I, like others who have reviwed this little (by SLR standards) gem, have been exhausted by carrying around a 35mm SLR with the lenses I needed for my photogaphy. This incuded a 400mm f 5.6 monster and a host of accessories. When I first read of the FZ20 I was concerned by the 5mp resolution but everything else seemed like just what I needed. I have been using it for about a month with excellent results. The control one has over it's functions are in a par with the best SLRs and in many ways surpass them. What SLR allows you to compensate AE levels in the viewfinder in 1/3 EV steps and observe the results as you do so? The image stabilization is impressive allowing one to use much slower shutter speeds without the problem of shake. In general, contrast and color are excellent and the histogram in the viewfinder helps you to obtain much more than acceptable detail in the highlights and shadows. Naturally, there are a few quibbles. Autofocus sometimes misses completely in less than bright light (even with the AF lamp on) but it is very easy to switch to manual focus and use the enlarged portion in the viewfinder to obtain critical focus. Like others, I found that the unusual shutter release and zoom control positions took some getting used to. The on-board flash unit is amazingly powerful (21 ft max range) but is a red eye dragon maker. However, you can use a non-dedicated flash on the camera's hot shoe. I used my old Vivitar 283 with excellent results. (Be sure the flash you use has a trigger voltage of less than 24 volts or you will fry the electronics). I am not sure how well the continuous AF will work in the type of nature photogaphy that I do, but to be able to hold most of my 20 pound SLR camera bag in one hand (funtionally) will be worth a little extra effort on my part.

I have shot with 35mm film for years (decades). On 3 different systems, and each
eventually had several lenses, typically a 24mm, a 28-80, and an 80-250.
The 80-250 at f3.5 was HUGE. More recently I have gone thru 3 digital
cameras, an HP215, a Pentax EI200, and a Canon A70. The Canon had the
widest zoom range at 3x and I also used a 2.4x Canon teleconverter with it.
So it was a handful as well.

I wanted to simplify my life, and yet preserve the quality of the photos I
am accustomed to taking. In other words as much zoom range, built in manual
functions, external flash capability, etc, but NOT a 5-10 lbs bag of
accessories everywhere I go. Not really of utmost importance was the
megapixel resolution, I have taken prize winning and nationwide calendar
photos with a 2 megapixel camera. Many schools of thought here, add this
one; a hi res monitor will display 1280x1024 pixels with sometimes painful
clarity and sharpness. Yet that is barely 1.5 megapixel, the source and the
quality (dynamic range, edge sharpness, focus) of the original have as much
impact as the number of dots. This became important when I chose the FZ20,
as the other camera in consideration was the Nikon 8800 (The Minolta Z5
photo quality made it a non starter). It had 8 vs 5 meg resolution, but not
that wonderful Leica f2.8 lens, and that's f2.8 at 430mm! Compare that to
the Nikon's f5.2 at only 350mm. In photography the lens is everything. In
digital photography, that is closely followed by the CCD sensor size (the
Nikon is ahead here, however both camera test results show objectionable
noise at ISO200 and higher, so shoot at 80 or 100 ISO when possible). So a
digital SLR was too big and required a bag of lenses, the one lens that
came with the Nikon was only so-so, and the Panasonic got the nod of
approval.

So how does it fare after 4 weeks and about 1500 photos? Very well indeed.
The Lens is outstanding, the image stabilization works superbly, the 4 fps
motor drive is great, and the pictures are tack sharp and stunning in
quality. There is an incredible user community out there for this camera,
and most review sites have a large user base forums for this and other
Panasonic FZ cameras. I however could not entirely give up the gadget bag,
it still contains 52mm macro adapter lenses which fit just right into the
space in front of the FZ20 lens without any adapters, an external flash,
and two extra batteries. A joy to own and use.

PS. The camera makes noises as you move it, the aperture setting
mechanicals at work. Also the view finder will show white vertical lines if
there is a strong point light source (sun, spot lights, etc) in the field
of view, this does not show in the picture. The zoom lever position, and
the exposure button position especially take a lot of getting used to

i have been wanting this camera before it made its debut and i finally bought it 3 weeks ago and i do not regret it one bit. I LOVE THIS CAMERA, and im not one to love much of anything LOL
the 12X ZOOM was the clincher to buying the cam and the 5MP is more then enough. the cam is easy to use for anyone. its not a compact cam, so if you want something you can put in your pocket this isnt the one, but if you want a high quailty cam then this is the one and size matters at the moment. the 12X ZOOM lens is made by one of the best companies Leica in the business. if this is a cam that your thinking about, dont not pass it up.

I was going to buy a Kodak similar but I read that several people was having trouble with the focus, and I like perfection, so I bought this camera and... It's perfect! No problems even for an automatic one! I'm in horseshow jumping and I took all my pictures with my manual camera because all the automatic were trouble on focusing the jump, but this one, even without controling the aperture or exposure took fabulous photos! I thought I would take good pictures after learning how to control that, but, this camera is for dummies! Even a person who never took pictures can take fabulous ones, just press the button!
My old camera (actually it's 30 years old) is going to retire now, after so many years of a beloved relashionship, I finally found a camera worth it.
The zoom is almost equivalent a 230mm in a regular camera, but excelent anyway.

Okay, suddenly finding myself sliding over the "old-guy" milestone, I don't really use expressions like "Rocking" or "Rocks" and so on. But I gotta' say that this camera is everything and then some for a digital hobbyist with pretensions to artistry such as myself. I have owned several $50-100.00 digicams in the vga-to-1.5 mp range; and also an Olympus C-211 2mp, Fujifilm F-2400Zoom, and another fuji 2mp digital camera. After learning how to coax some nice pix out of these digicams I began lusting after megapixels and zoom.
After doing what I thought was much research on the web I settled on the minolta z-3 and the Lumix DMC-FZ20K. I bought the z-3. Wonderfully ergonomic in the hand, the picture-taking was dissapointing. After doing more research I discovered that it was possible to take good pix with it with some tinkering, but not, generally, with the "auto" settings.
Not what I had in mind.
Sending it back after two weeks of puttering about with it, I bought the FZ20K.
YESSSS!!!!
I was taking fabulous pix right out the box, and even shifting exposure settings and such to realize special effects and so on. The camera is bulkier than the minolta, but I find it more intuitive and I don't have to putz around with the controls to get good snapshots. Along with the 12x optical zoom on the Leica lens, the ability to capture great shots with all the special scene modes, and video with sound, I have to say that this is the 5 mp digital camera to have, hands down!
NOTE:
I bought a three-piece filter kit and adapter tube along with this camera from A& M photo world (amphotoworld.com - ask for Tyler), a couple of extra battery packs from thomasdistributing.com, 3 ATP 512mb SD cards (60x), a universal ac adapter, a full-size and a desktop tripod, and a camera bag from microcenter, and I am now looking forward to capturing some good pix on our vacation in Hawaii.
Total price of this package: around $750.00 with taxes and shipping included and well worth it.

For those of us who are drawn to reviews, after a while, nothing seems to beat going to a store and getting the feel of the stuff and deciding for yourself. It's okay that both positive and negative reviews are important to my decision to drop hard-earned cash for a camera, especially digital. I did so with Olympus and Canon DSLRs, and now seemingly "digressed" to, "yeah, right! Panasonic!" Not so! I went back to 2004 Amazon reviews for positive inspiration. Thank you, Michael Stouffer, Alan Hewitt, and others for pointing in the right direction! True, this camera is not for everyone, but it sure feels like it was custom-made for me alone. Pixels are important to me, up to a point, but is balanced against aperture, shutter speed, manual exposure, overall handling and operation, and what the camera is to be used for in the first place! And what better location to use it than in the colors of Hawaii? With the Leica 12x lens, Venus engine, 5MP, and almost erroneously low price, it would almost be a shame not to buy this camera!

