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Details at a glance
Megapixels: 6
Optical Zoom: 3x
Digital Zoom: 4x
LCD screen: 2.5 inch
Storage: SD and MMC
Interface: USB, AV, PictBridge
Size: 94.1 x 50.5 x 24.2mm
Weight: 127g
Batteries: Lithium-ion
Photo: JPEG
Video: MPEG 640x480@30fps
RAW: No
We clicked with
Small and slim
Excellent battery life
Shots in the dark
Sometimes unwieldy design
Price
Links
More Panasonic information
www.panasonic.co.uk
Price Comparison:
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FX9
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This Panasonic FX9 is a very natty little number, with a good mixture of technical features and features that make it easier for you to take better photos. It is also a quite expensive camera. The Leica lens does tend to mark it out as a "luxury" product. Beware of sales people trying to sell it to you simply because of the lens.
This camera comes in a very smart black colour. It is slim and very pocketable. It does not have an optical viewfinder, which can cause difficulties in sunlight. On first impressions the camera feels well built, with a light weight metal case. The buttons on the back are quite small, so this camera is not for those who have big digits or are a little clumsy.
Technical Features
The dial at the top of the camera selects the mode - it has movie, scene, macro, simple, auto and playback modes. The main menu which is accessed in the screen contains a mass of other settings. There are technical features like the 5 ISO settings (ISO 80-400), slow shutter settings from a quarter up to 1 second and the ability to change the autofocus (5 different settings) and the white balance. The FX9 also has the ability to change aspect ratio from standard 2:3, to 4:3 (almost square) and 16:9 ("widescreen" format), change colour (colour, black and white, sepia...) and adjust the photo (standard, natural and vivid). The latter have become standard features on nearly all mid-priced digital cameras. However, taken as a whole, the former and the latter give this camera an above average specification.
The "compass" arrangement of buttons to the bottom right of the screen control auto-bracketing, Exposure Value (EV) adjust, the ability to review stills and playback movies, self-timer and flash. The EV features allow the user to override the automatic exposure and the bracketing feature gives the user a sequence of 3 shots up to a value of plus or minus 1EV. This means that if the lighting conditions ardifficult (ie very bright, very dark or with areas of high darkness and high brightness) you will get at least one good shot.
Performance
This camera is designed to be easy to use, with a good range of features and it succeeds well on both counts . Ninety percent of these features can be learned within about 30 minutes. It also sports an f2.8 aperture Leica lens. Although this lens does seem to produce bright and clear images, remember that it is still a small and relatively cheap lens (don't buy the camera just because it has a Leica lens!). It has an optical image stabiliser, which is an anti-shake device to give a clear picture when the camera is moving. It also turns on very quickly and has excellent battery life, 270 shots per charge (twice that of some of its competitors).
All in all, this is a very competent little camera to put in your pocket. It will also appeal to those wanting high quality pictures, who appreciate the technical side of photography. It produced prints which had good contrast and colours both outdoors and in artificial light. Having said that, the prettiness of the camera and features like the "simple" mode indicates that it is also aimed at non-technical users. So it would be just right for a couple to take on holiday that have different levels of knowledge.
The dial at the top of the camera is rather small; also the box shape of the camera s slightly
difficult to hold with one hand. So while this camera does look very attractive, one downside to this is that it isn't as user friendly as some bigger cameras.
While this camera encourages the user to try and think about aperture and shutter speed by displaying them on the screen, this does not mean that it is great in all situations. For instance, if you want to take pictures in low light conditions it will only give you an 8 second exposure in Scene mode. Likewise the the most light sensitive film mode, ISO 400 - will not work that well in low light.
Cost and Comparison
In terms of cost, the Panasonic FX9, (www.jessops.co.uk £279), is slightly overpriced. It only comes with a 16mb secure digital card and no internal memory and you will need to download Quick Time Pro to view the movies. This does not come bundled with the camera. Of course the FX8, the same camera but with lower resolution, can still be found in the shops for about £180.
The Olympus MJU 700 (www.jessops.co.uk £199), has a similar overall design, with a metal body, it is as fast and it comes it royal blue and black. Unlike the FX9 it is also splash proof, comes with a free 64mb XD card, and has a really innovative photo-driven menu that explains how each mode works. This makes it a great camera for first time digital camera users and others.
If you would like a camera with a more versatile lens, consider the Ricoh Caplio R3, with its 28-200mm lens - great for wide-angle and telephoto shots. If you want a camera for low light conditions, think about the the Sony W100, with a 30 second exposure setting and an ISO 80-1250, which is also a great all rounder.
The Canon A620 is more suitable if you prefer a larger camera with bigger buttons (www.jessops.co.uk £299.99).
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Ease of use 
Functions
Value for Money 
Overall 
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In a very crowded market place in which there is a camera for every pocket and every preference, this may well prove a popular camera especially with holiday makers. Although price probably matches performance, some will consider it overpriced, and if you are willing to buy a slightly bigger camera, there are at least a couple of better cameras to consider.
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