Picture Quality / Size Options (7.0)
This Lumix has a variety of image sizes available because it can shoot in three different aspect ratios. The default is 4:3 and these are the choices: 3072 x 2304, 2560 x 1920, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, and 640 x 480. There is a 3:2 ratio optimized for printing 4 x 6-inch pictures. There are two image sizes at this ratio: 3072 x 2048 and 2048 x 1360. The last aspect ratio of 16:9 is designed for displaying pictures on widescreen televisions. The following image sizes are wide: 3072 x 1728 and 1920 x 1080. Pictures can be captured as Fine or Standard JPEG compressions. Overall, there are plenty of image size options on the FX50.
Picture Effects Mode (7.5)
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX50 has several picture effects modes on it. There are two options toward the bottom of the Normal recording menu that can tweak the image. The Color Effect mode offers Off, Cool, Warm, Black & White, and Sepia choices. There is a live view when scrolling through that menu. The Picture Adjustment menu choice provides Natural, Standard, and Vivid options; these are more of a saturation adjustment than anything else. Standard is the default, with Natural under-saturating tones and Vivid over-saturating them. There is no live view when scrolling through these, so it’s hard to tell the difference between all of the settings without exiting and re-entering the menu several times.
