Panasonic DMC FX37 Digital Camera Review

The DMC FX37 gives you that bit more zoom than a standard pocket camera. The wide angle lens is useful for squeezing in wide shots such as landscapes, groups of people and buildings. The camera scores will for ease of use. You may also be tempted by HD quality movies.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom) Although I like the colour combination of the blue sky and the darker green leaves on the trees I am a little disappointed overall by this photo. At this time of the year the glare from the sun can cause a loss of detail in the lighter areas of the photo, but here the dark areas lack definition too. The overall sharpness of the photo is a step down from what I am used to seeing from Panasonic digital cameras and noise also shows in the shady areas on the boats.	Outdoor 2 (No Zoom) This photo shows just how much width you can squeeze into a shot with the wide angle lens with the DMC FX37. I wonder though if Panasonic have been too ambitious with the lens. This picture is another that could be sharper. The corners of the shot show darkness creeping in and there is also noise in some areas of the photo.
Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom) Out of my three scenic shots this is the best one. Even so I think the shot lacks clarity. Many of the pixels have a jagged look to them and I wonder if the 10 million pixels are too small to produce high quality photos.	Outdoor Portrait This is a better effort from the DMC FX37 when it comes to sharpness. Even so there is a loss of detail when light is falling on the face. The photo was taken in the shade, so the camera should have coped a bit better than it does.
Indoor Portrait with Flash There are some very dark areas in this photo. Areas of the hair have not been lit up by the flash at all. Overall the photo is darker than I would like to see.	Indoor Portrait without Flash This shot could have done with some extra light. The photo was taken indoors and although the light levels were bright enough the camera has been unable to come up with a really big effort.
Colours One positive about this camera are the colours. As mentioned near the start of the review, blue sky and dark foliage combine well.	Macro I have no complaints about my macro shot. It is the best test photo I managed to take. The photo is bright, clear and shows a good level of detail.

ISO 400 and ISO 1600 - My two test photos for higher ISO are in line with expectations. Noise levels are visible at ISO 400, especially in darker areas of the photo. At ISO 1600 even the brightest areas of the shot show plenty of noise.

Overall - Over time I have given great reviews to many Panasonic digital cameras and I am sure I will do so again. For whatever reason I have not got on with the DMC FX37 and I am disappointed with the quality of my test shots. I ran some of the tests again using just 5 megapixels. The results were much better. This leads me to believe Panasonic has tried to squeeze too many megapixels on to the sensor and picture quality has suffered.

Shutter Lag and Recycling Times - A single photo took an average time of 0.35 seconds. Five photos were a bit slower than standard at 16.64 seconds. Flash slows down a single photo (1.5 seconds), but does not make a great difference if you are firing off a number of photos (18.39 seconds for five). It took 3.99 seconds to turn the camera on and take a photo. This is slower than many similar cameras.

Style - The DMC FX37 has a simple design. It is a typically rectangular digital camera, but the rounded ends keep it interesting. It will slip into a pocket and is available in black, silver and blue.

Dimensions - 94.7 x 51.9 x 22.0mm

Weight - 125g

Batteries - Lithium ion. A battery and charger are supplied with the camera. Panasonic estimates you should be able to take around 310 shot before the battery runs down.

Memory Cards - The DMC FX37 is compatible with SD and SDHC cards. Panasonic have built in around 50mb of memory to get you started. This is enough for about 11 shots.

Ease of Use Rating - Very Good. Although there are one or two extra features when compared to some other pocket cameras it shouldn't take you long to you're your way around.

Points I Like - HD movies - ease of use

Where it Could Improve - Picture quality

Alternatives - There are plenty of pocket cameras around, but not too many with a 5x wide angle lens. Another camera worth taking a look at is the Fuji Finepix F100 FD.

David Tyman's Verdict - It is rare that I end up disappointed with a digital camera from Panasonic. That is the case with the DMC FX37. Although I like the features the camera offers I just couldn't get a decent set of photos with my test shots.

David Tymon works with Cameras.co.uk