PLUS - Attractive design, clean layout. Conforms to hand well. Blk/Blue/Silver colors. Easy menu system. Crisp 2.5" LCD. Compact 10x zoom with IS. Fast operation! Excellent value!

MINUS - Weak audio recording (8 bit, 8 Khz, Mono). Limited manual controls. Only F4.2 Aperture at full zoom. Warranty - 90 days labor. Has to boost ISO in low light to compensate for flash.

SUMMARY - While it seemed innovation in digital cameras was slowing down, Panasonic keeps driving forward. With a volume of 16 cu. inches, it surpasses the Coolpix S4 (16.6) as the smallest ultra zoom camera. Held before by the Olympus C-770 (26.6) which I also own. Even at full zoom the lens extends out only 0.55" (14 mm). I'd recommend visiting the Panasonic product website as they have good details on the features of the camera. Such as, quick startup (less than a second to power on), quick focusing, long battery life (despite a small 3.7V 1000 mAh battery), and high sensitivity modes, mostly all improved with new Venus III engine. The battery charges up in only ~2 hours with a very small charger that has a fold down AC plug.

Very nice LCD display: 2.5" with 207K pixels. Wide horizontal viewing angle. Has a High Angle mode which works well to see the display above your head. Easy to access boost mode which helps outdoors and it does "gain" up for low-light. No reflective coating, however this does not cause a problem since the display is viewed straight on. May want to invest in a clear protective sheet to limit scratches.

A few gripes: Given the fact it records good video, why do they have it record sound in low quality? The built-in microphone does pick up sounds okay, however you do notice a difference compared to cameras such as the Canon S2 and Olympus C-770, which record in 16 bit, 44.1 Khz, stereo. With a 2 GB card you can record only ~20 minutes of high quality video. It would have been nice if Panasonic had built-in a better video codec, like MPEG4 to keep the file size down. If you're inclined, save the video to your computer and run it through an encoder such as Windows Media Encoder or QuickTime 7. You can shrink down the 20 minute video to ~150 MB without much loss in video quality. Granted this does require a CPU with some horsepower.

The tradeoff with the lens design is that it does not have a wide range of aperture settings (F2.8 - F4.2), thereby causing some limitation in light gathering ability and depth of field ability. Other long zooms can open up to F3.7 at full tele. It only adjusts to it's minimum setting of F7.1 in very bright scenes. Although when you compare to other cameras in this size, the apertures are not bad. In regards to noise, there is minimal occurence at ISO 80/100. It increases as you move up, however it never seems to balloon out of control, even at ISO 800 or 1600. Granted it's noisy, but you can clean it up with a program like NeatImage. Also, you can open up the shutter for night shots to 1, 8, 15, 30, or even 60 seconds.

The flash is physically small and adequate in output. Seems to have decent coverage (not quite as good as the Oly C-770 which had a dual range pop-flash). However to compensate for the limited output it will boost the ISO to 200 or 400 which makes for a more grainy picture (a well-lit room may keep it at ~125). There also could be red-eye problems here (if you don't use the red-eye reducing flash mode). With Image Stabilization, you can utilize more natural light shots w/o having to resort to the flash as often.

A few tweaks: I'd recommend adjusting the picture quality from "Fine" (default) to "Normal". This will compress the image down to around 1.1 MB, however there is minimal loss in quality. There are three picture modes to use: Natural, Standard, & Vivid. Each mode progressively increases the sharpness and contrast of the image at the expense of noise. Natural will display a smooth image with more neutral colors; Vivid will make the image sharper and colors will stand out, at the expense of some additional noise. I was using Vivid, however it may saturate colors more than I like. Also, there is an economy mode that will turn off the display after 15 seconds of inactivity and during flash recharge. This seems to work well since the display instantly powers on with a touch of any button.

Accessories are hard to find right now, however the only one I'd get is the spare battery. A 512 MB SD card is very inexpensive now and even the supported maximum 2 GB card is a drop in the hat (limited to 2 GB due to FAT16 file system).

With a current street price of $300, Panasonic expects to sell a lot of these. In fact, given the features and performance, it will likely take sales away from it's other models. I'd highly recommend this to both beginner and expert users!

