Product Reviews

The gorgeous FX33 exudes class, with an ultra-compact aluminium body and elegant controls. Performance is excellent, capturing a photo every 1.5 seconds in normal use and 1.6 frames per second in continuous mode.

As with all Lumix cameras, the FX33 includes optical image stabilisation to counteract camera shake in low light, providing sharp shots at relatively slow shutter speeds. Panasonic isn't the only manufacturer to build image stabilisation into its cameras, but its implementation is one of the best. The lens also has a larger zoom range than most, but rather than extending in the telephoto direction, it specialises in wide-angle (getting more into the shot when you're near the subject), with a field of view that's equivalent to most SLR lenses.

If

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you want a point-and-shoot camera, you'll appreciate the effective face recognition, which we found did an excellent job of locating faces and optimising focus and exposure so they looked their best. Meanwhile, an Intelligent Auto feature goes further than most cameras' automatic modes for analysing subject types and available light and choosing the best possible camera settings.

Although image quality in our tests was generally excellent, by today's high standards it failed to excel. Colours were accurate, but detail was only average, and in low light, without flash, photos showed large amounts of noise - blotchy speckling caused by random errors in light measurement.

Overall, the FX33 is a desirable camera, but it's certainly not the only one you could choose. Pentax's Optio A30 (search for 139710) beats it for image quality and costs £134. Meanwhile, Panasonic's own FX100 (search for 125448) has come down to just £175 at www.purelygadgets.co.uk and combines the same 3.6x wide-angle lens with a 12 megapixel sensor. Higher resolutions don't necessarily mean better quality, but in this instance the FX100 beats the FX33 for detail as well as noise.