 Exceptional Camera for the price |
| Review Date: May 12, 2009 |
| Reviewer: F. Piccioli, Phoenix, Arizona |
Got the camera 2 days ago from Costco. Coupon brought the price down from $179.00 to $149.00. Took WEEKS of research before I chose on this one. Also at that price I got a 2MB card and a very nice camera case included.
It is well built, feels sturdy and not easily brittle
Wide Angle lens and 5x Zoom is very excellent compared to other point and shoots which have neither a 5x zoom or a wide angle
Digital zoom can go all the way to 20x or even 35x with 5 MP used. Not very clear but useful to have if you need it.
The pictures come out VERY clean with excellent colors, clarity and lighting.
Size is small enough for a pocket
Video is excellent feature...(wish you could zoom in video mode)
The IA button which in the end presets scene, face recognition, lighting etc is Fantastic if you dont want to press a hundred buttons to set up the shot. Just ONE button and your set to go!
Flash is a littttttle on the weak side but still excellent enough for anything I need.
LCD screen is VERY clear and automatically goes lighter or darker accoring to the lighting you are in...and Exceptional feature. Also has a setting for the LCD screen if you are putting the camera over your head for a crowd scene that the LCD can still be seen at that angle...I Like that feature as well
Lots of small extras in the hardware that I still need to explore....
By and large I could NOT be more satisfied..the write ups online are excellent and my experience so far (I have taken a few dozen pictures to test it) is also very excellent. If you want a mid priced camera that can compete with the huge boys on zoom, wide angle and picture feature...while at the same time having a small enough camera to carry in your pocket..this is DEF it. |
Incredible pictures
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| Review Date: May 3, 2009 |
| Reviewer: A. Baskara, |
As a honest-amateur photographer, I have Canon Rebel Xti with some lenses from 300mm to 50mm f/1.8, I realize that I need to buy smaller camera to carry around. It's not amusing if in the wedding a bigwig poke me and question for taking photo since seeing me carrying huge SLR with some lenses..... so the hunting for "excellent, not expensive, point and shoot" camera was ongoing.
One thing that I really don't want to compromise is photo feature. I know that Leica have exceptional feature for "point and shoot" camera, only thing is that they have also "exceptional" price tag on it. The lowest tag for Leica is $600 (same as Canon Rebel), the second lowest is ridiculosly higher than $1500... so forgot the Leica.
I know that panasonic use Leica lens for their camera/camcorder product (I have HD panasonic camcorder with Leica lens, very excellent feature movie).... so let's try it. I bought this camera "Lumix DMC-fS15 12 MP" thru Amazon (best price I found), delivered within a week... no complain at all.
I found that the picture feature from this camera is really incredible, much better than other brand my friend uses...
The user boundary is simple to be with you. in the end I just read once briefly the manual and that's it ready for action. The other feature i found fascinating is the "burst", combine it one by one by iPhoto and change it into slow motion picture is really simple and "cool" (my sons said).
Also I found very matter-of-fact is the charger doesn't need cable to connect to the power, you can connect it directly to the power. |
Long wait satisfied: fantastic camera with lots of facial appearance
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| Review Date: April 9, 2009 |
| Reviewer: phoopabriba, NC |
I just got this camera days gone by, so beware that I haven't explored all the options yet, but so far I Like it. My ancient Powershot A75 quit at the commencement of February, after which I spent two weeks worth of research and bought the Powershot A2000. I was immediately disappointed with it; athough I wasn't in the family way the nominal camera on the market since it takes AA batteries, it was really larger than my ancient A75, which took four batteries instead of two. It also seemed really slow and slow-moving, so I sent it back and chose to go around my camera-buying strategy. Eventually I chose I wanted to go with a lithium-ion array instead, since though it may not be as well-located, it makes the camera much smaller and quicker. Plus, the batteries are cheap enough to have an extra on hand, and unlike before cameras I've owned that used AAs, the camera tells you how much array power you have left so that you can plot ahead.
I chose to go with Panasonic since of its excellent ratings, especially on the Leica lens, but mostly since of the wide angle lens and its capacity for extra optical zoom, which I haven't seen available on any other brand. At first I wasn't sure how vital the wide angle lens really was to me, but now that I have it I already can't imagine going back. With the option of 16:9 ratio as well as 4:3 (or 3:2) it's in the end the variation linking wide screen formatting on a TV and full screen, except that you have the option to switch back and forth when you want to.
For someone like me who likes to take pictures but doesn't always want to have to mess with settings, it seems like this camera really has too many settings, BUT so far it seems to take very excellent pictures on the normal picture setting, and it's nice to have the extra settings when I need them. That is to say, they're there if you want them and for scarce shooting conditions, but they aren't necessary for most normal pictures. The self-portrait option does come in handy, though, since it waits for you to get in view to focus and then snaps the shot.
One thing that I've noticed that could either be a excellent thing or a terrible thing, depending on how you look at it: the camera saves your most recent settings even after you've turned the camera off or place it into a uncommon mode. This can be useful, since you can easily go back to the before setting lacking redoing all, but it can also be simple to forget what all changes you made to the standard format. I haven't encountered any way to set all back to default all at once, so sometimes I forget that I have a particular setting elected (e.g. alterations to white balance, flash, picture size, etc.). Also, some facial appearance are unavailable in some settings, which can be a bit frustrating. For example, you can't take a picture in self-portrait mode in sepia tan.
So there are a few quirks in the settings and it takes some getting used to in order to really learn all the uncommon facial appearance and how to use them, but as I said before, the normal picture setting and iAuto seem to work quite nicely for basic pictures.
Another fantastic feature on this model is the AF tracking, which allows the camera to focus on a moving object. Haven't tested this feature out much yet to see how it works, but I have a touch it will come in handy.
