Camera Panasonic Lumix DMC FH-8 16.1 MP Deals & Reviews

L. Doong "ugarugger" (Atlanta, Georgia United States): This review will not focus on the quality of the photos - I am NOT a photography expert, and I'm okay with that. I'm just an average guy who wants a small camera that fits in my pocket and takes decent photos wherever I may be. The main reason I was looking for a new camera is because my previous camera (Canon PowerShot SD1300IS) stopped working consistently, and it had some usability issues that really got on my nerves.

Daniel Friedlander "Old movie buff" (Irvine, CA. USA): I never liked cameras until I bought this little gem from Amazon.. I love this camera.. I felt comfortable with it from the word go.. If I have any questions beyond the manual and helpful tutorial CD I simply call Panasonic at the phone number printed in the manual with any further questions.. I did that once and I received top notch tech support immediately by a professional who knew every angle of the camera... I am enjoying this camera immensely. Great Product at an amazingly low price. Keep up the good work Panasonic and Amazon!!

Lisa C Ray (Santa Monica, CA United States): I was looking for an inexpensive small camera and the reviews on this are great. I love it! It's the perfect size and even has tilt shift focus. One thing that is annoying is that the cd-rom with the owner's manual is only formatted for PCs and I have a MacBook. Panasonic should offer a way to download the owner's manual online. I ended up using my work PC so it wasn't a huge deal. Amazon also has a $6 Lumix FH series case which comes in handy. So far I am really happy with the camera and the picture quality.

Russell Edward Button (Alameda, CA USA): I picked up one of these cameras for my wife to use. I owned a Panasonic Lumix camera in years past and was quite happy with it. This camera is easy to use, even with all the features in it. But the lens quality really isn't very good. Just because you get a lot of pixels doesn't mean you get a good photo. It all starts with the lens and what we got in our camera really isn't very good.

Camera Panasonic Lumix TS20 16.1 MP Waterproof Deals & Reviews

Kiael Long (Chicago, IL): 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.

Reviewer (San Diego, Ca): 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.

Anthony Burokas (Philadelphia, PA United States): 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 mean- on the beach, there's my boy, and the whole shot is out of focus. What did it focus on? I have no idea.

Turtle "War Turtle" (NC): This is my first try at getting a digital waterproof camera and I need not look any further. The camera has been great! It has survived waterfall hikes, ocean waves, throwing back and forth between friends in a pool, and even diving down to about 15 feet during a snorkeling trip. Salt water was not an issue at all, just rinse and let dry. The pictures have turned out great (as long as your expectations are in the right place). What I mean is that if you want professional landscape photography, get a different camera, but if you want a durable camera for vacations to capture the essence of the memories that you are making, then I think this camera is what you are looking for.

Camera Panasonic Lumix SZ7 14.1 MP Deals & Reviews

D. R. Sossamon (Oklahoma USA): I am very satisfied with Lumix DMC-SZ7 digital camera. Its small size makes it easy to slip into a pocket. The 10x zoom works well in both still and movie mode. Unlike other cameras I have used I hear no noise from the zoom mechanism in the movie audio during the replay. Auto focus and image stabilization work well. Previously I used the physically larger DMC-ZS7 camera which included an internal GPS to record position coordinates with the picture. I never used the GPS tagging. The smaller size of the newer SZ7 is far more convenient for me.

J. Conner "qm2-703" (chicago suburbs): I have tried probably 10 cameras between $120 and $250 over the past few months, looking for myself and my wife each a new camera.
Through stores and by borrowing from friends and family, I understand what is out there, and let me tell you there are several duds and a few winners, but most are very competent outdoors, with decent indoor video if you dont compare to a $400 vidcam, and only passable for low light.
That being said, I now own a Lumix ZS15 (grade A-) and this SZ7 (B+) is for my wife who uses iAuto mostly.
This SZ7 beats Canon Elph300 (B) and SX160 (B+ but heavy), Samsung PL210(B or B-) Sony HX70(B-), and Nikon 6300 (B-).

Yarii (USA): I really don't understand some of these reviewers. They buy a nice little point and shoot digital camera and expect it to have the features of a five thousand dollar SLR and high end video all in one. This camera is inexpensive, compact, and produces great pictures indoors without a flash. It also compensates for uneven lighting. I used it outdoors to take pictures of Christmas decorations -- it was perfect. I used it indoors to take pictures of gatherings of long-lost relatives. It was perfect with or without a flash. Macro was perfect and zoom was perfect. Sure you can't take 300 pictures without a battery recharge and you can't zoom in on something miles away. Maybe you can't make a huge poster from a picture of a bumblebee taken from ten feet away.

