Panasonic DMC-FS7

Manual Controls

Most point-and-shoots don't offer a lot of manual controls, leaving focus, aperture, and other settings to the camera to do as it sees fit. The FS7 sits firmly in this category, though there are some interesting automatic features in metering and ISO selection to make up for that a little bit.
 

Focus

The FS7's lens cannot be manually focused. In low-light conditions, there is an auto-focus assist light that will help without needing to fire the flash.
 

ISO

The FS7 will automatically apply an ISO level when in the Intelligent Auto or a scene mode between 80 and 1600. In the High-Sensitivity scene mode, it will go as high as 6400. You can choose from among the available ISO levels up to 1600 in Normal Picture mode.
 

White Balance

The FS7 has an auto white balance mode, plus presets for daylight, cloudy, shaded, and halogen lighting conditions. We're a little surprised to see that there's no fluorescent preset, though there is a White Set option available in certain scene modes where you can point the camera at a white background and it will automatically adjust the white balance accordingly.
 

Metering

The FS7 offers Intelligent Multiple exposure, measuring light across the image to produce a balanced setting. Auto Bracketing sets the camera to capture three images at different exposure levels - selected by you by choosing a 'bracket' of exposure levels from the +/- 2 levels available. You can then pick the best image out of the 3 captured. Exposure compensation is also available, with a range of ±2 EV 1/3 EV increments.
 

Shutter Speed

The FS7's shutter speed is as fast as 1/2000 of a second and as slow as 8 seconds in Intelligent Auto or a scene mode. Shutter speed can be manually selected only in the Starry Sky scene mode, with 15, 30, or 60 seconds settings available.
 

Aperture

The maximum aperture is f/2.8 at the widest lens setting and f/5.9 at maximum zoom. The aperture cannot be set manually.
 

Image Stabilization

The FS7 offers optical image stabilization to compensate for shaky hands.

Picture Quality & Size Options

The FS7 offers a variety of picture quality and size options in various aspect ratios. At the high end, you can choose from the full 3648 x 2736 resolution at 10.1 megapixels in 4:3 aspect ratio or 3648 x 2056 at 7.5 megapixels. On the low end, you can choose 640 x 480 resolution at 4:3 or 2048 x 1360 at 3:2.
 

Picture Effects

When capturing images, you can choose from the Standard, Natural, Vivid, Black & White, Sepia, Cool, or Warm color modes to change the look of your photos as they're taken. In Playback mode, you can correct red-eye and resize or trim captured images.