Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ60 16.1 MP Digital Camera with 24x Optical Zoom - Black

I began looking for a camera before going on a family trip. Over the last couple of years, I have just used my phone (which has a pretty nice camera built in) but remembering to use it as a camera has always been a struggle for me so I have missed many photo opportunities because I forgot to use the one on my phone. I spent several hours researching the kind of camera I needed and once I locked that down spent several more hours finding the best value for the best price that fit my needs. I am not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination (and I might be a little flakey and lazy) so I really needed a camera that 'did the work for me' but I also wanted one that would allow me to be in control if I found the inclination. This camera seemed fit the bill perfectly - And it certainly has! Some of the things I loved (I don't think there is a way that this list can be all inclusive) - - Perfect size. When I'm holding this camera, it feels like a camera and all of the buttons are easily accessible while secure in my grip. - The battery life seems to be amazing. I shot 400 pictures with some video footage as well and still did not even come close to running out of battery. - The picture quality is superb. When I was in automatic mode, all of my pictures came out crisp and clear. They were beautiful on my computer and beautiful when printed. I did some editing on some with an online software and they didn't have much work to do when it came to 'auto adjusting' the pictures. - The zoom is awesome. We went to a baseball game at Target Stadium and sat in the 306 section (look it up, it's WAY up there) and I was able to take pictures of the players that made it look like I was right on the field. I was able to zoom in close enough to capture the players names and numbers on their shirts very clearly and the quality of the picture did not seem to be affected. Don't get me wrong, I haven't tried to blow any of these up bigger than 4x6 but they look amazing on the computer and in the 4x6 printed size. I read a few reviews where there were complaints about the length of time it took the camera to refocus when zooming in to this degree... Did it take some time? Yes. Was it worth it the wait? Yes. Are you going to be able to turn this camera on, whip it up, zoom it in and take a picture of something that is fast moving? Probably not, but if you're already zoomed to the distance you want, it only takes a second to refocus. In my opinion, the quality of the zoom outweighed the time it took to focus. - Starting to record a video is a simple on step process. One button, push and your recording. If you are zoomed in, it records from the zoom position you are in. Oh, and you can still snap pictures while the video is recording. A couple of things I didn't love (this list IS all inclusive at this time) - - I can't tell what is video when I'm reviewing the pictures on the camera. I enlisted the help of a friend who has more camera knowledge than I and she finally found it. The only difference seems to be that the picture (1st frame of the video) is a little different shape than the pictures... Keep in mind that this doesn't mean that this is the only way to make the determination, but it's the only way I have found so far. - The video files are in some cryptic file that my computer doesn't really know how to handle. That being said, I have not downloaded my pictures to the computer that I have the software on. I have another laptop that reads SD cards and have just inserted the card and moved the pictures that way. I'm guessing that the software has something to convert these files, but I rarely use that computer (and can't put the software on the computer I do use) so it has been inconvenient for now. I really don't know if this would affect someone who uploaded the pictures using the included software. One last note about the camera - I showed some of my pictures to a friend who is a photographer for a small town paper and other assorted media affairs and she was quite impressed with the quality. All the other bells, whistles and manual modes? I've tried some of them but can't really speak to them because I have no idea what I was really doing, but I can say that they all seemed to work :)

This gave very low contrast pictures on African safari. I used the lens shade. Sharp pictures inside with flash however.

I'm a sucker for cameras and own way too many. I love my DSLRs but sometimes I just don't want to worry about them so I wanted a point and shoot to carry around at times but it had to be something better than the traditional point and shoot. I think I found it with this camera. I love the longer zoom on it and the start up time is great. It has a nice set of filters and settings. I can also use it all day without the battery dying but it did require me charging it every night of our last vacation to Myrtle Beach. I think for our next trip to Disney I'm going to take an extra battery with me for the days I don't carry my DSLR since I tend to take a lot more pictures there. So, the most important thing is the picture quality. I have to say that it's pretty decent. It's not dslr quality but I never expected it would be. It is the closest to dslr quality that I've had with a point and shoot. I can get really nice color and sharpness even when using the fully automatic mode. When using the special setting such as panoramic the quality of picture is also nice and it's really simple to use. It's exactly what I want in a point and shoot and I feel the price was good for the camera I got. One last note, this camera is thicker that a traditional point and shoot. I knew that buying it buy apparently my husband didn't. It's not a large camera by any means but it isn't one that will fit in your pocket. For me it's a good compromise between a traditional P&S and a DSLR. It will never replace my dslr but at least now I don't feel like I'm losing out on a decent picture if I don't take it with me.

After 3 weeks with this camera I can absolutely recommend it as probably the best all-around camera of this type. I was in search of a fast long zoom "bridge" camera after getting a Kodak Z990 8 months ago that took , what I thought at the time, was great pix. I researched and bought this Panasonic. I compared to all the other cameras in this genre that i could, including trying them at the stores. (this camera wasn't available locally so it was a case of hoping/researching) . After having the long zoom experience with the Kodak I wanted a long zoom but was dis-appointed with the Kodak's very erratic focusing, very slow performance when shooting and the occasional lock-up. All this was causing too many missed shots and increasing frustration ! I just didn't want to have that be the "norm" for these "smaller sensor", long zoom type of camera. This camera restored my appreciation of this style camera!. The performance is great . The time to first shot, shudder lag/writing to memory is extremely quick and the auto focus is very quick and accurate. Out of 10 quick shots on different types of moving/not quite stationary (eg. pets/kids) maybe 2 aren't perfect ! This was, like i said, very quick/ fast as possible between shots so that is great when trying to catch those elusive shots that you will usually only get 1 chance to capture. After experimenting with the auto settings and almost all the custom modes/settings I have found that the auto settings will deliver great pix as advertised but I prefer using the "P" mode, applying a +1 for sharpness and color, -1 for noise reduction and place an upper ISO limit of 400 to control noise and maintain a nice sharp picture. Even inside ( with flash at that max ISO ) these settings are good for my tastes. There are adjustments for just about everything and experimentation will reveal a setting that is perfect for your taste and then you can save that as a custom mode that you can recall at will !! The built in picture enhancements are fun and can also make some darker pix be enhanced and much improved. There is a "Hand-Held Night Shot" mode that is great for dark shots without the flash. I did not buy this for video recording but I did try it and the quality is as good as the reviews said! Will be handy if a situation comes up that I need video but I am caught with out the video camera. The battery is good for at least 350+ shots (depending on flash/zoom use) and charges quickly. The only slight limitations of this camera (and all of this type ) are slightly slowed focusing in dark scenes and at extreme zooms (again, limitations of the sensors ) and this camera has some focusing options to help get the occasionally hard to focus subject focused properly! If you are looking for a camera with the zoom ability ( this camera, with the proper set-up, has an enhanced, not digital, zoom of 48x with out visible image problems ) I recommend this camera, especially at the current, less than $300.00 price. To get better pictures or performance you would have to make the jump to a full-fledged DSL camera/extra zoom lens combo that is at least 3x the price of this handy camera.