I bought it 2 months ago. So far so good. The only problem I encouter is: The date the pictures recorded canot show in the electronic picture.

Am i right? Anyone who bought this camera knows how to show the date in the electronic picture?

Both of these cameras boast 12x optical zoom, 5 megapixels and Image Stabilization but they are very different cameras. Here are some generalizations I came to while researching them myself:

People who would be happier with the FZ20: photographers with more serious/artistic ambitions who still want a fun, simple camera; people attracted to the more classy look and feel of rangefinder cameras from the 70s; people who want a lens made by a classic camera company (Leica) mounted on a body made by a company who knows electronics (Panasonic); people who really just want to take pictures and could care less about taking home movies or messing around with RAW software (the FZ20 stores TIFF files which can be directly read without need for RAW conversion.)

People who might be happier with the Canon S2 IS: folks who want a sportier camera with better general-purpose performance in a more compact body; people who really enjoy making home movies on their digicams in addition to taking reliable still photographs (fun at parties); people who are less artistically-motivated and care more about specs than character; people with smaller hands; people who do not care for the look or feel of older cameras.

These are just generalizations. As always, it's best to actually demo each camera for yourself. I chose the FZ20 for many of the reasons stated above and because I already have a Canon DSLR setup and wanted to try something different.

I use the FZ20 mainly for black-and-white shooting in congested urban situations and find the combination of the Leica lens and the zoom/IS to be incredible. Although I felt the lens on the Canon was well made, the images I get with the Leica just seem more artful and I think the camera itself is a total work of art.

If you do go with the FZ20, I strongly suggest buying a SanDisc 1GB Ultra II SD card if you plan to shoot in the highest resolution at TIFF quality. Each shot takes up 14.4megs and even a 512mb card will only hold about 30 images at this setting. I recommend the Ultra II cards because they read/write at exponentailly faster rates than the standard cards and this is extremely important when dealing with 14.4mb files.

I will keep this review short and sweet. Others have already covered all the nitty-gritty details.

If you want the features of a digital SLR, but can't afford one or don't want to deal with multiple lenses, give this camera serious consideration.

I love this camera. It has brought the joy and fun back to my photography, and at the same time it has given me capabilities that I thought were only available in cameras costing twice as much. It looks great, and the Leica lens will make even the most diehard Leica fans drool.

The photos I've taken with this camera have a beautiful, natural, almost "film-like" quality. I'm very, very pleased with it.

The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I wish it had the ability to go up to ISO 1600, like the digital SLRs do. Then again, I suppose it would cost several hundred dollars more. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying this camera so much, and have absolutely no regrets about purchasing it.

Best digital camera I have ever bought. I would definelty say...buy it and you won't regret that you did. I went from Panasonic's Palm Cam SD4090 1.3 mega pixal to Minolta's Dimage 414 and now this one where it beats the others in which I had. I enjoy using it and I know you will too when you purchase it.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20K 5MP Digital Camera looks and almost acts like a 35mm digital SLR, but with two major differences. First, it is much smaller than a full-fledged 35mm digital SLR from the likes of Nikon, Canon or Minolta. But more importantly, it has an image-stabilized non-interchangeable Leica Vario-Elmarit zoom lens which is undoubtedly one of the finest lenses available in digital photography. I have become quite a fan of Panasonic's Lumix line of digital cameras, and this camera is yet another excellent representative. I'm quite impressed with the optical excellence demonstrated by the Leica lens, though frankly I am not surprised, since I rely extensively on Leica optics in my Leica M rangefinder camera kit. If you are someone seeking the best optical performance possible from a 5MP digital camera, then you surely won't go wrong acquiring this Panasonic Lumix camera.

I love this camera,., its very easy to use and the coloured Pictures are superb, I think you will have to go a long way to beat it and the price is very reasonable.

Having shopped for several months for a digital camera - this Panasonic is amazing - easy to use, great results and a great value for money.
3 friends have see my results and have now purchased this product.

Thanks to the reviews for this camera it's the one I chose and I'm very happy with that decision! I've only used auto so far but I have a lot to learn about exposure, manual settings, etc. The pics I've taken on auto are vibrant. I've taken pics in macro mode of flowers and they came out beautiful. I have one, which is of Foxgloves, as my screen saver, and you can see the little hairs on the flower petals it's so clear! People have commented that the lens cap isn't attached but it's so big it would be irritating if it were hanging by a cord. I'm grateful to all the reviews from experienced (or not) photographers that have commented on this camera. I'm VERY excited to become a knowledgable photographer but for now I can still have fun just using the auto mode!

After a month of exhaustive digital camera shopping, I settled on two cameras - the Canon S2 and the Panasonic Lumix FZ20. When I got them in my hands, and was able to look at them, the Lumix won out, and boy am I glad it did!

You can read about the options, so I'll save from detailing that. What does need to be said is the ease of use and quality of photo that results with this camera. I am a novice photographer. Nobody pays me for my work. I do it because I enjoy it. The result of that is more often than not, I use standard settings, and with this camera, that is 99% of the time a fantastic photo. I have used every function on the camera, and each and every time I have moved from the standard setting the result has been an amazing photo. Whether it is adjusting the aperature or the exposure, the operation is simple and effective. Menus are clear and easy to use, and switching between functions is fool proof.

The optics on this camera are outstanding. If you are buying a digital camera, the digital zoom is virtually worthless as a consideration for purchase. The optical zoom (in this case 12x) is the critical zoom function. The zoom is quick, and the autofocus is quick to catch up. You also get the option to manually focus when/if you want to.

If you don't want an SLR camera, this is the camera to buy. If you are willing to own a camera that is too big to stick in your pocket, this is the camera to buy. If you want to take quality photos, this is the camera to buy. If you are considering anything else in this class, you are making a mistake if you don't choose this camera. They could add 50% in price to this camera and it would still be a great value.

Those who give this less than 5 of 5 need to be smacked. This camera exceeds all expectations.

It takes great pictures,I can even use my flash from my old Minolta Maxxum 7000.Can't buy a filter for the camera not even through Panasonic I Don't think I will buy another camera from Panasonic.It takes great pics even in the Bar.

I just got the camera today. I have had 4 other digital cameras over the past 5 years, 3 of them Olympus and 1 HP Photosmart all in the $200-$250 range. Out of all of them my favorite was the Olympus D-565 Zoom. I was having problems with slow shutter speeds on all of them and my shots were very blurry. The only way I could get them to be less fuzzy was by using the flash which wasn't appropriate for all the shots I was taking. I didn't like using a tripod either to get steadier clearer shots so I decided it was time to look for a much better camera.

I searched the web for reviews on cameras with quicker shutter speeds, which were not too expensive. I really wanted a digital DSLR camera but when I saw the prices I realized I couldn't afford them. I found a few models that were in the DSLR style. I was crossed between the Canon PowerShot S2 IS, this Panasonic model FZ20 and the Sony Cyber-shot® DSC-H1 Digital CameraDSC-H1. It was a very difficult choice but I decided on the Panasonic DMC-FZ20 because it seemed to have a cult following. Not to mention I have had problems before with Sony products in the past so I was wary of another Sony product.

Today my camera arrived and when I took it out of the box I instantly fell in love! It is a very sturdy, well made camera. I really like the way it looks because it has the look and feel of a professional 35 mm camera professional photographers use. It looks bigger than the product pictures show, however it is not too heavy. By the looks and feel you can see it is not a cheaply made camera and is very sturdy. It feels really good in my hands.

