Just got, and am now playing with a new digital camera. Like an idiot I took my old pocket size digital camera to the beach, got sand in the lens mechanism and its been pretty much toast ever since.
So I started looking around for a new pocket camera. I have another Panasonic Lumix camera and really like it, but its big, bulky and the size of an old school SLR type camera. Great for long range shooting, great for action shots, but a pain to carry because of its size.
MINI REVIEW based on FIRST IMPRESSIONS: I figured I'd look for another Lumix camera and found one, this one is WATERPROOF to 33 feet, SHOCKPROOF to 6.6" and FREEZEPROOF to 14 degrees. The overall 'feel' of the camera is one of quality, it looks well made and feels well made. Time will tell if it is actually well made.
I've taken a picture of Misha, no flash was used, room is fairly dark, still did a decent job on the quality.
The camera is about the size of a pack of cigarettes. Its not one of those super slim, super light cameras. I'm guessing the internal waterproofing/shockproofing adds to the bulk but its not bulky. The screen is very clear and pretty large. First complaint is that the buttons are silver, they do NOT have painted descriptors and I find them hard to read, fortunately they pretty much perform the same functions as my other Lumix camera so it was easy for me to figure out without reading the manual. My second COMPLAINT is that the buttons are SMALL.
The camera does have a MOVIE mode, apparently can take HD quality movies? Not planning on using it for that purpose but it is available. There are 4 different movie modes of lower quality than HD, so apparently it can be used for uploading VGA and similar quality movies to the internet if one is so inclined.
It has an OPTICAL zoom of 4.6x, and a digital zoom that goes to 30-something. Picture size is adjustable, at least six choices (maybe more) up to 14.1 MegaPixels. In the box there is also a silicone protective case to help reduce impact shock, various cables for connecting to a video source and to a computer, a battery and a battery charger, a carry strap . . . but no Secure Digital card.
So I started looking around for a new pocket camera. I have another Panasonic Lumix camera and really like it, but its big, bulky and the size of an old school SLR type camera. Great for long range shooting, great for action shots, but a pain to carry because of its size.
MINI REVIEW based on FIRST IMPRESSIONS: I figured I'd look for another Lumix camera and found one, this one is WATERPROOF to 33 feet, SHOCKPROOF to 6.6" and FREEZEPROOF to 14 degrees. The overall 'feel' of the camera is one of quality, it looks well made and feels well made. Time will tell if it is actually well made.
I've taken a picture of Misha, no flash was used, room is fairly dark, still did a decent job on the quality.
The camera is about the size of a pack of cigarettes. Its not one of those super slim, super light cameras. I'm guessing the internal waterproofing/shockproofing adds to the bulk but its not bulky. The screen is very clear and pretty large. First complaint is that the buttons are silver, they do NOT have painted descriptors and I find them hard to read, fortunately they pretty much perform the same functions as my other Lumix camera so it was easy for me to figure out without reading the manual. My second COMPLAINT is that the buttons are SMALL.
The camera does have a MOVIE mode, apparently can take HD quality movies? Not planning on using it for that purpose but it is available. There are 4 different movie modes of lower quality than HD, so apparently it can be used for uploading VGA and similar quality movies to the internet if one is so inclined.
It has an OPTICAL zoom of 4.6x, and a digital zoom that goes to 30-something. Picture size is adjustable, at least six choices (maybe more) up to 14.1 MegaPixels. In the box there is also a silicone protective case to help reduce impact shock, various cables for connecting to a video source and to a computer, a battery and a battery charger, a carry strap . . . but no Secure Digital card.
NOTE: I downgraded the image quality of the photo I snapped of the dog on the bed to make it easier to upload.
