Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18K 8.1MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

We bought this as a replacement for a Canon S2 IS which kept malfunctioning and which Canon would not stand behind (but that is another review). We've had the camera for two weeks and we have used it for a variety of shots. It has performed well. The advertised 18x zoom range is actually wider when you don't shoot at maximum resolution.

The one downside we have found is that you cannot change the zoom or focus when taking video.

I received this camera for my birthday. I am not a very experienced photographer. It was amazing how easy it was to take beautiful pictures. I took it on a trip to the San Juan Islands to try it out. I couldn't believe how great the pictures turned out and how fun the camera was to use. Its light and lots of fun. The zoom is wonderful. It makes one seem like a pro!

I used this camera for a family reunion. I took over 80 photos for the reunion and the battery still showed a full charge. Most of the photos were excellent. If they wern't it was because I'm still not used to pressing part way down to focus. When I do the photos are great! Ive taken moon photos using the manual and auto focus. The auto focus as expected does not always work for a moon photo, especially for a near full moon. The close ups are great for flowers and animals. I love the zoom. I've taked great still photos of my grandchildren diving into the pool using the burst mode. It stops them in mid air.

I've had this camera for over a month, have taken over 1000 pictures with it and I'm happy to say I like the camera. It is easy to use, simply put it in automatic mode and it takes nice pictures. The zoom is incredible, almost should be illegal. There are plenty of settings you can change, some can be a little confusing to find at first, but once you learn how things are set up in the menus, everything is easy to get at. I'm a bit of a negative person so it is easier for me to site some negatives but before I do, this camera is almost perfect for the amateure photographer, and I would recommend it highly.

This camera is not an expensive SLR and the pictures are a bit grainy, particularly at full zoom. I'm not talking blur, which the built in image stablization handles well, just a tad grainy. Shooting at 100 asa gets the best results. One important thing I didn't find out until AFTER I bought the camera is it will NOT use an SD card of 4 gigs or more UNLESS it is an SDHC card. I had ordered a 4 gig SD card when I ordered the camera because my computer wouldn't read the SDHC format. Anyway, works great with the 4 gig SDHC card which holds around 1000 pictures at full resolution (not raw of course). I mentioned the zoom is SUPER and it is, however it is a bit touchy to control and it's easy to over zoom when taking portraits. A SLIGHTLY slower zoom would probably be a good idea.

I had thought about getting an expensive SLR but I owned a film SLR years ago and not being a professional, I never bought additional lenses for it anyway, and a lot of the features I never used enough to get comfortable with, so I left that on automatic most of the time. I figured why put all sorts of cash into a camera that you need to buy a separate lense for zoom and close ups?

Anyway, you can read reviews of this camera all over the place, and for the most part, they are accurate. I know I'm happy with my purchase, and recommend it to anyone looking for a nice camera at a reasonable price.

i bought that camera.300 dolar. maybe you can finf same camera another prise but, i need to say be careful,do not trusth anyone.I trusth amazon so ordered here.
Camera is amazing..
i get wonderful foto`s . zoom is soo good useful and clean menu.
maybe it`s best for semipro camera.