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Michael A. Duvernois (Minneapolis, MN United States) September 2, 2009

This is the first of the Panasonic Lumix superzooms that I've had an opportunity to use extensively. I regularly use both small point and shoot digital cameras (Canon SD550 and a waterproofed Canon S100) and digital SLRs (Canon 5D and Rebel XTi), but this is definitely a different sort of beast. It's nearly the size and weight of a DSLR with a lens that is noticeably long in use. It's sold as straddling the line between the two categories and it initially seems that way. But the more that I think about it, the more I think this camera really fills a different niche. If you're a serious photographer, a DSLR is really the way to go. You get full control over the images, a large sensor size, a selection of lenses, and filter options. If you're that person, this is hardly a replacement, and for the compact point and shooter this is a massive camera. Where this camera wins out is for a very simple kit covering wide angle (27mm equivalent for a 35mm camera) and the stunning 18x zoom. You'll be able to do most everything passably with this camera and with no additional lenses. Maybe this is the camera to put in the glovebox of your car? It'll always be there, and you can get most any shot with it. No preparation needed. Okay, enough thinking about who wants the camera, how does it work?

Well, it works pretty darned well. The image stabilizer seems to work extremely well, especially at moderate zoom (say 50-150mm equivalent), the battery lasted about 300 shots with some flash use in there, and image quality (subjective, not measured scientifically) was quite good. The camera was a bit slow to react at times though and the face detection works only occasionally. Still, that leaves this a solid camera for what I think is a quite good price. If you're not going to take advantage of the DSLR capabilities, this is a good functional camera for you. Or an excellent second camera for simplicity.

Pros: 18x zoom with a genuine wide angle, solid construction, good battery life, image stabilization that works, one size might well fit many

Cons: big for a point and shoot, slow acting at times, gimmicky features are, well, gimmicks