Front (7.5)
The front of the Panasonic FX50 looks unassuming with its matted texture, chrome finger grip, and telescoping lens. The top left corner of the camera has a Lumix logo with a thin flash to its right. Almost centered beneath the logo is the chrome finger grip; it has a gold center just to add some color. On the right side of the front is the lens, with its specs circling the barrel and an outer rim with a “Mega O.I.S. Wide” label. The lens’ specs are as follows: “Leica DC Vario-Elmarit 1:2.8-5.6/4.6-16.8 Asph.” In the top right corner is an auto focus assist beam and in the bottom right corner is a gold square with an “L” in it to showcase the Leica branded lens.
Back (7.75)
The back of the camera is almost completely taken up by the display screen. There is only a half-inch of space on the right side for control buttons. The space does bow outwards though, perhaps to add some visual variety or to enhance handling comfort. In the top right corner is a mode dial that is roughly the size of a dime, but is mostly hidden within the camera body. Only a tiny bit pokes out the back, with the icons visible from the top and the grooves of the dial visible from the back. Below the mode dial are nine tiny plastic bumps designed to be a thumb grip. Below this is a circular button that controls the display and LCD mode. Below this button is a fat joystick centered in a round platform. The platform has icons on four sides: the exposure compensation on the top, flash on the right, review on the bottom, and self-timer on the left. To the bottom left of this multi-selector is a tiny LED indicator. At the very bottom of this thin control strip is a button with deletion and burst icons next to it.
Left Side (7.0)
The left side is void of features. There is a bright silver band that runs down the center of the dulled silver body.
Right Side (7.0)
The right side also has a bright silver band running down its center, but this side has some features. At the top is an indentation that acts as an eyelet for the included wrist strap. Below it is an unlabeled door that springs open when pried to reveal the USB/AV and DC jacks.
Top (7.5)
The top of the camera is labeled with the manufacturer and model name on the left: “Panasonic DMC-FX50.” To the right of the text are four holes that make up the built-I speaker, followed by another hole that acts as the microphone. Almost centered on the top is the power switch. To its right is the shutter release button, which is surrounded by a zoom switch. On the right edge is a tiny button with a shaking hand icon next to it; this activates and changes the optical image stabilization modes. There is a bright silver center surrounded by a duller color on the top; all of the aforementioned features rest on the bright silver band. Towards the back of the camera on the right side, the mode dial protrudes slightly from the top. The mode dial peeks out from the dulled silver colored portion of the body. The dial is probably the size of a dime, but only three icons are visible from the top, at a time.
Bottom (5.5)
The left side of the FX50’s bottom has a door with a sliding lock that keeps it firmly in place. When unlocked, the camera springs open to reveal the battery and SD card compartments. On the right side is a metal quarter-inch tripod mount. Littered around the entire bottom are various logos and legal info.
