Panasonic Lumix F3 Review

I recently got a Panasonic Lumix F3 Camera. It was given to me by my fiance for Christmas and I'm so excited because it's my first ever digital camera! I never had a need for a camera before because I don't really like taking pictures or have my picture taken, until recently when we started travelling more than we used to. I realized that taking pictures is important if I want to capture those precious moments during the trip or vacation so I have been raving about it. I did a little research on digital cameras to see which one we should get for a practical amount because I didn't want my fiance to spend a lot on a camera. I was undecided between Sony Cybershot w350 and w330, Samsung ES70, and Panasonic Lumix F3 until we tested the video and still captures. The image quality are crisper and so is the video. The video is in HD which is a really a big plus. It's the only one that had HD video among the 4 that we were interested in so it's definitely a good buy. It was also cheaper than the better ones (w330 and w350). The only downside is it doesn't zoom in / out when you take videos but I can live with that. The main purpose of digital cameras is taking pictures and not to take videos anyway. I can still take videos though so I'm happy with it. Panasonic Lumix F3 is very affordable and a practical camera for beginners like me.

Panasonic Lumix F3 specifications:

• 12.1 megapixels
• 4x optical zoom
• 28mm wide-angle lens
• 2.7-inch LCD screen
• 720p HD video mode
• Captures to SD/SDHC/SDXC
• Lithium ion battery
• Release Date: Feb 28, 2010

What I like about this camera is it has Intelligent Scene Selector which will make your image capture easy if you are a newbie like me :). I have no problems with the battery life of this camera as I can take a lot of pictures before it runs out and I like it that I don't need to charge often. The charging time is fairly quick at 1 hour and 20 minutes. It comes with a wall battery charger which is a plus for me and it also charges via usb which other cameras cannot do. Shutter lag is also not an issue and so is the focus. It's also user friendly, although the graphics aren't that great compared to Sony Cybershot cameras. The case is made of plastic which doesn't really bother me at all but I'm sure most people would prefer a metal case. It come s in black and silver and we got the silver one because it doesn't look plasticky. It also came with a 2GB SD card, a wrist strap, and a camera bag. Overall it's an easy and straightforward point and shoot camera I will be enjoying for a long time. Here is a picture of Panasonic Lumix F3 in black courtesy of letsgodigital.org.

I'll be posting some images using this camera on products I will be reviewing and I'll add some more and better pictures after the holidays. I hope this review was helpful to those are considering to buy this camera.

As promised, here are a couple of pictures taken using Panasonic Lumix F3. Happy New Year everyone!