Randy Wakeman "Randy Wakeman" (Illinois): The ZR-3 is slightly thicker and uses a more substantial battery. While the ZR-3 was rated for 320 shots, the smaller battery of the SZ-7 allows for about 220. While the ZR-3 has a 230,000 pixel LCD, the SZ-7 sports double the resolution at 460,000. Yet, the old LCD has far better viewing angles, the twisted nematic type of the SZ-7 has more dots, but vanishes when looking at it from an angle. The hinged access door to connection ports on the side of the ZR-3 is now secured by a couple plasticy pieces, with unknown durability. I didn't break the little door off, but it still seems flimsy and fragile. Whether it really is or not, time will tell. The ZR-3 has a familiar mode wheel on the top of the camera, while this SZ-7 uses a button on the back of the camera to access different modes.

Camera Panasonic Lumix ZS20 14.1 MP Deals & Reviews

Artemaria (New York City) : I couldn't decide between these three cameras (and their variants, the Sony HX30 and the Panasonic ZX20) because many of the reviews of each made the cameras sound very similar. So, I went out and bought (from merchants who accepted returns) one of each of these three cameras (I didn't need WI-FI or GPS, so that's how I settled on these less expensive variants). And then I took photos and videos in various conditions. I am not a professional photographer, and I didn't do Imatest or any other specific tests on the images (you can read C/net for that), but this is an experience of a regular person who was taking pictures and videos with these three cameras side by side, which is a comparison that you do not often see.

Dubi (California): I had the original ZS-3 which served me well until it broke down. I purchased the ZS-10 and was disappointed with the low-light performance to the extent of returning it. The ZS-20 is a major improvement over the ZS-10.
I have taken only 100-200 pictures but the low light performance is much better and comparable (or slightly better) to the ZS-3. I don't have hands on experience with the other supercompacts but the panasonic worked well for my needs.

Stevefoobar "Steve" (Chicago, IL USA): I tried the models that directly compete with this camera from Canon, Sony, and Nikon and much to my surprise, overall, this camera was superior in almost all areas that matter most to me. That would be the quality and flexibility of the video, the quality of the optical image stabilization, and the overall quality of the still pictures it takes. I didn't care about the GPS as it is largely a gimmick in my opinion and all the major competitors have it now or they feel they won't be able to compete.

J. Elam (Ohio): Just got this camera, and have owned its three previous models. One thing for all to note if you are familiar with this series is that the battery must now be charged in camera with a short USB cable to a Panasonic wall charger. For me, this is a disadvantage, since I have enjoyed the flexibility of the previous arrangement -- a dedicated charger into which the battery is placed outside of the camera. I found this "old" setup to be more convenient and easier to use when traveling, and easier to pack. Maybe this is not a problem for you, but it was an unpleasant surprise for me. As others have noted, though, the old charger works with this battery (same battery as before), so you can easily purchase a stand-alone charger.

Camera Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS25 16.1 MP Deals & Reviews

KN (Gilbert, AZ USA): I bought this camera to replace an older Panasonic that was lost. I bought the camera for its ruggedness and weather resistance. Too many times in the past I've had cameras that stopped working after one drop, or after getting a little wet. But the main thing I like about the Panasonics is their very fast shutter response. Like the film cameras, it takes a picture when you press the shutter button, not half a second later. That lag occures in too many newer digital cameras, making it difficult to take good pictures, especially of moving objects.

Mike Jacobs (Southeast Florida): Since purchasing I've used this quite a bit for work and personal photos. I still love the camera - I've been able to take pics in rain, around water and with a 4 year old hanging all over me without worrying about dust, water or dropping it. However, there are a couple of issues I haven't seen in other reviews: (1) the lens is easily "dirtied" by a finger print when you take this out of your pocket (no cover), and (2) I have to be more careful about taking photos in the direction of the sun or I sometimes get a big glare-streak... don't know why my other cameras didn't have this problem but it sometimes requires two hands (one to block the sun). These issues have not changed my rating.

S. Olson (SoCal): I was really excited to receive this camera prior to going on a vacation to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. On first use, it was great! I took a lot of pictures in the LAX airport and upon arrival to Cancun (where we flew in). It worked great. Powered on fast, fast shutter speed, fast focusing, and it took good quality pictures as I found out once downloading them to my laptop.
I used the camera in the pool and at the beach. Waterproof? Absolutely! I can only attest to its water integrity to about 3-4 feet, but it passed with flying colors. No leaks! Floats well with the floating wrist straps.

Jamie M. Brewin "Jamie" (Metairie, LA United States): We went on vacation at a water park and i had it on the whole time. it worked beautifully. i got lots of compliments and odd looks too. the pics came out great. its made to handle bumping too and it held up pretty good with that as well.i recommend this camera for anyone who wants to alot of pics on the water. it also takes pretty nice pics. night time pics not so much since the flash doesnt go that far. overall good camera for what my needs were.