I quickly charged the battery and fired it up. I couldn't wait to start taking pictures. I quickly skimmed the manual, but have to admit I didn't read it in depth {I will do that later}. When I took my 1st shot which was indoors in bad lighting I was very surprised! It was like night and day compared to my other point and shoot digital Olympus cameras I have been using. The image stabilizer really works well and is a Godsend! I didn't have to use my flash and the pictures came out without no blur. Way to go Panasonic!

Next, I took it outdoors and it is a very overcast cloudy day. I was surprised to see that it also did a very good job. When I start reading the manual and play around with all the features I know this camera will take very good top notch pictures.

The features this camera has is too numerous for me to list. I couldn't believe how many bells and whistles this camera has. I was so used to my bare bones point and shoot digital cameras that didn't have too many features that I was speechless when I saw how much things I can use to take optimal photos. I will need to read the manual and take more sample shots until I get it right.

Get this camera and you won't be dissapointed. I am now a big fan of Panasonic cameras!

I initially read reviews on CNET and here and went with the Canon S2 IS, primarily because of a good experience with the Canon Powershot A60 and unfamiliarity with Panasonic in the camera business.

Assumed that with the larger aperture (and higher price) the Canon S2 IS would get better pictures than the Canon Powershot A60... unfortunately, got no better clarity when using the autofocus. A couple of sharp pictures in macro mode, but the others, esp. outdoors in overcast conditions were not sharp. The movie mode of the S2 was excellent, however, with very high resolution, 640 x 480, so believe the trouble was with the autofocus algorithm and its interaction with the hardware. Also, the viewfinder was grainy, and manual focus was hard with it. Had to return it to Amazon - not good enough for a $500 camera.

I then went back to the other choice on the plate, the Panasonic Lumix FZ20K and reread the reviews. Was happy to see the emphasis on sharp pictures, and ordered it, this time with the higher speed SD-II card (512K, which is quite an adequate size). I also took the advice of an earlier reviewer and picked up a snap-on 52mm/55mm adapter from www.netphoto.net, and a Quantaray 55mm multi-layered coating UV filter from Adorama via Amazon - the combination keeps the lens protected and is also compact.

Initial results with autofocus with the Lumix were not still up to expectations, but better than the Canon - there were a couple of very clear shots indicating that the reviews I read were not gibberish, but that I needed to use the camera better.

After fiddling around for a day or so, realized that the best way to really use this camera is to go to the manual mode on exposure and focus whenever possible

MANUAL EXPOSURE
There is a convenient exposure button to start the setup and an easy-to-use four-way button to set both aperture and shutter timing. Smaller apertures (1/5.6 is smaller than 1/2.8) provide for clarity over a larger range of image depth but with less light; Shorter shutter timing (1/250 is faster than 1/60) is good for fast action situations, but again there is less total light for the exposure. Depending on the situation, one can also go semi-automated with priority for the aperture setting (aperture priority) or for the shutter speed (shutter priority).

MANUAL FOCUS
The manual focus mode was easier to use than with Canon S2 IS, esp. since the electronic viewfinder in the Lumix FZ20K is far clearer. A somewhat-grainy window pops up in the middle of the screen, and you can rotate the focus adjustment on the lens till that section becomes sharp (it remains a grainy picture, but it is hard to not get the focus right, esp. if there is any high contrast line in the scene).

I also used the exposure bracketing feature - the camera takes three pictures at different exposure settings very quickly, and one can select how different the exposures have to be. In the manual mode there is a histogram feature also - don't know how it works, but know you have to have it be centered in the box for optimal exposure.

After I understood how to use these options in this camera, it has been a breeze getting sharp pictures.

Don't need exposure bracketing any more, but have found it is a cool feature in another way - the three shots get taken close to each other, fractions of a second apart. Hence if you set the exposure difference to be minimal, say 1/3 apart, the exposure bracketing gets you three pictures and this allows for selection of the best picture. Am amazed how fast my 1-1/2 yr old son can change expression in about a second :) And if someone blinks during a group shot, one of the other two bracketing shots should catch them with eyes open.

Haven't yet really explored the two IS (image stabilization) modes or what the ISO setting is about. I took the advice of one of the reviewers here and have turned off the digital zoom (no real need for more than 12X) and also have turned the continuous autofocus off (go manual anyway by now, four days into the camera). Am sure there is more to discover with this camera.

Am very happy with the clarity of the pictures, and am willing to put up with the slight graininess when you blow up the images.

The video mode is a bit puzzling - haven't been able to view the clips yet, since I was trying to continue to use Zoombrowser. This is one aspect where the Canon is clearly better. But a $500 digital camera should at a minimum take great still pictures, and in that respect, the Lumix scores over the Canon.

This camera has brought thrill back to photography for me (used to have an all manual Ricoh a long time ago, then switched to the small auto units and forgot all about the nuances of photography). It is well worth carrying around extra bulk compared to a pocket-sized digital, which does have its uses.

Wish you good luck with the decision, and a lot of great photos!

I've owned a 3.1M Olympus which has taken many great pictures over the past five years and been a great point and shot camera. When our daughter came into our lives we quickly learned that we needed something with better resolution and a quicker shutter speed to catch her quick moves.

After about a months search through many articles on line about digital cameras we had narrowed it down to four: Canon S2, Minolta DiMage Z5, Sony DSC-H1, and Panasonic FZ20. After making several trips to the big name electronics stores we eliminated the Sony because the lack of battery power, and the Canon had too many confusing buttons and just didn't have the picture quality we were looking for. It was between the Minolta and the Panasonic.

We both liked the quality feel of the Panasonic and its big zoom lense, quick shutter speed and the ability to use it as a point and shoot but yet have the manual options available to grow into. The Minolta was nice but it had a very odd shape and we just didn't like the handle of it. Neither of us had heard much about Panasonic in the camera world but learned from the reviews here and else where that it had a very high rating and the few faults seemed to be very prevelant in most cameras below the DSLR catagory. We bought ours through Amazon because it was $100 below the store prices we'd seen and the extra money helped to buy a high speed SD memory card and extra battery. Even though the battery pack is proprietary it last a very long time and is made by several manufacturers that are cheaper than Panasonic brand.

After almost a month of using the camera I'd say it was a very good purchase. I've bought a 72mm UV filter for it and am looking at buying an external flash even though the on board flash seems to do very well, I'd just like to save the battery power by using an external.

I'd highly recommend this camera to any one looking at a camera that takes great point and shoot pictures but yet has the ability of expanding with the manual controls and accessories.

I have been swithering for months around a variety of superzoom 5 megapixel plus cameras after a rather disappointing experience with the Minolta Dimage Z2. Although this camera takes very good outdoor pictures, it wasn't so good indoors and even outdoors would sometimes have trouble focussing if you zoomed in too close. For the purposes I wanted to use it - photographing fine lace and dolls for my e-books - it was next to useless.

So after many months of dreaming, thinking and comparing review after review I began to get closer this week. I looked at the Fuji S7000 and S20 Pro, Sony DSC-828, Nikon Coolpix 8800, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5, and a number of other similar superzoom cameras. Every time I compared any of them to the Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ20 the only camera which came anywhere near to it was the FZ5. So today it ended up being a battle between the FZ5 and FZ20 and when I saw the FZ20K beside the FZ5 in Jessops today the battle was over. I would have liked the silver but Jessops only had the black model; nevertheless the FZ20 it was.

So far I have had the battery charged for about half an hour - way to go Panasonic, it only takes 2 hours to charge the battery for this large camera - and basically the camera is light years ahead of my Fuji Finepix 2600 camera (which takes perfectly good indoor pictures but often requires some adjustments in lighting arrangements) and the aforementioned Minolta Dimage Z2. The lense is frankly amazing to see, and the camera is packed in the box with a lense cover protecting it. The camera and lens hood and lens hood adaptor are carefully wrapped in a soft protective plastic wrap within the box, to minimise the chances of any damage.

