Panasonic DMC-FX48

Auto Mode

Since many point-and-shoots are aimed at beginners, they often have a bevy of automatic options. While the DMC-LX48 isn't the most beginner-friendly camera we've seen, it still has a good array of automatic user assistance. There's face detection and facial recognition, auto ISO, and an automatic scene mode selection.

 

Movie Mode

The DMC-LX48's has some interesting options in its movie mode. You can also shoot in HD (1280x720) at 30fps. If you prefer standard def, you can choose to shoot in VGA (640x480) or QVGA (320x240) at 30 fps. If you prefer 16:9,  you can shoot in WVGA (848x480) at 30fps. All videos captured are stored in Motion JPEG files, which tend to be bulky when shooting at high resolutions.
 

Drive/Burst Mode

There are a few burst mode options. According to Panasonic, you can capture a full-res image at 2.3 frames per second for a maximum 5 images in standard mode or 3 in fine mode. There are also two high-speed burst modes that chug along at 6 fps or 10 fps, with lowered resolution. Of course, there's a vanilla continuous shoot mode that captures at 1.8 frames per second with no limit but memory capacity on the number of shots taken in a row..

 

Playback Mode

In addition to normal playback mode, there is a slideshow option, category playback mode, and favorites playback mode. Category playback lets you sort your photos based on the scene mode used. It also has cross functionality with the face recognition feature, allowing you to sort photos by the person in the image.
 

Category mode keeps your hundreds of baby photos safely sequestered away from other, more interesting photos.

In addition to these playback modes there are red eye correction, resizing, cropping, and leveling tools. The camera also has PictBridge support for easy direct printing to a compatible printer.

Custom Image Presets

There are a good number of scene modes present on the DMC-LX48, totaling 21 in all. The modes include: Portrait, Soft Skin, Self-Portrait, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Food, Party, Candle Light, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Sunset, High sensitivity, Hi-Speed Burst, Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, and Aerial Photo.