Panasonic Lumix DMC FH20 14 1 MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2 7 Inch LCD Black

Panasonic Lumix DMC FH20 14 1 MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2 7 Inch LCD Black

The 28mm wide-angle lens lets you easily capture large groups of people indoors or expansive architectural structures and scenes with dynamic width and rich perspective, even from short distances.The DMC-FH20 sports a powerful 8x optical zoom lens (35mm camera equivalent: 28-224mm). This gives you highly natural expressions from people and animals that you can’t get close to. And its slim, compact, pocket-sized body can easily go wherever you do for both everyday snapshots and traveling.When you don’t know which mode will give you the best shooting results, or when a sudden photo opportunity pops up and you don’t have time to make any settings, simply choose iA (Intelligent Auto) mode by simply pressing the dedicated button and let the camera do it all for you. You just choose iA mode, aim at your subject, and shoot. 4 detection and correction functions are simultaneously activated to optimize the settings, so you get stunning photos every time.The DMC-FH20 can record motion images in high-definition (1,280 x 720 pixels at 30 fps in motion JPEG format). The pixel mixed readout method enables bright motion-image recording even in low-light settings. The DMC-FH20 can also record full-size motion images in WVGA (848 x 480 pixels at 30 fps) or standard motion images in VGA (640 x 480 pixels at 30 fps) and QVGA (320 x 240 pixels at 30 fps).The energy-saving Venus Engine IV image-processing engine and the efficient, rechargeable lithium-ion battery which has been slimmed down to fit into thinner camera bodies work together to extend the shooting time of the DMC-FH20. This lets users take approx. 300 shots on a single battery charge.

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars Very nice multi-feature compact, but people images are poor.
Purchased the Panasonic Lumix FH20 for the multiple features and was especially pleased with the ‘IA’ mode, it’s 28-144 mm equivalent 8X zoom, SD, SDHC, SDXC memory, long battery life and this camera’s compact size.

Numerous positive attributes of this Panasonic FH20 have been presented by other reviewers.

Unfortunately all our attempts at capturing people images were uniformly disappointing. We considered buying the Panasonic SZ1, SZ3, SZ5, SZ6 and even the SZ7. These cameras have similar and even better features than the FH20, and the latter all have Leica Lens, and all these cameras are rated highly. When our FH20′s people pics were transferred to a 19″ screen, the colors were so poor in facial features as to be unacceptable. All the people pics looked cyanotic and it was impossible to post process the images to improve the bluish lips and sickly appearance that the Panasonic electronics suffered on all the people images we captured. This was true regardless of the lighting when these numerous images were acquired. To minimize subjectivity, I strongly suggest visiting [...] and evaluating images on ‘Comparometer’. Compare the mannequin color with a known, good image, or simply transfer your people images to your own computer and assess faces, lips, eyes etc. Returned our FH20 today after two weeks of taking pictures.

Would still really like a compact point and shoot with all the great features of the before listed Panasonic Lumix cameras but desire the pics of people to look healthy and show correct contrast, saturation and hues. I was unable to fix any of our deficient ‘people’ images with “Photoshop Elements”. We currently own a 2006 Canon A630 and a 2008 Canon SX10is and we’d purchase a Canon SX200is or a SX210is, for better people pics. Want a compact that has similar features as the listed “Lumix”, but the listed Canons SX’s are pricier and also have their own flaws.

My background includes years of experience with SLR film cameras as well as digital image acquisition and subsequent post processing. Still looking to buy a digital with features most similar to the Panasonic Lumix ZS5, but want and demand better people images. Thought this ‘FYI’ might be of benefit to those want an all around compact digital camera that also capture good people face pics. Do research and hunt the good camera.

5 Stars what a great camera!
this is an exceptional camera. it takes beautiful pictures and videos and is crazy easy to use. the only thing i would strongly suggest is to purchase the camera ANYPLACE ELSE THAN AMAZON.COM! there customer service sucks as well as there shipping

5 Stars Lumix
This is a great camera. I went to a couple of independent product websites to see what the best point and shoot cameras were and this camera kept coming up as recommended, I see why. It is easy to use and takes super pictures and video. The sound on the video is amazing. Pictures very sharp. The only problem I had was the 14 mega pixil, takes up so much space that you have to minimize the photos before emailing them to someone or else they are too big to send. Great size ans weight, works well in an urban landscape.

5 Stars Fantastic Point and Shoot Camera
As soon as I got this camera I went outside and took the most beautiful pictures of my garden! It is very simple to use, the features are almost totally fool proof, (And I’d know, I tested them well!) and the quality is great. One note, the file size that the pictures download to on the computer, at least for me were HUGE. They took a long time to download, and you can’t email or attach them to anything really unless you can find a way to reduce the size. I’m still working on it myself. Other than that it’s great. It’s sleek, attractive, easy to carry for smaller hands, and just a really good buy for a beginner.

2 Stars Not That Good in Low Light
I know that point and shoot cameras are not supposed to be that good in low light, and I read reviews stating that this camera was good in low light, so I bought it. Perhaps my expectations are too high, but I believe I should be able to take a picture of someone from 6 feet away, indoors, with the lights on, and with flash on, and not have a picture that looks grainy. The graininess is evenly distributed and it resembles a matte photo print. This has the effect of taking away edge details and making the picture look flat. It is unacceptable to me and I almost prefer to use my older 5MP camera which doesn’t seem to have this problem so much. The same problem occurred to a slightly lesser extent when I took pictures outside on a semi-cloudy day. HD Video has the same graininess in the same light conditions. I suspect this problem is caused either by a less than adequate lens or the jpeg compression. By the way, you cannot select what quality picture you want. The camera uses who knows what compression level and saves everything as jpeg. You can only select from different picture sizes.

Another shortcoming of this camera is the build quality. The battery door is made of a flimsy plastic that can easily break if you are not careful while it is open. I also don’t like the shape of the edges of the camera. They are rounded in such a way that the camera feels like it will slip out of my hands.

The only plus side I found with this camera was the relative speed of the shoot cycle. I think it is something like 1 or 1.5 seconds between pictures, and it feels peppy. Not sure about the claims of a fast shutter. I was using the “intelligent” auto setting and there were times when the picture had some blur around my subject who was moving around slowly.

For what it’s worth, I was also testing the Olympus Stylus Tough 6000 and it had performed better in the same low light conditions. There was still some graininess, but it was much more palatable to me. Main drawback of the Olympus is the long cycle time.

Buy/More Info

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