The menus are easy to navigate with very little instruction and the manual is not one of those which provides minimal information and then expects you to print out hundreds of pages from a PDF file. It contains all the information you would need to operate the camera, all the safety information and everything into a 118 page booklet which is clearly laid out and easy to follow. There is a lot of information to digest, but then this camera is really a DSLR with some point and shoot functions. It compared favourably in appearance with the Canon EOS 300D which one of the other people in the shop had with him. It certainly is no toy and will provide both point and shoot enthusiasts and manual control enthusiasts with an excellent range of facilities.

The camera of course has full manual capabilities as well as a wide range of modes and different settings for the image sizes as you would expect. The flash is operated by a button on the back - an advantage in some museums where you are allowed to take photographs provided you disable the flash. The zoom is wonderful and it's exciting to watch the camera autofocus stabiliser working and focussing beautifully on the area you want it to photograph.

I took photographs of some fine tatted lace this evening - if you don't know what tatting is look at my web site, http://www.craftsnlace.net/tatting - and you could see every stitch. This is something that my Fuji Finepix 2600 2 megapixel camera could accomplish with care, good lighting and macro photography on a tripod; the Panasonic does it without any zoom at all and just holding the camera a few inches from the lace - this in a hallway which is not particularly well lit in the evenings.

Way to go Panasonic, this is a wonder camera which will provide many years of photographic enjoyment!

I wanted to get a new camera for our upcoming trip to Greece. My basic requirements were that it be an ultra-zoom and that it have image stabilization (ultra-zoom isn't much good without it unless you always use a tripod. If you do, you can save about [...] by foregoing IS). I quickly learned that the current sweet-spot of the market for this class of camera is 5 M pixels, so I further narrowed my search to that. The choices were: Panasonic Lumix DMC F20 and F5; Konica Minolta DImage Z5; Sony CyberShot DSC H1; and Canon Poweshot S2 IS. All cameras in this class use an electronic viewfinder (EVF), which I'm not as fond of as optical.

I quickly dismissed the Konica because it takes very mediocre pictures. The images just can't compare to anything else in this class in crispness or low noise.

The big hurdle for cameras in this class to get over is chromatic aberration. For a lens to be able to bend light to a proper focus across the color spectrum at a zoom of 1x to 12x is a terrific challenge. At the long zooms, lenses tend to show a color "fringe" around edges if they aren't exceptionally well made. Of the remaining cameras, Canon was the worst of the lot on this. I have an SD-200, which is an ultra-compact with 3x zoom, and it has a bit of a problem this way. So I was not surprised that the long zoom from them would also have this problem. The Sony is not too bad at this, but chromatic aberration is clearly present at higher zooms. The Panasonic's Leica lens is the stand-out in this regard.

As to LCD, the Sony has the largest and brightest of the displays. The Panasonic is second-largest (2-inch screen) and adequately bright. The Canon is the smallest, at 1.5 inches, but has the virtue of folding out and twisting around to allow you to take pictures from odd angles, using it as the viewfinder. Also, it folds into place for storage with its back to the outside word, so its protected against bumps. The Canon is the least visible of the LCDs in bright light, and the size is pretty small for reading menus. For me, each of the LCDs was good enough, and none was ideal.

All cameras of this class image-process the data before you ever see a picture. By default, Sony processes their images way too much. They smooth the noise, and then put back the appearance of sharpness by (what I presume to be) unsharp masking. You can see the Gibbs effect on sharp transitions (the image looks like water is lapping against the sharp edge). I find this very irritating. But the images show absolutely no noise, and at first blush look like they are very sharp. I think Sony does this to impress the unwary with "image quality" that isn't really there. Canon chooses a middle path on processing by default, and Panasonic allows their wonderful lens' resolution to come through the images, at the expense of higher noise than the other cameras show. All cameras allow you to adjust the processing settings, so this is just their choice for out-of-the-box. I strongly prefer the Panasonic default to the others. I can always smooth the images in PhotoShop if I like, but I can't retrieve the native resolution once its been smoothed away.

Manual focus is important to me. The Sony has a rather clunky way of getting at manual focus (keep pushing a button near the shutter button until the viewfinder shows a distance bar, then you can use the rocker switch on the back to focus.) Canon is better. There is a button by the lens to switch to manual focus, and then use the back rocker switch to focus. The FZ5 doesn't support manual focus, so this was when I dropped it from contention. The FZ20 has a switch at the side of the lens that puts it in manual mode. Flick the switch all the way down if you like (it bounces back up to the manual position), and it will auto-focus to get you started. Then, you use a ring around the lens to manually focus, just like a film 35 mm camera. Panasonic won that part of the UI hands down.

I don't much care about using the camera for movies. If you do, Canon is the clear winner. It takes full-size M-JPEG video (640x480, 30 fps). You can zoom while you shoot the video (unique to this camera AFAIK). The Sony takes 640x480 30 fps MPEG-1, which has the advantage of being smaller on the camera, but the disadvantage of falling apart if you edit the video after acquiring it. The Panasonic is awful in this regard -- 320x240 30 fps M-JPEG video. But I use a camcorder for video, not a still camera, so I took no points off for this. YMMV

At this point, I had pretty much zeroed in on the Canon vs the FZ20. Because my other camera is a Canon, using the same Digic-II processor that I love, I was favorably disposed to the Canon. The user interface is excellent on Canon cameras, and the color and focus are excellent. I knew that it would take good pictures with little fuss.

The FZ20 also has excellent controls -- with one big exception. To change aperture or shutter speed in Program (fully automatic) mode, you need to press the shutter button half-way down, then press the Exposure button on the back of the camera, and then you can adjust using the rocker switch. The maneuver is every bit as awkward as it sounds. However, I seldom use the Program mode -- I normally use aperture priority, and the adjustment interface is perfectly fine for anything other than the Program mode.

The Canon has ISO ratings of 50, 100, 200, and 400. The Panasonic's are 80, 100, 200, and 400. What I dislike about the Panasonic on this is that a natural way to use the ISO is as a "poor man's" neutral density filter. To do the moral equivalent of adding a 0.3 ND filter, just cut the ISO rating in half. Canon has the right steps for doing that across its range. Also, the Canon has a max. shutter speed of 1/3200, while the Panasonic tops out at 1/2000.

One thing that matters to me is using filters. I use a circular polarized filter to cut down on glare, or a graduated neutral density filter for landscapes with a bright sky and dark foreground. The Panasonic comes with the lens adapter to take filters (72mm, which are a bit pricey). The Canon takes 55 mm filters -- a bit cheaper -- but does not come with the adapter. It is apparently not easy to get the adapter, especially if you order the camera itself on-line to save money. Even from a camera store, getting the adapter is apparently "iffy."

Ultimately, I just couldn't get away from the quality of the Leica lens. In addition to virtually no chromatic aberration, the uniformity of focus and illumination of the lens across the field I wanted to get a new camera for our upcoming trip to Greece. My basic requirements were that it be an ultrazoom and that it have image stabilization (ultrazoom isn't much good without it unless you always use a tripod. If you do, you can save about $150 by foregoing IS). I quickly learned that the current sweet-spot of the market for this class of camera is 5 MPixels, so I further narrowed my search to that. The choices were: Panasonic Lumix DMC F20 and F5; Konica Minolta DImage Z5; Sony CyberShot DSC H1; and Canon Poweshot S2 IS. All cameras in this class use an electronic viewfinder (EVF), which I'm not as fond of as optical.