Camera Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS19 Deals & Reviews

J. Bennett "theskilletbabe" (California): I had a very similar experience as B. Baniszewski"Beth". My cameras lens quit expanding after just 7 months of use. I sent my camera in for a warranty repair and like Beth I got a call after a week saying my camera had a dent in the corner of the camera and and the warranty could not be honored. I had never dropped the camera and when I sent it in it was undamaged and wrapped in two layers of bubble wrap and placed it in a box 3 times larger than the camera. Coincidentally I sent my camera in close to the date she wrote her review. Wonder who's camera really had a dent. I was fuming talking to the repair rep that was requesting payment for repair. I asked them to send me pictures of the damage.

RIK (Bay Area, CA): My main criteria for purchasing a point & shoot camera was its performance and quality in "auto" mode. While I like having the ability to manually tweak settings, I need a camera that I can pick up and capture one of my son's adorable baby moments. Or better yet, if I hand the camera to someone else who doesn't know much about photography or the details of my camera I need to be confident that the photos taken on "auto" will come out fine. After all, you only get one chance to capture some moments and so I want a camera that can handle that duty.

Brent V (San Francisco, CA United States): Unfortunately, the ZS19 falls short of decent pictures in auto mode in the condition I care most about -- indoors under warm lighting (a room illuminated by a few lamps). The ZS19's "auto" settings made my baby son look like Casper the Friendly Ghost because the flash just wiped out any of the color in the picture. And if I turned off the flash, the camera wouldn't always choose a good ISO, aperture, white balance, exposure, etc. If I tweaked those settings manually and took a few test shots I would eventually get the photo I want. And it looked great. But as lighting conditions change, I would need to continually tweak the settings since I couldn't trust the auto mode to do the right thing.

SpeedingCheetah (St. Louis Park, MN): Noticeably better than the Sony DSC-W650 in my tests as far as picture quality and much easier of a camera to hold for me. The "rubber" grip is actually a rubberized plastic...a bit annoyed at that, hope it won't come off over time. Build quality is top notch, (except for the lens cover thingy, it is very thin and weak, even rattles a little, not a good as I have seen on lower quality cams) The entire camera actually feels a tad on the heavy side, which I like. Easy to hold in your hand...I hate those super thin, credit card style cameras...sure, they can easily fit in your pocket, or even a cell phone case, but I always fell like I am about to drop the thing.

Camera Panasonic Lumix FH6 14.1 MP Deals & Reviews

J. Sheldon Cooper "Conspicuous Consumer" (Pennsylvania): I must have a dozen digital cameras, from Nikon dSLRs costing thousands, and Point and Shoots from Sony, Leica, Nikon and Panasonic.
The Lumix line was initially almost identical to Leica. Panasonic made the bodies, and Leitz provided the optics. Although you may not find a red dot on a similar camera, the lens is still provided by Leica. Professional photographers have always revered their Leica lenses as the zenith in optical quality.
So to get fine optical quality in a $70 package is almost unheard of. There are several models in the Lumix line, all withj differing sizes and features. The FH6 is a top functioning camera in a small, slim package. Small enough to fit in a shirt pocket without a bulge.

Taylor Marsh "DESOLATER IV" (Dallas, TX USA) : Clear pictures, easy to use. Impressed by ability to zoom in on pictures.
Took a picture of the car window while driving in the dark in the rain--thought I was going to get a reflection of the flash--instead got a picture of the rain moving across the window--WOW!
It is a good camera for the price. It is light weight, takes nice photos etc However, it does not zoom in when recording movies and that is a real down side for me. Aside from that I am happy enough with it.

MJO "MJO" (USA): We have kids and the previous camera that we had always had blury pictures due to the shutter lag. I know this is an issue with all point & shoot cameras, but I can't bring myself to spend the $ on an SLR. When the flash isn't needed this camera feels almost instant with no shutter lag. Plus it has good image stabilization. When the flash is needed the speed is slower and the image quality could be improved. Overall this was a great value for the $.

J. C Lee (San Diego, CA USA): I researched all of the point and shoot cameras and I found that the Panasonic Lumix FH6 is the best overall camera for the price and features. I read that picture quality goes downhill with more magnification so a 5X optical zoom is more than adequate.
Let's face it, Panasonic has the best auto focus point-and-shoot cameras in the world. This cameria is highly rated in the new edition of Consumer Reports Magazine which covers the best products available in 2012.
Sure, this camera doesn't have all the bells and whistles but it does take 280 photos on a single battery charge.
Ok, this camera is made in China but it still is very durable and inexpensive.
All in all, a BEST BUY!!!

