Panasonic DMC-FS20

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS20 has barebones manual functions. This is mostly an automatic camera with little room to change much else besides ISO and white balance. It caters to users who simply want to point and shoot. 

Auto Focus
There are multiple autofocus modes: Normal, Quick AF, and Macro. In general, the autofocus works surprisingly well. Call us skeptical, but when manufacturers make claims about newly updated AF systems, we tend to be a little pessimistic. Like previous Panasonic cameras, the autofocus slows down in low light or with distant objects that require the zoom. On initial show-floor testing, the Panasonic FS20 has excellent reaction time in most conditions. When users point the camera at a subject, the system focuses in a split second.  A green box will appear to give the go sign of proper focus.  Red bracketed corners indicate that the picture is out of focus, at which point, users should activate the stabilization modes or Macro focus. 

 

The FS20 is equipped with face detection technology that recognizes a reported 15 faces in a given scene. Like most face detection systems, though, the Panasonic FS20’s face detection is limited; we'll know more about this when we get it into the lab and do more testing.

 

The FS20 does not come equipped with manual focus. At the near-$300 original MSRP, that’s disappointing. Panasonic includes manual focus on its higher-end point-and-shoots. Manual focus is only slightly missed on the FS20. But the autofocus seems to work so well that the lack of manual control may be forgivable.

Exposure is decided automatically by the camera through a Program AE setting. Users can adjust exposure compensation in up to 2 full stops in 1/3 EV increments. Exposure is accessed by the north directional on the joystick. Overall, that’s pretty limited, but most novice point-and-shooters won’t mind.

Metering
There is no manual control for metering. The Panasonic FS20 engages a light metering system called "Intelligent Multiple" that makes metering selections on its own. Most novice point-and-shooters will find the automatic selection adequate, but advanced shooters shopping in the $300 range will want the manual metering functions, such as spot metering.

White Balance
The Panasonic Lumix FS20 has the standard set of white balance controls that include Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, and Halogen for varied shooting conditions, from indoor to out. Each comes with a live preview so users can view the white balance change before making a selection. Users can also manually change white balance with "White Set," a customizable mode users can test by first shooting a white card. 

 

ISO
Sensitivity ranges from Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600. Users who are worried about grainy noise typically associated with high ISO settings can turn on the Intelligent ISO mode. Intelligent ISO disables ISO selection and limits how far the sensitivity reaches at ISO Max 400, ISO Max 800, or ISO Max 1600.

 

Currently in its fourth-generation, the Venus Engine IV LSI image processor promises improved noise reduction, particularly at high ISO settings that typically produce grain. We can more thoroughly test noise results once we put the camera through our testing labs back home. Keep an eye out for a full review on DigitalCameraInfo.com in the coming months.

 

Shutter Speed
Like most of the settings, shutter speed cannot be manually selected. Shutter speed is controlled through the custom image presets such as Portrait or Landscape mode and ranges from 1/2000 of a second to a full 8 seconds. In the night mode called Starry Sky, long exposure extends to 15, 30, or 60 seconds to be used in conjunction with a tripod. 

Aperture
Like shutter speed and metering, FS20 users cannot control aperture manually. The camera automatically selects f-stop, depending on the scene mode. Aperture ranges from f/3.3 to f/8.0 in wide shooting and f/5.8 to f/8 in telephoto shooting.