Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35 First Thoughts

[Jim Keenan]

In the compact digital camera world, standard zoom lenses have tended to start out in the low- to mid-30mm focal range at the wide-angle end of the spectrum, a 35mm-equivalent length that isn't really all that wide. Every so often you'll come across a 27 or 28mm, but those have tended to be the exception rather than the rule. As a brand, Panasonic's lineup has a fairly high concentration of 28 to low-30mm lenses, but the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35 breaks new ground in the compact wide angle sweepstakes: a 4x optical zoom starting out at 25mm.

Is wider better? Well, the lens on Panasonic's new FX35 is one of the most defect-free compact digital performers I've come across, with minimal barrel distortion at the wide angle end. The rest of the camera surrounding that lens comes packaged in a smart-looking metal body with a 2.5 inch monitor, Panasonic's latest generation Venus Engine IV processor, and excellent shutter response. Image quality and color appear first-rate in my initial shots.

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One gripe about Panasonic has been that some of its past offerings don't seem to quite match competitors' ISO noise performance. Will the new Venus Engine processor bring Panasonic in line with the other guys? The jury is still out on that one and there's a lot more shooting to come, but the Panasonic is off to a good start and the complete review in a week or so will deliver the final verdict.

Additional Sample Images

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[chengdude]

As an FX fan, I'm looking forward to the complete review!

Panasonic just announced the FX-500, which for me makes this camera a lame duck before it's even made it to wider distribution. Granted, the FX-500 is bigger (essentially in only one dimension to accommodate a larger screen), but given all the features it has over the FX-35, the $50 difference in MSRP seems too close to justify the two sitting side-by-side on store shelves.

[usapatriot]

I'm looking forward to the full review as well.

I love the 25mm wide angle lens!

[dbizzell]

It appears that the FX35 and FX500 are nearly identical cameras as far as the core of the camera goes. Same lens, engine, sensor, speed, IS and so forth. My point is that if the image quality of the FX35 is good in the upcoming review, then the FX500 image quality should be the nearly identical. The addition of manual modes in the FX500 is what is exciting to me, it could be a great pocket camera for travel, and learning more about photography.

It looks like Panasonic has bet the boat on this combination of sensor, engine, and software. All their new cameras seem to use it, they just change lenses and "soft" features.

[David Rasnake]

It looks like Panasonic has bet the boat on this combination of sensor, engine, and software. All their new cameras seem to use it, they just change lenses and "soft" features.

Interesting observation. It looks like there's some variation, though, among the new cameras. I was noticing in doing a little research that the TZ5 uses the same physically sized sensor, but at a different resolution (9.1 MP) than seen in the FX/FS cameras. Wonder why choose yet a third different sensor, especially in the same physical size?

dr

[dbizzell]

I thought it was a function of effective pixels due to the extra long zoom in the TZ models, but that it used the same sensor. I could easily be wrong, but that is what I thought of first when the specs were the same. While images from the TZ series could be of different quality than the FX because of the lens, the FX35 and FX500 Should be the same in at least basic picture quality. I see that the FX35 review is posted. I should go read that.

Is there someone at Panasonic that could shed some light on their R&D strategy?

[David Rasnake]

Of course, you're quite right (duh!). Had one of those "missing the obvious" moments...

I'll see what I can find out as to the R&D questions, though they may not be willing to share much "on the record."

dr