded during video capture via the large internal mic on top of the camera, which is a big improvement on the rather muffled noises recorded by most digital cameras, helped by the wind cut function which blocks out most of the noise from background wind. The HDMI port allows you to connect the FX77 to a high-def TV set, but only if you purchase the optional HDMI mini-cable. You can simultaneously take still images while recording movies, although only at a reduced resolution of 3.5-megapixels, while the Video Divide function divides the video into two sections to shorten or delete them in-camera.

You can use the zoom lens during recording and really make the most of the 5x focal range, although the zoom speed is unfortunately much slower than for still images and you can hear the zoom mechanism during recording. Also on the negative side, you'll find that if you choose continuous auto-focus, areas of the video will be blurred before becoming sharp again as the camera tries to refocus. On a more positive note, the the FX77 is quite fast at re-focusing, and having this system is much better than not being able to auto-focus at all.

Side	Front

The back of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77 is unsurprisingly dominated by the 3.5 inch LCD, which stretches across virtually all of the available space. The DMC-FX77's main innovation is its touchscreen interface. Panasonic have departed from their previous touch-screen cameras, where they wisely restricted the amount of things that you could do by interacting with the screen, now having to push and prod the LCD for almost all the camera's options.

On the right are icons for the various shooting modes and image playback, and somewhat bizarrely an icon which lets you operate the zoom. The T and W icons do usefully allow you to quickly zoom to the full telephoto or full wide-angle focal lengths with a single press. A fourth icon enables the ability to take a picture simply by touching the screen. On the left are the Menu and Display icons and one for setting the focus point, again achieved quickly and easily by simply tapping anywhere on the screen. There is no Quick Menu of key settings, a rather annoying omission that forces you to constantly delve into the Main Menu system. This is further complicated by the lack of any textual descriptions of what each icon actually does, until you actually press it, leaving you to second-guess their function. Very frustrating as you try to get to grips with the camera.

The most immediately noticeable function of the touch screen is the ability to use the 1-area AF mode to focus on your main subject simply by touching it on the LCD. If the subject then moves, the DMC-FX77 cleverly follows it around the screen using the the AF tracking function. If the subject exits the frame entirely, simply recompose and tap it again to start focusing. Impressive stuff that makes focusing on off-center subjects fast and intuitive. It is a little too easy to accidentally press the screen and set the focus point to the wrong area for the current subject, but a simple tap in the middle of the LCD or on the icon that appears in the bottom-left corner will instantly center the AF point (or you can turn this feature off altogether).

When Intelligent Auto is switched on, the DMC-FX77 changes the scene mode used when you touch the subject, for example selecting portrait mode if you touch a face and macro mode if you touch a close-up flower. If you prefer to manually focus rather than use the snappy AF, you can magnify any part of the subject by 1x, 5x or 10x by simply dragging the image around the screen. The final touchscreen ability from an image composition point of view is the ability to release the shutter, with a small icon on the right hand screen enabling this functionality, and then a single on-screen tap all that's required to take the picture. You can also control image playback by touching the screen, with the ability to tap a thumbnail to see the full-size version, scroll through your images by dragging them from side to side, and magnifying them up to 16x.

The FX77 offers Intelligent Auto, Normal, Scene, 3D Photo, Cosmetic and My Color modes. The Intelligent Auto mode automatically chooses the best settings for the user's chosen subject. Panasonic have tried to make things as easy as possible for the complete beginner by providing this shooting mode, which allows you to point and shoot the camera without having to worry about choosing the right mode or settings.

Intelligent Auto Mode automatically determines a number of key criteria when taking a picture, including selecting the most appropriate scene mode (from 5 commonly used presets) and ISO speed, and turning face detection (up to 15 faces, even sideways on), image stabilization and quick auto-focus on. The Intelligent Auto Mode includes Intelligent Exposure, which increases exposure only in the under-exposed areas of the image, Digital Red-eye, which automatically detects and removes red-eye, and AF Tracking, which continually tracks a moving subject and keeps it in focus, without you having to hold the shutter button halfway down as on most other cameras.

Face Recognition is a fun and genuinely useful feature which "remembers" up to 6 registered faces and then always prioritizes the focus and exposure for that person in future pictures. Very useful for group shots where you want your loved ones to be the centre of attention. You can specify the age of the registered subject, stamp the age of the subject onto your photos, change the focus icon for a particular person, and playback only the photos that contain a certain face. The camera will even automatically switch to Baby mode if someone registered as less than 3 years old appears in the frame!

The Motion Deblur mode is an automatic combination of Intelligent ISO Control and Intelligent Exposure. The former automatically adjusts ISO setting and shutter speed according to the subject’s movement while the latter optimizes the exposure. The camera then sets the appropriate shutter speed to keep the subject sharp, raising the ISO speed if necessary. Three different Colour Effects are available in iA mode, including the rather curious Happy mode, which optimizes color, saturation and brightness to make both photos and movies more vivid. Note that the camera's Intelligent Resolution technology is always activated in the iA mode. This makes a standard image look like a higher resolution one by processing the contour areas, texture areas and smooth areas individually, and it also digitally boosts the zoom magnification from 5x to 6.5x.