Camera Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ60K 16.1 MP Deals & Reviews

Big Mike (CA USA): Chose this camera for it's great rating in Consumers Reports (#1 in the Super Zoom category) and the twohundred fifty pricepoint at fortysecond street photo.
I almost didn't get it - instead of the Canon SX50 HS because of the Canons 50x zoom vs. the Panasonic's 24x zoom - however after finding and reading the manual on the Panasonic site - I found that there is a way to go into the EZ setting (Extra Zoom) that gives me a 60.3x zoom !!! Then using it with a monopole - I found here on Amazon for < than twemty bucks - I am getting supurb/sharp zoomed 60.3x pictures with this camera.

Randy Wakeman "Randy Wakeman" (Illinois): The notion of a bridge camera is broad and vague: it can mean just about whatever you want it to. It seeks to fill the gap between a shirt pocket point and shoot snapshot camera and a larger, heavier, more expensive DSLR system camera. At one time, the pocket camera was something like my old Canon Powershot A610, a 4X zoom 5 megapixel camera powered by four AA batteries, with a diminutive two inch articulated, low resolution LCD display and an inaccurate optical viewfinder. Back in its day, it was considered living large by many, including myself. The "5-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 13 x 17-inch prints" as was the ad-brag back then. In 2005, it carried a $299 retail price: a bargain at $100 less than the Canon A95 it replaced from a year prior, with its zoom increasing from 3-4x and its 2 inch LCD generous compared to the A95's 1.8 inch screen. While the A95 took 30-second video clips of 640 by 480 pixels in size and ten frames per second, the A610 grabs 640 by 480 at 30fps until you ran out of memory card or battery. The A610 was a bit over three quarters of a pound in operation.

A. Snyder (Portland, Oregon United States): I have been talking pictures for 20 years. I have had point and shoot cameras for about the last 10 years. Recently my fuji 24x zoom camera broke for no reason after a little more than a year (of course!). Angry I went back to Nikkon and got a great deal on Nikon COOLPIX P510 16.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 42x Zoom. I really wanted to like that camera because I trusted the name and I wanted all that 42x zoom. It just lagged too much for me. I had to wait too long for the focus, the flash, and to take the next picture. What they don't tell you about long zoom lenses is that they require so much light at extended ranges, making anything past 15x inside useless. The killer for me was that its movie files are in Quicktime format (.mov) and I HATE dealing with crapple software. That prevented me from also trying Cannon's comprable point and shoot.

King Lerch (Ohio USA): The best performance for this camera came when we saw lions amazingly far away. They looked like rocks from a distance of several hundred feet. But with the 24x, I was able to get fairly close fotos. Zooming in further, or copping if you will, let me see expressions on the tiny lion cub. At this level there are compression artifacts, but it is difficult to explain just how far away these images were. The FZ60 turned what would have been a "no picture possible" moment into some really decent fotos. The exposure was a little confusing for me, how the camera determined the proper exposure. It wasn't difficult with that thumb wheel to adjust the exposure, but when shooting an animal with trees around and sky behind, the exposure results varied greatly depending on where I ended up pointing. There are several exposure settings including bracketing, but I didn't try them all to find out which one was best.

Camera Panasonic DMC-FH25K 16.1MP Deals & Reviews

Scott (NJ): I purchased this because I was very unhappy with the new Canon A3300 that I also purchased just a week before this one. I did extensive photo tests with both cameras because I felt the Canons overall sharpness was bad. Both cameras are 16mp and although i'm a Canon fan I have to say they failed on the A3300. Even with setting custom sharpness, contrast and saturation, the normal straight out of the box settings on the Panasonic were way better.

R. L. Shagon (East Windsor , NJ): I don't offer too many reviews, but this one was worth the effort. If you are looking to purcase a point and shoot, the Panasonic DMC-FH25 is probably the best camera for the money. I did quite a bit of research and was taken by the 8x Zoom and 16.1 MP. And it wasn't much more money than those cameras with fewer megapixels and features! It's easy to use - whether you are taking close-ups, or panoramic shots, the controls are intuitive and handy. With flash, without flash, macro, zoom... it's really just a few simple clicks and your taking great shots. Right out of the camera with no touch up the photos are well balanced and accurate.(I've uploaded some of the shots on the Panasonic DMC-25K page above.) I didn't even bother to read the manual, I was too excited to start playing with the 16.1 Mega Pixels! :)

S. H. Roth "cat lover" (Lakeland, FL): I have been using this camera for about a month and it is fantastic! I have taken photos using both the automatic intelligence mode, where the camera does all the settings, and the My Picture mode, where you
can choose options such as ISO, flash settings and so forth. I have also tried various optical zoom lengths.
Some of the pictures were taken in less-than-optimal conditions, like in the rain and under fluorescent lights.
All of them came out great, sharp and with excellent color. I have noted several reviews that mention
problems with color rendition. All of my images have been taken using the "Natural" setting, which is
one of several "color bias" settings. It is worth noting that the color bias selected will be used even
when the iA mode is selected and, before I realized that, I had some pictures with terrible color
because I had left the camera set to "Vivid".

