Rating: 
Summary: A pack leader
Review: I've had this camera now for about 6 months and it's been exactly what I was looking for. It is slightly larger then the much more common Canon Elf line, but had the distinct advantage (at least over early models) of not making your friends look like ghosts when the flash is used (I found images taken with the elf nearly always overexposed - but I've never actually owned one). The pictures taken with the lumix can be very sharp. I say can be, because I've ended up with more then a handful (out of hundreds) of images which have ended up fairly blurry. Usually these are when I've zoomed out to the full 3x (that's optical zoom - digital zoom is fake, and this camera sensibly lets you disable it). I may have a slightly shaky hand, or a tendency to snap the shutter button hard when I take the picture - I don't think it's very forgiving. If you have a lot of trouble with taking a steady shot you probably will not be happy with this camera. Generally though, my images are sharp and very true to life. I am not sure how much of the quality of the images is attributed to the leica lens, but the light and shadows in my images give pictures from the lumix a depth that is often missing from digital images. As with nearly all digital cameras, your best pictures will be in bright (but not direct) natural light. And, as with most 2MP digital cameras you won't see the pixelation in the image that is so common in older digital cameras. The images will be suitable for printing at 5x7 (or maybe even 8x10), and you won't have to spend a fortune. It seems like the jump to 3MP costs quite a bit more for an only incremental increase in quality. Again, as with most digital cameras, the lumix really drains the batteries quickly. It uses 2 AA batteries and comes with 2 rechargeables and a charger. I get about 2 hours of "shooting time" with a full charge. A really sweet feature on this camera is the last photo review. Digital cameras generally have a picture taking mode and a review mode, where you can view and delete your images. The lumix has this, but also allows you to review your last picture. You can see the image, zoom around on the details of it, and if it's bad, you can delete it. It automatically ends the review mode after a few seconds of inactivity. I am totally lost when using a camera without this feature now. In the 2MP range this camera is definitely a pack leader. Pros:
Capable of very sharp pictures
Sensible user interface, easy to nagviate
Last photo review is awesome Cons:
Drains batteries
Somewhat hard to hold focus when zoomed in
Rating:
Summary: Panasonic Lumix 2 MP Digital Camera
Review: Plusses: sharp, properly exposed pictures; easy to use; small; light; photos easy to transfer to a computer.
Minuses: neck strap inappropriate; poor battery access; maximum time exposure a bit short; no manual shutter speed control. The camera came with a neck strap; 2-1600 mA-hour AA rechargable NiMH batteries; a 2 battery recharger, an 8 MB SD memory chip; a video cable to play back movies on a TV (haven't tried it yet); a proprietary USB cable (one end is for this and some other cameras only - not cheap to replace, so keep track of it) for connecting to a computer to get the photos off the memory chip; a CD with USB drivers and Photo software (haven't tried the photo software yet), and instructions. You can let the camera decide what settings to use, but you also have quite a bit of control. You can photograph at 640×480, 1024×768 or 1600×1200 resolution, except movies are 320×240 only (but with sound). Manual ASA settings are 100, 200 & 400. You can force exposure changes of ±2EV in ¼EV increments. You can turn the flash off or force it to flash. The flash isn't for beyond about 8' (2.4m), or for movies. Zoom is 3× optical and 2× digital (digital can be turned off). You can make the camera focus and adjust for light on a particular object, and then hold the setting while you compose the picture and shoot. Macro shooting is done in a separate macro mode at distances starting at about 8" (20cm). Time-delay self trigger is easy to use, and can be set for a 2 or 10 sec delay. The color display can be shut off to save battery power, but the optical viewfinder isn't quite as accurate. You can review the picture you've just taken and magnify it to see how sharp it is, or you can change modes to review all the pictures stored on the chip. While reviewing a picture, you can delete it to make room on the chip. Photos are saved as .jpg files; movies are saved as Quicktime .mov files. The internal menu system is clear and easy to use. You can't manually set shutter speed; and time exposures appear to be limited to about 8 seconds. Movie length is limited to 19 seconds. On the camera, you can't review movies you've taken, and (the instructions say) watching them on a TV with the video cable will be without sound. Pictures are sharp and properly exposed (if I don't mess up). The camera is light and will fit in a shirt pocket, but then the neck strap interferes. I'll probably make a wrist strap for it. Depending on what you're doing, the batteries can get empty quickly. Get 4 extra 1800 (more is better, not 1600) mA-hour NiMH batteries. That way you can have 1 pair in the camera, one pair being recharged, and still have a backup. I haven't bought (or made) an AC power supply for the camera yet (Panasonic does offer one), but with 3 pairs of batteries, I haven't been stuck without power yet. As soon as a pair is empty, I start recharging them. Recharge time is 5 hours. If you're running Windows NT, you won't be able to use the USB connection (unless you can find a memory card reader that comes with USB drivers for NT - Panasonic doesn't have them for the camera). You'll also need more memory chips, 8MB is 8-12 photos at maximum resolution. 