By Leonard Goh
21/08/2008
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/digitalcameras/0,39005881,43812092p,00.htm

We've always thought Panasonic would roll out a followup to the popular touchscreen-enabled FX520, but instead the company introduced the Lumix DMC-FX180, successor to the FX100. We were initially skeptical about the 14-megapixel sensor (small sensors with high resolutions tends to generate more noise) but the shooter surprised us with very decent image quality. The extensive shooting modes and a wide array of scene settings are sweeteners to an otherwise conventional point-and-shoot.

Design

The styling of the FX180 is almost indistinguishable from the rest of the shooters in the FX-series. The clean, immaculate front profile and clearly labeled buttons on the rear makes this point-and-shoot appear less intimidating, despite its underlying host of features.

Some slight changes to the design would be the buttons on the top. The power switch, zoom rocker and E-zoom button now have a ridged surface which supposedly helps provide a better grip during operation. However, we didn't feel any difference when using it.

The mode dial is nestled in the top right corner and it provided accurate response when switching between features.

As with its newer models, the FX180 has a shooting/playback switch for toggling between the two modes. This is conveniently located below the mode dial for easy access with the thumb. The four-way directional pad serves to navigate the menus and doubles as shortcut keys to commonly used features like self-timer, flash, exposure compensation and macro mode. But what we really like is the Q.Menu, which brings up the most commonly changed settings like burst modes, metering options, focusing controls, ISO sensitivity, etc. This saved us plenty of time because we did not have to navigate through the menu.

But this shooter is not light. Tipping the scales at 179g (with battery and SD card), it is one of the heftiest point-and-shoot we've come across. We put the camera in the hands of ladies and the first thing they mentioned was the weight. But considering how feature-packed this camera is, the weight shouldn't pose a problem for those who are looking for a powerful compact.

Overall, the FX180 is a nicely designed point-and-shoot, though it has no outstanding characteristics to shout about.

Features

One of the main features of the FX180 would be its 14-megapixel sensor. This makes it one of the highest resolution point-and-shoots in the market besides the Samsung NV100HD and Nikon's Coolpix S710. While we've always been advocating that more pixels doesn't equate to better image quality, a high-resolution sensor is always handy if you plan to make big prints or crop the picture.

Panasonic's recent shooters all tout wide-angle lenses and the FX180 is no exception. The optics is widest at 28mm. Although it may not be as wide at the 25mm lens on the FX520, we think it should suffice for most shutterbugs. It also has an optical image stabilizer system which worked well when we tested it--shots snapped at 1/20 seconds were acceptably sharp with no noticeable blur.

For advanced users, the point-and-shoot has a manual mode which allows overriding of the exposure settings. But this option is a little limiting because the aperture could only be toggled between two settings, depending on what zoom range you're at. Also, while adjusting the exposure, we weren't able to zoom and had to confirm the settings before we were allowed to extend/retract the lens' reach.

The shooter is able to capture images in RAW format,which means finicky photographers will have more room for control when post-processing the files on the computer. But take note that each RAW file takes up 17MB of disk space, so use a larger-capacity media if you intend to snap in this format. It also has a setting that allowed us to capture RAW + JPEG, which will simultaneously record one image in two different formats. To convert the RAW files, Panasonic has included the SilkyPix program in its software bundle.

The FX180 actually has a lot of interesting features. For example, there is a Multi Exposure mode which lets you overlay up to three images on top of each other and the exposure is automatically optimized to prevent overexposure. In Scene mode, there is a Pin Hole option, which vignettes the edges of the picture for a more artistic look. If you accidentally shot a picture at a slight angle, you can use the Leveling tool in playback mode to make corrections but this will deteriorate the image quality slightly as stated on Panasonic's Web site. Also, you can adjust the AF-point to suit the shooting situation you're in. Some may chide these features as marketing gimmicks, but we felt that these additional functions do make taking pictures more fun.

Keeping with the recent tradition of most Lumix cameras, the FX180 is capable of capturing HD-quality (1,280 x 720 pixels) video clips at 30 frames per second (fps). As with its RAW files, the recordings take up chunks of memory--a 37-second clip consumed nearly 100MB. While the clip quality was good, we could not zoom while recording.

The 2.7-inch LCD provided good viewing angle when we tested it, and the display's brightness could be adjusted for different shooting situations such as holding the camera overhead or dimmed to conserve battery life.

The shooter has 50MB of internal memory and this will probably be enough for less than 10 shots in JPEG. We advise expanding the memory with an SD or SDHC card if you intend to shoot in RAW format or capture HD-quality video.

Performance

The FX180 has slightly faster performance compared with its predecessor, the FX100. The startup time clocked 2 seconds, and shutterlag measured 0.1 second. Time-to-first-shot however, remained at 2.4 seconds.

The shooter was fast to focus and if you activate QuickAF, the camera will constantly scan the frame and readjust the focus if necessary. It worked well when we pointed it at a nearby subject and then shifted it to a distant object. But take note that contrast plays an important role in the effectiveness of this feature--a high-contrast scene will typically allow for faster focusing compared to a low-contrast environment.

The exposure meter tended to underexpose our shots, especially when a large portion of the scene is the sky. This is typical of most point-and-shoots, and can be easily overcome by manually compensating the exposure by adding 1/3 or 2/3 stops.

In full resolution, the point-and-shoot fired off at 2 frames per second for eight pictures before the memory buffer was filled. But if you are shooting RAW (or RAW + JPEG), the shooting speed may dip slightly, as we have experienced.

According to CIPA standards, the Lithium-ion battery for the FX180 allows for 330 shots, but we think this figure will vary according to usage patterns. We shot a couple of HD-quality video clips and managed to wrestle out about 200 images from the shooter before the juice pack was exhausted.

Image Quality

Panasonic claims its Venus IV image-processing engine will "give beautiful images…" and it did. Images shot across the ISO sensitivity were generally noise-free, but take note of the noise-suppression algorithm, which tended to smear away plenty of details at high ISO settings. Pictures captured at ISO 100 were the most pleasing, with virtually no digital artifacts (not even in shadow regions). We ramped up the sensitivity to ISO 400, and that's when the smearing started to be more obvious. Images shot at ISO 800 were still very much usable for large prints. But a notch up at ISO 1,600, we found the smearing a bit too intensive and some details were lost. Note that different photographers have varying thresholds for noise levels, so do take a look at our ISO comparison chart to form your own opinion.

We encountered some problems with the RAW images and are waiting for Panasonic's response on that. We will update this review once they revert.

We recommend using the Night Scenery mode if you want to capture night landscapes because the shooter will optimize the settings (ISO and shutter speed) for the shot. Images shot with this setting had very low noise levels and colors were accurate as well.

The flash output was also well-balanced most of the time, although there were occasions where it exposed for only the subject and darkened the background too much. We tried snapping another shot with the Night Portrait mode, and the result was pretty much similar.

White balance was accurate under different lighting, and the shooter had no difficulty getting the skin tone right even under a mix of tungsten and fluorescent lighting.       Click on the images for larger pictures.

Conclusion

So, does the FX180 warrant an upgrade from the FX100? Definitely, because the suite of new features such as RAW capture and different shooting modes are very enticing--these will be an incentive for those looking to purchase their second or third camera. However, the multitude of features may also scare off potential buyers who are still new to digital imaging. Options like RAW and manual exposure settings are best left to the advanced photographers and aspiring shutterbugs.