The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500 has a wealth of compelling features, including the 5x zoom, the wide angle lens and the HD movie mode. The good color representation and these features  make it a good all around camera. The combination of the touch screen and the physical controls make the camera intuitive and easy to use. The Q Menu button is good to bring up the most used functions making it easy to change things like the ISO and the number of megapixels for the photo.

Perfectionists or those who like to zoom into their pictures may be disappointed by the amount of noise at higher ISO settings, but this probably won’t disturb the average point-and-shoot photographer.

Strong Points

• Excellent build quality
• Responsive touch screen
• Good integration of manual controls & touch screen
• 5x optical zoom
• Wide angle
• Quick Menu function
• HD movie capture
• Live histogram
• Accurate color
• Manual control

Weak Points

• Intelligent Auto is sluggish
• Noise at higher ISOs
• Weak flash
• Joystick-type dial is very small
• No optical viewfinder