Panasonic Lumix TS20 16.1 MP TOUGH Waterproof Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Orange)

I have had this camera for about five months and I absolutely love it. I wanted a waterproof camera so I wouldn't have to worry about ruining it in rain, snow, dirt, or anything else I throw at it.

Here are some my favorite things about this camera:

-It has a really fast shutter speed so it captures subjects in motion without blur.

-It has a burst function that takes lots of pictures in a row, and so far they have come out incredible. I recently went cliff jumping and got some really good progressive shots of people falling in the air.

-The camera has really good speakers when playing back video.

-Picture quality is fantastic for a point and shoot, both inside and out. Some pictures taken in darker rooms turn out grainy, but that has happened with all my other cameras in the past.

-The wrist strap is adjustable so it can be securely fit to your wrist while in the water.

-The interface is really quick and easy to use.

-The camera turns on incredibly fast so it's good for spur of the moment photo-ops.

-You don't have to change settings between photo and video, you just push a different button for video to start recording. This is really nice because on my previous camera I often forgot to switch it back to photo mode and would take videos instead of pictres.

All in all I love this camera. I don't have any complaints about it yet and I would definitely recommend it! I would also recommend buying a spare battery. The charge holds pretty well but if you are using it a lot in a day it's better to be safe and have a spare just in case. Wouldn't want to miss any great opportunities for a picture!

TO ADD ON:

I recently had my camera at the beach and someone dropped it in the sand. All the cracks had sand in them, so I was a little worried. I just filled my sink with water and sat the camera in in for about 10 minutes, and all the sand just fell off. It's like nothing even happened! I was so happy since my previous camera was ruined by sand.

I bought the Panasonic TS20 digital camera for my trip and was very pleased! The camera is made of mostly metal and feels very solid and durable. It is very compact and fits in my pocket without a problem, a big plus+ for traveling and wanting to avoid carrying a big camera. Also, having this camera made me feel more comfortable about not scratching or damaging it because it is made to be handled without the 'white glove' treatment. I'll get to the main point of having this camera; it does take really nice pictures -outdoors / indoor and with good light. Night time pictures can be a bit tricky and you will have to play with the scene settings. Just like MOST small compact cameras, their strong points are NOT taking pictures in low-light situations. Don't forget, this camera is waterproof and can take picture / video under water. I haven't tried this feature, yet. Will this camera replace a DSLR or micro 4/3 camera? Not quite. It will be a great in taking quick snapshots when you want to go out and not worry about carrying an expensive camera/equipment. For example, going out for dinner with your wife/husband and/or friends.... IMHO you really don't want to be carrying any big camera ( I have a micro 4/3 camera and I think it is sometimes a bit big to carry in certain situations). Did I mention that it fits easily in your pocket? If you are looking for professional photos, this will not meet your needs. If you are looking for a rugged, all-around fun, waterproof and durable camera that takes great pictures, the Panasonic TS20 will fit your needs... especially at a reasonable price. Highly recommended!

Buy Panasonic Lumix TS20 16.1 MP TOUGH Waterproof Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Orange) Now

I have to admit, that I wanted to like this camera. It was to replace my old and now, not working, Olympus SW720a precursor to the "tough" cameras. That camera went through a lot and kept working, till the screen went white for no apparent reason, but I digress...

This camera is thin & light. It has a 4x zoom (longer than my old cam). It shoots HD video (not SD like my old cam). It doesn't have a lens cover to jam up on sand, like my old cam. More resolution. Panny's "intelligent resolution" to ensure sharper looking images and "intelligent exposure" to brighten some darker areas. I looked forward to using it.

But the image quality was not up to what I expected. Even bright daylight photos, with a forced flash to fill dark detail, when you look at the photos at 100%the images just get muddy and undefined, they lack the detail I'd expect. In darker situations, image quality deteriorates pretty quickly. I tried forcing the ISO to 100. I tried letting the camera pick everything. I tried dropping the frame size in case it was "interpolating" to a higher resolution. Nothing helped. At best, some images are "nice" but none are great. Some suck. Several wee missed because the camera wasn't focused. I meanon the beach, there's my boy, and the whole shot is out of focus. What did it focus on? I have no idea.

