The Panasonic Lumix DMC FT1 is a waterproof and shockproof digital camera. It is waterproof to 3m and shockproof to 1.5m. It has 12 megapixels and a 4.6x, wide angle, optical zoom lens. The Lumix DMC FT1 is also able to capture High Definition movies.

At the time of writing I see this camera as the best all round camera of its type. It has a good set of features and performs very well.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
The Lumix DMC FT1 copes quite well with the combination of sun glare and very light areas found on the boats. Although some detail is lost and one or two blue lines take on a purple tinge this camera coped better than other cameras tested at the same time.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
In terms of focusing this is a good effort. This scene is very distant in paces, but the Lumix DMC FT1 does a good job of bringing as much of the scene into focus as it can. One point I have noticed with this camera is it finds it difficult to show detail in the darker areas of the shot. In this example a large area of the tree on the right of the shot shots no detail at all.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
Zooming in produces no major issues. Again the photo is sharp enough to produce crisp prints above snapshot size. I like the colours in this shot, especially the green trees.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
Wrapping up the outdoor shots taken at distance is another sharp photo. The brickwork stands out when the photo is blown up in size. The colours are well balanced.

Outdoor Portrait
Using the white balance setting of shady provides a pleasant, warm look to this photo. The Lumix DMC FT1 copes well moving in closer. This is another shot where focusing is sharp. You should have little problem with standard outdoor portrait shots.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
Most of the lighting hits the right points. There are one or two darker areas and the entire photo could be a bit brighter. It is still a decent overall effort.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
This is one of the better attempts to produce a portrait shot using only natural lighting. There is less noise and greater definition to the shot than most cameras manage.

Colours
Looking through my test shots I can see the Lumix DMC FT1 is capable of producing some fairly powerful colours. This is especially noticeable in the second outdoor shot.

Macro
If you buy a waterproof point and shoot digital camera then macro photos are unlikely to be high up on your list of priorities. Even so this camera is capable of taking a good close up shot if the need arises.

ISO 400 and ISO 1600
There is not a great deal to report here. As with just about all compact digital cameras noise becomes an issue fairly quickly when lighting levels fall. All you can do is make sure there is as much light available as possible.

Overall
My overall impression is very positive. Picture quality is some way above average and you should have no problems producing social snapshots.

There were no problems encountered with shutter lag. A single shot was timed at 03.2 seconds and five shots at 8.28 seconds. With flash on the times were 0.47 seconds for a single shot and 14.93 seconds for five photos.

Turning the camera on and taking the first picture was fast at 2.38 seconds.

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

This camera has a rectangular shape with sloping edges. It has quite a plain look.

98.3 x 63.1 x 23mm

162.5g

Lithium ion. Panasonic suggests you should be able to get around 340 shots in between charges.

Panasonic has built 40mb of storage into the Lumix DMC FT1. This is enough for around 6 photos. The camera is compatible with SD and SDHC memory cards.

Click here to save money on SD cards..

Very good. There are a few features worth spending some time getting to know if you are going to get full value for your money. Aside from that you should find this camera easy to use.

Picture quality -waterproof - shockproof - high definition movies

Lack of definition in dark, shaded areas

The pick of the other waterproof models is the Canon Powershot D10.

In addition to being shockproof and waterproof the Panasonic Lumix DMC FT1 has a lot going for it. I liked the quality of the photos the camera produced. Throw in High Definition movies, a wide angle lens and some useful ease of use features and you have an excellent camera.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menu

Description:	12 megapixels 4.6x optical zoom
Ease of Use:	8
Features:	9
Colour:	9
Macro:	8
Indoors:	8
Value for Money:	8
Style:	8
Movie Mode:	9
Image Quality:	8
Build Quality:	8
Total:	83
Verdict:	This is an impressive, waterproof and shockproof camera. It has a lot of other impressive features as well, such as High Definition movies. Picture quality is good too. I could find very little to fault the camera. Recommended.
Review Date:	September 2009
Related Pages:	Panasonic DMC FT1 Specification Panasonic DMC FT1 Sample Images Panasonic DMC FT1 Features
Comparisons:	Canon Powershot D10 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC FT1

	GBP 219.99
	GBP 237.99
	GBP 253.04
	GBP 253.8
	GBP 279
	GBP 349.99
Click a flag for prices from other countries:

Camera	Rating
Panasonic DMC FT1	83
Canon Powershot D10	82
Olympus MJU Tough 8000	82
Olympus MJU Tough 6010	81
Olympus MJU Tough 6000	81
Fuji Finepix Z33WP	77

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 FT1