Great Guy (Boston, MA USA): I haven't had this camera for very long before writing this (only 1 week), so I'll update in about a month. So far, however, it's exactly what I expected. I was going to get the Nikon Cool Pix, but that had too many bad reviews. So I bought this one. I tested it just once by taking photos INDOORS under flourescent light. Photos came out better than I thought they would. Digital screen is bright, and has settings that even allow you to change the angle of view in case you're holding the camera above your head.

Camera Panasonic Lumix SZ1 16.1 MP Deals & Reviews

Mike Jay (Ohio): First up, I actually own the DMC-SZ02 which is available at a certain store in my area founded by Sam Walton... :) I am 99.9% certain this is the exact same camera as the DMC-SZ1, please correct me if I`m wrong. But dont confuse either of these with the DMC-ZS1 (note the ZS and SZ difference), which is also available but quite different. Cant they get a little more creative with the product names? Jeezz

Alanwagen "alanwagen" (Fort Worth, TX USA): Now the perks which are sort of neato mosquito: It does self stitching panoramic photos with out software, you change mode and hold the shutter button down and pan and it stitches away. This includes side to side as well as up and down like you would need for a tall building.
Another mode will decorate your picture with a frame, my favorite is the heart frame. It does baby scenes where you can have text of the name of the baby and his or her age in months and days. It automatically figures this out from the birth date.
All told there are 15 scenes.

Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States): The more expensive (and powerful) ZS20 is currently the best-selling point and shoot on Amazon, but most shooters will achieve equally satisfying images from the equally high-rated (and recommended by Consumer Reports), smaller and less expensive Panasonic SZ1, while enjoying longer battery life (the touch-controls of the ZS20 take a significant toll). As for other Panasonic choices, the prices of the DMC-FH25/27 and the newer (by one year) DMC-SZ1 are practically identical, but the SZ1 has a wider-angle lens (25mm vs 28mm), a longer telephoto lens (10X optical/20X digital vs. 8X zoom; ), and is even lighter (5oz. vs. 6oz). Moreover, "Consumer Reports," in rating the SZ1 above the DMC-FH27, gives the advantage to the SZ1 in the following areas: improved image stabilization; better audio quality (mono) during video use; dramatically faster start-up time (almost instant with the SZ1); a brighter and larger LCD screen (3" vs. 2.7" for the FM25 and 2.9" for FH27's touch-screen).

Helvetiaphile (Arlington, VA): I always download the operating guide for a camera I am considering, and read it cover to cover. This tells you what the "gotchas" are. When I went to Panasonic's support pages I discovered that this camera does not exist. I was unable to find a copy of the manual on the WWW except at those sites that offer free downloads in exchange for infecting your computer. When I received the camera I noted that one manual was printed for the SZ1, SZ02 (yes it's the same) and the similarly operating but entirely differently constructed FH8. I did a web search for support for this model and finally found the online manual at [...] . You will get the operating guide on a CD but it has security, while the online version has no security. You probably don't care but I like to edit the manuals, eliminating the warnings about burning down my house, and features that apply only to other cameras in the series. The edited PDF will go on my Kindle and on my vacation.

Camera Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V 18.2 MP Deals & Reviews

TechGuy (New Zealand): It provides good flash coverage and the slow-sync function is great to prevent those deer in the headlights shots - as this flash can put out a lot of light.
The superior auto mode is good for the stability/less blur in long range shots as it takes multiple photos and apparently works out which is the best photo to save. This is great as at maximum zoom the camera shake from your hands can be a problem if you've ever experienced using a megazoom before. Personally without that image stabilisation and multi-shot taking having a megazoom is a bit pointless as you'd never take good photos at long range without frustration.

Pcarnut "Roger" (Sacramento, CA): Wanted a superzoom with Panorama mode so the choices are fairly limited. This week both the Sony HX200V and Nikon P510 came out so bought them both to compare. The first review by "techguy" gives some nice details about the camera so I won't repeat his comments. I've played with them now for a couple of days and do not claim to be an expert by any means so take these comments with a grain of salt. These are just initial impressions.

Survi (Chicago, Il):  Let me start off by saying I'm not avid photographer and am accustomed to typical compact point and shoots and the latest iPhone camera. We purchased this camera to capture action shots for our son's games and for better overall picture taking of family vacations. We were contemplating stepping up to a DSLR however the added bulk and the learning curve were a detractor. Thus I decided on a bridge camera.

Larry D. Draper (Folsom, CA USA): The software built into this camera is amazing. The 30X lens focuses very fast.
The camera allows full manual exposure and focus. There are a lot of nice features which you can read about on Sony's web site.
I would have given the camera 5 stars but for the following issues:
No threads for filters, no hot shoe, no manual, and no way to turn off picture preview.
I purchased a filter adapter from England which works well. The camera insists on displaying each photo as you shoot; you can speed things up by pressing the shutter release, but very agrivating when shooting wild life.

