The New Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FX78 Ultra-Compact Digital Camera Comes Equipped With Fun & Creative Never-Before-Seen Effects

ATTENTION Ladies and even some of you more adventurous fellas, trust me when I tell you, YOU ARE GOING TO ABSOLUTELY LOVE The New Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FX78 Ultra Compact Digital Camera. 

It finally feels like springtime in NYC today and what better opportunity to enjoy the warm and sunny weather while I work then trying out the newly released Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FX78 compact digital camera at the same time.

As soon as I unveiled the FX78, I knew I was going to enjoy experimenting with it. And after testing it out, I'd say this is definitely an original and unique compact camera that should be considered a serious threat to other point-and-shoot compacts on the market right now. This is probably why Panasonic is currently only allowing authorized dealers to sell it in their store locations but not online as of yet. 

No time to read my detailed overview and description? No problem!
Here is a quick list of the FX78's main features:

Product Highlights

• 12.1MP Hi-Speed CCD Sensor
• 3.5" 16x9 LCD Monitor
• Leica 5x 24-120mm Zoom Lens (Equivalent)
• Fast, Bright F/2.5 Aperture Lens
• Touch Screen Control (AF, Zoom, Shutter)
• 3D Photo Mode
• 1920x1080 Full HD Video W/Dolby Sound
• Faster Start-Up and Autofocus
• Art/Beauty Retouch & Make-up Modes
• Easy Upload to Facebook/YouTube

If you would like to purchase the Panasonic DMC-FX78 in white or in gold,  it is available at the H and B Digital showroom at 29 West 46th St. (Between 5th and 6th Ave.) New York, NY 10036 but if you live out of state or just can't stop by, you can also call us at (212) 354-1341 and speak to one of our sales team members to order. 








The Panasonic DMC-FX78 Ultra Compact Digital Camera

After inserting a SDHC memory card (not included) and a rechargeable battery (included) in my FX78, I was ready to start shooting – a speedy and painless process. Instantly, I noticed the cameras larger than average LCD touch-screen, particularly for an ultra-slim and light weight camera, which by the way, also fit comfortably in my hand. The standard size for most compact cameras is 3.0 inches but the FX78 LCD is an additional half inch larger making it much easier to use and less room for slip-ups when using its touch-screen.

It only makes sense that Panasonic would put a larger display screen on a compact that comes equipped with a new LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMARIT, 24mm ultra-wide lens with 5x optical zoom and an f/2.5 aperture. According to Panasonic, “the 24mm wide-angle lens offers approximately 213% larger viewing space when compared to a traditional 35mm camera...”  

The FX78 also comes with a wide selection of really fun and exciting new internal features to try but I had to go through the basics to begin – so naturally I tried "Normal" mode to see what kind of photos this camera could take without using any of the built-in alterations...

Equipped with the 12.1 MP resolution, vividly clear lcd screen and full hd photo mode – the picture came out decent even if a photo of my april 2011 hello kitty calendar isn’t exactly the most riveting subject to shoot…although the picture quality is pretty good, I would recommend the next “standard” setting up from “normal” which is the Intelligent Auto (iA), if you just want to snap a picture without fussing with many of the features.

The iA technology automatically chooses what it recognizes to be the best possible settings, like a specific scene mode for example, depending on the shot you are taking. 

If you compare the pic of my Hello Kitty calendar on Normal mode with the pic of it using iA mode, the difference is clear. With iA mode the colors appear richer and more vibrant, there is less glare due to lighting and the image quality is less fuzzy as well.

Photo with Intelligent Auto (iA) Mode On

Scene Modes for Photos

But like human beings, the gadgets we create have their flaws too, that’s why you can’t always rely on the cameras artificial intelligence when taking your shot. But have no fear, the FX78 comes with a large variety of modes such as scene mode, my color mode and other custom features to choose from.

Scene Modes for Movies

My Color Mode
Naturally, you want your photos and videos to be unique. My Color Mode, which was popular in the LUMIX G Micro System cameras, is a special option that gives free reign to your creativity. It offers a total of 8 preset effects – Expressive, Retro, Pure, Monochrome, High Dynamic, Silhouette, Pin Hole, Film Grain. You can dramatically change the images of even familiar subjects to express your own creativity. Here are some photos I took in NYC using each effect:

 

You may have heard or seen some of the earlier newly released compact digital cameras equipped with a fun feature called Beauty Mode which allows you to "beautify" a portrait by enhancing it with teeth whitening, blemish, wrinkle removal, etc. and the best part is you can do all of this right on the camera before uploading the pic to your computer or website. 

A neat little feature indeed - but have you heard of a feature called Cosmetic Mode?  How about Make-up Retouch? If you haven't, that’s most likely because these features have never been offered in a compact digital camera before. Panasonic stepped up it up a notch with the FX78 by adding a medley of new, never-before-seen features to their camera. 

Panasonic expanded the trendy Beauty Mode feature into two features: 

• Cosmetic Mode

• Beauty Retouch Mode (Aesthetic Retouch and Make-up retouch)

With Cosmetic Mode you can adjust the settings to a preferred skin tone (soft skin, natural skin, summer look) and degree of transparency of skin detail (low, standard, high) before taking portraits. This makes it possible to take portraits with different impressions of skin tone which can come in handy if you want to see how gorgeous you’re going to look once summer kicks in and you get that natural sunkist glow or you can defocus unwanted wrinkles, freckles or mottles that can sometimes occur during studio photo shoots when under bright lights. 

Beauty Retouch Mode includes two sub-categories to enhance your photo with:

• Aesthetic Retouch – offers the same ability to alter your photos as the original Beauty Mode featured in some other digital cameras
• Make-up Retouch – you actually have the ability to choose between colors of foundation, lips, cheeks or eye-shadows to apply to your photo. 

Aside from portraits, The FX78 can also enhance your photos in several other popular modes such as 3D Mode & Panorama Assist Mode -

 

The newly added 3D Photo Mode produces a 3D image in your camera. The image-processing method used by LUMIX records beautiful images with less distortion or visible image links.

Take 20 panning shots and the camera automatically selects the two most suitable images – one for the right eye and one for the left eye – to synthesize a 3D composite. Slide the camera for consecutive shots. The camera creates 3D photo data by selecting two optimal images.

The 3D image can be viewed on a VIERA HDTV. The 3D image format is compatible with MPO, so it can be played back on other MPO-compatible equipment such as TVs and digital photo frames, or printed.

Panorama Assist Mode (Photo)

After the first shot

Screen for taking 2nd shot

After the first shot

Screen for taking the second shot

This is a handy function for aligning panorama photos using the included software PHOTOfunSTUDIO 6.0 HD Lite Edition. The afterimage of each previous shot is displayed, so you can use it to precisely line up the second and third shots.

Call H and B Digital at 212-354-1341 or visit our Midtown, Manhattan showroom located at 29 West 46th St. New York, NY, 10036 to purchase the new Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FX78 Digital Camera in white or in gold.