I was looking for a small point and shoot to bring around with me all the time. This fits the bill perfectly.

The zoom is sufficient, picture quality is decent, and arguably the best feature is that it uses only 2 AA batteries. The large LCD reproduces the pictures very well. And the on-board memory is a lifesaver. How many times have you run out with your camera only to find you left your memory card in your computer? I have - dozens of times. Granted you don't get too many pictures, you can get by with a dozen pics or so.

That said, the wide angle isn't all that wide. You'll get about a foot and a half or two feet more space to the side if you're taking a group shot.

The images can get a little noisy at night, and if you're used to a dslr, the picture quality cannot compare for sure. But for the price, it's a more than decent buy.

This camera met all my criteria as a casual shutterbug. I wanted an ultra compact with descent optics and manual overides for less than two hundred bucks. This camera bettered my expectations in clarity and color. I was happy with the macro, video quality, quick focus and zoom.

I've never owned a compact digi that performed great in low light without some graininess. There is a preset scene mode called candlelight that I haven't tinkered with yet that may improve this issue, but it is still exponentially better than my old Cybershot 3.2mp.

This is a great camera for budget minded shooters that want something with lots of options and aren't too put out to clean up a few pics in Photoshop.

I bought the LZ8 for $162 from Amazon, but u can get it now for $149 from Amazon. I can say without reservation: THIS IS A GREAT CAMERA! I've read 1000s of reviews on digicams on the net, I finally settled on the LZ8 because it had full auto, manual (aperture & shutter), a great 2.5" screen, nice video capabilities and was under $200. Many websites complain about digicam's low light capabilities, given my experience with this camera using it's manual controls and a tripod, frankly I got excellent results.

If u read Steves Digicams etc, the complaint is about start up speed, low light performance blah, blah, blah. Take it from a user with who can make up his mind without fear of upsetting sponsors etc. There is no problem with start up speed, if there is any lag when taking flash photos, the question is what do u expect? This is an 8M camera using AA batteries. If u want a fast 8M camera using LiOn batteries (that might take faster flash photos) then spend $250 or more and just u might just get that, or buy a DSLR. The bootomline is: if u want Porsche performance then buy a Porsche.

The LZ8 is a honest to excellent $150 camera that will produce great photos and has options that can be only found in more expensive cameras. Read the manual, don't be afraid to experiment, trawl the net for tips on how to take photos and u will have fun with this camera.

My husband and I are very careful on how to spend our monies. We spent at least a few months to research a good digital camera within a price range around $180. Finally, we bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ-8 for $164 from Amazon.com. This is one of the best investements that we ever made. The camera is light, compact and easy to handle. Also, it is very sturdy and solid. The picture quality is superb. We did not expect the video quality so great. So the digital camera can be used as a camcorder. In addition, the camera can take AA Alkaline batteries. We could not believe you can get a decent digital camera/camcorder with a price of $164. If you are looking for a great camera, do not miss this one.

Have used this Camera for a month , and I am very pleased with the performance to date ! Small and loaded with some nice features ! Some moments of " Lag " , but Quality of pictures more than makes up for this!

I had bought a Canon SD750 and while it gave great outdoor shots I gave it back because the indoor shots were grainy or blurry unless one used flash. I hate to use flash most of the time as it usually gives a glaring effect (not to mention surprising the subject) and want to capture pictures in natural light as much as possible. I also tried the Nikon Coolpix ($200) and got the same result, though marginally better than the Canon. Finally settled on the Lumix which gives fabulous indoor shoots in natural light (while also doing great on outdoor shots). All the other features (incl manual control) were a great bonus as they usually come in higher end cameras/SLRs. Also, the histogram and other settings are visible in playback mode also which most the other cameras didn't have. IMHO, this camera is the best buy in point and shoot, period.

We've had two Canon cameras which have taken great pictures, but the first model used a proprietary battery and we had to replace it twice and it was expensive. In our current model, the CCD went dead...and apparently it was a "known problem, but not recalled".

This time around I decided to try Panasonic and this DMC-LZ8 looked like a nice package. Consumer Reports rated Panasonic lowest in repair rate, so we ordered.

Pros: Intuitive interface, small package, nice LCD

Cons: Excessively blurry pictures...including in full daylight, long focus times (in full day light), difficulty focusing in on correct target. Didn't appear to have zoom capability in movie mode (didn't keep long enough to determine if you could)

Returned within a week (which was a tremendously easy process, thanks Amazon!!) Decided to push the repair issue with Canon and they agreed to fix our old camera at no cost.

I've only owned one other digital camera, a Canon a60. Although it was only 2mp it took some great photos (still does even after 7,000 shots). However, I wanted a new one and did research for about 3 months before deciding which one to buy. I was looking for a pocketable camera that preferably ran off AA's instead of a proprietary li-ion, and could use a SDHC card. I was also looking for a camera that had a nice wide-angle lens and took true widescreen (16:9) photos - which really narrowed it down. I really liked the TZ5 w/ the 720p video, but the twice-as-much price and extra heft and battery steered me towards this little guy. Here are my pro's and con's:

