The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX01
is the newest in a series of very compact high-performance
cameras that include an optical image stabilizer.
The DMC-FX01 offers the same
rugged but elegant build as previous cameras in the series.
Metal clad front and back, the only plastic on the exterior
are the cover door for the battery and memory card and the
cover door for the external connection. However, even these
are silvered and blend perfectly with the metallic surfaces
of the FX01. Moreover, depending on where the camera is purchased,
it can also be had in black, pink, and white.
Aside from the speaker and microphone, which are behind small
holes on the top left and middle of the camera, all the top-mounted
external controls for the FX01 are on the right side.
Starting at the left, the
first is the On/Off power switch. To its right is the
shutter release — a two-stage system that locks
both the focus and the exposure when pressed halfway —
and the zoom control that rings it. In addition to
adjusting the 3.6X optical zoom, the control also serves
in Playback to present images as thumbnails
on the monitor when pushed to the W side. Pushed to
once, the camera displays 9 thumbnails per screen. Pushed
a second time, 25 thumbnails are shown, and pressed a third
time, the camera displays the current month and a tiny thumbnail
to indicate the days on which photos were taken.
Pulling the zoom control to
the T side magnifies
a section of a photo currently displayed. Any portion of an
image can be zoomed into by up to 16X.
Next comes the button that controls the FX01's optical
image stabilizer, which displays a three-option menu on
the LCD monitor:
MODE 1
Stabilizes the
image continuously while it is on the monitor and the
shot is being framed, and when the image is captured.
The mode is indicated by
on the monitor.
MODE 2
Turns on the stabilizer only
when the image is being captured, and is the most effective
mode to obtain a camera shake-free image. The mode is
indicated by
on the monitor.
OFF
Turns off the stabilizer,
such as when the camera is mounted on a tripod, or when
the ambient light is sufficiently bright that stabilization
is not required. When this mode is selected,
is displayed on the monitor.
The Mode dial is the last
control on top to the FX01, and it is placed so that is extends
slightly over the camera's back. The dial has six positions,
starting with the Normal mode, represented by a red
camera icon:
Normal mode selects
aperture and shutter speed automatically — as do
all shooting modes with the FX01 — however a number
of other camera settings (white balance, exposure compensation,
etc.) can be accessed.
The Simple mode is
the easiest shooting mode of the FX01. The camera handles
everything, and the options available in the menu are
limited (see the Characteristics section of
the review for the options available when the Simple mode
is used).
Unlike the other shooting
modes that have a minimum focus distance of 50 cm (1.6
ft), the Macro mode lets the camera focus on a
subject that is from 5 cm to infinity when the zoom is
at the wide angle end, and from 30 cm to infinity at the
telephoto end.
Accesses the 17 Scene
modes of the FX01. The selection of the specific mode
is made in a menu:
Portrait
Soft Skin
Scenery
Sports
Night Portrait
Self Portrait
Night Scenery
Party
Food
Candle
Light
Fireworks
Starry Sky
Baby Mode 1
Baby Mode 2
Snow
High Sensitivity
Underwater
While most of these modes are common to many cameras,
a few are specific to the DMC-FX01:
Night Scenery has a maximum 8-second exposure
time.
Starry Sky offers a selectable exposure time
of 15, 30 or 60 seconds, and applies noise reduction.
Baby 1 and 2, which allow setting the birth
date of a child each and then automatically imprinting
on the picture the child's age in months and days.
High sensitivity automatically selects either
800 or 1600 ISO.
Underwater, which is intended for use with
the optional marine case (DMW-MCFX01) and which suppresses
blue.
Closing off the capture positions is the Movie mode:
Motion Picture Mode:
captures video clips at a frame size that is dependent
on the aspect ratio used with the camera and with monaural
sound. Two settings are possible:
4:3 format (a format compatible with traditional
television) which can be used to capture video clips
at VGA size (640 x 480 pixels), or QVGA
(320 x 240 pixels) and with a frame rate of either
30 frames per second or 10 frames per second.
Or 16:9 format (like HDTV) which has an image
size of 848 x 480 pixels, and which can be used with
30 or 10 frames per second.
Not to scale.
(Intended to show the aspect of each format)
During recording,
the focus, zoom position, and aperture are fixed at the
first frame. Moreover, although the FX01 is compatible
with both SD and MMC memory cards, movies can only be
recorded using SD cards.
While at the other end of the dial is the Playback mode:
Playback serves to
view all the photos and movies captured with the camera,
and offers its own menu (see the Characteristics
section of the review).
