Overview
One of the attractions of the Panasonic Lumix DMC FX40 is its extreme wide angle lens. This helps you to squeeze much more width into your photos. The lens gives you 5x zoom. You can also increase the amount of zoom in a maximum of 9.8x when shooting at low resolutions. Other features include 12 megapixels, HD movies and image stabilisation. The Lumix DMC FX40 is fairly easy to use.
Why Buy The Panasonic DMC FX40
The Lumix DMC FX40 is a well made, attractive, pocket digital camera. The wide lens is likely to be attractive to people who enjoy landscape photography or other types of photography where you look to squeeze in wide scenes.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
12
5x
2.5 inches
95.3 x 52.9 x 21.5 mm
128g
Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:
5cm
Yes
No
Lithium-ion Rechargeable
SD/SDHC
Image Quality - See Sample Images Below
Outdoor Scenic Shots in Good Light
Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom):
I am not totally convinced by the picture quality produced by the Lumix DMC FX40. There is quite a lot of detail lost from the boats as the camera finds it hard to cope with the glare of the sun. On top of this the photo is softer than I am used to seeing, especially as you move towards the edge of the shot.
Outdoor 2 (No Zoom):
Here you can clearly see the impact having such a wide angle lens has. There is far more of the scene packed into the shot. Colours are strong with plenty of power in the skies and in the greenery of the trees.
Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom):
As in the second outdoor shot there is plenty of depth to the colours. Despite the extreme wide angle of the lens the fact that it offers 5x zoom means you can still zoom in towards your subject. The photo is softer than I am used to seeing from Panasonic cameras.
Outdoor 4 (Building):
Having looked at my four outdoor shots the sharpness of the images does not match up to the same level the majority of digital cameras reach. There is a fall off in sharpness as you move towards the edges of the shots. With snapshot sized prints this will not always be obvious, but if you want to make larger prints you may well start to notice a difference.
Portraits
Outdoor Portrait:
This photo was taken in the shade, so I used the white balance setting of shady. This helps to give the colours a small boost and stop the photo from looking dull. I like the colours in the shot. Working much closer in also leads to a much sharper photo.
Indoor Portrait with Flash:
The flash produced by the Lumix DMC FX40 is harsh. This washes some of the colour out of the shot. It also makes areas of the face reflective and they end up showing shiny areas of light.
Indoor Portrait without Flash:
In my opinion this shot has a far more natural look to it than the one produced using flash. As with the majority of indoor shots taken when the light is not completely perfect a small amount of noise shows in the shot and this stops the definition from being perfect.
Macro, Colours and Noise
Macro:
My macro shot shows plenty of detail. In my test set up the camera finds it difficult to get lots of light into the picture.
Colours:
Panasonic digital cameras tend to produce very strong colours, although in my opinion this has been toned down over the last couple of years. What level of colour you like to see is really down to personal taste. Although I like the amount of colour in my shots, I would not want to see the colours any stronger than these.
ISO 400 and ISO 1600:
There is nothing out of the ordinary to report when it comes to noise. I would suggest only increasing ISO levels when you feel it is absolutely necessary.
Summary
Snapshot sized prints should not be a problem. If you want to go much larger the combination of such a wide angle lens and the number of pixels crammed onto the sensor means the Lumix DMC FX40 finds it hard to match some of the quality shown by other cameras in the Panasonic range.
Style
The Lumix DMC FX40 should fit into most pockets. It has a simple, unfussy design. You can buy the camera in black, red and silver.
Shutter Lag Times
Single Shot
Five Shots
Single Shot With Flash
Five Shots With Flash
Turn on Time
0.31 seconds
10.59 seconds
0.57 seconds
15.37 seconds
2.66 seconds
Ease of Use
Although Panasonic has built a few extra features into the Lumix DMC FX40 it is easy to find your way around.
Points I Like
Extreme wide angle lens - HD movies - simple design - ease of use
Where it Could Improve
Pictures could be a shade sharper
Verdict
The Panasonic Lumix DMC FX40 takes bright colourful pictures. I found the pictures could start to soften round the edges and is likely to start to show as you make larger prints. Aside from that point I like the features and ease of use the camera offers.
Product Shots
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
Top Rated Cameras in this Category
Canon IXUS 310 HS Rating 86/100
The Canon IXUS 310 HS is one of the best touch controlled digital cameras. It has 12 megapixels and a 4.4x wide angle lens. The screen is very responsive to touch. This is due partly to the larger screen size than many touch controlled digital cameras offer. Picture quality is excellent and the build quality is top quality. If you are looking for a touch controlled digital camera the IXUS 310 HS is worth a very close look.
Read Review: Canon IXUS 310 HS Review
Canon IXUS 220 HS Rating 86/100
The Canon IXUS 220 HS is a pocket sized digital camera. It looks good, is well made and can take an impressive snapshot in most situations. It may not have every in vogue feature, but it has an extra touch of all round quality about it
Read Review: Canon IXUS 220 HS Review
Canon IXUS 115 HS Rating 86/100
The Canon IXUS 115 HS is a classy looking, pocket digital camera. It can shoot Full HD movies and has a high quality 3 inch LCD screen. When it comes to picture quality the IXUS 115 HS outclasses many of its direct competitors.
Read Review: Canon IXUS 115 HS Review
Related Pages
Panasonic DMC FX40 Review Panasonic DMC FX40 Specification Panasonic DMC FX40 Sample Images Panasonic DMC FX40 Features
Review Date
June 2009
