Customer Reviews

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP3 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch Touch-Screen LCD (Dark Blue)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love this camera. It's small, compact (maybe about the size of a Blackberry) and light weight. It can easily fit in a small purse or your back pocket. The touch screen operation is as easy as can be - and has a nice large screen compared to a lot of other cameras this size. It records videos, it has both zoom and wide angle, and the touch screen is easy to operate. this camera is easy to figure out the basics even without a manual. read the manual and it's a piece of cake. takes great pictures.

I'll preface this review by saying that I am a huge fan of Pansonic (Lumix) cameras. This is the 4th one purchased in my household. the first was the original TZ (travel zoom) camera, which I bought for myself (at a cost which could purcahse 5 of these now). It was the first compact zoom; the market everyone is going after now, but few can catch up or keep up in. I was a tad skeptical buying a camera from Panasonic 5 years ago, but, with cameras the lens is the thing and they had the immense good sense to equip it with a Leica lens. I've had that camera for 5-6 years now and am still happy with it. that said, this was purchased with the explicit intent of leaving that camera at home on an upcoming trip to Disney with the kids. I wanted something small, light and inexpensive so that I would not have to worry about it too much in a theme park (as I would with a piece of expensive equipment) or one which is valuable/ hard to replace. Still, I wanted a camera which would take good pictures; a hard bill to fill.
I started off by saying we have several Lumix cameras in the house. After I bought mine, my son wanted a real camera, and used his birthday money to buy the next one down (I believe the TS) with the money he got from his grandparents. His older sister, an award winning photographer, received their top of the line as a gift after winning a prestigious award. That was *very* carefully chosen for its near dslr quality (at the time it was neigh impossible to get a DSLR for under $500, and she was in high school). Cutting to the chase here, that camera is as good as or better than the many SLRs around the house.
So, having a lot of experience with the brand I did not hesitate to order this. The funny thing is that I found it while looking at the Exelim she wanted (to just have something on hand all the time). I saw the P1 here for around $100 and thought it fit the bill, but, for some reason I can not figure out, Amazon said it could not be shipped here. Then the price dropped on the P3, and there was no contest; a 14 mp with a touch screen for just $20 more.
O.K. I'm a little obsessive about thsese things and read dozens of reviews (primarily at pro sites) before ordering this. I was amused at how many people who were diehard fans of other brands grudgingly admitted that this was a better camera.
Well, it arrived this morning, and I am wowed! I took a picture of my dog just to make sure it was properly charged and to familiarize myself with the controls before our trip, and the pictures are just amazing! (I have been joking that we could check for fleas given how crisp and clear the close up shots were). Long story short, I am amazed at the quality, both build and photographic from a camera in this price range, and this size. It is small and light, among the smallest I have seen, has an aluminum (not plastic) case, with a sliding lens cover, takes hi def video, has anti shake and automated processing for people who do not want to fuss , and a fair bit of control options for people who do. (I will add, that I really like being able to use the touch screen to compose a shot and demark the focal point). I am not going to compare this to a dslr; it isn't. But you sure do get a lot of camera for the money; solid build, easy to pocket and use: just about the perfect travel camera. My only real withhold is, why do they think adults don't want purple or orange? It was a small sacrifice to move up to the quality offered by the P3.

Note review editied to correct earler mistake. I had described this as an upgrade from the fp1 with a leica lens. Another customer pointed out that this is not in Amazon's description, so I doubled checked with the manufacturer, and this model has a folded lumix vario lens; still very nice, but not a leica. that lens is availabvle on the f3 (if you can find one), and is beuautiful, but less portable. Another model in this line has the leica lens but is not available in the United states yet (at least as of the date of this review).
I will note though that it does take beautiful crisp detailed pictures. having used it for a couple of months now, I am not at all disappointed (well, except for the fatc that it *is* now available in purple, which I would ahve ordered given the choice ;)

I have a two year old Lumix with 10x zoom which is an excellent camera, but the touch screen FP3 is better. The stability control is superb, as well as the touch screen focus concentration. But I was amazed at the terrific exposure adjustment when a bright backlighting situation is experienced. The subject was perfectly illuminated.

