Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS30 Review

Panasonic are at it again, releasing yet another irresistible point and click digital camera, the 14.1 Megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS30 which hits the sub £200 market, where people are serious about their cameras but do not want to spend a small fortune. They are looking for a high quality device which delivers awesome pictures over and over again. Can the Lumix DMC-FS30 meet their needs?

Clearly its attractive to look at with its brushed metal casing giving it a simple but sophisticated appeal. The flash is built into the unit so no annoying "popping up" flash like others in this price group. On the whole the flash performed well but may not always meet the 10 feet range that the documentation suggested, however 8 feet seemed perfect and gave a good light level without flooding the scene with too much light.

It has a hefty 8x Optical Zoom, which whilst not quit hitting the 12x of the top in DMC-TZ7, it certainly beats most of the competition in this price point who tend to offer 5x zoom. The 8x Optical Zoom is great and well delivered by the Lumix DC Vario lens which is true "wide angle" at 28mm, another feature that you don't often see at this level of the market place.

The performance of the camera is sharp, turning on to ready to shoot took less that 2 seconds which is perfect if you spot something you'd like to capture quickly. There was no noticeable shutter lag and the camera quickly auto-focused  to the test objects and reacted quickly without any drama.

The menu system is clear and easy to navigate with plenty of features for you to mess around with, like various scene modes, or you can leave it on auto and let the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS30 take care of the details. Most the time we found it worked very well like this.

The screen is clear and whilst not the best we have seen, it certainly performs well enough. I feel it is more important to get great pictures out of a camera and view them on your monitor or TV rather than staring at them on the built in screen.

It shoots HD video which crisp and clear though sometimes demonstrates a bit of noise, on the whole it is perfectly good for a point and click camera.

The camera feels light so its easily carried in your pocket or bag and the controls are simple to use.

We conclude our Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS30 review by saying that this is an excellent little camera that packs in great features like optical stabilisation, a great HD video mode and awesome performance into a nice looking camera that will make you proud to own and to use. Enjoy!