Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP3 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch Touch-Screen LCD (Black)
by Panasonic
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: PanasonicFormat: CD
Model: DMC-FP3K
Color: Black
Product features:
- The flat body & compact size of the DMC-FP3 allow it to fit nicely into a small handbag
- The new lens cover both protects the lens form scratches or dusts & serves as the cam's power swth
- The static sensor type 3.0-inch touch-screen LCD gives you an intuitive control thanks to a hybrid operation combined with the 4 operation buttons
- Touch operation is free and smooth either in recording or playing back images
- The DMC-FP3 is equipped with a 4x optical zoom lens 35mm cam eqvi: 35-140mm
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP3 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch Touch-Screen LCD (Black)
Customer Review: Great usability as a point-and-shoot; very good pictures; 4.5 stars
Summary: 5 Stars
I have both an FP3 and a Canon SD1400 as my always-with-me stable of cameras, and which is better depends a little bit on your shooting style and preferences as far as usability goes. Both take good pictures, but neither is in the same league as my Nikon DSLR, which is what I'd expect. I think a point-and-shoot camera should excel at just that -- letting you quickly capture a decent shot and be done with it. The Panasonic iA mode seems to do a very good job of selecting the right scene mode, especially indoors, vs. the Canon, but neither does a bad job.
I have shot more video with the FP3 than the SD1400, and the former's video quality is truly amazing for what the camera is. Note that you cannot zoom at all while filming with the FP3, but with the SD1400, you can use *digital* zoom up to 4X, which gets recorded as such; this is not necessarily an advantage, since you are losing resolution in the process with digital zoom vs. optical (and you can do the same thing after the fact with a good video editor anyway).
The Canon does seem to do a slightly better job with indoor flash. The Panasonic wins on the usability factor with the touchscreen, but not by much. It's a double-edged sword, with picture-taking selections being faster, but picture viewing being more clunky (e.g., you can't touch and hold a button to auto-repeat a navigation action, and zooming is limited).
Comparing the zoom quality (both are 4X optical), one thing I like very much about the Panasonic vs. the Canon is the number of zoom stages. You need to understand that power zooms on this kind of camera are not seamless. The Canon has exactly 8 zoom steps from wide to telephoto; the Panasonic has 22. This means you can do a better job of using the full frame (and all the meagapixels) with the Panasonic, rather than capturing more image than you really wanted. I consider this a nice advantage.
All that said, as much as I love the Canon's tiny size, it also makes the camera sort of fumbly to pull out of your pocket and shoot with; you have to pay attention to which way is up, etc. The Panasonic is certainly bigger, but still pocketable, but it's also easier to grab "blind" and get it open for shooting without fumbling around, since you can feel the difference between top and bottom, front and back. Lastly, the folded optics of the Panasonic (i.e., the sealed mechanism) means no dust and pocket lint gets in the mechanism to cause problems over the long term; this also makes it more truly pocketable, but if you always keep it in a case then it's a wash).
Overall, for the price difference between the two, I would go with the FP3 unless you absolutely must have the smallest camera out there). I happened to get my SD1400 on sale around Christmas for essentially the same as the FP3, so that's how I wound up with both, thinking I would return one or the other. I wound up keeping them both for the different reasons above.
As for build quality, while some people seem to think the FP3 (and FP1) feel cheaply built, I can tell you this: I had an FP1 at first, which got run over in its soft case by my (heavy) car. I fully expected to find a bunch of plastic and metal shards in the case. Instead, although the LCD did crack and craze a bit, the camera was mopstly intact *still works* in every other respect! So I would call build quality excellent!
More Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP3 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch Touch-Screen LCD (Black) reviews:
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Description of Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP3 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch Touch-Screen LCD (Black)
Futuristic, Flat Body Design The flat body and compact size of the DMC-FP3 allow it to fit nicely into a small handbag. Built of high-quality aluminum, the DMC-FP3 also brings a wide range of colors to the series. Choose from 4 colors (Silver, Black, Red, Blue).The new lens cover both protects the lens from scratches or dusts and serves as the camera's power switch, making it fast and easy to slip the camera out of a pocket or a bag and turn on the power. The delicate hairline finish on the lens cover of the DMC-FP3 elegantly accents the design. You'll want to take this sleek, stylish camera with you everywhere you go, like a fashion accessory. Touch Screen Operation The newly adopted static sensor type 3.0-inch touch-screen LCD on the DMC-FP3 gives you an easy, intuitive control thanks to a hybrid operation combined with the 4 major operation buttons. Touch operation is free and smooth either in recording or playing back images.Click Here Once you compose the flame, all you have to do is touch the area you wish to focus on before pressing the shutter button halfway. You can drag the image across the screen with a finger to browse the collection of photos as you flip over the pages of the book. Sonic Speed AF The Sonic Speed AF system in the DMC-FP3 has a maximum speed of approx. 0.33 second for auto focusing*. It includes numerous re-engineering enhancements, including a higher-speed actuator, optimized algorithms and parallel software processing. The result is fast and accurate AF performance. You can quickly get moving subjects in focus, such as when you're shooting sports scenes.* Using the 1-area AF, at the wide-end. HD Movie Recording (1,280 x 720 pixels at 30 fps in Motion JPEG Format) The DMC-FP3 can record motion images in high-definition (1,280 x 720 pixels at 30 fps in Motion JPEG format). The pixel mixed readout method enables bright motion-image recording even in low-light settings. The DMC-FP3 can also record full-size motion ima...Digital Cameras
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