Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70

Auto Mode (8.0)
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70 employs a Simple mode rather than an Auto mode, represented by a red cartoon heart. The Simple mode strips down menu options dramatically while still allowing the user to select from the following options: Picture mode, battery type, beep and clock set. Controls available outside the menu structure are: backlight on/off via the up arrow, flash auto/red-eye and forced off via the right arrow, review via the down arrow, and self-timer off or 10 seconds via the left arrow. With such a limited shooting system, the Simple mode is quite obviously geared to the digital-phobic user who wants a camera that requires little intervention on their part.

Movie Mode (4.0)
The LS70's Movie mode - or Motion Picture mode - is accessed by setting the mode dial to the filmstrip icon. Settings such as white balance, Picture mode, AF mode and optical image stabilization can be adjusted. Image resolution and frame rates for the Pansonic Lumix DMC-LS70 are: 30fpsVGA (640 x 480 at 30 fps), 10fpsVGA (640 x 480 10 fps), 30fpsQVGA (320 x 240 at 30 fps) and 10fpsQVGA (320 x 240 at 10 fps). If switched to 16:9 aspect the camera is capable of recording at 30fps16:9 (848 x 480 at 30 fps) and 10fps16:9 (848 x 480 at 10 fps). The focus, zoom, and aperture settings will all be fixed from the moment that recording is initiated. The major omission from the Movie mode that is bound to disappoint is the lack of audio recording.

Drive/Burst Mode (4.75)
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70's Burst mode is accessible through the shooting menu. The Burst mode shoots continuously once the shutter button is pressed and held until the memory of the camera is full or the shutter is released. The photographer can record images to the internal or memory card of the camera when shooting with the Burst mode. Users should be aware that the Burst mode will slow in situations where the ISO is over 400. In addition, only one picture can be captured at a time if the flash is turned on, and three images if the self-timer is set. The Burst mode is not available when shooting in Starry Sky or Simple mode.

Playback Mode (6.75)
The Playback mode can be reached through the Playback mode dial setting or by pressing the down Arrow/Review button. The Playback mode for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70 allows the user to review images in the following four layouts: one image, nine image, 25 images, and calendar displays. Thumbnail images are scanned using the four-way navigational control, and highlighted images are displayed individually by pressing the Menu/Set button. In addition, the user can engage up to 16x playback zoom. This is done by rotating the zoom ring to the right (telephoto) in order to enlarge the image up to 16x. Once the image has been enlarged, the user can navigate the image through the four-way control.

In-camera editing options for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70 are: resize, trimming, copy, and rotate. Users can also select images for printing, protection, date stamp, rotate display, and favorite status. However, users should be aware that in-camera editing isn’t the quickest process. The delay between editing and recording the new image to memory may be more tedious than just exporting images from the camera to a personal computer and using the editing features found in the included software package.

The user can view images in a slide show display that can play all or selected favorite images in the following durations: one second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds, five seconds, or manual.

Custom Image Presets (8.25)
The custom image presets for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70 are accessible through the scene setting on the camera’s mode dial. The Scene modes for the LS70 are copious, and users will find the options represented in a "cute" animated icon picture format that can be scanned using all directions on the camera’s four-way control. The scene settings for this camera are: Portrait, Soft Skin, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Food, Party, Candle Light, Sunset, Baby 1, Baby 2, Pet, High Sensitivity, Beach, Starry Sky, Fireworks, Snow, and Aerial. These small thumbnails will display a text label when highlighted. The list of options can be a bit overwhelming when trying to move quickly through the settings, but can be advantageous to the novice still wary of manual controls.