Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 14 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5.5Mb.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2 produced images of good quality during the review period. Noise is the main problem, being obvious at the relatively slow speed of ISO 400 and then becoming progressively worse at the faster settings of 800 and 1600.

Chromatic aberrations were well controlled, with some limited purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations. The 14 megapixel images were a little soft straight out of the camera and ideally require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop.

Macro performance is quite good, allowing you to focus as close as 5cms away from the subject. We did notice some softening of detail towards the edges of the frame when examining images at 100% on a desktop, and slight barrel distortion as evidenced in our white wall test shots, though again this is only noticeable if really looking for it. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and good overall exposure.

Anti-shake works very well when hand-holding the FT2 in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the 4.6x zoom range. The maximum shutter speed of 60 seconds easily allows the camera to capture enough light for most after-dark situations.

Noise

There are 6 ISO settings available on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.

ISO 80 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2's 4.6x zoom lens offers a fairly versatile focal range, as illustrated by these examples:

28mm	128mm

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft at the default sharpening setting and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. Unfortunately you can't change the in-camera sharpening level.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

File Quality

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2 has 2 different image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

14M Fine (5.70Mb) (100% Crop)	14M Normal (3.40Mb) (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2 handled chromatic aberrations well during the review, with limited purple fringing present around the edges of objects in certain high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.

Example 1 (100% Crop)	Example 2 (100% Crop)

Macro

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2 offers a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 5cms away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro Shot	100% Crop

Flash

The flash settings on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2 are Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Forced Off - Wide Angle (28mm)	Forced On - Wide Angle (28mm)
Forced Off - Telephoto (128mm)	Forced On - Telephoto (128mm)

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Flash On or the Auto/Red-eye Reduction settings caused any red-eye.

Forced On	Forced On (100% Crop)
Auto/Red-eye Reduction	Auto/Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2's maximum shutter speed is 60 seconds in the Starry Sky Mode scene mode (there are also 15 and 30 second options) and 8 seconds in the Night Scene mode, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 1/13th second at ISO 800. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like. The camera takes the same amount of time again to apply noise reduction, so for example at the 15 second setting the actual exposure takes 30 seconds.

Night Shot	Night Shot (100% Crop)

Anti Shake

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2 has an anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here are some 100% crops of the images to show the results. As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper than with anti shake turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length	Anti Shake Off (100% Crop)	Anti Shake On (100% Crop)
1/4th / 28mm
0.7 sec / 128mm

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2 camera, which were all taken using the 14 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

As of February 2025, we are no longer providing full size sample images or videos for download.

Please contact us if you have any feedback on our new policy.

Product Images

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

Rear of the Camera / Quick Menu

Top of the Camera

Bottom of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT2 follows a long tradition of incrementally improving on a previous model by adding a smattering of new features. Cynics may argue that there's not really enough new features on offer to justify the upgrade, but the inclusion of freezeproof-ness, better waterproofing and shockproofing, plus a noticeably quicker auto-focus system, means that the DMC-FT2 is a serious challenger to the longer-established Olympus Tough series.

As with its predecessor, the FT2 is a take anywhere, use (almost) anywhere that combines sophistication with resilience. It's also certainly one of the better-looking "tough" cameras on the market, only surpassed in our view by the rather attractive Casio EX-G1. The DMC-FT2 really will survive most things that you throw at it, or throw it into - we bet that you'll only upgrade the FT2 in future for a better specified model, rather than because it cracks under the strain of hectic family life.

The main negatives are that the camera is on the pricey side if its nigh indestructible qualities aren't a key priority, although this is true of all cameras in this category, so make sure that you really will regularly use the DMC-FT2 in at least one extreme environment before purchase. Also the move to 14 megapixels doesn't add anything to the camera, although thankfully it doesn't detract in any way either, with image quality on a par with the previous FT1 model.

Panasonic has now certainly caught up with its main hard-as-nails competitors, with the DMC-FT2 proving a a serious proposition for extreme sports' fans and families with children alike. It's not the best compact camera around, but it will certainly outlast the majority of its rivals.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4
Image quality	3.5
Value for money	3.5

Specifications

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