Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX9 6 Megapixel Compact Camera - Black - Compare Digital Camera and Accessory Prices

great cam or the greatest?

Strengths: everything, the exellent personal and professional relation between its chief engineer, designer and the ceo of panasonic probably..don't know.

Weakness: The fact it isnt 2008 yet because of the design and production speed of memory card manufactorers in relation to this student's budget

In short: Saw this camera while starting up my search for a new camera, tried to deny the fact I fell in love with it on sight by doing two months of research into other candidates, but the more I learned about the fx9's actual capabilities, the more I became sure I needed it. Love on first sight and I had to give into it, never regretted it, it isnt very often that the 'outside = inside' rule...
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In short:
Saw this camera while starting up my search for a new camera, tried to deny the fact I fell in love with it on sight by doing two months of research into other candidates, but the more I learned about the fx9's actual capabilities, the more I became sure I needed it. Love on first sight and I had to give into it, never regretted it, it isnt very often that the 'outside = inside' rule applies on a product.

In my opinion there are two uses for a camera; one is to record what you see as accurately as possible, the other is to record wat you want others to see, as accurately as possible.
The last of the two is wat studio/advertising photographers and snobistic tourists who rather spend half their vacation on getting a good picture of things then actually seeing things, do.
The first is what I buy a camera for, recording something you see, you like and want to see again. Preferebly by blinking your eyes to record it in your brain and being able to remember it just as it was. My memory sadly isnt that accurate and medical sience hasnt yet developed either an implant ccd chip or eyelid-shuttercontrol, so I was looking for a camera that could always be ready to take a picure wherever or whenever I want. (note that mobilephone camera's are no option, because I dont want to run out of battery because of one function at a moment when i really need the other function, and there's some ethics involved in knowing when someone is making a picture or just playing with his phone even though a quick covert shot is possible with the fx9)

That is what the fx9 does. 'blink, click' startup and response time are very low and image stabilizing prevents blurred pictures that would otherwise happen when moving and cliking your camera for a fast shot. It doesnt come as a body function, but the 'succes'-screaming looks are a good alternative.
There is some noise in the pictures when you zoom in on them on your pc, and probably when you print them on poster size, especially from iso 200 and up (100 also actually). It is a clear problem because its the only one. Yes I would have liked it if the problem didnt exsist, for the sake of perfection and such, but the practical things to remember here are: how often do you print a poster (a3 and bigger) and how often do you press your nose against one? largest print i made was actually a night shot, in a3, because of image stabilizer and the night-scenery option, it is clear as anything (could have made it in one of the 'starryskies' modes, with recording time of up to 60seconds, but that gives to light pictures and problems with the movement of the stars (little arcs), not with the movement of the camera.
Same principle as for the pictures counts for the movies, clear as (hd)dvd when played on big screen tv's (let alone your pc especially when you convert them to .avi for better playback and sound there). And the o.i.s. does miracles here too, I've used it to make a movie of me while doing aerobatics in a plane, a lot of shaking and high and abrubt g forces couldnt ruin the quality and stability of the recording, its an incredible invention. Im very curious as to what the 'aerial photography' scene-mode in the 'new' fx01 does btw, I was very surprised they thought of such a thing, or maby not, because the above mentioned in air usability.
There are some moments on the edges of normal use where absolute manual control on forehand could have saved me from having to take three pictures to get the image right, the large screen with place for 24 tumbnails makes selective bulk removing of unessecary pictures fast and easy, but the large size of movies and pic's lets you also use it a lot, luckely 1 or 2 gb cards arnt as expensive as when i bought the fx9 last winter.

conclusion: buy it, now! you need it, even if you're not looking for it.

Perfection, aside from the continious progression in megapixels, can only be reached now in making the camera dustproof and waterproof for, say a couple of feet, and by using some sort of methode to reduce te size of images and movies, or by supporting 10gb sd cards, so you really dont have to think about limitations of your cam.
succes! I really had to spread the word.

By jjwr - Oct 2, 2006

The Lumix DMC-FX9 Matches My Tuxedo...

