Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP5

PanasonicLumix DMC-FP5

On paper, Panasonic's DMC-FP5, the latest in a long line of Lumix point-and-shoots, is a surprisingly strong performer at a price that's equally shocking. With color accuracy that blew us away, excellent noise performance, and a capable sensor-shift stabilizer, the ultracompact certainly has a lot going for it. Handling quirks and touchscreen nonsense hold this model back however, a shame considering its test results. Ever get an “A” on a test you were expecting to fail? Me neither. But that’s pretty much what the Lumix FP5 accomplished in our color accuracy test. With a color error value of only 2.6, the FP5’s accuracy is on par with some DSLRs, believe it or not. Specifically, dark skin tones, greens, and magentas were the most accurate, while lighter skin tones lagged behind a bit. More on how we test color. These results exceed the rest of our comparison group by a mile. This will be the most clear when taking shots of human subjects, as faces should appear much more flattering than with either the Pentax Optio RS1500, Nikon’s Coolpix S4000, or the Canon PowerShot ELPH 500 HS.