Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH8

Bottom line

One major testing organization names the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH8 its Best Buy among super-cheap cameras. Owners usually love it, too.

However, no other expert source has fully tested this camera. Notably, it has a shorter zoom than the top-rated Canon PowerShot A4000 IS (*Est. $130). The Panasonic finishes as a solid runner-up.

Ease of use

One of the simplest-to-use cameras you can buy. This camera is foolproof, experts and owners say. In fact, the Panasonic FH8 is one of the simplest-to-use cameras you can buy, period, according to one top source.

It's the little things, owners say, like a menu that serves up the most common settings on page one (no digging through screen after screen). A one-touch video record button -- "you just click the red button and go," one Amazon.com owner writes. Again, no futzing with the menu is required.

It's a little slimmer and lighter than most under-$150 cameras, too -- including the Canon A4000 IS.

DigitalCameraInfo.com's Richard Baguley sums up the Panasonic FH8 as "a simple, straightforward camera that is light (at 0.28 pounds) and small enough (at 0.77 inches thick) to slip into a pocket, but which still offers more features and flexibility than the typical cell phone."

Despite its diminutive size, the FH8 "fits well into the hand," Baguley says, "with the index finger falling naturally onto the shutter button and the zoom control dial that is around it. The same finger can also reach over to the power switch, so it is easy to turn the camera on and start shooting quickly."

The 3-inch LCD screen is just as big as pricier pocket cameras' -- but, as usual for the ultra-cheap class, "the resolution is a little low," Baguley says. "We were not able to test the screen in bright sunlight, but previous screens of this type have been a little hard to see in bright light."

Performance

Impressive photos and videos for the price. In photo and video quality, the Panasonic FH8 equals -- or beats -- some cameras that cost more than twice as much in one test.

Testers say the Panasonic shoots very good photos outdoors and good ones indoors. Flash photos look good, as long as you get close to your subject; the flash is typically weak for the price. Photos rarely look blurry, thanks to the Panasonic's impressive optical image stabilizer that compensates for shaky hands. It does this better than many cameras, one source says.

We didn't find any speed-timed tests. The Panasonic FH8 powers up with "moderate" quickness, with little dead time between shots, according to one testing organization. Rapid-fire shooting of 10 frames per second (fps) is available, but only at low resolution (3 megapixels). It's only 1.3 fps at the full 16-megapixel resolution.

Video looks and sounds very good -- "better than many models" in one test. It's 720p HD (not full 1080), which is par for the price. You can't use the optical zoom while filming, but zooms usually make a lot of audio-ruining noise anyway.

Battery life is rated at 260 shots per charge. That's higher than most under-$250 cameras.

Durability

Little info about sturdiness. Durability is a question mark. No experts evaluate the Panasonic FH8's sturdiness, and most owners don't say anything about it.

We found only one durability complaint at Amazon.com, from an owner whose new FH8 broke within two weeks.

"The motorized lens cover did not want to open," he said. The lens wouldn't extend, "and there was a grinding sound which would only stop when you turned the camera switch to off." Although the photos this owner shot looked fantastic -- good enough to blow up into big wall prints -- he had to return the camera. "The durability issue was a real deal killer for me." Still, the other owners (about 40) report no problems so far.

Features

Basic features, plus a few extras. The Panasonic FH8 "has all the basics required for casual shooting," says Baguley at DigitalCameraInfo.com. The 5x optical zoom is pretty standard for the price (the Canon A4000 IS has 8x). But the Panasonic has a few extras that reviews say are a nice surprise.

Especially impressive is the sweep-panorama feature, which you'll find on some Sony and Panasonic cameras. You hold down the shutter button and sweep the camera from side to side or up and down, and the FH8 shoots a bunch of photos and then stitches them together into one panoramic shot. This doesn't always work right on the cheapest models, but owners say it works perfectly on the FH8.

The Panasonic also offers more scene modes than other cheap cameras -- standards like Portrait and Sunset, plus more than a dozen more like Glass Through, Food and two different Baby modes.

You can also add a few special effects to your photos -- Black and White, Sepia, Vivid and "an odd mode called happy which boosts the image saturation for a more movie-like look," Baguley says, although you can only use it with still photos.

The Panasonic FH8 comes with a USB cable and power-outlet adapter. You can charge the camera by hooking it up via USB to your computer -- a "very practical" feature, one source says.