A few final points on the Panasonic FZ5 vs the FZ20. The FZ5 is about $100 less expensive than the FZ20. However, in addition to no manual focus, the FZ5 does not use ED glass in its Leica lens -- a big difference (adds to chromatic aberration). It also does not have a constant f/2.8 max aperture across the whole zoom -- it creeps up to f/3.3 at the longer lens settings. The constant f is unique to the FZ20 in this class of camera AFAIK, and is a very nice touch. The FZ5 does not have a hot shoe for external flash, which is a big disadvantage. For other differences, go to the [...]

I have purchased the FZ20 and begun the learning curve for getting the max out of the camera. This is a camera for enthusiasts more than for causal photographers. I expet it will take me a few months of experimentation in different contexts to really fully appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of this camera. But it is clearly a wonderful device.

I am an amateur photographer, but was looking for something I could also "learn" with if I wanted to. It has been perfect for this. Point and shoot functionality is very good. If you go through the manual and learn some of the basic features (exposure meter) you almost can't snap a bad picture. Picture quality is superb.

Almost unbelievable. How can such a camera have this price tag? The shots are great, superb resolution across the board. Read reviews of this camera at dpreview.com and you'll be able to see sample shots, as well as their take on this camera vs. others in this price range. And you gotta love that 12x leica lens.

This camera is fantastic. It has a superior lens. The zoom is great and basically, the camera could be considered "the poor man's answer to a digital SLR". Except it isn't an SLR. The lens, made of very high quality by Lecia, is fixed mount. You can't remove it, but it has an incredible zoom of up to about 430mm. This makes it much more than a point and shoot, and gives you the flexibility of higher priced SLRs.

Overall, this camera has numerous features!!! Easy to use controls, great battery life. The camera is much larger than a point and shoot so know that going in. The battery is a Panasonic unit, not AA or AAA, so it will cost a bit to replace. It comes with the camera, along with an easy to use, compact charger.

Photo quality - great! For best results (lower noise) I set the ISO to 80 when possible. You can shoot at F2.8 throughout the zoom range (even Panasonic's new 8MP Lumix doesn't offer that, dropping to 3.7 toward the longer range).

You can shoot fully programmed or go manual if you are a camera buff. You can use all the modes in between - shutter preferred, apeture preferred, etc.

About all you give up versus a $1500-$2000 SLR is the ability to change lenses and a slightly lower shutter (some Canon SLRs fire at 1/8000 second). This camera also has a smaller CCD sensor than some of the Canons, but again - the Panasonic is less than $500. The CCD is what makes the photo quality on any digital cam, in the end. ISO can be set to auto, or from 80-400.

Stabilizer - helps keep shots sharp throughout a long focal length. You have two options for stablizing photos. One is throughtout the focus and one is at the time of the photo. I set mine for just the time of the photo and feel that provides better results for sports photos (soceer, lacrosse).

Bracketing - lets you bracket exposures, which works great when you are shooting on the beach, for example. You have sun off the water, or maybe behind your subject, so you can bracket the exposures automatically and shoot 3 shots with one click, so you get an over/normal/under exposure and one should be a great shot! This also helps with pictures of kids, as you essentially get a few different facial expressions (the bracket shots are after all in succession, not the same exact instant).

You can also set the camera to fire off multiple shots on one click of the shutter (bursts) and get 10-20 shots in rapid fire, capturing that one or two "perfect" photos. In addition there is a flip animation feature, which lets you create nice "flip page" features of your kids, pets, etc.

You have a decent flip up flash as well as a hot shoe for an external flash.

The camera has a built in video cam - just keep in mind that it locks the lens on whatever focal length you are at when you go to video mode, so this is not really for anything other than basic video.

The camera also has full audio, so you can record sound and/or add narration to your photos to refer to later.

Other features include numerous metering options, an auto focus "assist lamp" for low light, and histogram options. It even has several settings like "sports/snow/fireworks" and so on, so you can choose one of those for different photo scenarios. i've tried them all and they don't hurt the photos, although I'm not sure they enhance any given photo scenario. But I tend to chose my own shutter and other settings, shooting manually much of the time. if you prefer to shoot in auto mode, I doubt you'll be unhappy.

This camera is a must own for a family. It gives you great shots of the kids.

The included software works fine, so this camera easily connects and works on your PC.

The two downsides:

The lens cap is not clip on, so you might lose it. I use the included lens hood almost all the time so I don't worry too much about the cap. The other downside - you need a good memory card to use any 5 megapixel camera - Panasonic includes only a 16mb. You want at least 256mb, preferably 512mb and up. if you are going to shoot at lot of bursts, get a high speed, quality card.

I bought this camera for the performance/value it offered. I took it on several trips and the pictures were amazing. Unfortunately, after just 6 months of use(gentle use and no accidents) something inside the lens broke loose and the zoom and focus stopped working. I've tried to contact Panasonic to see where can I get it fixed but no luck, didnt get any replies. Great pictures, not so great durabilty or customer srvice(from Panasonic), you decide.

I'm a photographer for the PhotoGang website. Now you'll laugh, but before I got my Lumix I was sporting a venerable Sony MAVICA FD-73 camera. You know the kind; it ate floppies and cranked out images no bigger than 640x480, complete with JPEG "jaggies" and artifacts! Yes, I needed to upgrade in a bad way.

My criteria was tough. I demanded an optical zoom as good or better than I enjoyed on my old MAVICA (it had 10x). I also wanted image stabilization and full manual control, including focus. The Panasonic LUMIX FZ-20 delivered on all points, and then some!

I'm not gonna get overly technical. The camera is a solid performer in the non-SLR category. It's loaded with preset shooting programs, and they're good, but everyone outgrows those sooner or later. Eventually a photographer wants complete control. This camera offers it.

You can manually focus via ring, and the camera will assist you with a zoom image on the LCD. Manual white balance can be set, and you can even "nudge" the color a few degrees warm or cool. Auto-bracketing, 80 ISO, and full manual aperture & shutter priorities are standard. You can shoot 3 frames a second for those sports events or candid moments. The image stabilization (lens, not sensor) is fantastic and seriously complements the high power optical zoom. It features spot, center-weighted, and multi-spot metering and several auto-focus modes (1-point, 3-point, and so on).

But... all this is not much different than what you may get with your favorite Sony or Canon or Olympus or...

You get the idea. These features make a good camera, not a great camera. And this model LUMIX is a great camera. I'll tell you why.

It's the glass.

Electronics are important of course, but if the lens is cheap your images will suffer. No matter how great the internal processing is, the picture can really get no better than what the lens captures. And the glass on this baby is top-notch.

It's Leica glass. And not just any Leica glass, it's Leica's extra-low dispersion (ED) glass. Join that up with a 12x optical lens system that's equivalent to 36mm to 432mm (in a 35mm film camera) and you've got something worth salivating over.

In case you were sleeping I'll say it again; the optics is what sets this camera apart. Edge-to-edge image and color clarity is achieved using ED glass with Leica's DC Vario-Elmarit lens (their top-of-line compact lens). And it boasts a fantastic F2.8 brightness across the entire zoom range. Can Sony do that? How about Canon? Nada. This model even trumps its big brother, the FZ-30, in terms of maximum telephoto and brightness. (The FZ-30 starts at 35mm and runs to 420mm and F3.7 at the far end.)

The price on this camera keeps dropping. What I paid about $460 for can be had for almost $350 or so. When you buy it, you'll be pleased!

