Rating: 
Summary: EASY QUICK AND PAINLESS DIGITAL PHOTOS
Review: This is my first digital camera, having used a Kodak Advantix with some zoom capability for the past several years. The cost of film, development, lost pictures and negatives made the purchase of a digital camera a no brainer. However, the one thing lacking from most digital cameras I had seen was an optical zoom. Digital zoom is almost meaningless, so don't be fooled by ads such as "3x Digital Zoom" which doesn't do much alone. I researched various other models, including the Olympus zoom models, but chose this camera because of the terrific price, quality glass Leica lense, compact size and the unbelieveable 12x optical zoom with picture stabilization, which is necessary to take non-blurry pictures at full zoom. The only concern I had was some negative comments by Amazon reviewers regarding low light photos. The first thing I did when I received the camera was take some photos of people in low light conditions at distances over 10 feet with the flash on. I discovered two things: (1) The pictures came out fine. (2) Hey I can use this thing without even looking at the instructions! It is a very simple camera to use, the screen menus are easy to navigate and activate options. The key theme here being the lack of frustration. There is a dial on the camera with little pictures or icons such as: a camera (when you are in normal photo mode), a car (to photo moving objects), a flower (to photo extreme close-ups), a person with a star above them (night photos). It can't be easier than that. Turn that dial to shoot video, press the shutter and you now are recording home video- as long as your memory card permits. I recommend purchasing a large memory card, 128 Megabytes is sufficient, since the 8 MB card that comes with the camera will only let you take about 30 high quality photos. The instruction manual is the best I have seen for an electronic product. Each page has a large heading at the top for the action you are trying to accomplish, i.e., take photos, record video, play back video, delete pictures. This makes it quick to find the topic. Underneath that heading are the simple steps, with diagrams showing you what to do. A positive of this camera is that once you learn how to accomplish an action, it is so intuitive you will likely never have to refer to the manual again once you have tried it.I was unconcerned about some mild criticisms about the lack of manual adjustability of certain camera-tech related functions, which I admittedly do not understand. I am not a professional photographer so I don't feel as I am missing anything, nor will you if you just take casual family, event and vacation related photos. The second day I had the camera I took it outside and shot some full zoom photos with the picture stabilization feature on. I was stunned by the detail, clarity and quality of the pictures I could obtain from objects at incredible distances. I cannot imagine ever using a camera without an optical zoom again. It simply opens up a whole new world of possiblilites for your pictures and frees you from the limitations of a regular camera, without the need to carry around a bunch of bulky zoom lenses like you might see a professional photogopher use. The camera seems very sturdy, comes with a nice strap, fine lense cap with its own micro strap connecting it to the camera if you like, to prevent it from being lost. I was initially dissappointed that Amazon only offered the black model, but it looks nicer in person then on the web page. I am now glad they only sell the black version because it looks sharp. If you want some technical oriented reviews, versus an anecdotal review, there are many fine detailed reviews, with examples of actual photos taken using the camera on the web. I liked the one at Digital Camera Resource.
Rating: 
Summary: Panasonic Digital Camera Poor Quality
Review: This is the worst digital camera I have ever owned! The night pictures are terrible especially of dark clothing. The Macro Zoom is very poor. PANASONIC should stick to VCR's and TV's! Very Poor Quality! I called Panasonic and they couldn't tell me the problem. Neither tech could answer my questions and on the rude side also. I like Panasonic products but the camera doesn't deserve one star. If you want a good quality digital camera, don't buy Panasonic!! Most of the pictures are not clear. The colors aren't true. I wish I had listened to a bad review I had read of this camera previously!
Sheila
Rating:
Summary: big bang for the buck!
Review: Wow, was I pleasantly surprised by the image quality of this camera. My purchase was decided by the best available optical zoom (12x) because of nature and sports photography. The quality produced by this unit was a bonus. Easy and fun to use, this camera belongs with anyone who likes to take long shots. The stabilizing system works very well and the low light performance is very good. I highly recommend this one and amazon. com has the best deal by far. Oh, immediately order a 256k sd card. The included 8k card is best left at home.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant features over ride lack of flexibility
Review: You can't beat this one for the money, ease of use and overall results. Yes, it's hard to focus in low light indoors, but you see your image immediately so you can retake and compensate accordingly. Yes, it's only 2 megapixels, but I want to see a technical review of Panasonic's new Venus engine that drives it, because I suspect it performs to near the specs of others 3 megapix sensors. Yes, you are limited because there's no manual focus. But the lens is stopped to F2.8 through it's entire range, there's image stabilization (that works!) and the 12 x optical zoom! It's small and fits well in your hand. The battery pack seems to last a long time. I paid full price (449.00) willingly, so if you can get it for under four bills go for it! This is a lot of fun to use!
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