Much more than I ever expected from a pocket point-and-shoot.
I learned photography with rangefinder and medium format cameras in the 1970s, and resisted digital cameras. This one appealed to me because of the Leica optics (SONY also looked attractive with their Zeiss optics). The camera functions very well as a simple point-and-shoot in Intelligent Auto (IA) mode, which automatically adjusts for macro (as close as 2"), portrait, scenery, night portrait, night scenery, and sunset. You will definitely need a SDHC memory card at 8GB or higher to hold as many max high-definition pix as you will want, and it's a must for video. Color saturation is excellent, autofocus is fast, optics are sharp, detail at 16.1 maximum megapixels is astonishing - it is print quality even enlarged beyond 11X14". I can compensate exposures, use flash to back-light, compensate for fluorescent and incandescent light, intensify or soften color, go to B&W or sepia, shoot panoramas with overlapping frames, go cool or warm, and more. Exposure range is surprising - beyond the zone system parameters we were taught.
Drawbacks? Few and easily overcome. In tele, the optics reach to the equivalent of a 224mm lens in 35mm terms, so a tripod is a good idea no matter how steady you think your hand is, or how good the stabilization is. No manual focus, but I can autofocus, hold the focus and step back or forward to compensate, say, if shooting something behind glass. For shooting out a car, train, or airplane window it has infinity focus called aerial mode. It has options for 2 or 10 second self-time which are useful in place of a tripod release or to put myself in a pix, but no options for a remote "shutter" release which could come in handy for wildlife or surveillance (not things many people would want, I admit). Spare / replacement batteries are on the high side $-wise, and we're warned not to buy cheap forgeries, but their lithium ion battery pack has steady output at a wider temperature range - which you will not get out of alkaline batteries (Nikon, are you reading this?) The battery has good capacity and charges quickly, but a spare is a good idea if you use tele/wide and flash often, because these decrease what you will get out of each charge.
Other things I like: The screen is 2 7/8" diag, which is large and clear, and not significantly smaller than 3" diag others offer. The flash range is to 19' in wide, to 10' in tele. I can force the flash off, which may mean a tripod exposure in some low-light situations, but this gives you more natural images in other settings, like a ladyfriend by candlelight or a church interior. My advice: learn the menu and setting and controls, or you will not get as much out of this camera as you would otherwise.
I looked at many different makes and models online, and waited for a good deal, which I found thanks to ebay, and the company provided full warranty - which some sellers do not, so watch for this! Why didn't I get a Leica pocket point-and-shoot if I wanted Leica optics, you may ask? Leica may produce a superior camera in their D-Lux 3/4/5 models, but the prices are at least 3X what this Lumix cost, and you will not find (yet) a D-Lux with 16.1 megapixels. I might, someday, spring for a V-Lux 20, but for now, I am very happy with this Lumix.
I have not described all the capabilities of the DMC-FH25, and didn't touch on its motion / video capabilities at all, so take the time to look these up yourself. I'm very happy to have this for a small, light, flexible, excellent imaging tool.Read full review
