!: Panasonic Lumix Dmc-zs1 Charger: 2011

!: Panasonic Lumix DMC FS6 Review

The Panasonic Lumix DMC FS6 is a pocket digital camera. At 8 megapixels it has fewer megapixels than most of the other digital cameras launched in the spring of 2009. Oddly enough I think this may work to its advantage. With fewer megapixels packed on to the tiny sensor you often find better definition and detail in the photographs a camera is able to produce.

With a 4x zoom lens you have a little extra zoom power when compared to the most basic digital cameras. You can increase the amount of zoom available a little if you reduce the number of megapixels you shoot at. I like the flexibility this adds to the Lumix DMC FS6. After all you only need a small percentage of the available pixels if you are looking to make snapshot sized prints. Around 4 megapixels should give you enough quality for 5 x 7 inch prints.

When it comes to features the Lumix DMC FS6 has most of the buzz features that have started to show up over the last 18 months. These include image stabilisation and face detection technology. This can help to produce sharper looking portraits that are exposed correctly. There is also an intelligent auto mode. This includes shake detection, motion detection and scene detection. Scene detection matches the photo you are taking against a number of scenes built into the memory bank inside the camera. If a match is found, the camera will use the associated settings in an attempt to take the best possible photograph. It is strange though how quickly technology moves on. This camera has a 2.5 inch LCD screen. Not so long ago this would have been considered a large screen size. Now when I look at it against 2.7 inch or 3 inch screens it looks to be on the small side.

Although there is no high definition movie mode you do get a choice of aspect ratios. You can choose between shooting movies for playback on a widescreen television set or on a Computer screen. Optical zoom can be applied to a movie before shooting starts. Once shooting is in process zoom is locked in and cannot be changed.

In the specification Panasonic are claiming a battery life of up to 400 shots in between charges. These improvements are down to a mixture of improved battery technology and lower energy use by the camera. A battery and charger are supplied with the camera as standard.

I also like the layout of the menu system. It is really just a Case of scrolling through the menu options until you find the one you are looking for. The black text on a white background helps to make the menu relatively easy to read too.

As is becoming the standard the Lumix DMC FS6 comes in a selection of colours. These are black, silver, red, blue and pink. In terms of looks there is an unfussy, almost plain design, although I personally like the way Panasonic digital cameras look. You should have no problem fitting the camera into smaller pockets.

The Lumix DMC FS6 comes in at the cheaper end of the pocket camera market. Looking through my test photos I am impressed by the over all quality they offer. It all depends on what you are looking for and just how important ultimate quality is to you, but for me this camera ticks most of the right boxes. Aside from start up times which are slower than standard I find it hard to find fault with this camera. With the prices of digital cameras rising this spring in the U.K. the Panasonic Lumix DMC FS6 offers very good value for money.