Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS3S 8MP Digital Camera with 3x MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)
|  | $140.25Availability: Out of Stock
Condition: NewSKU: DMC-FS3S
UPC: 037988987276
Ships in 1-2 business days |
| Product DescriptionSimply set the 8.1-megapixel DMC-FS3 to iA mode and let the four Intelligent Auto functions team up to help prevent shooting errors. Intelligent Scene Selector chooses the mode that best fits the situation; MEGA Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.) helps prevent blurring from hand-shake; Intelligent ISO Control helps prevent motion blur; and Face Detection helps produce clear portraits by optimizing the focus and exposure settings. The 33mm Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens with 3x optical zoom takes wider shots than an ordinary 35mm lens. This is helpful in small rooms or crowded places, for example, letting you fit more people into a group photo. There's also an Easy Zoom button on the camera top - just press it, and the optical zoom and Extra Optical Zoom instantly extend to full telescopic position. This quick zooming lets you catch even fleeting opportunities. The brightness and contrast of the large 2.5" diagonal LCD adjust automatically in 10 steps as ambient light conditions change, so images are clear, bright and easy to see day or night, indoors or outdoors. f=5.5-16.5mm (35mm Equiv. - 33-100mm) Focal Length 2.5 Diagonal Polycrystalline TFT LCD Display (230K dots) Focusing Area Normal - 50cm - infinity, Macro / Intelligent AUTO - Wide 5cm / Tele 30cm - infinity 8 - 1/2,000 sec. Starry Sky Mode - 15, 30, 60sec. Shutter Speed Auto / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 (High Sensitivity Mode - Auto(1600 - 6400) ) ISO 27MB Internal Memory (additional memory recommended to store more photos and video) Built-in Microphone and Speaker SD/SDHC, MultiMedia Card Slot Built-in Flash with Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced Off modes DC Input, AV Output (NTSC/PAL), USB Connections PictBridge Compatible Approximate Battery Life - 320 pictures (CIPA Standard) Approximate Unit Weight - 0.319 lbs - 8.0-megapixel resolution captures enough detail for photo-quality 16x 22-inch prints
- 3x wide-angle optical zoom; Mega Optical Image Stabilized
- 2.5-inch LCD screen; Face Detection
- Intelligent ISO; Intelligent Scene Selector
- 50 MB built-in memory; captures images to SD memory cards (not included)
Customer ReviewsReviewed on 2008-06-29  
A pretty decent deal
I had several criteria for chosing a camera. There are so many choices nowadays :)
1. Decent pictures, always a plus with a camera
2. Movie mode, high quality
3. 720p support on movie
4. Able to record up to 1 hour continously.
This camera was a compromise. But I am very happy with the compromise. I use AVI files at home, with Windows Media Center. I do not use iTunes, I do not use a Mac. Unfortunately, nowadays, very few cameras support AVI format files directly. I was concerned about Motion JPEG with the movie mode.
So, I ran some tests. Pictures look great. There is a little noise in the background but that only appeared when a flash was not used in slightly low light. Pictures with flash look great.
Facial focus was great. Such a difference from my last camera (Casio Exilim). That camera was awful at selecting the target for autofocus, so we'd get a lot of pictures with blurry faces but some very sharp leaves in the background.
This camera, on the other hand, seems to do a great job at picking the correct object. I've only been using it a day or so, maybe my opinion will change after a while, but it all looks good right now.
Video mode: This is one of my biggest things for me as all my digital cameras have been used to record home movie snips. The previous camera used MPEG4 streams in AVI format which was very convenient for me. That camera could record up to 2 hours continuously (2GB file).
This camera, however, can only record about 19 minutes in 2GB. This is a significantly higher data rate than the old one. Also, it's using MJPEG. The upshot is, that I will *need* to convert the video files every time. From Apple MOV/MJPEG -> AVI/XVID.
So, there is a large difference in duration for each movie (I have 8GB card which will hold 78 minutes total with this camera). It may sound like I'm going to diss on the camera, just setting the scene....
I ended up compromising on the resolution of the movie mode. I wanted 1280x720. This camera does 848x480. The 720p cameras cost almost 2x as much.
So I eagerly took some movies, downloaded programs to convert it and recompress it. The results were way beyond what I had expected. Once converted to AVI the file reduces in size by about 30% but maintains the same level of quality.
Video compression artifacts are MUCH lower than my old camera. The resulting quality of the movies is FAR superior to the Exilim camera. Little to no edge fringing, little to no flickering on edges (the other camera had this sometimes). Similar contrast scenes are not smudged, detail was not lost due to compression.
Although I disagree with the file format, I don't want to use MOV files, the choice of using MJPEG was a decent one. Yes, the files are much larger, but the quality is worth it.
I have always been aiming for about 1.2GB/hour for my movies and now the target is 3GB/hour. The difference in quality is worth it. And besides, I have a huge hard drive that needs some filling!
So, yes. Recommended.
|  | Reviewed on 2008-06-01
Terrific little Camera
After a short comparison with a few other cameras, I bought this model. Part of the reason was for the Leica lens...it's incredibly sharp.
The camera is quite easy to use, and the controls are 'intuitive' once you have used them. Navigating through the menu is not intimidating or complicated, so no one needs to feel like they could not master this camera. In fact, I didn't even have to read the manual.
Image quality and color rendition are quite surprisingly good for an 'economical' camera, and it adapts really well to low-light situations with it's extended ISO range.
The camera reacts quickly when you turn it on, and the 'write-time' to the SD card is fast, so follow-up shots can be taken almost instantaneously.
I highly recommend it with no reservations! | |
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