Overview
The Panasonic Lumix DMC FS11 is a mid range, pocket digital camera. Panasonic have gone for plenty if megapixels with 14 loaded onto the sensor. The Lumix DMC FS11 has a 5x wide angle zoom lens, but this can be increased to a maximum of 10.5x if you reduce the resolution to 3 megapixels.
As a rule I rate Panasonic as one of the best digital camera brands. In this case there were one or two issues with picture quality that give me reservations about the camera. These concerns are balanced to a degree by ease of use, plenty of features and a reasonable price tag.
Key features include High Definition movies, image stabilisation and a 2.7 inch LCD screen.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
14
5x
2.7 inches
98.4 x 55.2 x 24mm
125g
Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:
5cm
Yes
No
Lithium-ion Rechargeable
SD / SDHC / SDXC
Image Quality - See Sample Images Below
Outdoor Scenic Shots in Good Light
I must admit to being disappointed with the overall sharpness of my four outdoor shots. It is not always easy to know the exact reason for this, but I found the Lumix DMC FS11 took better quality pictures if the resolution was lowered. This suggests Panasonic may have gone too far with cramming 14 megapixels on to the sensor. You will not see that much difference with small snapshot sized prints, but even they may lack the crispness other digital cameras manage.
Although the Lumix DMC FS11 did well to bring out detail in areas of light shade it struggled a bit with light coloured objects such as the boats in my first test shot. The level of detail shown on areas of the boats was less than many cameras manage.
Portraits
Once again a Panasonic digital camera has come up trumps in my outdoor portrait test. Over a period of time Panasonic have consistently produced my favourite outdoor portraits. This is down to the colour and brightness their cameras manage to achieve. With the camera much closer to the subject there are no issues with sharpness here.
Moving inside I am happy with the results too. The Lumix DMC FS11 manages to control the burst of flash light well. There is enough lighting to cover all areas, but it is soft enough to retain colour in the shot.
With flash turned off the camera does well again. There is plenty of definition in my test photo. This means you should be able to produce plenty of pleasing window lit portraits.
Macro, Colours and Noise
My macro shot has a blue colour caste. This is a reaction to the artificial lighting that was being used to light the subject. This should not be an issue if you are outdoors in natural light, but it is something to be aware of if you are using any form of studio lighting. It is quite easy to clean up with some image manipulation software, but that may well be something you do not wish to do.
I like the colours the Lumix DMC FS11 has produced. They are vibrant, but not overpowering. The blue skies look good and so does the vegetation.
I found no issues with noise. In fact this camera handled areas of light shade well.
Summary
Looking through all my test shots my feeling is that the Lumix DMC FS11 does not match up to the majority of Panasonic cameras when it comes to picture quality.
Style
The Lumix DMC FS11 is a very typical pocket camera. There is nothing flashy about the design. The camera is available in silver, black, red and pink.
Shutter Lag Times
Single Shot
Five Shots
Single Shot With Flash
Five Shots With Flash
Turn on Time
0.31 seconds
11.99 seconds
0.42 seconds
10.53 seconds
2.3 seconds
Ease of Use
I like the menu system Panasonic uses. Everything is in one place and you should have no problems finding your way around.
Points I Like
Ease of use - High Definition movies
Where it Could Improve
Pictures could be sharper
Product Shots
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
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Related Pages
Panasonic DMC FS11 Review Panasonic DMC FS11 Specification Panasonic DMC FS11 Sample Images Panasonic DMC FS11 Features
Review Date
April 2010