Memory Card Slot	Battery Compartment

Intelligent Resolution performs two main functions - it either makes a standard image look like a higher resolution one by processing the contour areas, texture areas and smooth areas individually, or it digitally boosts the zoom magnification from 5x to 6.5x with minimal loss of quality and no reduction in resolution. In both cases, it's easy tell which image was taken with Intelligent Resolution turned on and which ones with it turned off, particularly if viewing onscreen at 100% magnification, as our test shots on the Image Quality page show. The difference isn't quite so apparent on a print up to A3 in size, but I'm not convinced enough to recommend it except when you really need the extra reach - it undoubtedly improves on the digital zoom, but not so much that I'd regularly use it.

In practice the Intelligent Auto Mode system works very well, with the camera seamlessly choosing the most appropriate combination of settings for the current situation. The 6 available scene modes are Macro, Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery and Sunset, so obviously not all situations are covered by Intelligent Auto Mode, but it does work for the majority of the time. It makes it possible for the less experienced photographer to easily take well-exposed, sharp pictures of people, scenery and close-ups by simply pointing and shooting the camera.

Intelligent Auto is followed by the Scene Mode option, which lets the user select from amongst a broad range (27 in total). Not only do we get a portrait mode, we also get a soft skin portrait mode and the ability to physically stretch or re-shape a person's physique (to high or low degrees), plus, ape-ing the latest Olympus DSLRs, a pinhole camera and film grain modes. High-speed burst and flash burst mode can also be selected. A pretty comprehensive range then, bettered only by Casio's BestShot equipped cameras.

Normal Picture provides the greatest level of control over what is predominantly a point-and-shoot camera. Select this option and then press the camera's Menu icon and you're provided access to a wider range of functionality than offered by the pared down previous modes, laid out across four successive screens; namely the ability to adjust not only picture size and quality but ISO sensitivity too. As expected, white balance plus metering modes - multi zone, centre weighted or spot can be manually selected in Normal Picture mode, while the user can likewise also implement intelligent exposure and face recognition mode, as found on other new Lumix models. Among the other tweaks that can be made in Normal Picture mode is the ability to alter contrast, sharpness, saturation and the degree of noise reduction via a plus or minus slider, while image stabilization can be turned on or off.

New to the FX77 is the 3D Mode option. When selected, the camera instructs you to pan 10cms from left to right, during which it takes 20 consecutive shots at high-speed, another benefit of the LIVE MOS sensor. It then automatically selects the best 2 shots from the sequence to create a 3D image. You can only view the results on a 3D TV (the TZ20 records standard MPO files), and although it isn't as effective as images taken with Panasonic's 3D Micro Four Thirds lens or the Fujifilm 3D W3, for example, it does create quite a convincing effect which particularly suits subjects that are close-up to the camera.

The Cosmetic Mode allows you to take creative portrait photos by choosing the skin colour and the intensity. There are three skin colors on offer (soft skin, natural skin, summer look) and three degrees of transparency of skin detail (low, standard, high). In conjunction with this shooting mode, the Beauty Retouch playback mode makes it possible to apply makeup to portrait photos. In Esthetic Mode, various effects can be applied to the face including clearing the skin texture and whitening of teeth. In the Make-up Mode you can choose the color of foundation, lips, cheeks or eye-shadow.

The Art Retouch playback mode allows you to change the brightness and saturation of an image that you have taken in-camera via a simple slider system. The new My Photo Album function lets you sort your images into separate folders by simply dragging the photo onscreen into one of the three available folders. The final shooting mode is My Color, which offers 8 preset effects - Expressive, Retro, Pure, Monochrome, High Dynamic, Silhouette, Pin Hole, Film Grain - with a live preview of how the final image will look. You can see some examples on the Image Quality page. The My Color mode can also be used when shooting video, instantly adding an arty look to your movie masterpieces.

While the left hand flank of the camera - if viewing the FX77 from the rear - is devoid of any features, the right hand side features an indented eyelet for attaching the provided wrist strap, alongside which are two covered ports for attaching a HDMI cable and connecting the camera up to the TV and a combined AV out/USB socket. The latter cables for this at least comes provided in the box, although there's no HDMI cable supplied. At the base of the FX77 we find a metal screw thread for a tripod which is inconveniently located in the far-left corner, alongside which is a sliding compartment that houses both the rechargeable battery and a slot for an optional SD / SDHC / SDXC card.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5.5Mb.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77 produced images of good quality during the review period. The 1/2.33 inch, 12 megapixel CCD sensor used in the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77 produces noise-free images at ISO 100-200, with limited noise and colour desaturation starting to appear at ISO 400. ISO 800 exhibits quite visible noise, smearing of fine detail and colour desaturation, and ISO 1600 is even noisier, although still usable for small prints.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77 handled chromatic aberrations well, with some purple fringing effects appearing mostly in high contrast situations. The flash worked well indoors, with a little red-eye and adequate exposure. The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 60 seconds allowing you to capture plenty of light. Anti-shake is a feature that works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range.