Camera Sony DSC-HX300/B 20 MP Digital Deals & Reviews

Thomas N. Wheeler (Raleigh, NC): Over the years as a serious amateur photographer I have owned and used extensively Nikon and Hasselblad film cameras and lenses and when digital cameras arrived I began with the Nikon Coolpix 900 and 950, then DSLR's including the Canon EOS 10D, and today I am using a Canon 5D Mark II equipped with L lenses (Canon's premium glass). The Sony HX300 is my first super zoom camera, and as such I spent several hours after receiving the camera from Amazon on March 14 thoroughly reading and studying both the Sony pdf manual and the Sony User's Guide in html format. This was time well spent as there are many useful features on the HX300 that are not found even on my much more expensive Canon 5D Mark II. During this study with both manuals, I tried each feature in the quiet of my living room making sure I understood exactly how the feature worked and what it did. Only then did I set out to explore the performance of the Sony HX300 under "real world" conditions and to compare it to the Canon 5D Mark II under controlled conditions.

Brian Riechman (Vancouver, WA): The two most import things about any camera are its image quality and its performance in actual shooting sessions. Image quality is, of course, a combination of many things including the camera's ability to resolve detail, to properly expose scenes shot under a variety of lighting conditions, color quality, absence of both chroma and luminance noise, etc. Performance is how responsive the camera is and includes such items as how quickly the camera is ready to take a picture after being turned on, the time delay between shots in single shot mode, the ability of the camera's autofocus to work quickly and accurately without "searching", and certainly in the case of a super zoom camera its ability to smoothly and rapidly zoom through its entire set of focal lengths.

PhotoGraphics (Arizona): For a camera of its price and likely use, the Sony HX300 does a remarkably good job of providing high quality images and a very responsive camera.While at the lake I also had the opportunity to try out the Sony on some real "action" situations. A blue heron flew past and landed about 150 yards from me. I was able to get some terrific shots at full 1200 mm optical zoom (ISO 125) that I have printed at 16X20 size. I had the opportunity to try the burst mode of 10 images on a group of ducks in flight. I found that it was going to take some additional practice to master the art of zooming, tracking, and setting off the shutter for pictures of this type, but the camera did track and focus fairly well on this difficult scene. In another instance, a bird was circling high over the water and I was able to zoom to 1200 mm and get a nice detailed shot.

Douglas W. McKeehen (Seattle): While at the lake I also had the opportunity to try out the Sony on some real "action" situations. A blue heron flew past and landed about 150 yards from me. I was able to get some terrific shots at full 1200 mm optical zoom (ISO 125) that I have printed at 16X20 size. I had the opportunity to try the burst mode of 10 images on a group of ducks in flight. I found that it was going to take some additional practice to master the art of zooming, tracking, and setting off the shutter for pictures of this type, but the camera did track and focus fairly well on this difficult scene. In another instance, a bird was circling high over the water and I was able to zoom to 1200 mm and get a nice detailed shot.

Camera Sony DSC-W710/B 16 MP Deals & Reviews

A. Dent "Aragorn" (Minas Anor, GD): I also wish the camera came with a case or a little bag, anything to protect it from scratches. Yes, we can supply our own and Sony will be happy to nickel-and-dime you a little and sell you the Sony LCSCSQ Soft Carrying Case for Sony T, W, and N Series Digital Cameras (Black) but I would have preferred to have it as part of the package.To conclude, I like Sony's camera a lot and I may end up buying another one for my wife who wants something very small that is 'not a phone'. A case and a more standard USB cable would have made this a 5-star rating but 4 stars (I like it) is not too shabby.

Buffy (Sunnydale): This is the fourth or fifth Sony camera I have owned and there's a reason I keep buying Sony: good picture quality. Natural lighting pictures look amazing. Flash photos are very good and you are able to adjust the brightness of the flash to suit your needs. While I prefer to use auto settings for most everything the nice thing is that there is always to option to adjust different settings as needed. 16mp is pretty much overkill but for someone looking to make large prints than you have that choice. Video quality is excellent. The camera is very compact and I probably don't want anything smaller. This camera allows both sd memory cards in addition to Sony's memorystick which gives you flexibility.

TomWilly (Duke City, NM): First and foremost, Amazon shipped fast, arrived on time and in good shape. I have been a lifelong Canon user when it comes to small personal cameras. My Prior two cameras were the Canon Powershot SD110, S410, and then the S11000. All those camera's were great, but I noticed they never last me more than a couple of years (mostly due to the extracted zoom lense locking up upon power on). I decided to try out a cheaper Sony camera for once, and this one fit the bill (about $40 cheaper than a powershot). After using it for a couple of weeks, here are my thoughts.. If your looking for a under $100 camera to throw into your purse or pocket, this is the one.

