Panasonic DMC FX3 Review

The Panasonic DMC FX3 is a six megapixel digital camera with a three times optical zoom lens. It is just about small enough to fit into a pocket. In terms of features the DMC FX3 is fairly straightforward and resembles a standard point and shoot camera. It is also easy to use. One popular feature included here is image stabilisation. This is something you do not see very often on a pocket sized digital camera with a three times optical zoom.

I can see this camera appealing to a wide audience as it is suitable for anyone looking for a well made, no fuss digital camera.

Taking all the test photos into consideration I would say the DMC FX3 produces shots that are some way above average in quality. As ever there are one or two issues, but the camera is very good for the price it is sold at.

Starting off by taking a look at the outdoor landscape or scenic type shots there are three main points I would like to make. Focusing is good without quite hitting the heights reached by other cameras. Second the colours in each shot are slightly stronger than what I consider to be normal. I think this helps to add a little more life to each photo, but this type of observation is really a matter of personal taste. My third point is that I like the lighting in the shots and I feel this helps to add a bit of extra life to them.

As I have mentioned the focusing is good without being perfect. Looking at the key markers that I use such as the brickwork on the building and the names on the boats in the first test shot I can see a difference in the quality of the DMC FX3 and that produced by some of the sharper Canon digital cameras I have reviewed recently. There is no noticeable decrease in the levels of sharpness as you move away from the centre of each photo.

The reflection of the sun is difficult to control at this time of the year as the sun gets lower in the sky. This causes a loss of detail in the boats and also the wooden slats under the roof of the building in the first photo. I have also noticed a tendency for blues to take on a purple ting under the bright sunlight. One final issue with the outdoor photos is that the skies are not completely smooth. I put this down to low levels of noise creeping into the shots. This is not likely to be an issue with prints up to 5 x 7", but may become more noticeable if you are planning to print at sizes much larger than this.

The dedicated test for colours does not show up any real concerns. The colours are well balanced. No single colour dominates.

I am pleased by both the indoor and outdoor portraits. In both shots focusing is very good. In fact the indoor shot is much better in this respect than I am used to seeing. There is a small amount of red eye in the shot, but it is difficult to find a compact digital camera that does not produce any red eye at all. The outdoor portrait also works well. I like the warm feeling this shot has. This is another example of the colours being a touch stronger than standard. Again I feel this adds to the picture.

Based on the indoor portrait and also the shot of beer bottles taken in almost complete darkness I am confident that the DMC FX3 can cope with lowlight while you remain in the range of the auto focus illuminator and flash unit.

Although I would not advise you to buy this camera specifically for close up shots it should be able to handle the occasional macro shot without a problem. My test shot produced a sharp photo that was also bright and clear.

As with other digital cameras the DMC FX3 starts to struggle as soon as the ISO rating is pushed up. At ISO 400 picture quality is bordering on very poor as noise becomes a big problem.

I was able to take a single photo in 0.38 seconds and five photos in 9.69 seconds. These are standard times.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

The 3x optical zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 35 - 105mm in 35mm format. There is also a feature called extra optical zoom. This increases the amount of available zoom to a maximum 4.1x when you take shots at three megapixels or less. There is also a 4x digital zoom.

For composing images and accessing the menu there is a 2.5" LCD screen. This is made up of around 115,000 pixels. I found the screen to be much easier to see than normal when working in bright sunshine. There is no viewfinder.

The built in flash unit has a maximum range of 4m. This falls to around 2.2m when the zoom lens is in use. The flash modes are Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced On/Off.

To help you take the best possible photo a number of preprogrammed scene modes are available. These are Portrait, Soft Skin, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Self-Portrait, Food, Party, Candle, Fireworks, Starry Sky, Baby1, Baby2, Snow, High sensitivity and Underwater. When you select a scene mode the DMC FX3 will use what it considers to be the optimum settings for the shot.

A small number of effects are available. These allow you to shoot in black and white or sepia or to add a warmer feel to your photos. You can also try vivid and natural modes.

Other useful features include a macro mode (allowing the camera to focus from 5cm away from the subject), a histogram and a self timer (two or ten second delay). You can also capture five seconds of sound when taking a picture or add up to ten seconds of commentary afterwards.

Panasonic offer a selection of aspect ratios. These allow you to take photos that are different shapes. For example you can take a photo that is the perfect shape for displaying on a widescreen television or you can select a shape that is ideal for printing on 6 x 4" paper without the need for the top or bottom of the shot to be trimmed.

Among the more advanced features are exposure compensation (1/3 EV step, -2 - +2 EV), white balance (Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Halogen / White Set White Balance Adjustment ( 150K step, -1500 - +1500 K) (except for auto set)), auto bracketing (+/- 1/3 EV -1EV step, 3 frames) and ISO sensitivity (Auto / 100 / 200 / 400). Backlight compensation is also available in Simple Mode.

Shutter speeds and aperture size are under the control of the camera. It can select a shutter speed between 8 - 1/2000 seconds and an aperture between Wide: F2.8 / F5.6 (2 steps) Tele: F5.0 / F10 (2 steps).

There is a continuous shooting mode that allows you to snap away until the memory card is full. A faster burst mode can also be used. This lets you take up to three frames per second for a maximum of eight shots.

After a picture has been taken you can play it back as a slideshow, create a smaller copy (perhaps suitable for sending by email) and also crop/trim the photo.

The DMC FX3 is one of the few digital cameras to also offer a wide screen movie mode. In this mode the maximum, resolution is 848 x 480 pixels. In a more standard shooting mode the maximum resolution is 640 x 480 pixels. In both cases the top recording speed is thirty frames per second. The duration of each movie is limited to 2GB of storage. You can zoom in and out before you start to record, but not while recording is in progress. Sound can be captured as well.

Panasonic supplies all the necessary cables and software to connect the DMC FX3 to a computer, television set and a PictBridge compatible printer.

I find Panasonic digital cameras very easy to use. All the key controls can be found on the back and top of the camera. When you need to dig into the menu to access other controls you will find it well presented and easy to read. It follows a clear sequence and you should soon be able to find what you are looking for. There is also a Simple Mode. This cuts down menu options to an absolute minimum.

You can pick up a Panasonic DMC FX3 for around £155. This compares to around £155 for a Canon IXUS 60, £205 for a Sony DSC T9 and £160 for a Nikon Coolpix S9.

When you take into account features such as image stabilisation I would say this camera offers good value for money.

I like the look of the DMC FX3. Although the design is quite standard the camera has a neat and tidy look to it. It is rounded at each end and this helps to make it look less stark than some digital cameras. You can pick one up in either black or silver.

It weighs 125g and has dimensions of 94.1 x 51.1 x 24.2 mm.

Power is supplied by a lithium ion battery. Panasonic estimates that the DMC FX3 should be able to take around 320 photos before the battery needs to be recharged.

13.5MB of storage are built into the camera. I was able to take just four photos before the internal memory was full. At the time of writing the review Panasonic are selling this camera with a free 512mb SD card. If you can get your hands on one of these then you should have no problems with storage for quite a while. The DMC FX3 is also compatible with SDHC (High Capacity) cards.

Click here to save money on SD cards.

Image stabilisation
Aspect ratios
Widescreen movies
Clear LCD screen in the sun
Vivid colours
Build quality
Ease of use

High ISO levels

There is a lot to like about the Panasonic DMC FX3. Build quality appears to be good and I like the style of the camera. Picture quality is above average and the camera sells at a very reasonable price.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menus

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Panasonic DMC FX3