Macro performance is very good, allowing you to focus as close as 3cms away from the subject. The images were a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpening setting and ideally require further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can change the in-camera setting if you don't like the default results. The Intelligent Resolution feature either makes a standard image look sharper, albeit with some unwanted artefacts appearing, or it digitally increases the 5x optical zoom to 6.5x, again with a slight loss in quality.

Noise

There are 5 ISO settings available on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77. 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)

Focal Range

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77's 5x zoom lens provides a focal length of 24-120mm in 35mm terms, as demonstrated below.

24mm	120mm

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 a little soft at the default sharpening setting. You can change the in-camera sharpening level if you don't like the default look.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

File Quality

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77 has 2 different image quality settings available, with 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.

14M Fine (4.94Mb) (100% Crop)	14M Standard (2.90Mb) (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77 handled chromatic aberrations well during the review. There's some purple fringing between areas of high contrast, but it's only noticeable on close inspection, as shown in the examples below.

Example 1 (100% Crop)	Example 2 (100% Crop)

Macro

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77 offers a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 3cms 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	100% Crop

Flash

The flash settings on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77 are Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off, and Flash Synchro. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (24mm)	Flash On - Wide Angle (24mm)
Flash Off - Telephoto (120mm)	Flash On - Telephoto (120mm)

And here are a couple of portrait shots. Both the Forced On setting or the Auto/Red-eye Reduction option caused a tiny amount of red-eye.

Forced On	Forced On (100% Crop)
Auto/Red-eye Reduction	Auto/Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77's maximum shutter speed is 60 seconds in Manual shooting mode and the Starry Sky Mode scene mode, which is great 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.

Night Shot	Night Shot (100% Crop)

Anti Shake

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77 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 same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here are some 100% crops of the images 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.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length	Anti Shake Off (100% Crop)	Anti Shake On (100% Crop)
1/10th / 24mm
1/3rd / 120mm

Intelligent Resolution

The Intelligent Resolution feature either makes a standard image look like a higher resolution one by processing the contour areas, texture areas and smooth areas individually, or it digitally boosts the zoom magnification from 5x to 6.5x.

Off	On
i.Zoom
Off	i.Zoom

My Color

The My Color shooting mode offers 8 preset effects - Expressive, Retro, Pure, Monochrome, High Dynamic, Silhouette, Pin Hole, Film Grain - with a live preview of how the final image will look. The My Color mode can also be used when shooting video, instantly adding an arty look to your movie masterpieces.

Expressive	Retro
Pure	Monochrome
High Dynamic	Silhouette
Pin Hole	Film Grain

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77 camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

Product Images

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera / Turned On

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

Rear of the Camera / Quick Menu

Rear of the Camera / Touchscreen

Rear of the Camera / Touchscreen

Top of the Camera

Bottom of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77 takes touchscreen camera technology to its extreme conclusion, with just four external controls placing the emphasis firmly on using the massive LCD screen to operate the camera. For the most part this works well, but constantly interacting with the LCD does inevitably slow things down, so it's best to try the FX77 before you buy if possible.

The combination of a fast ultra-wide-angle 5x zoom lens, tried and tested FX series styling, and sensible 12 megapixel CCD sensor is a sound basis for the FX77. The fast f/2.5 lens is a cut above most of the FX77's competitors, allowing the camera to collect more light and effectively allowing you to use a slower ISO speed to achieve a similar shutter speed. Having such a wide-angle setting of 24mm is also a real attraction of this model, with the telephoto reach of 120mm long enough for candid head and shoulder shots. Image quality is slightly improved on the previous FX70 model, with a little noise at ISO 400, becoming more obvious at ISO 800 along with smearing of fine details, and the fastest speed of ISO 1600 being something of a last resort. Full HD movies with stereo sound, various creative effects and full use of the zoom are the icing on the cake.

The touchscreen interface is largely well-thought out, making most sense to anyone who's used any kind of recent Apple product or Smart Phone. The system isn't overly complex for new users to literally get to grips with, with the main exception being the total reliance on caption-less icons, requiring a certain amount of guesswork on the part of the user at least until you've used the camera for a while. The jury's also still out for us on whether a touchscreen interface makes absolute sense for a digital camera, but the ability to focus on and even capture your subject with the touch of a finger is undeniably appealing and genuinely useful.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77 may look unassuming at first glance, but it offers a lot of cutting-edge technology underneath that rather plain exterior, the majority of which makes it easier to take good photos. If you're already a convert to touch-screen technology, then the FX77 is a perfect fit - just be sure that controlling the camera in this way really is for you, as there's no going back...

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	3.5
Image quality	4
Value for money	4

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX77 from around the web.

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