Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2 5MP Digital Camera with 6x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom (Silver)

I've known what I wanted in a digital camera for several years:

1. Fast shutter release (my Canon S-200 takes 3+ sec., 5+ flash).

2. Small and light (for backpacking, travel).

3. Point and shoot zoom(5X plus with image stabilization).

4. 4+ megapixel, under $250.

5. No proprietary batteries, 2 AA preferred.

Up until now, nothing has come close. Then I read in Business Week that the LZ1 and LZ2 had become the best selling cameras in Japan within several months of their introduction. No independant reviews were available (even CNET) so I bought the LZ1 on the strength of it's technical spec's and my previous experiences with Panasonic products.

I took the LZ1 to the rodeo several days ago to test it under demanding conditions. I used the "sports" setting and burst mode(four exposures in about 1 1/2 seconds under those circumstances), all freehand. The results were stunning! No noticeable shutter lag, no blurry or out of focus pictures, all action frozen. Simply put: point, shoot, you got it!

Notes: Actual weight with 2 batteries is 8.2 ozs. The user interface is the best I've seenfull functioned and simple. Flash shots have shutter lag of approx. 1/2 second. I use Panasonic 2300 mah nmh rechargeable batteries purchased at Costco. Panasonic specs claim 370 pictures with those batteries, 30 seconds between shots, flash every shot, full zoom in and out each shot. This camera has no optical view finder. I use a 512mb Sandisc Ultra II SD memory carda little more expensive, but after having a Viking card quit and swallow 200 pics on another camera, I don't pinch pennies on memory.

This is one great camera! I also have a Canon Powershot A75, so I have another great camera to compare it to. I thought the Powershot took excellent pictures until I got the Panasonic DMC-LZ2. The LZ2's pictures are even better. The 6x optical zoom is one of the reasons I wanted the LZ2, and it works great! I took some pictures of my kids racing (swimming) in the pool using Auto, and they came out beautifully. They were not blurry at all, and you can even see the splashes of water in the air. I thought they might be blurry since I didn't use the "Sports" mode, but they were not. I also took several pictures of them from about 100 feet away and zoomed in the whole way with the optical zoom. The pictures are very close, clear, and look terrific. I am no where near a professional photographer. I am just a Mom who wants to take great-looking pictures of her family in all situations. I am very impressed with this camera, and I highly recommend it.

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Even though I have no basis for comparison as this is my first and only Digital Camera, I must say "WHY DID I NOT BUY A DIGITAL CAMERA BEFORE!!!!" These things are GREAT!.

Anyway, I decided to buy the DMC LZ2 after all of my research. The cameras I was considering and why I didn't buy them were:

Canon SD400-Pretty pricey, reports of a fragile LCD and proprietary batteries. Also test pix on various review sites from the panasonic seemed to be better.

Canon A520-Only 4mp's and when I went into best buy to play with it I couldn't figure out how to turn off the flash. If you have to fiddle with a camera for the first time and 15 minutes later you figure out how to shut off the flash, I shudder to think how hard the other features might be to figure out. Granted, I didn't look at the manual, but some features should just be easy to do. Plus I think it was too much camera. More options then I need as a simple point and shoot photographer.

Kodak C360-Good price point and nice features but has a proprietary USB cable and batteries. Also some complaints about low light photography. Also, little leary about buying first year models.

As for the Panasonic itself I'm happy with my purchase. I bought a 512 mb SD Ultra II card as well. When it arrived, I put the batteries in, and started taking pix. It was a sense of euphoria, I just was snapping away, and when I came to a picture I didn't like, delete it and "poof" it was gone. The camera is performing flawlessly. It does have it's downfalls, and they are stated by other reviewers these are my negatives:

Movie Mode: The movies at 30fps are good enough for me, but I have a digital video camera, and to be honest, the movies are not a must in a digital camera.

LCD: The resolution to my untrained eye is not notieceable. The pix look good when I review them. However, in bright direct sunlight I do have to cup my hand over it too see it. Took me a while to figure out that if I just rotated my body to form a shadow on the camera that worked great!

No optical viewfinder: Ok, I admit it, for the first 50 shots or so, I kept bringing the camera up to my face, bumping my nose in a futile search for a viewfinder. Took me a couple of days to stop doing this learned response after years with a 35mm Camera. No viewfiner is not that bad, but in direct sunlight, it is a little difficult to see the shot and then take it, but overall, not that bad.

