Panasonic Lumix DMC FS25 Review

The Panasonic Lumix DMC FS25 is an unfussy, pocket camera. It has 12 megapixels, a 5x optical zoom lens and a 3 inch LCD screen. The Lumix DMC FS25 is also easy to use and has one or two extra features thrown in, such as image stabilisation, bracketing and some extra colour modes.

There is little to choose between this camera and more expensive models when it comes to picture quality. I think it is very reasonably priced.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
The Lumix DMC FS25 copes well with this scene. There is little problem caused by sun glare and there is plenty of contrast showing in the shot. The camera also handles shady areas well such as the names of the boats. The Lumix DMC FS25 outperforms the majority of smaller compacts in this area.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
This is one of my tougher test shots, but again the camera does well. Colours are strong. There is a crispness to the photo that other cameras find difficult to match.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
In places there is a slight purple tinge as blue lines are not quite perfect. Sharpness is good again.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
Sharpness is definitely above average. In fact for a small snapshot camera that packs in this number of megapixels the overall quality of the photos is very impressive.

Outdoor Portrait
There are no problems here. I always look on this as my most straightforward test. The Lumix DMC FS25 adds a touch of warmth to the shot.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
This shot is about standard for a pocket digital camera. The light from the flash is a little harsh and this causes the light to bounce back off the face and into the lens.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
Even though the lighting used for this test photo is good, most digital camera still find it difficult to produce a completely noise free picture. This is exactly what happens with the Lumix DMC FS25. I like the colours in the picture, but noise just takes the edge of the definition. Once light falls flash will be needed in most situations.

Colours
Looking at the skies in the scenic shots I can see that as with other Panasonic digital cameras colours can be strong. This is especially true of blue. This can give photographs a bit of added zest at the expense of a more natural feel.

Macro
This is another solid effort from the Lumix DMC FS25. Colours are true and focusing is pretty good. You would need to spend a lot more money to get a significant increase in quality.

ISO 400 and ISO 1600
As with more or less any pocket digital camera noise will show in darker areas of a photo whatever ISO setting you use. As ISO increases noise becomes more of an issue.

Overall
In terms of picture quality the Lumix DMC FS25 gets most things right. You cannot expect much more from a pocket camera.

Shutter lag times were a shade slower than standard. A single shot timed 0.42 seconds and five took 15.52 seconds. With flash on the times were 0.59 seconds for one shot and 18.33 seconds for five.

To turn on the Lumix DMC FS25 and take the first shot took 2.78 seconds. This is again just a shade slower than standard.

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

This is a simple looking camera. It has a small grip on the front to help hold the camera steady. It comes in black and silver versions.

97 x 57.9 x 21.8mm

126g

Lithium ion. Panasonic estimates you should be able to take around 330 photos in between charges.

Panasonic has built 50mb of storage into the Lumix DMC FS25. This is enough for around 11 photos. The camera is compatible with SD and SDHC memory cards.

Click here to save money on SD cards..

Very good. You should have little problem finding the option you would like in the menu system.

Picture quality - simple design - value for money

Shutter delay times could be a bit faster

The next camera down in this group of Panasonic digital cameras is the Panasonic Lumix DMC FS15.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC FS25 is a good, all round, point and shoot digital camera. I was impressed with the results of my tests and it offers a bit of extra value over some of the more expensive cameras with similar specifications.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menu

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 FS25