Hi!
The camera is very good. Great color and exceptional lense are features that make it a very good value.
That was my initial reaction.
Since it has been almost a year now I have to say I am very disapointed in Panasonics poor service after purchase. Even attempting to get help on the official site is frusterating. Matter of fact it is the poorest I have encountered anywhere.
The site seems so easy to navigate but mysteriously changes when I go to cutomer support or the parts department. I have filled out the contact page inumerous times only to click submit and have it do nothing.
A piece fell off my camera. The piece is the one your right thumb uses to hold onto the camera. I called the 800 number for information. Wanted the part number but nobody there even knows what the heck the camera looks like. I was told someone would call me in three days and six days later I was still waiting. Finally I called back and was given the national parts and warranty number. Spent 15 minutes on phone. most of it waiting for the rep to confirm that the part number was right . After ordering was told I would wait a month for delivery.
A month! I got a hole in my camera! I can see electronics!
A month later I receive the wrong part. Completely wrong! They sent me the whole front body cover. I need this little piece on the back.
I tried writing and am now waiting again to ship back and reorder.
This is a huge disapointment!
I just purchased the FZ30 and although a great camera I wish I had not because the support is terrible. Seems like all they want to do is sell new stuff. That is so easy on their site. But try to identify a part that should not have fallen off to began with and the service is the worst.
They advertise lenses as accessories but they don't have them nor do their dealers carry them either.
Panasonic has taken a loyal customer like me and made me completely disapointed. And it sucks to be treated this way!

This is an awesome camera. The digital zoom takes acceptable quality images even at the maximum 48x, if you can hold it steady enough. The image stabilizer is rather challenged at that magnification. Use one of those slick little car-window mounted tripods for long shots when you're on the road.

It feels good, and overall worksmanship seems solid. Nothing on it feels flimsy. It is bit heavy for packing along on a hike, but it replaces an even heavier Canon EOS with two lenses and extra film, so it's a net gain. And my Canon doesn't even come close to 48x zoom.

I printed some photos on good-quality photo paper with a Canon Pixma ip4200, and you cannot tell that they are not film photos.

The autofocus works well under challenging conditions, though it struggles a bit in low-light and low-contrast situations. The manual focus is nice to have, but it's not as easy to see when you're in focus on the LCD screen as it is on a film camera.

The rechargeable battery pack lasts a long time- I can go for a couple of weeks on the same charge if I don't do a lot of flash pictures. (note that the flash intensity is adjustable!) It has a hot shoe for an external flash.

I put a one-gigabyte high-speed SD card in it, so I can go on a picture-taking frenzy and not worry. (Why do they even bother with those dumb little 16mb cards?)

The controls are well-designed and well-laid out, unlike a lot of digital cameras, which seem to delight in making common tasks unnecessarily complex.

Color balance, contrast, and details are excellent. A plus for me is it supports TIFF as well as JPG. (And even RAW, for whatever good that does, since every vendor has a different idea of what RAW should be.)

It takes movies with sound, and comes with audio cables for copying your little movies to a computer.

The camera comes with a lens hood, and you can put filters on it, though I haven't found anyone who sells filters yet. A skylight filter should be inexpensive, and you can leave it on all the time to protect the lens.

The bundled software is pretty good, and easy to use. All in all, this is one nice camera.

One thing I wonder about is its claimed equivalency to a 432mm zoom lens. I have a 300mm zoom, and the maximum magnification is exactly the same.

I have had several digital cameras from other other manufacturers, some were not bad, some were awful,
the FZ20K is in a league of its own, I think its quite user friendly while still giving you a host of features.
The final test are the results, I dont think that any of the manufacturers can come near the 20K.
It certainly is not pocketable, but yet is not heavy, The Leica lens is the best and it is always at F 2.8, not shifting to a smaller F stop as you zoom out.
I could go on and on, so very simply, this is the finest camera I,ve ever owned. I'd give it 10 stars if I could!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, this review is short and to the point. My husband bought me this camera mainly to take pictures of him and his Tae Kwon Do students. The shutter speed is surprisingly fast. I've repeatedly taken 4 continuous shots of sparring (fighting) and none of the shots are blurry. I also got 4 perfect shots of my husband doing a midair 540 jump kick (and this is handheld - no tripod needed). It's bulky and heavy, so you might not want to take it with you everywhere.

Pros: Very good image quality. The shutter response time is very good. The 12X optical zoom is excellent. The manual is easy to read and programming the camera is very easy. It is an impressive camera.

Cons: It is very battery intensive. After a few hours shooting, the battery must be recharged. Spare batteries are very expensive. Also, no AC adapter is included in the basic accessories.

What a fantastic camera!! I spent months reading reviews and shopping cameras before I finally purchased the Lumix FZ-20. This camera is a little more than I wanted to pay, but I knew I would have to spend to get a camera that would be able to take the pictures I would be going after.

I have a 16 year old competitive golfer. At the tournaments, spectators are required to keep their distance from the players and I wanted a camera that would take good quality pictures from at least 30 yards away, which is my biggest requirement. This camera performs beautifully!

I also take pictures of the high school players at their matches to post on our golf booster website. Over the course of 2 months, I took over 5000 sports action pictures and have been wonderfully pleased with the quality and clarity of the pictures.
When I printed out the pictures of the boys for the end of season party, the parents and kids couldn't believe how great these pictures came out. And believe me, it is all the camera's doing. When I am walking for 4+ hours around a golf course to get pictures of 5 kids, I get unsteady trying to stand still and take a picture, so the stabilizer is a fantastic asset.

The zoom is great. I can stand a 100 yards away and still get great pictures of the players hitting their shots. When I have a little extra saved up, I am looking forward to getting a telephoto lens.

I would recommend this camera to everyone. This camera goes everywhere with me. I am not a professional photographer by any means, just a mom taking pictures. This camera makes me look like I am a professional. It is easy to use, and the manual is easy reading.

Con:
I wish that Panasonic included the AC adapter since I am downloading 300-400 pictures in a sitting. I haven't been able to find the adapter anywhere expect for the Panasonic website.

The FZ20 is a great camera--large zoom, image stabilization, reasonably fast reload time, lightweight for the features. I wanted a camera with a long telephoto optical range and 12x is the equivalent of over 400mm in 35mm SLR land. The Leica lens coupled with the image stabilization makes for clear, crisp images under most conditions with a reasonably steady hand. I'd recommend a tripod at 8-12x under challenging conditions (windy or low light). The manual is excellent and friendly to read. The camera has a tremendous number of features and light weight, all in one package. Compared to my days of packing my Nikon SLRs, lenses and accessories around in a huge, heavy bag, the FZ20 is a pleasant surprise. I took this camera to Africa and captured some amazing shots over a month-long trip--I did take extra batteries and SD cards, all of which are lightweight and take up little space. I recommend this camera highly for a recreational user and it will produce professional-quality 11x14" prints.

I love this camera! I have a Camedia with a great zoom, but this camera has a great zoom, lots of megapixels for clear pictures and is lighter and easier to use! We used it bird-watching in Mexico and the pictures are magnificent! I love the option to manually focus pictures - it's like a digital SLR for half the price!

I strongly recommend this camera to anyone who's looking for an all-round easy to use camera that will meet their needs for the next ten years!

I bought the DMC-FZ20 back in May 2005, just before a trip to London. After thousands of fabulous pictures in virtually all conditions, I can confidently say that this is the camera that permanently switched me to digital. Unlike previous generations of prosumer cameras, this was the one to offer practical advanced features that I don't ever want to be without. This camera allows you to shoot in a true HDTV mode, or 1920x1080. That comfortable, widescreen frame allowed me to take most of my pictures in that format, and make professional-looking pictures for presentation in any media - print, LCD projector, plasma TV, or LCD monitor. More important, this camera gives you the features of an SLR in a single-lens design. The F-Stop settings range from 2.8 to 8.0, and shutter speed ranges from 8 seconds to 1/2000th of a second. This allows for photographing still subjects in low light conditions (without a flash), or action shots in daylight or sporting events. The big Leica lens gives this camera the performance of many film rangefinder cameras, as well as SLR zoom lenses (30mm - 432mm optical zoom is quite adequate for most users). If there was a camera that made the case that SLR's are only for journalists, red carpet, and wedding photographers, this is it. You will need no other digital camera except this one and its successors.