C. F. Hill "CFH" (South-Central, PA USA): The Sony offers a large array of shooting options and special effect modes. The menu function is relatively easy to traverse, but you really need to take some time to check out each one so you know what can and can't be done. I question how useful some of them would be, as they wouldn't be options you could quickly set in order to capture a dynamically changing subject. For instance, the color saturation effect was fun (set one of four colors to appear, and the rest turn to black and white), but you'd have to think about the shot beforehand to make it work. It's most likely that you'll keep it in fully automatic mode and just click away.

Camera Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690 16.1 MP Deals & Reviews

Harris M. "NYC-NY" (NYC): I just came back from a six week trip to Eastern Europe. I had with me a Sony SteadyShot DSC-T100. Four weeks ago, in Krakow, Poland, the SteadyShot suddenly died after three years of fairly rugged use. I went to an electronics store in Krakow and, not having ready access to the Internet, decided to take a chance on the W690, which looked similar to the now-deceased SteadyShot in design and functionality (if you've ever bought an electronic gadget in Europe you know that you simply have to swallow hard and do it since the 23% VAT adds, well, 23% to the price, which even when you have it refunded at the airport, is eaten up by the processing fee).

Steeler Fan (Pittsburgh, PA USA): I dropped my old Sony camera and it wouldn't power up. After owning two Sony digital cameras and two Sony camcorders over the years I hoped the DSC W690 would be just as likeable as a replacement. It was not. To play back a photo to view it immediately would show "Accessing" on the screen first for several seconds. This is annoying and my prior cameras did not do this. Using in autofocus mode for anything moving was also a problem. By the time the shutter snapped, the subject was gone or out of focus. We are talking a person processing by at a wedding, not a race car flying by. I returned the camera for a refund and got a Panasonic Lumix SZ7 that we are very happy with. Sorry, Sony. I tried to be faithful.

B. Salisbury (NY): I bought this camera for my Parents to replace an aging camera. Bought it at a great price and was really happy with the output of both the pictures and video on this camera. Not as good as my higher priced Sony, but very nice all the same. I am use to the Sony menus on my camera and this one was not much different, except that it has less options, therefor a simpler menu. I set it in Intelligent mode and showed them how to zoom, how to switch back and forth from video mode, press the shutter button, and how to view the files and they were good to go.

Vivi (Virginia, USA): This is at least the third Sony Cybershot that I have personally owned and it's the best yet. My previous generation was great but I lost it prior to an important trip and figured if I had to buy another that I should go ahead and upgrade. I am so delighted that I did....almost makes me glad that I lost the old camera. The increased zoom is astounding for such a little camera if your object on the other end is still. Night shots without the flash are amazing. New panorami feature is fun. Not sure how many applications to use it for. Only criticism is that the switch between photos, video and panoramic slides way too easily and you wind up in the wrong mode often.

Camera Nikon D3200 24.2 MP CMOS Deals & Reviews

Waikiki (Honolulu, Hi): Like many folks, I pre-ordered the D800 the same day it was available. Alas, Nikon totally blew the market analysis vs production vs. supply chain formula. After waiting 2 months, I had to leave the country before Nikon got it's D800 act together. I needed a beat-up D90 replacement camera, and the D3200 seemed like a decent place-holder. I quickly ordered one before they were back-ordered too! Sure, the D3200 is DX, not FX. Sure, it is not nearly as flexible. Sure, it can only AF with newer lenses. BUT, you can buy about 4-D3200's for the price of a D800, AND it comes with a decent kit lens for $699!

Dwegs "Dwegs" (US): Resolution is excellent, especially when coupled with the 40mm macro from Nikon. I have shot a few hundred shots now and am very happy in that regard. The menus are simple enough that you can work them out if you already know Nikon's systems for menus. AF performance is great for this kind of body. Using my 17-55 with it, I could acquire focus only slightly slower that with the D7000. I tried in lower light to see how that worked, and while you could tell it was slower, it was not too bad. Every shot I have taken bar one (black dog in a dark room), was in focus as intended. So, AF is good for this kind of body. I like the layout of the controls too, everything was where it was expected to be.

Bee Bert "Bee Bert" (Tampa, Fl): I was planning on purchasing a Nikon D7000, but then found out about this camera. Reading on the Nikon Rumors site, it appears that the D7000 may be replaced with a higher MP sensor (24.2 - same as the D3200) sometime this fall.
Not wanting to wait, I thought I'd give the D3200 a try. I still had to wait a bit, but finally got one from Amazon for $699 with Prime.
This thing is NOT a toy!! It is a serious piece of camera gear, and if you spend time getting to understand all it can do, it will pay off handsomely with incredible pictures. I would also recommend getting a good Digital Image Management program to get the most out of your pictures (I'm using Adobe LightRoom 3).

