Got the camera 2 days ago from Costco. Coupon brought the price down from $179.00 to $149.00. Took WEEKS of research before I decided on this one. Also at that price I got a 2MB card and a very nice camera case included.It is well built, feels sturdy and not easily breakable
Wide Angle lens and 5x Zoom is very good compared to other point and shoots which have neither a 5x zoom or a wide angle
Digital zoom can go all the way to 20x or even 35x with 5 MP used. Not very clear but useful to have if you need it.
The pictures come out VERY clean with good colors, clarity and lighting.
Size is small enough for a pocket
Video is good quality...(wish you could zoom in video mode)
The IA button which basically presets scene, face recognition, lighting etc is GREAT if you dont want to press a hundred buttons to set up the shot. Just ONE button and your set to go!
Flash is a littttttle on the weak side but still good enough for anything I need.
LCD screen is VERY clear and automatically goes lighter or darker accoring to the lighting you are in...and EXCELLENT feature. Also has a setting for the LCD screen if you are putting the camera over your head for a crowd scene that the LCD can still be seen at that angle...I LOVE that feature as well
Lots of little extras in the hardware that I still need to explore....
Overall I could NOT be more pleased..the write ups online are good and my experience so far (I have taken a few dozen pictures to test it) is also very good. If you want a mid priced camera that can compete with the big boys on zoom, wide angle and picture quality...while at the same time having a small enough camera to carry in your pocket..this is DEF it.
One thing that I really don't want to compromise is photo quality. I know that Leica have excellent quality for "point and shoot" camera, only thing is that they have also "excellent" price tag on it. The lowest tag for Leica is $600 (same as Canon Rebel), the second lowest is ridiculosly higher than $1500... so forgot the Leica.
I know that panasonic use Leica lens for their camera/camcorder product (I have HD panasonic camcorder with Leica lens, very good quality movie).... so let's try it. I bought this camera "Lumix DMC-fS15 12 MP" thru Amazon (best price I found), delivered within a week... no complain at all.
I found that the picture quality from this camera is really amazing, much better than other brand my friend uses...
The user interface is easy to understand. basically I just read once briefly the manual and that's it ready for action. The other feature i found interesting is the "burst", combine it one by one by iPhoto and change it into slow motion picture is really easy and "cool" (my sons said).
Also I found very practical is the charger doesn't need cable to connect to the power, you can connect it directly to the power.I just got this camera yesterday, so beware that I haven't explored all the options yet, but so far I LOVE it. My old Powershot A75 quit at the beginning of February, after which I spent two weeks worth of research and bought the Powershot A2000. I was immediately disappointed with it; athough I wasn't expecting the smallest camera on the market because it takes AA batteries, it was actually bigger than my old A75, which took four batteries instead of two. It also seemed really slow and sluggish, so I sent it back and decided to rethink my camera-buying strategy. Ultimately I decided I wanted to go with a lithium-ion battery instead, because though it may not be as convenient, it makes the camera much smaller and faster. Plus, the batteries are cheap enough to have an extra on hand, and unlike previous cameras I've owned that used AAs, the camera tells you how much battery power you have left so that you can plan ahead.
I decided to go with Panasonic because of its good ratings, especially on the Leica lens, but mostly because of the wide angle lens and its capacity for extra optical zoom, which I haven't seen available on any other brand. At first I wasn't sure how important the wide angle lens really was to me, but now that I have it I already can't imagine going back. With the option of 16:9 ratio as well as 4:3 (or 3:2) it's basically the difference between wide screen formatting on a TV and full screen, except that you have the option to switch back and forth when you want to.
For someone like me who likes to take pictures but doesn't always want to have to mess with settings, it seems like this camera actually has too many settings, BUT so far it seems to take very good pictures on the normal picture setting, and it's nice to have the extra settings when I need them. That is to say, they're there if you want them and for unusual shooting conditions, but they aren't necessary for most normal pictures. The self-portrait option does come in handy, though, because it waits for you to get in view to focus and then snaps the shot.
