(PRINTWORDS NEWS)- Panasonic has made a name in the world of digital cameras with its Lumix line up and in recent times it has unveiled a number of new models to take on rivals like Canon and Nikon.
The Panasonic DMC-S3 is an entry level point and shoot digital compact camera that is affordable and offers a number of useful features. It has a cute looking body with rounded edges and it looks like Panasonic has aimed this at the first time buyers and amateur photographers. Its plastic body is very lightweight and you can easily slip it into your pockets.
The camera offers a 14 MP sensor with a Lumix DC Vario lens which captures decent quality images under most situations. It also offers 4x optical zoom which is adequate for casual users. Even though it is a cheap model you can capture 720p HD videos with it. Like most Lumix models it does come with a convenient ‘intelligent auto’ mode. This mode blends features like face detection and image stabilisation.
The Lumix S3 is really easy to operate and you get a dedicated button for movie too. It operates rather fast and performs really well in daylight and well lit areas. The image sharpness and depth of colour from a cheap point and shoot camera deserves appreciation.
The image blur is taken care of by its optical image stabilisation which works quite well. The camera suffers in low light shots and without the flash the amount of noise shots up noticeably. The video performance of this model is quite average. You cannot use optical zoom when you capture video which is a bad thing. This is ideal for you if you can do without the touch screen or 3D shooting modes and do not need a super zoom model at your disposal.
The other model released by Panasonic is the Lumix DMC-FS37. It is not exactly the slimmest or coolest looking model but its performance and feature sets are quite impressive. This model is available only in black and silver and its design is inspired by the TZ series of Panasonic. The body is made of brushed metal and it feels reassuringly sturdy in hands. The back of the camera is covered almost totally by the touch screen LCD.
The Touch screen is intuitive and easy to operate but seriously do not expect iPhone like finesse. The camera is quite fast for its class. In daylight the performance is top notch with fine sharpness and rich colours. It excels in macro performance.
The Leica Lens shows on mettle in close up shots and the amount of details captures deserves appreciation. In low light keep the ISO level to 400 to get noise free images. The 8x optical zoom works fine but at the end of the level some blurriness creeps in despite the ‘Mega’ optical image stabiliser working. The HD 720p video footage is of decent quality though you cannot compare that with the quality you get from a camcorder.
