Panasonic DMC-FH25 16.1MP Digital Camera with 8X Wide Angle Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD - Silver

Most helpful customer reviews

369 of 373 people found the following review helpful.
Finally a decent camera that takes sharp photos
By Scott
I purchased this because I was very unhappy with the new Canon A3300 that I also purchased just a week before this one. I did extensive photo tests with both cameras because I felt the Canons overall sharpness was bad. Both cameras are 16mp and although i'm a Canon fan I have to say they failed on the A3300. Even with setting custom sharpness, contrast and saturation, the normal straight out of the box settings on the Panasonic were way better.

The two big problems with the canon were most photos even bright outdoors had way too much noise. The other problem was no matter what setting and focus type, only the center areas were in ok and i mean ok focus. All four corners of the photos were on the blurry side and that's just unacceptable. Compared to this Panasonic...wow, much better and much sharper. When fully zoomed in there was a bit of noise but its expected. Night shots depending on how you take them also have noise but again depending on how and what you can work around it a bit.

There are minor differences with the two cameras like the zoom smoothness was a bit better on the canon and the user interface and menu screens were also a bit better on the canon. Not a deal breaker at all because I'd rather have quality over cosmetic things. The other minor things i found were that the Panasonic has the af assist light very close to the top corner of the camera where you put your fingers. Also the on off and photo/play aren't buttons they are switches which i'm a little worried about breaking so we'll see how they last.

One of the biggest differences is that this camera is faster. I found that saving photos is almost instantaneous on the FH25 but on the canon it was about a 4 sec pause to save before you could take another (a "busy" icon shows up. Most of all the functions on the FH25 are faster and i like being able to grab the camera and take photos quickly.

Overall i'm all about quality and sharp photos and this camera does that. If you don't care about the spare battery cost or that the user interface and menus look like 20 years old, i think you'll be happy with this camera.

Photos for the most part are well exposed and using the full Ai seem to always come out perfect. There will be a slight bit of noise in certain shots but sharpness is never an issue. The whole thing about higher mega pixels is better isn't completely true, its all about the sensor size. Do some research about that as I did but believe me, this camera really does a great job. I've posted a few sample photos.

UPDATE 8-17-11
Still loving the picture quality of this small camera. I even tested out the new Canon SX230 and again this FH25 was sharper and photos were exposed better. The full iAuto setting is amazing and it really
does a great job, I've taken photos with it that I will be publishing in my second book next year. That's how good I feel the quality is.

Update: there are batteries available for only $10.00 making this camera a great choice.

151 of 155 people found the following review helpful.
Great Camera
By R. L. Shagon
Lot's of positives for this camera:

Advertised as 8x optical zoom but that's video. It's 10x in photo mode, 22.5x if you employ the digital zoom as well.

16.1 mp is amazing for a camera in this price range. I actually used the max digital zoom and still got good resolution photos.

About 2 dozen scene modes (portrait, beach, sunset, etc) that work well and are easy to select. Text scrolls across the screen explaining its use as you you move from mode to mode.

Very easy to use. About 1/2 hour with the manual and camera and you can understand and begin using all the features.

Image stabilization sems very effective. I shot every thing hand held even at max zoom and liked the results.

Great battery life. I chrged it 1x on a week vacation but that was just in case. Could have gone all week with 100s of shots.

Like most digitals the camera has very little built in memory so you need to buy a memory card. I chose the PNY 16 GB that has more room than I think I'll ever need.

One negative this camera shares with most point and shoots: you miss a viewfinder in very bright sunlight. But the screen is bright enough to make it manageable so I still rate this very highly.

63 of 63 people found the following review helpful.
Outstanding Product!
By sammywhat
I don't offer too many reviews, but this one was worth the effort. If you are looking to purcase a point and shoot, the Panasonic DMC-FH25 is probably the best camera for the money. I did quite a bit of research and was taken by the 8x Zoom and 16.1 MP. And it wasn't much more money than those cameras with fewer megapixels and features! It's easy to use - whether you are taking close-ups, or panoramic shots, the controls are intuitive and handy. With flash, without flash, macro, zoom... it's really just a few simple clicks and your taking great shots. Right out of the camera with no touch up the photos are well balanced and accurate.(I've uploaded some of the shots on the Panasonic DMC-25K page above.) I didn't even bother to read the manual, I was too excited to start playing with the 16.1 Mega Pixels! :) I've seen some reviews where the reviewer was less than enthusiastic about a feature or two... these are probably the kinds of people that complain about everything! They probably should have purchased a DSLR and been done with it! My guess is they'd find something to complain about THAT too. I digress... The fact is, for the money, I'm really pleased and happy with this purchase. The only thing I need to do is read the manual and I'll be all set. Oh, one other really fun feature that I found accidentally... When I hooked the camera up to an HDTV, (with included cable), there is a slide show function that has MUSIC built in!! Five or so different songs that play in the background while you watch the images fade and slide across the screen. That is a really nice touch Panasonic! It should tell you how much thought went into the design of this Lumix. Thanks for reading!! :)