Picture Quality / Size Options (8.0)
The Panasonic FZ5 offers plenty of image size options within its menu. The following options are available: 2560 x 1920, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480, and HDTV 1920 x 1080. There are also three picture quality and compression options: TIFF, JPEG Fine and JPEG Standard. The two JPEG modes are represented by obscure icons, a downside of the menus.
Picture Effects Options (7.5)
The FZ5 offers three picture adjustments and several color modes. The color effects mode lets users see a live view of the following options: Cool, Warm, Black & White, Sepia, and Off. The Black & White mode looks good – not gray like on some compact cameras – but the Sepia looks a little too bright. Perhaps I like my Sepia a bit more rust-colored. Unfortunately, the live views are not available in the picture adjustment mode. The following options are available: Natural, Standard, and Vivid. The Natural mode is supposed to look softer and the Vivid more sharp, but they look very much the same to me.
