Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX50

To do more, users will have to access the other programs. There are three ArcSoft programs included. ArcSoft PhotoBase 4.5 is a great organizational tool. There are tools to sort photos by name, type, size, date, title, keyword, and description. Users can also rename, resize, or convert entire batches of images simultaneously. Simple editing can be done in this program too. Rotation, cropping, resizing, red-eye reduction, text additions, brightness, contrast, drawing, and automatic enhancement can be achieved with the editor tool.  

PhotoImpression 5 allows users to get photos and enhance them. The program isn’t as intuitive as the PhotoBase software. The PhotoImpression allows for more manual control over manipulating the image though. There are magic wand and lasso tools to select areas of an image to enhance. The simple stuff can be done here too: cropping, resizing, rotating, etc. Users can also add a host of interesting color filters, effects, frames, clip art, and text. From this software program, calendars and photo books can be made. There are plenty of templates to work from that make it simple. Printing and emailing can be done from PhotoImpression too.

ArcSoft’s PanoramaMaker 3 is also included. This program gives step-by-step instructions to load several photos and automatically create a panorama. The program allows for fine tuning, but it does a decent job of lining images up. The only problem with the program is that images must be added one at a time into the software, then one at a time into the storyboard.

Overall, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX50 has great software offerings ranging from the novice Lumix Simple Viewer to the more manually oriented PhotoImpression software.

Jacks, ports, plugs (4.5)
The Panasonic FX50 has a single door on its right side that springs open. This isn’t one of those flimsy rubber covers. This is an actual sturdy protective door. Beneath it are two ports. The top one hooks up to USB 2.0 and AV-out cables; both are included with the camera. The bottom port connects to an optional DC-in adaptor, which is not included in the package. Users who are piping their pictures into widescreen televisions will be happy to know they can do it pretty much anywhere in the world. The FX50 has NTSC and PAL output signals for the AV-out cable so images can be displayed on televisions with the North American or European standards.

Direct Print Options (6.0)
Images from the Panasonic FX50 can be printed fairly easily. Print orders can be made within the playback menu. An option called "DPOF Print" lets users select single or multiple images for printing. The multiple images choice shows six thumbnails per page. Users can scroll through those thumbnails and push upwards on the joystick to select them for printing. Pushing continually upwards selects the number of prints that can be made from each image. The FX50 allows users to choose up to 999 prints for each image! That’s quite a print order! If users would like to display the date on the pictures, on-screen directions prompt them to push the LCD Mode/Display button. Users can delete print orders from that menu option as well. The actual transfer of images is done when the FX50 is connected to a PictBridge compatible printer and the mode dial is set to the printer icon. If users haven’t created a print order in the playback menu, they can do it while connected to the printer in the printing mode. It is from the printing mode’s menu that users can choose whether to print each picture with the date, how many of each picture to print, what size paper to print on, and what sort of layout to print. The top of this menu is where the transfer actually begins: "Print Start." Overall, the printing method is fairly intuitive with the printing done from its own position on the mode dial and on-screen directions to walk beginners through the process.

Battery (5.0)
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX50 comes with an extremely overpriced lithium-ion battery, so don’t lose it! The 3.7V, 1150 mAh battery gets about 300 shots per charge. That is decent, but it retails on the Panasonic web site for $69! Most other manufacturers sell their battery packs for $20-30. This battery comes with a small wall-mount charger that takes about 2 hours to recharge the battery. In the camera’s package, there is also a small plastic carrying case for the battery. Overall, the slim battery does fairly well but its large price tag makes it an item never to be lost.

Memory (3.0)
Many other compact digital cameras have internal memory, but the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX50 does not have such a luxury. Instead, the camera is packaged with a 16 MB SD card. That is enough memory to store only 3 full-resolution pictures, so purchasers will also want to look into buying extra memory. The Panasonic FX50 accepts SD, MMC, and SDHC cards, but its burst performance suffers when MMC cards are used.

Other features (2.5)
Still Image Recording with Audio – In the Normal recording menu, users can turn on and off the Audio Recording function. When turned on, it records five seconds of audio immediately after the picture is taken. It isn’t simultaneous; there is a slight delay. Voice memos can be added in the playback mode, but the audio recording feature while shooting images allows parents to capture the "Happy Birthday" chorus along with a picture of the birthday cake.