My ancient Powershot is pretty limited compared to the capabilities to this small thing, but from what I saw of the Powershot A2000 for the week or so that I had it, the Lumix overshadows it as well. I've read that Canon picture feature is by all accounts slightly better, with Panasonics producing a watercolor effect, but that variation seems minor to me compared to the wide angle lens combined with the zoom power and the other facial appearance available. (Wide angle is available on some Canons but mostly with no more than 4x optical zoom.) Once I read about this camera, I waited about three weeks until it was finally available, and it was worth the wait. Fantastic small camera. |
Fantastic Camera & Pany promotion available
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| Review Date: June 19, 2009 |
| Reviewer: JH from CT, CT USA |
My buy was the result of a month or more of research. My goal was to find an ultracompact camera for $200 or less that would yield very excellent images and provide a wide angle lens with at least 4X optical zoom. I learned photography on a Nikon FT2 SLR and even if I loved selecting aperture and shutter speed for each shot I was willing to give into an automode digital camera for the sake of convenience and speed. So the search started. Canon seemed to be the evident choice at 1st, but after usage a few of the uncommon models, I found them to feel not solidly built. Yes the reviews are excellent but I was never one to follow the masses. So I started to look at Nikon and Panasonic. Nikons just don't seem to have the feature they were once noted for and the reviews were just OK. So I looked at the Lumix with a Leica lens. The price was right and a wide angle 29mm to 145 mm, 5X optical. Nice. Reviews were not as copious as the Canons but indicated excellent satisfaction on the part of owners. So I took the plunge.
This seems to be a very versatile camera. A point and shoot at its best. More importantly I'm having fun taking pictures again. I can't note on image feature/noise as I have not enlarged any images so far but quite frankly it doubtless will be a non issue for me as I am not a professional and just need a clear images to record events, people, and maybe a video or two.
So far I'm very pleased with the camera facial appearance. The IA setting allows you to shoot away lacking nerve-racking about selecting scene modes with very excellent results. The LCD is bright and clear. Like the placement of the hegemony buttons. I have large hands and have no problems with the small buttons. The menus are very simple to follow even lacking reviewing the manual. The flash is more than adequate. I got some fantastic portraits using it in doors. I shot a video off the TV zoomed at 5x and wow it came out fantastic and was very stable. I bought a Transcend 8 gig memory card with a USB reader for the camera. Worked fantastic with my Macbook 1st try. Camera start up is very quick. Image reviewing is simple and quick. I'm looking forward to trying out uncommon modes and options. This is going to be a pet for me with travel, sporting events, and family photos. The size and weight is optimal for the shirt or jacket pocket. I found a few of the Canons to be too small for my hands. Also, most of the Canon line only have a 2.5 inch LCD vs a 2.7 inch LCD in the Lumix. You also have to pay a $50 + premium for wide angle and a 5X zoom in the Canon. So this was a excellent buy IMHO. I plot to post a few images in the near future. Panasonic name has always been excellent to me.
Excellent job Pany!! A fantastic camera. Also...see Panasonic.com for a free 4 gig card and camera case when you buy this camera.
Highly recommended. |
Excellent for what it is
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| Review Date: May 19, 2009 |
| Reviewer: george, |
I have owned a half-dozen compact digital cameras over the last 10 years, and I also own 2 DSLRs and a half-dozen lenses. This doesn't mean that I know what I'm talking about, but sometimes I like to pretend it does.
First, what I like about the camera: the zoom range is very useful, camera is very light, lens is sharp in the corners and center (though, oddly, not so much in linking), screen is nice, boundary is very simple to use, exposure compensation is bound to a button, +/-1-stop exposure bracketing, gifted auto modes (ISO, face-detection, tracking, OIS, i-exposure, scene detection) are useful and can be turned on individually, tripod mount is metal, and the 5fps high speed continuous mode is pretty nifty (though it's only 3Mp). The iA ISO mode is surprisingly sophisticated, and the autofocus tracking really works (it tracks by color, by the way, so if there isn't strong color contrast with the background, then it doesn't work). There's an iA button on the top, which turns on all the iA modes; useful when handing the camera to a weirder. Noise hegemony is better than I was in the family way.
What I didn't like: the lack of a histogram (live or otherwise) is truly irking in this day and age; zoom seems to be linear, so it's hard to get precise framing at shorter focal lengths; feels very cheap and plasticy; though the buttons feel excellent, all the switches (power, zoom, and play/record) feel loose and wobbly; why is there even a play/record switch? it should be a button; even at base ISO, there is noticeable noise when viewing at 100%; array life is average at best; ASM modes are missing, though I find them to be of limited usefulness on compacts; I wish it captured in RAW, but that's asking too much.
It should give decent 8x10 prints up through ISO 200 (at least), if that's any indication of image feature. I don't reckon you can expect any more than that from a camera in this price class. 4x6 prints should look fine even at ISO 1600; ditto for web shots. Since that's all I wanted out of this camera I'm more than satisfied with the image feature.
For the money, I wasn't in the family way much, but it's really more fun to use than any other compact I've owned, and the facial appearance aren't all just a bunch of useless gimmicks. I haven't bought a compact in 2 years, though, which maybe has colored my expectations.
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In the 6 months or so since I wrote the above, I've noticed that noise performance is exceptionally poor if you underexpose the image. Now it is right that most cameras yield terrible results when underexposed at high ISOs. Though, even at ISO 400, underexposed images will often show very large color splotches that are pretty much noticeable at any reasonable viewing size, and which ruins even after very strong chroma noise saving in post dispensation; this goes doubly when shooting at 1600. It is very vital to nail the exposure when shooting at higher ISOs, and here the lack of a histogram (to check exposure) is extra grating. That said, if the exposure is fine, then what I said above about image feature still holds. |
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