Panasonic Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55

Other notable features include an automatic exposure bracketing that's quick and easy to set, and a user-defined ISO sensitivity limit control--you can, for example, prevent the camera from automatically selecting any ISO above 400, giving you a wider range of apertures and shutter speeds for different lighting conditions, while still keeping your photos sharp.

The FX55 lacks advanced imaging controls, such as sharpening, saturation, or contrast, but it does provide a variety of color compensation options (including Vivid, Cool, Warm, and Natural), plus 21 special scene settings. Each scene selection includes a brief text description, but they are unhelpful. For example, the text for the Aerial Photo scene says: "For taking pictures through an airplane window. Please turn off the camera when taking off or landing."

Image quality is about average for 8-megapixel cameras we've tested recently. The FX55 earned middle-of-the-field scores for sharpness and for color and exposure accuracy in the PC World Test Center. Scenic shots taken in bright sun had good color saturation; wide-angle shots exhibited nice detail, but those taken at full telephoto were a little soft. That last result is somewhat surprising, given the camera's Leica-brand lens, but it is proof that more than just the lens goes into making superior digital photographs.

ArcSoft's PhotoBase image editing and management application accompanies the FX55. The Mac version is pretty useless, but the Windows app has adequate editing tools, photo-backup options, and batch-processing capabilities. ArcSoft's Panorama Maker--a great photo stitcher--is also present, but you will not get full use of it because the FX55 lacks a panorama mode.

The Panasonic DMC-FX55 has much to like: It's easy to use and well put together. For the price, though, we'd like a little better image quality.

--Tracey Capen