Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS35 review

A slim 16.1MP compact camera with a 28mm Leica lens

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS35 review
This 16.1MP compact camera comes in black, silver, red and violet

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Considering the price point of the Panasonic Lumix FS35, we were pretty impressed with the results from this camera. Colours are represented well, without being overly bright, while sharpness is good and images are crisp.

The autofocus, while not the quickest we've used, works well in most situations, locking onto subjects with ease in bright conditions and only having trouble in very dark circumstances.

Noise is controlled well, even at the higher end of the sensitivity scale, which goes up to ISO 1600.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS35 review

While images shot at ISO 800 and ISO 1600 do have a noticeable drop in quality, the photos are still more than useable, and would certainly be preferable to not getting the image at all.

For a lens with such a lengthy zoom, which is housed inside a compact body, the widest aperture of f/3.3 is fairly decent and helps when shooting images without flash in low light conditions.

It's a shame the choice of fun filters isn't a bit better, with those available feeling rather uninspired compared to popular modes such as Miniature, found on rival cameras.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS35 review

Macro images, which can be shot via the dedicated mode or automatically detected when shooting in iAuto mode, are crisp and provide a good level of detail, with vibrant colours.

Chromatic aberration seems to be minimal, which is pleasing to see.

The camera is equipped with Mega O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilisation) which seemed to do its job well on most occasions, especially at the furthest end of the telephoto scale, which can sometimes suffer from blur caused by hand shake.

Amy Davies

Amy has been writing about cameras, photography and associated tech since 2009. Amy was once part of the photography testing team for Future Publishing working across TechRadar, Digital Camera, PhotoPlus, N Photo and Photography Week. For her photography, she has won awards and has been exhibited. She often partakes in unusual projects - including one intense year where she used a different camera every single day. Amy is currently the Features Editor at Amateur Photographer magazine, and in her increasingly little spare time works across a number of high-profile publications including Wired, Stuff, Digital Camera World, Expert Reviews, and just a little off-tangent, PetsRadar.