If you want professional quality images, this is your choice!
If you want to take special and unique photos, this camera is for you.
If you want one easy of use camera, a kind of point & shoot, this is not a camera for you.
If you want a portable one, this is not for you.
If you want to make f a n t a s t i c images, this is the best camera!

The era of consumer imaging starts with digital cameras? no. It started with the compact cameras in the 80s, the cheap japanese cameras with their tiny little slow lens. For the first time people realized that good pictures can still be taken with tiny lens instead of the big expensive 35mm instruments.
Since that time the cheap japanese cameras used this to the extreme that noise was so obvious. In the digital age, compact cameras are still doing that and gets poor noise control simply because of not enough light through the lens.
DSLR is much better for this purpose, except that a good huge lens is hard to manufacture, unlike smaller lenses. DSLR and the tiny little lenses used in most compact digital cameras are the two ends of consumer photography. A balance of the amount of light and the quality of lens allowable for consumers.
FZ series is such a good example of this elegant balance. I've used the FZ-1, FZ-10, and now the FZ-20. They are simply the king of the jungle. With the constant F/2.8, they conquer the shortcoming of light deficiency of compact digital cameras. With the proven Leica lens design, they provide lens of beauty.
The reasons I upgrade my FZ-10 to FZ-20 are as follows:
1. FZ20 separates the link between metering and focusing. In FZ-10 if you want spot-metering, you also have to use spot-focusing. But in FZ-20, you can do spot-metering with any kind of metering options.
2. FZ20 has the more realistic knob layout so you can exchange A/S/M modes without going to the menus, as FZ-10 was designed.
3. I can sell my old FZ-10 for the price of a new FZ-20 on amazon now
4. other minor reasons such as an AF assist lamp, much more powerful flash, and 1M pixels, faster focusing, cooler petal hood, etc.etc.
I know that after the engineering wonders of FZ-1 and FZ-20, I can expect beauty out of FZ-20, and I did. I do have a Canon 350D and a SONY F707 too. After comparison, I'm keeping 350D and FZ20 as my main family cameras.

I now carry everything I need on my hip, not on my shoulder.
You can't find a digital camera with a better lens and hotshoe at twice this price.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20K 5MP Digital Camera with 12x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom (Black) IS NOT ONE OF THE EASIEST CAMERA TO OPERATE. FIRST YOU FIND THAT THE UBS LINKS ARE ARE NOT UNIVERSAL FOR THE CAMERA ITSELF AND YOU MUST USE THEIR EQUIPMENT AS WELL AS THEIR PHOTO SHOP, IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO TRANSFER THE PHOTOS ON LINE, PANASONIC SHOULD IS NOT A MAJOR CAMERA MAKER, SO WHY EXCLUDE YOURSELF FROM THE MARKET. THE GOOD POINTS, VIEWING AND PHOTO TAKING ARE STANDARD AND THE CAMERA DOES REACT WELL, BUT THEY NEED TO WORK ON THE USER PART FIRST.

The FZ20K 5mp camera has many impressive features and a excellent Leica lens but I too purchased a Panasonic LC33 camera a little over 1 year ago and are experiencing problems turning the camera on. It happens if the camera shuts down during taking pictures or videos due to low battery. After replacing the batteries the camera will not turn on. Sofar I managed to get it going again after 4 or 5 new batteries - all of a sudden it comes to life. Panasonic was no help at all, their customer service dept did not care - all the wanted was $[...] to fix the camera. I would be reluctant to buy another Panasonic at this time.

I have owned this camera for about a year, and the FZ15 for another year before that. I have taken thousands of pictures with them, so I can give you a good assessment of what you should expect. Since I've sold these, I upgraded to a Rebel XT, so I can also tell you how they compare.

Interesting thing about the model is that, for various reasons, it has a very very loyal and almost cult-like following who make this camera sound like it's made by God himself. FZ20 is not "all that" as people here there and everywhere will tell you. It is just a very decent prosumer-grade camera.

That said, I would recommend this over Canon S2IS (although comparable in image quality, feels like a toy over this one), and the Sony DSC-H1 (just not as polished enough as a serious camera). Yes, I have had a decent amount of experience using both of these other cameras.

Many people will tell you that this camera can produce images so good that you won't be able tell the difference between it and one from a more expensive dSLR. This is only half-correct. Let me tell you that even with the mediocre kit-lens of the Canon Rebel XT (which you all know is the low-end model dSLR), you will be able to tell the difference when compared side-by-side. Better contrast, color balance, sharpness, just more lively and "better-looking." On the other hand, if you just show the picture from an FZ20 and tell them that it's from a Canon 5D, you can probably fool most people (including me). But then again, I am very confident that I can take a picture with my Canon A620 and do the same.

I seem to be too much on the negative here, so let me compensate for my 4-stars. With good lighting, this camera can produce some very impressive images, and the zoom reach is just awesome. If you haven't had experience with ultra-zooms, you will appreciate how it opens up another world of opportunities in your composition. I would go out to the street, sit on a bench, start shooting away at people without them noticing me at all... resulting in people looking very natural, not looking into the camera and smiling.

Let me close by noting a very very important difference between these two cameras. The FZ20 is a "daylight" camera. If you need to take pictures over ISO80 (on the FZ20), you WILL DEFINITELY be able to tell the difference between the image it produces and one a Rebel XT would produce under the same ISO. ISO400 shots on this camera is, I am sorry, HORRENDOUS. That's right. HORRENDOUS. You cannot use it. This means that if you use it in auto setting in a semi-dark place (even inside of a decently lit building), you will get a bad image. If you set the ISO low and lower the speed to compensate, you will get a blurred image - if not from your handshake (please, the IS is good, but it doesn't do magic), then from your subject moving. The Rebel XT, set your ISO up to 800, it's STILL better than the FZ20's ISO 200. In fact, the XT's ISO 1600 is comparable to FZ20's ISO 200. This means great pictures even when your not outside in the daytime.

Hope you found this helpful :)

I bought a Panasonic Lumix FZ20 in May, 2005. I used it often, but handled it very carefully. I have other digital and film cameras I use more and have had longer. In February, 2006, the camera just stopped working. It still looked like new and absolutely nothing had been done to it to render it completely useless. I sent it to the Mack Warranty people (those warranties are a joke, by the way) who sent it to Panasonic, telling me that they don't cover repairs WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR!!! Then the repair department at Panasonic returned the camera after two months, saying it would cost more to repair than it was worth. So I was SOL - out of a camera after less than a year of use.
I think the Panasonic Lumix cameras were badly made in the first place and that's why their new version of the camera, the FZ30, is almost entirely different from the FZ20 - it doesn't even use the same battery. It's different in almost every way.
Beware Panasonic. They just don't last.

I purchased this camera going on a year ago, after reading several favorable reviews. Before I had a chance to use it, however, my in-laws headed to Africa for a safari, and I insisted that they take it along.

The pictures they returned with were fabulous, as have the pictures I've taken since. I'm very pleased with the unit.

My only (minor) critique is with the extension for adding on filters; this ought to be part of the main lens assembly, not requiring an add-on. A minor point, though.