The video is rough and heavily compressed. Audio is "eh." Audio in my old camera was bad too. I guess that's the nature of being an underwater camera. But why is the microphone on TOP of the camera when the lens is capturing something in FRONT of the camera.

Battery lasted one day of occasional shooting, with more photos on the beach, but maybe 50 70 shots (I shoot a lot in a row when the kids are doing something interesting) total before I had to recharge the wafer-thin little battery. I admit the camera is thin, easily pocketable. Convenient. But that extra thinness also made it a bit harder to grip while my hands were wet. I'd prefer something chunkier. Then it could have a bigger battery.

I tried to shoot a couple panoramas with the camera. It stitches and crops the image in the camera and, no matter what I did, the panos are very small. Maybe that's just how they arelower resolution than actual stills. A lot lower resolution. Plus, exposure changes throughout the shot made it look weird. But I was impressed at how well it handled houses that would be "bent" because of the wide angle curve of the lens. Sony's in-camera pano mode has fared worse in this regard, but Sony delivers higher resolution stills and the exposure is locked through the pano. Also, Sony reliably gave me a pano each time (even if the pano sucked). The Panny would error out about half the time because I was going too slow, too fast, whatever. I don't know. As I didn't buy this underwater camera for panos, I don't hold that against the score of the camera.

Lastly, there's two places you really expect to use an underwater camerathe pool & the beach. It was fine in the pool and the wrist lanyard was very good. But at the beach, when you get some sand on your hands because, well, it's THE BEACH... the sand gets under the shutter trigger and, again, I was missing photo opportunities because I couldn't press the damm shutter button. The video button still worked, but why would they not expect that SAND might be present at the most common areas on the planet where there's waterthe beach.

Some vigorous sloshing in the sea while pressing the shutter button worked the sand free and I was able to take more pictures.

Pros:

small, lightweight, thin

waterproof, submersible

shoots HD video, big stills

can force the flash, can compensate the exposure, set spot focus/exposure, manually set ISO

has some scene modes that help a little with dark shots

CONS:

high resolution is lost when you actually look at the stills

video is grainy

a little too thin for my hands

debris can get under the shutter button preventing you from taking a picture

sometimes focuses on... nothing

I really wasn't expecting DSLR-like quality, but I wanted better, and I wanted reliability, not missed shots. So I returned it.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic Lumix TS20 16.1 MP TOUGH Waterproof Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Orange) Here

I got this camera a few months ago after researching waterproof digital cameras and reviews extensively. The price has come down a bit from what I paid, but it was worth every penny. My camera has been in the water in San Diego, Cabo San Lucas, and Maui. It has survived in my boardshorts pocket while:

Surfing heard it knock against my board multiple times

body surfing

swimming in river

jumping off 20 ft waterfall

Have taken video underwater with good quality. This camera is great. Hopefully it will last longer than my previous waterproof cam that was by a different manufacturer, but I didn't properly care for that one. I've been more committed to using the suggested maintenance procedures when using this one, like soaking it in a bowl of water after having it in salt water and keeping the seal clean with the brush they provide. The pictures are sharp and defined high quality.

In 7 days in Cabo I didn't have to recharge the battery once. I expect this camera to last for years.

Want Panasonic Lumix TS20 16.1 MP TOUGH Waterproof Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Orange) Discount?

I bought this camera for my trip to the Bahamas, and I could not be happier with it. I wanted a camera that I could bring with me into the ocean and on the water riders to capture the memories. The camera lived up to its expectations. My underwater pictures and videos came out great. It was very durable and held up and I went on water slides and rapid rivers. The battery lasts long as well. I used the camera for 5 days straight and still have a charge. I would definitely recommend this camera for someone looking to bring the camera to a beach or water park!