Wanted something tiny (and it is that) with a touch screen (which unfortunately leaves much to be desired). Looked forward to reading about how to use all the features, but the directions only give the basics - ie how to insert battery and card, but nothing about taking actual photos. Turns out that's all on disc - meaning you've got to print out hundreds of pages or learn how to use it while sitting in front of the computer.
Tried it out at a party, and even used the party setting among others - photos were OK, but nothing like what I get with my Canon.
Tried the 'candle light' setting at a candle-lit restaurant but couldn't see faces at all. Got so-so results with some of the other scene-type settings - guess it's best to just stick with auto on this camera.
Touch screen works intermittently - will slide photos along fine and then all of a sudden starts going backwards again despite there being more photos to view going forward.
It wasn't terribly expensive, and it is small, so it's fine to stick in a pocket or purse for quick shots here and there, but I wouldn't advise it for anything special.

For the typical internet pricing, this camera is an absolute bargain. There are no other cameras in this price range (or substantially higher) that can overall beat this gem. Researched extensively point and shoot cameras under $250. Nikon 's' series has pic quality issues, Sony's 'dsc series have issues as well as the TX series, and Canon's lower line have pic quality issues.

Professional reviews of this camera point out the cameras excellent pic quality in bright lighting,super fast response time, subcompact size, and all of its useful features (stablization, face detect, 25 scene modes, auto scene select). Lens quality is above average with no noticable barrel, pin cushion, or fringing. Most of the other cameras have visible to severe distortions or excessive noise control which softens the image. As an extra bonus, it has a 3inch touch screeen display. Like all 14mp cameras, low light/no flash pics are not rated too highly. All in all, a fully featured camera that scores high on all points....and the kicker is the low price.

This camera shoots hd video that is as good as my compact aiptek hd camera. Just be sure and use a fast sdhc card rated class 6 or better.

After latest software version, touch screen response has been fixed. Earlier reviews knocked the slow responding touch screen.

I got a good deal on one of these from a 1 day deal on another website. I really like that you can turn it on and off by sliding the front shutter cover up and down. The HD video was a big selling point for me and im glad to say that it works great and comparable to most handy cams like flip, creative vado but closest probably to the kodak zi6. Decent audio, camera has an internal speaker which is awesome. If you mess with some of the settings you can get some pretty great pictures even in low light. Pictures outside look awesome. you are also able to change the resolution of the pictures, i like taking them in HD 1920x1080 so that i can use them as desktop backgrounds without having to crop it. start up time is fast and the intelligent auto picture thingy that can choose what it believes to be the best option for that picture setting works remarkably well. has macro ability. not sure what else i can say about it. i have owned only a few digital camera's and this is the first one i've bought in 4 years.

Make sure you update your firmware before you try and complain about the touchscreen! the firmware fixes almost all the problems.

The only bad thing i can say about this camera is that in review mode, when you are looking at a picture you just took, you can zoom in but moving side to side and up and down is a chore. even with the fix there is no easy way to zoom in on something in review mode on a picture you just took. not a big deal to me as i can do this easily after transferring to the computer but a lot of people like to see an upclose view of themselves in a picture right after its taken

Great value, small size, always great to have a camera which fits in your pocket.
But .. The touch screen is a big turn off. Highly insensitive screen leaves you tapping constantly.
If you just want to take pictures from this camera and see the pictures on your computer later, its a great deal.
But if you sometimes want to view the same on the camera, then you are in a big trouble.

I highly recommend this camera. What it is: a thin, sleek digital camera with high picture quality, fast action, easy-to-use controls, and a long battery life. For the price, I haven't found anything like it on the market.

It is not a digital SLR, which probably takes higher-quality photos.

One consideration: using the video function uses a lot of memory. I say "a lot" when I compare it to my Flip Video, which uses slightly less memory per minute of recording.

Otherwise, this has been a fun product that has served me well. I enjoy the touchscreen controls. I suggest buying the camera case (<$5) for protection.

This is definitely one of the best sub $200 touch cameras out there. As long as you update the firmware (really important) the touch screen isn't too bad. It's no iPhone, but its at least average. 14.1 megapixel is impressive too. The camera looks nice and the whole slide the front to turn on is a cool feature I like as well. If you want a low cost touch screen camera I'd recommend this.

I purchased this for my son's 20th birthday in Oct and so far he seems pleased overall. The only item he has complained about is the touch screen zoom. He says he has to press too hard to get it to zoom in and is afraid it will damage the screen. The pictures however have been great!