The Panasonic Lumix FZ5 interface does not present any major
changes when compared to that of the earlier DMC-FZ3. Information
about the camera's settings is superimposed quite legibly
on the periphery of the frame be it on the LCD monitor or
the electronic viewfinder. Menus are shown on a coloured background
and their options are clearly identified with both icons and
text.
When the camera is in any of the capture modes — with
the exception of the Simple ()
mode — or in the Playback mode, whatever the number
of items shown in the menu, an access to the Setup
menu is always present as a tab at the top of the screen.
The Setup menu contains all the basic settings for
the camera spread over 3 screens:
Monitor: serves to adjust the brightness of either
the monitor or the EVF — depending on which is in
use when the menu is accessed — over a range of ±
3 steps.
Auto Review: decides whether or not a just captured
image is shown for a few seconds (1 or 3 seconds) and then
zoomed 4X so that its sharpness can be determined. (The
zoom function is not available for burst mode photos, or
bracketed shots, or photos that have an associated audio
clip.)
Play on LCD: On or Off, displays a just captured
image or the images in Playback on the LCD monitor.
Power Save: sets the delay before the camera automatically
powers off to save the battery (1, 2, 5, 10 minutes or Off).
Beep: controls the sounds produced by the FZ5 while
it is being operated (Low, High or Off).
Shutter: controls the volume of the shutter sound
(Low, High or Off).
Volume: to adjust the playback volume in 7 steps.
Clock Set: to set the internal clock and calendar
of the DMC-FZ5.
No. Reset: ON or Off. Decides whether image files
restart at 1 when the card is formatted, or a new card is
used, or continue being incremented.
Reset: returns all options — with the exception
of the date, time, and folder number — to their original
settings.
USB Mode: decides the USB protocol, either PC,
to connect the camera to a computer; or PictBridge, to connect
the camera to a PictBridge compliant printer and print photos.
Highlight: On or Off. When On and the camera is
in the auto review or the Review mode, the white saturated
areas of the image are shown as blinking black and white.
Video Out: NTSC or PAL, this option is only available
when the camera is in Playback mode.
Scene Menu: Off or Auto. Decides whether or not
the Scene menu is displayed when the Mode Dial is turned
to the SCN position.
Language: to select the interface language (English,
German, French, Spanish, Italian, Traditional Chinese, or
Japanese).
A short printed manual is included with the DMC-FZ5. The manual
provides basic instructions on the camera's functions, but the
explanations are occasionally slightly too succinct, and could
be more detailed.
Software
In North America, the Panasonic
DMC-FZ5 is supplied with a single CD-ROM called Digital
Camera 2.1A and which contains:
Panasonic SD Viewer2.0E (for
Windows only),
ArcSoft PhotoImpression5 (Windows
and Macintosh),
Panorama Maker3 (Windows and
Macintosh,
PhotoBase4.5 (Window and Macintosh),
Acrobat Reader (for Windows only),
QuickTime (for Windows only) and
the USB drivers that are necessary for older versions
of Windows and Macintosh OS.
Panasonic SD Viewer2.0 is a multi-facetted
program which serves to organize and print images, and create
slide shows.
SD Viewer presents photos
as a contact sheet in the right window pane of the program,
and the size of the thumbnails is variable. The left window
pane reveals the directory structure and makes it easy to
switch from one directory to another.
Although SD Viewer does not offer any means to edit images,
some aspects of images can be manipulated. Photos can be rotated,
resized and re-saved to BMP or TIFF format. Moreover, SD Viewer
is able to show the shooting data encoded with the image.
Finally, files can be filtered
according to their format — JPEG, TIFF or MOV —
making it easy to find like files.
PhotoImpression 5, on
the other hand, can be used to edit images. Brightness, contrast,
and sharpness can be adjusted. Images can be cropped, resized,
or adjusted for tone, and even automatic red-eye reduction
is available. In addition, borders can be added to photos,
and album pages created.
Panorama Maker3 is designed to create
panoramic images by stitching together series of overlapping
images.
PhotoBase4.5 is a tool to organize
photos and videos.
And last, QuickTime serves to see and hear the video
clips captured with the DMC-FZ5.
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Interface & Software
)
mode — or in the Playback mode, whatever the number
of items shown in the menu, an access to the Setup
menu is always present as a tab at the top of the screen.
The Setup menu contains all the basic settings for
the camera spread over 3 screens:
