The Panasonic Lumix DMC-F5 is an entry-level digital compact from Panasonic's budget F-series, launched in 2011 to offer straightforward point-and-shoot photography at an accessible price beneath the company's higher-specified FS and FX ranges.
It uses a 14.1-megapixel CCD sensor sized around 1/2.33 inch behind a 5x optical zoom lens covering a 28-140mm equivalent range, with a 2.7-inch LCD screen for composing and reviewing shots, HD movie recording at 1280x720, and storage to SD/SDHC/SDXC cards.
Panasonic's Intelligent Auto mode handles exposure, focus and scene selection with minimal user input, and MEGA optical image stabilisation helps offset the compact zoom's modest maximum aperture in dimmer conditions.
As a budget compact from the early 2010s, secondhand units sell cheaply; check that the zoom lens extends and retracts cleanly, the LCD shows no dead pixels, and the battery still holds a usable charge, as ageing lithium-ion cells are the most common weak point.