Is it the most faboo camera out there in its price range? I really couldn't say. Is it a great camera in and of itself? Absotively.

Manual controls are a plus on this camera. The build quality is very good. Close performance to my D-SLR camera, except for the viewfinder and colors at ISO over 100.
The best value from Amazon. This is a very good first camera for a person who is serious about photography on the budget.

It's resolution is very good. And it takes good pictures even in a moving car.

Exelent camera, perhaps one of the best ones of Panasonic in this type. In manual way very good photos in any condition can practically be obtained, but learning to use it in manual way, the results are really extraordinary, by all means that there are to practice enough until obtaining good results and it is not obtained of a day for another one, but is worth the trouble. With a battery of spare part and a memory sd of 1 Gb. it is than sufficient more (Therefore I have).

My wife and I are novice photographers. This is our first camera that isn't point-and-shoot only. We love this camera. We have only had it for about a month so far, but so far we have no complaints. For those of you out there that can't tell (we couldn't) from the description, this camera DOES HAVE A FLASH built in. And, in my opinion, it is all you need. Our pictures and videos are AWESOME compared to our last Kodak camera, and the option to manually focus can really come in handy sometimes. The best feature is the 12x zoom and built-in stabilizer. If you are thinking about getting a nicer camera for the first time, this is the one for you!

This is a great camera. Make sure you read thru the manual to use all the functions. I have it for about 2 weeks now and love it. The long zoom range and the picture turn out very clear.

This is a great camera! i have had it for over a year now and it is absolutely delightful!
its light, compact, takes excellent pictures in any light conditions!

We've bought and sold many digital cameras over the years since my wife is a professional photographer and I use the cameras to take quality picture of items I sell. We also do weddings, graduations, etc.

We have not purchased pro cameras but prefer the upper line consumer cameras for obvious reasons. Our last two cameras have been this one and a Nikon D50 D-SLR. Before that we had a Sony DSC-F828. All of these are great cameras with particular strengths and on their own do a great job.

But for me, the FZ20 is the best all-around digital camera I've ever owned and used. It will take pictures of anything and do an excellent job 99% of the time. The difficult shots for me are the high-glare, low light photos I take a lot of and this camera will do it every time.

The high glare shots are taken one of two ways: with controlled lighting and in low light. We use a photo booth setting using daylight flourescent bulbs to flood the subject and the FZ20 does it right. In the low light, natural indoors setting, I turn the flash on and set the image stabilization to Mode 2 and 99.9% of the time I get a clear, in-focus, accurate photo. Sometimes I have to focus off-center and zoom out a little to throw the flash in a different direction and that does the job well. But, this is the first camera I've used where I get consistently great pictures using a flash in low light on high glare subjects.

I can't say enough - and at the price Amazon had it at, it was too good to pass up. I bought a new one and sold my older FZ20 for enough to almost pay for the new one.

I was ready to upgrade from my Nikon Coolpix 885 and a friend told me about the Lumix/Leica cameras. So I got one for my birthday. I could not be happier with this camera. The lens is superb and having the longer zoom is a delight. There is almost no shutter lag. I am extremely satisfied with the quality of the camera and the images I get from it. I have since recommended this camera to several friends. It is a superb camera at an excellent price.

I did exhaustive research on digital cameras before buying this camera and found that this is THE best non-SLR camera available. I got it about a year ago and it is still pretty much the best. I love it!

Wonderful lens: poor viewing screen and optical viewing: cannot review the movies. final printed results excellent but functionally needs improvement.

I bought this camera for the lens. The lens is outstanding. I would have paid twice the price for the camera for an equivalent lens for my SLR. The pictures are sharp throughout the zoom range. Chromatic aberration is not a problem with the leica lens. Over 100 ISO the photo can become noisy, esp, in the dark areas, but I rarely go beyond 5x8 prints and it is not a problem for me. Overall this camera is a steal at anything less than $[...].

This camera has a wide variety of features and options. The stabilized optical zoom allows one to take great animal and bird pictures. Also, the ease of operation and price make it a good value.

I purchased this camera, after reading reviews online, and I am so very happy with the quality. The video part is clear and nice, and the pics are nice because I can see them! I have a shaky hand when it comes to photography, and the anti shake on here is great. I take close up shots of puppies for the most part, because I sell them, and I love the clarity of the shots, the color is perfect, and I can crop one puppy out of a pic, and still keep a nice clear shot without losing picture quality. Highly recommend. Down falls? still not good in poor lighting, but I plan to get another flash for it, which is another good feature, that is has a hotshoe, so you can put a bigger flash on it.

A great camera. Its worth its price. With regards to features it has everything except a detachable lens and SLR viewfinder. The camera comes with 16MB SD card, which is a pitty for a camera of this quality. You will need atleast 512MB SD card.

There was a slight defect on the inner lens of Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20K 5MP Digital Camera with 12x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom. It was a visible speck attached to the lens. I don't how it got onto it since it is supposed to be sealed. I returned it; Amazon shipped to me a replacement.

I replaced a Sony Mavic with this camera. The camera works great. The 12x optical zoom for the price I paid is fantastic. I recently took the camera to Alaska and shot many photos. The one photo that impressed me the most was a picture I snapped of a Bald Eagle in a tree. Taken at max optical zoom from a tour bus in motion. [...]

This particular camera is an excellent value at $[...]. It takes a nice picture, the battery seems to hold out for a long time and the 12X tele and image stabilization come in handy. I would have liked to get a higher resolution camera, but 5MP is plenty. There are only two things I have a problem with: the battery is proprietary and you can't just throw in a couple of AA's, and the USB connection on the camera requires the Panasonic connection cable. The USB port/connection is otherwise standard and hooks up to either Windows or Linux for picture download, or the chip works in any of the card readers that I have. The manual focus is a nice feature as is the macro capability. Overall very good buy.

I've had this camera for a couple months. Am still learning about all the features, but I'm very impressed so far!
I love the zoom power. When I photograph birds, for instance, I can get nice clear pictures that look very close up when I'm yards away from them!
I like the feel of it, the weight, the grip is very comfortable.
I have had no problems with it at all.

If you want to take professinal quality photos with ease buy this camera. Also the price Amazon has on it blows everyone else away. The quality lens and easy to use features of this camera make this a delight to use and get outstanding photos. A good idea though, is to buy at least a 1 gig SD card because it only comes with a 16 meg card and that is kind of useless.

You cannot beat the feature, function, usabliity, quality of these Panasonic cameras for the money.

I recently gave this to my sister, that never picked one up before, for a trip. Set it on "P" mode and she took close to 400 very nice pictures. I like it because you can go full manual mode to full auto mode.

With good light you can get pictures that compare to much more expensive SLRs. Down side is that the high ISO settings are not really that usable. I try to shoot outdoors at ISO 64, and indoors at 100 or 200. At ISO 400 the noise is just too high. Interestingly, I have been able to get decent movies indoors at times when stills were unacceptable.

Panasonic has shocked me with the quality of the Lumix FZ20! Camera has great features, from begginer to expert. easy to use and fun to take pictures with. The zoom is VERY good! once you use camera a few times, you can learn to deal with small problems with lcd screen, such as wash out in bright light. or focus problems, in changing lighting conditions.
many fine add on products available, such as tele lenses and filters. If your into high zoom cameras this ones great! just make sure to buy a high quality tripod, something made very sturdy! Picture quality is clear and crisp in most of the lens range. under full tele zoom there is a little fuzzyness, but that can be compensated for thru purchase of add on tele lens for extreme zoom shots. (raynox 2020 2.2 is good example.) Purchasing a good quality printer will help as well. (Epson picturemate deluxe viewer is a good match at a good price.)
Panasonic has really done a great job with this camera,