CAMERA

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT5 Digital Camera Review (Part 2)

6/24/2013 11:51:40 AM

Performance

The additional images and sample photos are available in the device database, so you are free to come up with your own opinions, photos and product review.

Sample photos

The sample photos

The sample photos

The exposure of the image is good with excellent color reproduction. The skin tones look very decent in portrait shots and there is a little red-eye effect when taking with the flash. FT5 is able to take the HDR photos, but some slight ghosting still exist in our sample shots, so in order to have the best result, use a tripod.

The lens’s quality

The testing shots from the lens

The testing shots from the lens

The images are quite detailed when shooting at a wide angle, but when using the zoom, the detail level does not reduce. The common purple fringing issue with the internal lens has been controlled well. The minimum focusing distance of the lens is 5 cm, but this gives you a close enough distance to take magnificent macro shots.

ISO noise level

ISO testing sample photos

ISO testing sample photos

The noise level of the images is kept at very lows level, at ISO 100, 200 and 400. At ISO 800, the noise becomes noticeable but the images are still sharp. There is a minor increase in noise level at the ISO 1600, which is enough to make the photo a little bit soft. At the very high level of ISO, ISO 3200, a great number of details are lost.

White balance

The white balance testing sample photos

The white balance testing sample photos

Under the studio light, even whether it is the incandescent or fluorescent lights, we get the same excellent performances of the AWB setting. The incandescent preset mode produces an orange cast under the incandescent light. However, there is no built-in fluorescent mode available.

Panorama

The panorama sample photo

The panorama sample photo

The panorama shots are created by using the sweeping method and are linked together in the camera. The result is quite detailed and the stitching is exceptional.

Digital filter

The digital filter

The digital filter

The FT5 owns some color modes and a set of creative control filters that helps you taking unique photos.

Video

We recorded a short video in the full 1080p HD. The stabilization does such a good job of keeping the video steady and stable. This really makes the quality good. During recording, the optical zoom is always available as you need.  

Value

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT5 costs about $616.8. Recommended waterproof cameras are the Olympus Tough TG-620, which is available for $235.5, Olympus Tough TG-820, available with $268.5 and Canon Powershot D20, whose price is $382.5. If you wish to know more about the waterproof cameras, you can look over the Top 10 Best WaterProof Cameras.

You will also have to purchase for a memory card and a case or bag to secure you camera – have a look over our complete guide to camera bags.

Conclusion

The FT5 is a steady improvement on the FT4, we said that an improved screen would be a significant improvement and Panasonic have introduced a 3 inch screen on the new model. You can go deeper underwater to 13m, the GPS appears to activate quicker and the new model also has built-in Wi-Fi. Other than that, much has remained the same, with good image quality in an extremely tough body.

The FT5 is a stable update on the FT4. We’re supposed to say that an innovative screen would be a considerable improvement and a new 3inch screen is introduced on the new model by Panasonic. You can dive deeper to the water to 13m, and you can activate the GPS quicker. The Wifi is also integrated in this new model. However, there are still many similarities between these two models with good image quality in a solid body.

Advantages

·         Excellently solid

·         Good image quality

·         Well stitched panoramas

·         Available Wifi and GPS

·         Excellent AWB performance

Disadvantages

·         When using the optical zoom feature, quality of the image reduces

·         There is red-eye effect when capturing portraits with flash

·         Slight ghosting when shooting with HDR

·         Quite costly

Specifications

Lens

·         Max Aperture: f/3.3 - f/5.9

·         35mm equivalent: 28mm - 128mm

·         Optical Zoom: 4.6x

Image Sensor

·         CCD pixels: 16.1Mp (Megapixels)

·         Pixels (W): 4608

·         Pixels (H): 3456

·         Sensor Type: Live MOS Sensor

·         Sensor Size: 1/2.33

·         Sensor Size (width): 6.16mm

·         Sensor Size (height): 4.6mm

·         Aspect Ratio: 4:3; 3:2; 16:9; 1:1

LCD Monitor

·         LCD Monitor: 3inch

·         Screen resolution: 460k dots

·         Touch Screen: No

Focusing

·         Min Focus: 5cm

·         Focusing modes: Autofocus; Spot; Face Detection; AF Tracking; Multi; Centre; Zoom macro

Exposure Control

·         Shutter speeds shortest: 1/1300sec

·         Shutter speeds longest: 30sec

·         Exposure modes: Program; Manual; Scene modes

·         Metering: Multi Pattern

·         ISO sensitivity: 100 – 3200

·         White balance: Auto; Manual; Outdoors/Daylight; Cloudy; Incandescent; Shade; Underwater

·         Exposure Comp: +/-2

Shooting Options

·         Continuous shooting: 10fps

Video

·         Movie mode: Yes

·         Video Resolution: 1920x1080

·         Video FPS: 50p

·         Stereo Sound: Yes

·         Optical Zoom with Video: Yes

·         Other Features

·         Image Stabilization: Yes

Interface

·         HDMI: Yes

·         USB: USB 2

·         Wi-Fi: Yes

Storage

·         Card Type: SD; SDHC; SDXC

·         File Type: JPG

Power Source

·         Battery Type: Lithium-Ion

·         CIPA Rating: 370

Box Contents

·         Battery pack, battery charger, AC cable, USB Cable, CD-ROM, Hand strap

Dimensions

·         Weight: 188g

·         Width: 109.2mm

·         Height: 67.4mm

·         Depth: 28.9mm

 

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