Roundup: Compact Digital Cameras : Panasonic DMC-FX37
31. Panasonic DMC-FX37
The FX37 follows your focus
One of the new developments on the Panasonic FX37 is a feature which allows the camera to detect and then track moving subjects. To make it work, all you need to do is turn on Intelligent Auto mode and hit the Macro button, and the camera will do the rest.
This can take a little while if the subject is moving, because the camera finds it hard to get a fix. Once it has identified its target, though, the FX37 is able to focus on a moving subject fairly precisely.
It's tough being a compact at Panasonic--you don't long to prove yourself. Hardly six months after the arrival of the FX35, here comes a new compact, the FX37. The announcement of a new model might well have heralded revolutionary functionality or a dramatic redesign.
Instead, though, the only real difference between the two models is that the optical zoom gets a little more power behind it, now going up to 5x (25-125 mm).
Handling
- Lumix DMC-FX37S Silver...
There have been no real changes in terms of the handling of the FX37 compared with the previous generation. The scroll wheel still controls the selection of different focusing modes (intelligent automatic, automatic, different scene types, video, or a rather strange notebook feature). There's still no manual or semi-manual mode for more adventurous photographers ... maybe we'll need to wait another six months.
The on/off switch is still quite small but perfectly easy to access. The Q- Menu button controls the majority of other functions. The zoom lens expands in about three seconds, which may be a bit small compared to more advanced cameras, but it's completely acceptable in this class. The FX37 is generally quite fast, actually, and it's AutoFocus is pretty nippy in most situations.
Burst mode is still pitifully slow, only managing 2.3 images per second across a burst of just three photos. The camera's construction is very solid, and only the automatic lens cover seem a little flimsy. The 25-mm zoom is a real pleasure to use, and makes it easy to photograph a variety of scenes.
Image Quality
Despite the slightly longer zoom, the image quality remains very high. Wide-angle distortion is almost entirely absent, as are the sometimes problematic phenomena of vignetting and chromatic aberration. Having a 10 Megapixel sensor on board delivers a great image. The automatic white balance gives accurate results, even under artificial light and colors are accurate.
The Venus Engine IV processor, first found on the TZ5 and the FX35 also brings its power to the FX37. Result: blurriness is well controlled for low ISO numbers and the electronic noise handling actually works pretty well all the way up to ISO 1600, where you can make perfectly decent A4 prints without too many problems.
| Panasonic DMC-FX37 | |
|---|---|
| Pluses | Minuses |
|
|
| Panasonic is nurturing its flagship compact, the FX35, adding an extra 25-mm to the zoom to bring us this FX37. It's one of the best compact digital cameras available at the moment, pairing easy-of-use with good quality images. |  |
should have classified the cameras to at least price and/or final rating. i got discouraged to read.
should have classified the cameras to at least price and/or final rating. i got discouraged to read.
When you say classified, what do you mean? Do you mean the pages should go in order of price, or in order of rating? Such as the cheap ones at the beginning and the expensive ones at the end OR the best cameras at the top and the worst cameras at the bottom?
i meant group them by chosen price ranges/brackets or any feature you think is relevant since comparison between cameras is just difficult with the present format wherein it is only possible to compare models of a certain brand.
It would have been nice if all the cameras were given scores (yes I know this is very subjective, but so are all the comments and pro/con sections). Idealy they would be given su scores as well (i.e. a still picture score, a video score, a asthetics score, a usablity score, maybe some others) and then the cameras could be sorted by those scores with links, maybey a short blurb at each camera in the sorted list. Another thing that would be very usefull to myself and I assume other readers is a features table that allows us to compare all the cameras.