One thing that I've noticed that could either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it: the camera saves your most recent settings even after you've turned the camera off or put it into a different mode. This can be useful, because you can easily go back to the previous setting without redoing everything, but it can also be easy to forget what all changes you made to the standard format. I haven't encountered any way to set everything back to default all at once, so sometimes I forget that I have a particular setting selected (e.g. alterations to white balance, flash, picture size, etc.). Also, some features are unavailable in some settings, which can be a bit frustrating. For example, you can't take a picture in self-portrait mode in sepia coloring.
So there are a few quirks in the settings and it takes some getting used to in order to really learn all the different features and how to use them, but as I said before, the normal picture setting and iAuto seem to work quite nicely for basic pictures.
Another great feature on this model is the AF tracking, which allows the camera to focus on a moving object. Haven't tested this feature out much yet to see how it works, but I have a feeling it will come in handy.
My old Powershot is pretty limited compared to the capabilities to this little thing, but from what I saw of the Powershot A2000 for the week or so that I had it, the Lumix overshadows it as well. I've read that Canon picture quality is supposedly slightly better, with Panasonics producing a watercolor effect, but that difference seems minor to me compared to the wide angle lens combined with the zoom power and the other features available. (Wide angle is available on some Canons but mostly with no more than 4x optical zoom.) Once I read about this camera, I waited about three weeks until it was finally available, and it was worth the wait. Great little camera.My purchase was the result of a month or more of research. My goal was to find an ultracompact camera for $200 or less that would produce very good images and provide a wide angle lens with at least 4X optical zoom. I learned photography on a Nikon FT2 SLR and although I enjoyed selecting aperture and shutter speed for each shot I was willing to give into an automode digital camera for the sake of convenience and speed. So the search began. Canon seemed to be the obvious choice at 1st, but after handling a few of the different models, I found them to feel not solidly built. Yes the reviews are good but I was never one to follow the masses. So I began to look at Nikon and Panasonic. Nikons just don't seem to have the quality they were once noted for and the reviews were just OK. So I looked at the Lumix with a Leica lens. The price was right and a wide angle 29mm to 145 mm, 5X optical. Nice. Reviews were not as numerous as the Canons but indicated good satisfaction on the part of owners. So I took the plunge.
This seems to be a very versatile camera. A point and shoot at its best. More importantly I'm having fun taking pictures again. I can't comment on image quality/noise as I have not enlarged any images so far but quite frankly it probably will be a non issue for me as I am not a professional and just need a clear images to record events, people, and maybe a video or two.
So far I'm very happy with the camera features. The IA setting allows you to shoot away without worrying about selecting scene modes with very good results. The LCD is bright and clear. Love the placement of the control buttons. I have large hands and have no problems with the small buttons. The menus are very easy to follow even without reviewing the manual. The flash is more than adequate. I got some great portraits using it in doors. I shot a video off the TV zoomed at 5x and wow it came out great and was very stable. I purchased a Transcend 8 gig memory card with a USB reader for the camera. Worked great with my Macbook 1st try. Camera start up is very quick. Image reviewing is easy and fast. I'm looking forward to trying out different modes and options. This is going to be a favorite for me with travel, sporting events, and family photos. The size and weight is optimal for the shirt or jacket pocket. I found a few of the Canons to be too small for my hands. Also, most of the Canon line only have a 2.5 inch LCD vs a 2.7 inch LCD in the Lumix. You also have to pay a $50 + premium for wide angle and a 5X zoom in the Canon. So this was a good buy IMHO. I plan to post a few images in the near future. Panasonic name has always been good to me.
Good job Pany!! A great camera. Also...see Panasonic.com for a free 4 gig card and camera case when you purchase this camera.
Highly recommended.The Panasonic FS15 is nice featured camera. The 5x zoom is sufficient for my needs and the 29mm wide angle lens is a plus. Video capture is clear but you cannot zoom while recording. The pictures come out clear and crisp. The flash for nighttime shots is definitely sufficient, it was able to capture a clear picture in my pitch black living room. The camera starts up in under two seconds and my battery is still full after about 70+ shots. I very much recommend this camera to anyone looking for a point and shoot. Some people complain about the weak flash but it is completely usable in all lighting conditions. Get a DSLR if you want superior shots in the dark.
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