Pro's:
- 5x optical at full resolution, 8x at 2mp (which still takes decent pics, just not as good as my canon at 2mp). There's also an easy-zoom button that auto zooms to 5x then 8x with just one press each time. The third press will put back to the wide-angle.
- size (very pocketable - much better than my a60 which was pocketed itself for the longest time)
- lightweight
- Runs off 2 aa's - in fact... I swear I've taken over 800 shots on my new set of Sony Ni-MH's (2600 or 2700 mah), but I'll just have to test that out again in case I did switch them at some point.
- Venus IV engine vs the older Venus III for better images
- boot-up time (from off to shot taken)
- looks and price (both subjective)
- great video (including the ability to do it in 16:9)
- As mentioned above - ability to take true 16:9 images (all the way up to 7mp I believe)
- full manual control, minus focus (something even the TZ5 doesn't have!)
- Easy to use with intelligent auto function that will select the scene mode for you (which has worked really well so far)
- 32mm wide angle lens to capture more. Works great for group photo's or 16:9 outdoors shots.
- Leica lens (although that's like saying your speakers or receiver is "THX certified" - it's all subjective).

Cons:
- Slow shot-to-shot when using the flash
- photo's don't have the canon color (subjective) - they just seem a bit dull.
- blurry shots in low-light condition (more so than my canon a60, but better than my folks' SD400).
- More noise than I'd like. It makes the 8mp necessary if you'll be cropping any of them.

All in all I still think this is the best camera you can buy if you're looking for the same specs I was. I've recommended it to family and friends and even my girlfriend wants one (and she is very careful with big purchases). One way to tell you got a good deal is that the price actually goes UP 2 months after you bought it (especially if it's anything to do with technology). I'm actually surprised it's priced so low with it's bigger brother the LZ10 priced a lot more for just a few more bells and whistle's. If the big optical zoom, wide-angle or 16:9 capabilities aren't necessary than compare image quality to canon's before buying this. Everyone's opinion on a 'good picture' is different, judge for yourself. Otherwise, you'll be happy with this purchase just like I am!

AFTER PLOWING THROUGH REVIEWS AND SPECS I ORDERED THIS CAMERA.

THIS CAMERA APPEARS TO BE A QUALITY PRODUCT. BUILD, FIT AND FINISH ARE ALL TOP NOTCH BUT...

IT TAKES BLURRY PICTURES! REAL BLURRY PICTURES. MY OLD NIKON 4800 RUNS CIRCLES AROUND THIS CAMERA!

ALL THE TECH AND THE LEICA NAME MEAN NOTHING IF THE IMAGES ARE BAD...

SORRY PANASONIC YOU LAID AN EGG WITH THIS ONE. BACK IT GOES.

I THINK I'LL STICK WITH MY OLD NIKON FM2 AND FILM FOR NOW...

I love this camera. It has many cool features which i'm still learning about. For example, the indoor outdoor night time portrait feature. As well as scenery which has nature, architecture. Sports for fast moving action. Scene mode which also has self portrait, sunset, beach, high sens, pet, baby, fireworks, starry sky, snow, aerial photo and etc. The camera takes great pictures. It met all of my criteria for a camera. So much better then the last one I had which was a kodak easyshare. I am very pleased with the performance.

I've only used this camera two or three times, but so far I really like it. I'm reserving full judgement until I've had it awhile longer. I have had a problem with some point and shoot cameras not holding up well--especially the Nikon P5100.

This is my 5th digital camera; I've owned digital cameras since 1999. My beloved 7 year old Cannon S30 got stolen so I was looking for an replacement. My must have criteria includes: wide angle, compact size, stabilization program & uses AA batteries. Of course I wouldn't mind having manual shutter & aperture control like my S30. I did a thorough search and there isn't any choice but the Panasonic's LZ8 or LZ10. The wide angle on my LZ8 is 32mm which isn't that wide as I thought, I should have bought the LZ10 which has 30mm but cost $38 or 25% more.

Here is my review(1-5 pts):

*Construction: 5 (solid & beautiful esp in black)
*Picture Quality: 3 (average, not outstanding, except in macro mode which is excellent). My S30 was better
*Performance: 1 (very sluggish when using flash; I don't know if AA cameras are all this slow) Also slow start. However, picture play back is very fast.

Pros: *Wider angle
*Manual shutter & Aperture controls
*Solid construction
*Uses AA Long & battery life. I took 250 pix on my brand new Sony 2700 mah rechargeable batteries and still have 50% of juice left.
*Excellent LCD--high resolution & brightness.
*5x optical zoom can be boosted to 8x if using 2m
*Very good macro(close up) pictures
*Many scenes/modes to choose from

Cons: *Very slow performance esp when using flash
*Picture Quality only average to average minus with higher noise than average. There is more glare than the average. In P mode, I adjusted the contrast & sharpness to help improve this shortcoming. Can see a lot of dust dots reflected on the lense when taking very dark photos.
*Too many restrictions on selection; for exemple, you cannot choose resolution less than 3m when in auto mode etc.

I wish the piture quality was better but overall I gave it a 4 because of it's very reasonable price & all the features it possesses like wider angle, compact size, stabilization program ,manual shutter & aperture control & uses AA batteries. To bad there isn't any other camera in this price range that has all of the features to compare to.

I bought this camera as replacement for a A570IS Canon. I'm really surprised for the high quality pictures of this new camera compared to my old one. The new function of easy zoom its outstanding, and pretty cool. For the price I paid for this panasonic I got a smaller size, nice, easy to handle and great pics & video digital camera...