Four other buttons are grouped on the right of the 2.5-inch,
207,000-pixel, LCD monitor. First is the round Cursor
button that is used to navigate menus, and select photos for
review, and at its centre the MENU/SET button which
not only calls up the menu appropriate for the mode, but also
serves to register any change made in a menu.
As is common nowadays with many digital cameras, each of
the 4 directions of the Cursor button has a secondary function
when the FX01 is set to a capture mode:
The up direction
serves to adjust exposure compensation over a range
of ±2 EV in 1/3 EV increments; select automatic
exposure bracketing over a range of ±1 EV in
1/3 EV increments; and when the camera is set to the
Normal mode and the white balance is set to something
other than Auto, or when the camera is set to the Underwater
Scene mode, to compensate the white balance by adjusting
the overall colour tone towards red or blue in 10 steps
either way.
Worth noting, when the FX01 is set to the Simple
mode, the compensation functions offered by the up
direction are replaced by a duplicate of the flash mode
function assigned to the right direction.
The right direction
selects the Flash modes: Auto, Auto with Red-eye
Reduction, Forced On, Forced on with Red-eye Reduction,
Slow sync with Red-eye Reduction, or Forced off.
The down direction
starts the Review mode. The Review mode displays
the last captured image for 10 seconds, during which it
can be deleted or magnified in 2 steps, 4X and 8X. The
Review mode does not allow the Playback menu to be displayed.
The left direction
controls the Self-timer which has 2 possible delay
times: 10 or 2 seconds. When the FX01 is set to the Simple
mode, however, the self-timer is always 10 seconds.
The remaining two buttons are positioned below the Cursor
button, and each has 2 functions. Starting on the right, two
more buttons, positioned below the Cursor buttons, complete
the external controls of the FX01, and each of these provides
a dual function:
Selects the Single
or Burst modes, and each is identified by a variation
of the icon used to represent the Burst mode:
High Speed Burst captures
6 images at the highest image quality and resolution at
3 frames per second.
Low Speed Burst captures
6 images at the highest image quality and highest resolution
at 2 frames per second.
No Limit Burst captures
photos at 1.5 frames per second (highest image quality
and best resolution) for as long as there is space on
the card.
The same button, in Playback
or Review modes, can be used to Delete unwanted
images.
The other button's two functions are selected based on how
long the button is pressed. Pressing the button rapidly cycles
through the DISPLAY modes:
In the capture modes,
the FX01 normally superimposes the shooting mode, the
stabilizer mode, the sensitivity setting, the image
size and compression, the battery charge, and the remaining
number of shots that can be taken. In addition, items
such as the flash mode and the white balance will be
indicated with icons, should their current setting differ
from the default, and when the shutter release is pressed,
the camera indicates the selected aperture and shutter
speed.
A quick press of the DISPLAY button adds a real-time
histogram. An additional press removes all information,
replacing it with a composition grid. Pressing the button
again removes all superimposed information, except the
AF point and the selected aperture and shutter speed
when the shutter release is depressed to the halfway
point.
In the Playback mode,
the DISPLAY button also controls the quantity of information
superimposed on the image. By default, the camera displays
the image with the Playback mode's icon in the upper
left, the image size, compression and battery charge.
Below, the image's file name is indicated as well as
its position within the group of photos on the card,
while the capture date is clearly shown at the bottom
of the screen.
Pressing the DISPLAY button
once adds the image's histogram, while pressing it a
second time removes all superimposed information, leaving
only the photo.
As noted above, the same button also accesses the LCD
MODE function if it is held for more that 1 second.
Is effectively a quick
brightness control over the LCD. While a very gradual
brightness control is available in the Setup
section of the FX01's menu (see the Interface
and Software section of the review for more detail
about the Setup menu), the LCD MODE function makes
it possible to increase the brightness of the screen
when outdoors, and even boost the brightness so that
the picture looks normal when the screen is viewed while
the camera is held high as when shooting over people's
heads.
The Panasonic DMC-FX01 continues
the good ergonomic design of the models it has evolved from,
and adds some new imaginative features such as the LCD Mode
function.
The DMC-FX01 is well-built, easy to use and, with the possible
exception of the shutter release, which can exhibit a bit
of lag while the camera is focusing, its controls are quite
responsive.
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Introduction
on the monitor when pushed to the W side. Pushed to
a section of a photo currently displayed. Any portion of an
image can be zoomed into by up to 16X. 
on the monitor.
on the monitor.
is displayed on the monitor.