Indoor/Low Light Photography: Works great with the flash as long as objects are within the flash range, which, if you are indoors that should be fine. Now I haven't taken it too a large indoor arena or anything, but most of those type of events are lit pretty well aren't they? In dimlight and the object is a distance away, you do have to kinda guess when framing up the photo but it doesn't take long to figure it out and I haven't had that much problem.

Overall: A good camera, the burst mode is great!!!! and the 6x zoom with the Image Stabilization, awesome. It can't be understated how HUGE that feature is. I'm glad I chose this camera over the others in hindsight. I now send my photo's to costco via the internet to develop what I want, which is awesome. If you're a first timer to Digital Photography, this is a great camera for you.

Take Care, Sean

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I've been an avid 35mm user, and wanted to take the plunge into digital, but didn't want to spend a lot of money. What got me interested in the LZ2 were the reviews on other Web sites with example photos, and comparisons with other cameras. I have to tell you, I'm not disappointed! The controls are very easy to find & use, and I don't miss the viewfinder like I thought I would; the LCD is big and bright enough, even outdoors here in Phoenix. Plus, even though I use reading glasses, I can get by without them to use this camera, as the controls & menu are well-organized and easy to read.

The LZ2 has no manual capabilities, which is typical for this price range. However, you can make up for it to some degree by using things like "Sports" mode when you want a faster relative shutter release, etc. It also allows for changing color mode, which gets rid of the yellow effect of incandescent lights and things of that nature.

Close-up shots are flawless, and long-distance shots with the 6x optical zoom are crystal clear, even when enlarged 200%. Digital zoom has a lot of noise, and is best reserved for when using a tripod. For all pictures, the LZ2 has image stabilizer to help reduce blurring from camera shake. It's better than nothing, but the best way to hold a camera steady is to lean it against something, or use a tripod. That's the problem with LCD-only cameras -it's difficult to hold anything steady when when you have to hold it out away from your body.

Image quality is sharp with well-saturated colors, normal for digital cameras. Also typical is a very narrow exposure gradient -When shooting in bright sunlight, shadows come out very dark; the LZ2 is better than most of the digital images I've seen, but still not on par with film images. In any case, for the price range, the images it takes are are excellent.

Battery life is excellent, provided you throw away the "Oxyride" batteries it comes with and put in some Alkaline or rechargeable NiMH instead. The Oxyride are worthless; they gave out after 20 shots, but the generic Alkaline I replaced them with have 70 or more and haven't given me the 1/2-full notice yet.

It comes with software for image editing, but if you're using Windows XP all you have to do is hook it up via the USB cable and Windows reads immediately it like any other removable drive. For editing, I use Photoshop, and haven't had a chance to try the bundled software yet. With all the image-editing software available, don't let the bundled software of this or any other camera sway you; there's a LOT to choose from out there.

Pros:

* 6x Optical zoom, with 4x digital

* Compact & light weight -you can drop it in a pocket or purse and take it anywhere.

* Big & bright LCD screen.

* Uses 2 AA batteries, which can be found anywhere, cheap.

* Long battery life, even using zoom & flash.

* Can hook it up to a PC or a TV for viewing images.

* Very convenient (for me) location of controls and ease of use.

* Lots of menu options.

* Very sharp images, even with enlarging.

* Good skin tones for portraits, with or without flash.

* Power-save mode: Can be set to go on standby if no activity for 1-2 minutes.

Cons:

* No manual controls.

* Limited autofocus accuracy in low light. This is exacerbated by the fact that there is no manual control capability.

* On-board memory is only 14MB. However, most people opt for the extra cards anyway. In my case, a 512MB SD chip will store over 200 high-res images, depending on the light.

* Flash doesn't diminish enough when using Macro settings; it's plenty bright for everything else.

* Digital zoom is very grainy, but the 6x Optical makes up for it.

Overall, this is the best little "fun" camera I've seen, and with its light weight and ease of use, I can take it anywhere. Well worth the price!

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I purchased this camera during my deployment in Iraq. It's very compact with excellent zoom capability. The rotary menu selection is easy to use with multiple options and settings. I especially love the sharp 2" LCD screen, great on view my shots and videos. It has faced both hot & cold climate (yes it does get cold on December in Iraq), sandstorms, and of course my abuse. In all cases my camera performed above and beyond it's call of duty. One note: If you're living in a very sunny area, I suggest to buy an LCD shade/cover.