The Lumix DMC-FX55 wasn't in store aisles for very long and it’s already been replaced by the DMC-FS20, a new compact which adds several "improvements” such as a 10 Mpix sensor, 9 point autofocus system and the new Venus Engine IV processing chip.  On the other hand, the lens is "only" 30 mm (which isn’t that bad) with a 4x zoom.  The screen is 3 inches diagonally (7.6 cm) versus 2.5 for the recent FX35 (which replaced the FX33).  More expensive, the FX35 still has two big advantages: a 25 mm wide angle and an HD video mode.

Handling

Compared to the FX55, the Lumix FS20 doesn't add too much in terms of design.  You will find Panasonic’s sober lines and a slightly raised border on the back which encircles the LCD screen.  On the other hand, the interface has noticeably evolved.  The dial that was so dear to Panasonic in the past disappears in favor of a Mode button and a sliding lever to rapidly change from the shooting mode to play.  The navigation joystick is still there but its use is a bit tricky because it’s rather close to the screen.  Moreover, the different controls are rather small and Panasonic has more privileged the placement and size of its screen.  While the LCD is big (3 inches, 7.6 cm), it lacks a bit of definition (only 230,000 pixels) and viewing angles are rather limited despite the specific display modes.  On the other hand, colors are accurate.

There is a practical button which enables rapidly activating the zoom while pressing it a second time allows zooming in.  With a 30 mm wide angle, the Lumix FS20 offers a comfortable field of view.  We would have liked to have seen a larger opening (f/3.3), but optical stabilization does its job. Finally, startup isn’t too quick but the FS20 makes up for it with a rather fast autofocus and nice burst mode (2.5 i/s) over three images.

Image quality

The Lumix FS20 has the automation that made the Lumix line so successful.  White balance is relatively correct (more precise than former models) under various lighting conditions with a slight dominance with tungsten lighting.  Moreover, color fidelity is rather good as is the exposure.  The 30-120 mm lens produces nice images but sharpness is a behind compared to other models like the Lumix FX33 (another Panasonic) or the impressive Canon Ixus 80 IS (which doesn’t have a wide angle).  The quality of the lens is uniform on the entire surface of the image.

The new Venus Engine IV processor works rather well.  Chromatic aberrations and purple fringes are minimal as well as noise control being very satisfactory with the 10 Mpixel sensor.  Images are very clean and chromatic noise is well controlled (visible in color blocks at 800 ISO); however, ‘’billowing’’ is immediately visible (from 200 ISO) and there is significant smoothing starting at 400 ISO.  On 10 x 15 prints this is no problem and on A4s the loss of detail is visible but overall images are quite good.  At any rate, the improvement compared to the previous model is largely noticeable.  Optical stabilization functions well, without any bad surprises.  As for the flash, it turned out to be rather weak in our tests and we had to push sensitivity to 400 ISO to obtain satisfactory results.  Finally, the video mode was convincing with honorable quality; however, we (still) noted the impossibility of zooming during recording.