The Panasonic DMC FX500 is a 10 megapixel digital camera with a 5x optical zoom. If you are prepared to shoot at a lower resolution then extra zoom becomes available. The maximum zoom is 8.9x if you are shooting at 2 megapixels. 4x digital zoom is a further option for increasing zoom.

The focal length of the lens is equivalent to 25 - 125mm in 35mm format. This makes the lens wide angle and is ideal for squeezing in wide landscapes, groups of people and buildings.

• Special resolution for widescreen television playback
• Special resolution for 6 x 4 inch prints
• Image stabilisation
• Self timer 2 or 10 seconds
• Colour options - Standard, Natural, Vivid, Black & White, Sepia, Cool, Warm
• Still Image Rec. with Audio 5 sec
• Audio Dubbing Max. 10sec
• Digital Red Eye Correction
• Adjust contrast, sharpness, saturation
• Noise reduction
• Sensor size: 1/2.33 inches
• Macro focusing: 5cm
• Face Detection focusing

The LCD monitor is 3 inches in size. The screen is made up of around 230,000 dots. It has a special high angle mode. This makes it easy to see the screen if you need to hold the camera above eye level to take a picture over a crowd.

The screen also has touch screen capabilities. Some options are selected by touching the screen while others are controlled through the more traditional menu system.

The flash modes are: Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction and Forced Off. The maximum flash range is 6m. This falls to 2.8m when the zoom lens is fully extended.

There are a number of preset scene modes. These are: Portrait, Soft Skin, Self-Portrait, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Food, Party, Candle Light, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Sunset, High sensitivity, Hi-Speed Burst, Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow and Aerial photo.

You can shoot High Definition movies with a widescreen resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The top recording speed is 30 frames per second. Sound can be recorded and zoom can be applied before shooting starts.

Among the more advanced features are:

• Manual exposure mode
• Aperture priority
• Shutter priority
• Apertrue Range: Wide: F2.8 - F8 Tele: F5.9 - F8
• ISO Sensitivity (Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600). (High Sensitivity Mode : Auto(1600 - 6400) )
• White Balance (Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen, White Set, White Balance Adjustment)
• Exposure Compensation (1/3 EV step, +/-2 EV)
• Backlight Compensation
• Auto (AE) Bracketing (+/- 1/3 EV ~1EV step, 3 frames)
• Metering: Multiple Point, Centre Weighted, Spot
• Shutter Speed Range: 60 - 1/2000 seconds
• Unlimited consecutive shooting
• Burst Shooting Mode 5 shots at a top speed of 2.5 frames per second

All the necessary cables and software are supplied to attach the Panasonic DMC FX500 to a computer, television set and compatible printer. Panasonic DMC FX500

Description:	10 megapixels and a 5x optical zoom lens
Ease of Use:	8
Features:	9
Colour:	8
Macro:	8
Indoors:	8
Value for Money:	8
Style:	8
Movie Mode:	9
Image Quality:	8
Build Quality:	8
Total:	82
Verdict:	Loads of features, including manual exposure modes and High Definition movies. This camera offers something more than all the more standard pocket cameras. It is well worth closer inspection.
Review Date:	August 2008
Click for:	Specification Sample Images Features

Camera	Rating
Canon IXUS 85 IS	86
Canon IXUS 90 IS	86
Canon IXUS 80 IS	85
Fuji Finepix F50fd	84
Panasonic DMC FS5	84
Panasonic DMC FS3	84
Panasonic DMC FS20	84
Sony DSC T2	83

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 FX500