Ali "Carbon" (Cali): I am going to be honest, I have never owned a digital SLR camera (30 years old) even though I am very fond of photography as it is was my grandfather's profession in the early 20th century in Iran. This review is for those SLR beginners like myself. I have never had the money to spend on a digital SLR but since now we have twin boys at home and D3200 finally came out I felt justified to spend the extra bucks. Specially after being disappointed by and returning the Canon S100.

Camera Nikon COOLPIX AW100 16 MP Waterproof Deals & Reviews

K. Chua "KChua" (Los Angeles, CA United States): I have had this camera a few days now and have been very impressed with the tests I've put it through thus far. This camera does everything Nikon says it will and does them all wonderfully.
I don't really plan on using this for video too much but have tested it out nonetheless. It is very smooth while shooting at 1080p and looks great when run to my TV to view it. The microphones pick up the noises very well and even have a setting that reduces wind noise (I tested by blowing on the microphone while recording). To shoot video you don't have to change modes or anything - you just press the red circle button on the back and you're off.

Alan Montgomery (Durham, NC): I tested this out by holding the camera at arms length with one hand while shooting some test shots. Even from the LCD I could tell the image was doing a lot less shaking than my hand was, and was very impressed by the pictures when they came out. This will definitely come in handy on the boat.Having not used a point and shoot in a few year, I was very pleased with how far the autofocus has come. It quickly locks on to an object, highlights the object and will keep it in focus even if you start swinging the camera around. Going from objects ~1 foot away to 30 feet away has been focused quickly and accurately. No complaints here.

Robert Cozzi (North Aurora, IL USA): The disappointing thing is this camera takes such great photos and now that we got it to work underwater, we know it takes fairly good underwater photos and video. But there's something wrong with either its design or the manufactured batch that we received. Had it too long to return to Amazon for a refund, so I'm probably going to send it a 2nd time back to Nikon. Note their repair service is great, but you have to be proactive and follow up or your repair/replacement will just sit there until you call them and ask for a status update. Once I did that after two weeks of hearing nothing and no status changes they said they'd check and the replacement was shipped out the next day.

Home Movie Buff "Riptide360" (San Jose, CA United States): Speaking of waterproof, the camera seems to live up to its billing as such. I tested mine in perhaps the dumbest way ever: I set it down on the wet sand in the surf zone at a local beach, held on tight and let an incoming wave surge over the camera. The video turned out very cool, but I had a huge, tedious cleanup job on my hand. The sand churned up by the wave worked into every crevice on the camera. Nothing got inside (the battery and SD card were clean and dry), but every button was jammed with fine grains of sand that had to be laboriously worked out. Worst was the wheel to open the battery door. It still scrapes a bit weeks later. Bottom line, I would seriously not recommend performing this test yourself. Just take my word for it, it doesn't leak. Using it underwater is fine, but you'll want to minimize the exposure to sand.

Camera Nikon COOLPIX S3300 16 MP Deals & Reviews

R. Boss (Orange County, CA): I picked up the S3300 at a Sam's Club because my S8000 started acting up while on vacation. I thought by staying in the Nikon family, all would be well. Big mistake!!! The extra $100 to get you into the next class of cameras is well worth it if you are more than the occasional photographer.
As crappy as the camera is to take a STILL picture, it takes great pictures while you're moving (go figure). It has a "sports" setting allowing you to take pictures of something that's moving, or from a moving car...and they look great!

Terry Schumacher (USA) :I have been a faithful Nikon Coolpix customer I have followed the product line all the way from the beginning, It is an excellent camera in the compact line. I love all the new features presented with this model. This item lives up to its description. I give Nikon an A plus for innovation and design. Thanks for introducing the rechargable battery.It's slow to transfer the pictures out of the camera to your computer (at least this can be fixed by taking out the SD Card and connecting it directly to your computer)

S. Salisbury (North Carolina): My mother bought this camera on Amazon for my 10-year old daughter for Christmas. It seemed perfect for her - very slim and easy to operate. My daughter loved it immediately. Unfortunately she left it outside on our swingset ... for almost a week ... and it rained/snowed every day. They only reason we found it is that it had sleeted/snowed one night, and the kids were out playing the next morning. I heard my daughter WAILING as she discovered the camera. It was frozen to the swingset, encased in ice.

J. Mcclain "Grampa Joe" (East Texas): I'm retired, so don't have a lot of money for a good camera, to replace my defunct old SLR film camera. I'm not very "techy", so it had to be easy to use, intuitive menus, and still produce quality images. You can't do better for the money. It's worth a lot more to me than what I paid for it. Everyone raves about the picture quality, and I just run the images through PC Paint to reduce the size for emailing. I've stopped using the flash at all, because the camera is fast enough to work without it, indoors or out. I use it daily, just for fun, and it does wonderfully.