A slim and beautiful camera announced in May 2007, the Panasonic FX100 has specs (read DPReview.com’s commentary on the DMC-FX100) that really make me want it.
Feature highlights
In no particular order, these features are the ones to look forward to.
HD video: At least we know that the FX100 won’t be left behind by other cameras that sport this capability, such as the Powershot TX1
28mm wide angle focal length: Personally, this is the minimum focal length that I seek on compact digital cameras. 28mm lets me take a great variety of wide-angle shots when traveling, and is real handy in tight spaces when you want to get everybody in the frame.
Hi-speed burst mode:
This is one of the scene modes available on the FX100. In this mode, you get to capture pictures at the rate of 8 fps (frames per second).
(OK … but I just have to mention this :-) …) Now, that beats the pants off 99% of digital SLR cameras currently on the market (2.5, 3 or 5 fps), matches the Canon 1D, Nikon D2H / D2Hs and Nikon D2X / D2Xs in 6.7 MP crop mode; slightly slower than the 8.5 fps Canon EOS 1D Mark II / IIn cameras; and definitely slower than Canon’s current flagship action camera, the 10 fps EOS 1D Mark III.
There are some limitations imposed in this mode — the exposure and focus is fixed at the first frame, and you can only capture photos at reduced resolutions of 3-megapixel in 4:3 aspect, or 2 MP in 16:9. However, it’s useful in some situations — say, you want to capture sports cars or athletes crossing the finishing line.
You’d want to pre-focus beforehand, and then fire off the shots as the action happens. And 2 or 3 MP is sufficient for making uncropped 4 x 6 or 5 x prints.
A nice touch is that you can continue shooting photos in this mode until the memory cards fill up, but Panasonic is careful to warn you that: “The consecutive shooting speed varies depending on the memory card. The number of recordable picture depends on the memory card size, battery life, picture size, and compression”.
12.2 MP (megapixels)? I’m not sure if this is a welcome thing. We’ll have to wait for image samples to assess whether Panasonic’s claim that … “This super-high resolution is possible because sufficient light-receiving area is allocated to each pixel, thus preventing noise that would otherwise be generated by a smaller pixel area” … works well at keeping noise under control. For the technically-minded, here’s a forum post that has the links to the technical data for various Panasonic sensors, including the one that powers the FX100.
Official FX100 website
The official portal for this camera can be found at Panasonic.co.jp. You can find explanatory notes on features and functionality there.
Related posts
- A compilation of Panasonic FX100 sample photos