128MB total (one big chip or several smaller chips - it pays to shop around, too) should be more than enough if you can pull the photos over to your computer from time to time. The neck strap is too much for such a small, light camera. It also gets in the way when using a tripod. A strap that can be configured as either neck or wrist strap might have been a good idea. The triangular metal eyes used to connect the strap to the camera tend to catch in positions you don't want them in. The display on the back of the camera is a bit unprotected, so be careful. If you use the neck strap, make sure you adjust it so that when you walk, the screen isn't banging against a metal zipper, snap, belt buckle or button, etc. Get (or make) a soft carrying case with room for charger, extra batteries and extra memory chips. When visiting friends or relatives, you might want to bring cable(s) and software, too. The camera came with a Panasonic "rebate" offer of 2 extra 16MB memory chips, which arrived in a small plastic bag inside a padded mailer; nothing protective for transporting them in normal use. A SanDisk chip I bought came with its own protective case. I haven't solved this problem yet...pillbox? matchbox? The camera is tricky to use in low light and close quarters, particularly if focusing is required (you won't be able to see anything on the display, and a camera has to "see" to focus). A tripod has helped, but not for moving objects. You may not be able to get the chip (or batteries) out of the camera while it's screwed to a tripod base. You must remove the memory chip to change batteries, and the battery and chip slot cover is a 2 piece articulated cover that is tricky to open and close for battery access. This makes changing batteries harder than changing memory chips; but you'll be changing batteries more often. The arrangement looks a bit flimsy to me, so if you're rough on equipment or all thumbs, this camera may not be right for you. Otherwise, I definitely like and would recommend the camera. I got the camera for making photos to view on screen, for which it has proven excellent. I can't say if 2 megapixels is enough for printing. Having never used other similar cameras, I can't give a comparative recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: Good for the price
Review: Pros: The features that I like are the Leica lens and the fact that it's cheaper than similar quality cameras. The macro capability is very nice - it's great for close-ups (like for ebay photos) and the 3x zoom is pretty sweet.
I read other reviews that the DMC-LC20S images come out dark, but you can adjust the "white balance" and the ISO sensitivity in the menu to compensate (you only need to adjust for indoor lighting). Cons: As with all digital cameras, the LCD eats the batteries. And I suspect the zoom lens eats batteries too (it comes with a battery recharger, or you can plug it into the wall -- DC cord is not included).
The camera comes with 8mb of memory that you can upgrade (8 is not enough).
You have to wait a moment between photos (there is a "burst mode" for taking quick successive shots - I haven't mastered it yet).
It's compact, though not as tiny as the Canons.
No manual focus. I checked out some other cameras, but in this price range the lenses I saw didn't offer a decent macro capability. And most digital cams with a good lens are twice as much (like Nikons). All in all a good digital camera. No major complaints yet.
Rating: 
Summary: Surprised with the quality
Review: When I bought this camera I wasn't sure. I'm a Nikon SLR owner with a bunch of filters and lenses, so I didn't know if this would give me the same results. What a surprise! The pictures are as sharp as my Nikon. I still miss the capacity to use filters, the telephoto zooms and the SLR, but as a regular viewer camara Im positively surprised. The Leica lens does a very good job. Pictures are simply crisp. The camera controls are very easy to understand and the manual is ok, not great, but ok. The fact that a battery charger come with the cam is nice. I bought a second pair of batteries for less that so I'm covered. Flash memory cards is the film in this cameras and the 8mb card included is not enough. It will give you around only 12 pictures at regular resolution. Buy yourself a 128mb one and you will have plenty of space. This applies to all cameras this type so is not a shortcoming of this one in particular. Before investing in this cameras you should know that this technology is different from regular film cameras, is still evolving and at the beginning it feels strange, but the convenience of downloading them and seeing them inmediatly is such an advantage that it compensates for the different feeling you get with this cameras. Anyway this "odd" feeling will go away very soon. If I where you I'll give it a try. Is really worth it. This cam in particular is a great one to start. I'm really happy with it.
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