Strengths: Cool design, large hi-res LCd, great lens, fast start-up, 6MP's for cheap, AF assist lamp, sd memory

Weakness: pics a bit noisy-- esp. in low light, weak-ish flash, some focal lag, no optical viewfinder

Recently I decided to replace my faithful, well loved, but somewhat banged-up, Konica Minolta G400. The problem is, I want to know so much about the new gadgets I’m considering that, if I let myself, I’ll do research until the thing I most covet is totally obsolete. Given this personality trait, I’ve had to learn to restrict myself whenever I get on a jag with any kind of new gear. I...
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Recently I decided to replace my faithful, well loved, but somewhat banged-up, Konica Minolta G400. The problem is, I want to know so much about the new gadgets I’m considering that, if I let myself, I’ll do research until the thing I most covet is totally obsolete. Given this personality trait, I’ve had to learn to restrict myself whenever I get on a jag with any kind of new gear. I decided this time around not to really upgrade (say, from my point & shoot to a digital SLR), but to replace the basic functionality of my current cam. To that end, I decided that I needed a higher-res, ultra-compact digital camera which would support my current flash-memory investment of several 1-gig SD cards.

What is the purpose of such a camera? You know those times at a party or on the road when someone says, “I wish I had a camera.” Those moments you always miss. I like to be the one at the ready. I am, in fact, “the jerk with the camera…” It’s funny how during the following week nearly everyone comes begging for the pictures I took… OK, so I won’t bore you with all the research I did on choosing this small wonder. I will simply say that it came down to the Lumix DMC-FX9. and its main competition in price, size, and style is the Kodak V550. The V550 is a nice, slick camera in its own right, which uses my required SD cards, but it’s 1 megapixel short and comes with the battery life of a wind-up toy (a mere 120 shots). While the V550 does get some great (and well deserved) reviews, for just a few dollars more you can get the Lumix DMC-FX9.

The benefits? A cooler name? Sure. Sexy matte-black, all-metal construction? Yup. But mostly, I’m concerned about the equally small size, lower weight, and astonishing battery life (270 shots). Oh yeah, there’s also the spectacular Leica lens with true image stabilization*, rapid focus (thanks to the AF assist lamp), and a generous ISO range. All this, and that extra megapixel, will make you say, “Yum.” when you take a really gorgeous shot and blow it up for 12×16 printing. Keep a lookout for the soon-to-be released upgrade to this gem, the Panasonic DMC-FX01K.

*Apparently, the FX9 and its sister-cameras are the only compact cameras on the market, other than the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1, with this incredibly helpful feature.

By demos2003 - Apr 5, 2006

One of the camers with the best price performance

Strengths: - Image Stabilizer really works. - Big and bright 2.5" LCD - Easy navigation on LCD - Good quality for both photo & video

Weakness: - Viedo file becomes very big (about 10 minutes with 1GB card) - Texture on metal portion could be better - Lack of manual capability

I recommend this camera to novice to medium users. Big and bright 2.5" LCD with Image Stabilizer makes photo taking very easy and pleasant. Image quality is more than acceptable (at least to me) by considering the size of this camera. Navigation is very easy once you get used to "right button = select". I hope FX10 or 11 in the future will have a capability of manual photo, I will definitely buy...
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By hfukushima - Oct 10, 2005

Incredible Image Stabilization, Great Movies, Nice Sturdy Grippy Feel

Strengths: Size, Sticks to the hand, Great Movies, Image Stabilization, Leica lens, blog site for owners

Weakness: Lowlit indoor shots off a bit, Panasonic customer service very corporate

This was the best camera in its class Christmas '05. Great image stabilization really works in movie and still mode. Movie mode is very crisp and the sound very clear. This camera has been particularly good at outdoor and natural light shots. And the FX9 has a great new rubbery feel that sticks to your hand.

Lastly, the modes allow every member in my family to enjoy it, from simple mode to...

By jimmytaps - Mar 7, 2006

Excellent Camera

Strengths: ultracompact, stylish design, easy to use, sturdy, takes good pictures in almost any conditions

Weakness: none so far

This camera is a replacement for my old Minolta S414. Since they are in different classes, I will not elaborate comparing the two. I will only say that this little camera takes way better pictures than Minolta. It virtually doesn't have focusing problems, has a very user-friendly interface and is real pleasure to use. I think Image Stabilization plays a great role in taking quality pics in...
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By lyolya - Jan 8, 2006