Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Point & Shoot Digital Camera - Black - DMCTZ4K
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 8 Megapixel Digital Camera with 28mm Wide-Angle Lens, 10x Optical Zoom, and 2.5" LCD - Black

Having been a big Canon fan, this purchase was a leap of faith. The features and size of this camera were what drew me to it. I am not disappointed with my decision. The size of this camera with a 10x zoom is awesome and the face recognition is as exact as the Digic II. Great camera. Great price. Great delivery (2 days). Thank you.
 
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I have had the camera for about 1 month now and have only found one fault with the system, and that is when using the movie mode. With C-AF on and in movie mode, the camera seems to try to continuously auto-focus every couple of seconds causing the recorded movie to go out of focus constantly. If you turn the C-AF off, use the movie mode and your subject varies, then you will of course get blurry movies. I have already contacted the manufacturer and they replied that the factory is aware of this problem and should have a resolution within a couple of weeks of this review (I guess I'll have to wait and see). The auto focus speed is quick, albeit not dslr speed. Shutter lag, when pre-focused is fast enough that I don’t find it to be a problem. The image quality for a small sensor camera is better than others I own and have tried (it easily beats the IQ of my Olympus SP550uz). The feature that I like the most is the ability to set the maximum ISO. I typically have this set at 400max to avoid noise. The camera is very sturdy, handy and the battery seems to last quite awhile. The intelligent auto mode (iA) will select between five different programs depending on what it thinks you are trying to photograph. I guess that’s fine if you know absolutely nothing about cameras and photography, but most of the time I find myself using the normal picture mode. I did use the sunset mode the other day and I was impressed with the results. I don’t find the lack of manual controls to be a problem, since I purchased this as a camera that I can carry everywhere and take that quick shot. What I like: Small, sturdy, quick camera with better than average image quality. What I don’t like: The glitch in the movie mode, which basically makes that feature useless.
 
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This is a great little camera for both an advanced amateur (like me) looking for a second camera to carry everywhere you can’t take your DSLR or for a complete novice (like my wife) who is looking for a camera that is really easy to use yet takes good pictures. IN SUMMARY What makes this camera special is that you have a full 10X zoom in a very compact form factor with a real wide-angle lens at 28mm. Most other cameras offer a smaller zoom range (around 4x), provide a semi-wide-angle at about 35mm, or are much bulkier. PICTURE QUALITY In reality, most cameras today take pretty decent pictures. Most people really don’t need more than 2 megapixels, unless you are planning to either crop your photos or make very large prints. Therefore 8.1 megapixels are more than enough. My DSLR has 5 megapixels and I have never needed more. The Leica lens is very high quality. The multiple built-in scene modes will make it easier to capture that sunset or use custom settings for that special picture. As with most cameras, it is always to have a photo editing program to adjust contrast (or levels if you are a bit more advanced), do some cropping and adjust sharpening. As an advanced amateur (take a look at my Nikon DSL photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdada ) I found the quality of the pictures from the Lumix TZ4 to be excellent. AT the same time, my wife was able to use the Intelligent Auto mode to snap some pretty decent pictures. The flash does an especially good job - indoor people pictures had very nice tones and not blown out or underexposed like some other cameras. VIDEO With a 1Gb SD card I was able to capture a couple videos of my daughters dancing (to Hannah Montana, of course). The quality and resolution of the video is pretty amazing for a camera in this price range. You may want to use Windows Movie Maker (included with XP and Vista) to do some edits and make the video a smaller size suitable for emailing. OTHER FEATURES The camera feels very well built and solid. Face detection technology works incredibly well, ensuring your subjects are always in focus (as opposed to focusing to whatever is at the center of the picture). Image stabilization works . The LCD screen is very large and bright. Controls are easy to understand. SUMMARY I spent a long time looking at many cameras and playing with them. If you are an advanced photographer, this is not a camera to replace a DSLR, but a perfect companion to take to those places where you don’t want (or can’t) bring your big expensive camera. The TZ45 does not provide all the manual controls of other cameras, yet it allows enough settings for me (i.e. exposure compensation, ISO settings, etc.) . For the average user, you can find a cheaper and a smaller camera for sure. But I doubt you will find a solid, pocket camera with a 10x zoom and a 28mm quality lens that produces such great photos with little effort. Definitely, the TZ4 is highly recommended.
 
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