Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3 inch LCD (Black)

My family has had a DSLR for the past 4 years. It is a great Canon EOS Rebel, but portability and taking a spontaneous photo is not a strong suit. We have purchased two different great HDTVs from Panasonic and really didn't consider them for this purchase initially, as they are not what I consider to be a "real" camera company.We did a lot of research before making this purchase. We looked at Best Buy, Target, Sam's Club, HH Gregg, and looked throughout 4 different online resellers (including Amazon). After finding the top 5 cameras, we did more research on ratings of each at Amazon, plus many other sites. We also went to independent websites focused on camera reviews. CNet was another that was very helpful of seeing videos on each camera. After looking at a specific website, they mentioned this Panasonic as a great camera. We were able to eliminate one of our top 5 and added this to the list. CNet gave a lukewarm review of this, but most of the smaller independent sites loved it. I wasn't particularly impressed by the CNet reviewer as all of her reviews took a negative tone (this was more positive a review).We were able to find every camera at a local retailer, but this Panasonic. Ease of use is important, but let's face it, picture quality is more important than anything else. Most digital cameras come out grainy or, in some cases, so clear that people look nearly transparent (and really require a little softening). The only camera we found in the $250 - $400 price range with great picture quality was the Sony Cybershot DSC-HX1. It is a point-and-shoot, but it is a hybrid between a DSLR and point-and-shoot. Really what this means is it isn't something you can easily slip into your pocket. It also relies on Sony's proprietary "memory stick" technology which doesn't fit into a computer without an adapter (easy to lose), not something sold at all retailers, and tends to be a bit more expensive. We really liked the camera, but these are concerns.Now to this camera. We decided to take the leap based purely on suggestions online. A big leap. The camera is small, functional, lightweight, and also takes digital video. It has to auto picture-taking settings (standard and intelligent auto) with 3 additional settings that you can set (shutter speeds, etc. for specific types of settings). We have yet to use the manual settings, but have found the other two settings to be quite good. The pictures are clear, but soft enough where the pictures look great and print well. The videos have a great quality, can zoom during recording (most can't), and taking multiple photos in a row wasn't a problem. More than 90% of the photos turned out great, but we suspect the only photos needed for manual settings are extreme low-light (but even concerts look great) and for true close-up action photos. Overall, this is definitely superior to most, if not all point-and-shoots in the price range, and definitely worth the risk.Brick and mortar stores are foolish not to carry this camera, but I would suspect this camera would raise the bar for most of the horrible point-and-shoots they carry on the low cost side. If you are considering a camera for under $200, do yourself a favor and wait another couple weeks for the money to purchase this one.

Disclaimer: I have used this camera for about two months now, but didn;t read the manual... so some of the features I don't like, might be available, but not to the casual user.What I like about the camera:1/ Excellent low light performance. One can take pictures in a room (at night, with normal lighting on) without using the flash - this is how good the camera lens system is. Great feature when trying to shoot a sunset/sunrise too.2/ Great wide angle (26 mm equivalent) capture capability. I didn't know what I was missing before I got this camera. The best way I can describe the difference against that of a (normal) 35 mm equivalent lens, is this: standard vs. HD images. I don't care that you can get a 10 MP image with a 35 mm camera, you are still missing too much of what's in front of you.3/ excellent for inexperienced users (like myself). I like to point and shoot... and this camera does a great job, no matter what you through at it. I am not interested in manual controls, and with this camera I don't miss them.4/ good integration with the Panasonic TVs - I thought that I will look at all my pictures on the PC monitor, but I tried Viera Link and it worked beautifully. The only downside is that I didn't figure out how to play the movies with sound (I didn't open the manual so far).5/ Excellent LCD screen, a pleasure to use in all but the most intense sunlight.6/ good zoom. The 12X zoom is one of the reasons I decided to buy the camera for, and I've used it quite a bit. I've learned that the more zoom you have the more you want. Please note that for movies, the focus isn't fast enough, but in my experience this is not a big thing.7/ Unbelievable photo and video quality.What I don't like:1/ battery life - while the battery life is good for any camera, I found out that I need two batteries to get me through a day - 3-400 pictures and a few minutes of video. Buy a spare, you'll need it.2/ AVCHD Lite movie format. HD video from a camera is a great idea, and I have nothing but good words about the quality of HD video on this camera. However, I think that Panasonic should have included a format converter - and made the software ask if you want to convert the movies when syncing to the PC. I have trouble sharing the movies with my friends because of the format. I am thinking of using the other, less sophisticated format (a 16 GB card is only $40) to avoid the hassle, but want to make a comparison between the outcome before doing this.3/ The scene selection button is flimsy - quite frequently the camera is asking you to properly select the scene mode). This is an annoyance, with no effect on the camera's performance.4/ I would love to have all the options available under iA for pictures shot in wide angle format... (then again, maybe I should read the manual).