RECOMMENDED BAG - Search for the "LowePro Rezo 50". It's a great fit for this camera.

...I have a very mixed review. I cannot fully conclude on this camera because I am currently exchanging it for the same model. Why? Well, I ordered it off Circuit City's website for quite an amazing deal and when it arrived I was extremely thrilled. I heard about this camera a few months before it came out and have been awaiting its arrival ever since. I even sold my old camera on eBay before this one even arrived! High hopes? Yes.

It arrived and it is gorgeous. But, before I could test it I had to, of course, charge the battery. Once it was charged I put it in and turned it on. Here is the interesting part... the LCD screen was slightly crooked. Not by a drastic amount but enough to make you a little nuts after a while. Only when viewing the menu modes could you notice it. The lens itself and the pictures you take are not crooked, just the menus. It is very odd. I have never seen anything like it. So, today I began the long return and exchange process in hopes it is just a defect in this one camera and not like this with the entire line. Again, this is nothing major but for over $300 it definitely makes an impact.

Therefore, I cannot rate this 5 stars just yet but I am hoping to soon. I was able to test out the zoom and it is amazing. The image stabilization and high sensitivity mode are godsend. No more blurry images! In addition, NO red eye in pictures at all. I was and am extremely impressed by the picture quality of this camera and I am convinced it is definitely worth another try. If once the new one arrives and the LCD is straight I will be over joyed. If not, extremely disappointed as this means it is a mass defect in this model. I plan to review again once I receive my replacement with the final answer, so to speak.

The only other downfalls with this camera is the fact it does not come with a memory card but I was able to purchase a very good one on amazon for quite cheap so that is no worries. Also, a case is a MUST for this camera. You definitely do not want to drop it. I have also ordered that. So you can imagine I have my fingers crossed that the second one works out since I have already invested so much!

I got the camera this Tuesday. In the last 4 days, I've take over three hundred photos and numerous video clips. From this short experience, I have to say the camera is simply amazing.

I was a Canon fan. I had powershot G2 for four years. I liked it, though at the end the software malfunctioned. We had twins for two months. The G2 wasn't up to the job to record the babies life. The lag from pushing the button to taking the photo is too long. The video clip it makes is too small and too short... I read many review from dpreview and amazon since last month. Mainly considered Canon S3 IS and TZ1. At the end, my wife made the call to pick TZ1 since she wants a compact camera.

What I like the camera so far:
1. The action is super quick. Turn on the camera, shoot the photos, focus, zoom... You don't feel the lag too much. Perfect for shooting babies.
2. The quality of the photo is very good. At the beginning, I was a bit worried for the critics of TZ1's noise. What nonsense! Photos are nice, sharp, well exposed and I don't feel the noise bother me at all even at iso 400 level. Photos printed are equally good. For anyone who doubts its photo quality, if you don't work for national geographic, leave your doubt aside.
3. The video works great. I put 1-GB SD card there and use it like a regular camcorder. It takes minutes good video clip. I'm about to buy a 2GB sd card and sell my digital camcorder all together. I don't feel I miss out much.
4. Did I mention the 10x zoom and its compact size? What a bless! The camera is well designed, engineered and crafted.
5. The menu is intuitive and easy to operate during action. Much better than my G2 experience.
6. Price? $308 from circuit. What a steal.

Things can be improved.
1. The software bundle has nothing I like, just normal stuff. It installed 6/7 different software, most useless.
2. You have to use the external battery charger to charge the battery. Hi, designers at Panasonic. What a stupid idea is that? If I'm carrying a compact camera around, do I really want to carry an external battery charger...

Overall the experience is good. 5 stars all the way.

I've spent the last year reading and looking at the Canon Powershot S2, Sony H1 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7. Looking at the new Canon Powershot S3 and the Sony H5 I found myself drawn to the new Panasonic TZ1K camera because of the new Venius III engine, fast response times and the best Lens in the business. For a Family person that takes pictures of children playing sports and takes over a hundred pictures a month but never develop pictures bigger than an 8 X 10, this is the perfect camera. Sure some people criticize Panasonic's cameras for picture noise above ISO 200 but it doesn't matter if you are doing less than 8 X10 photos. The sharpness of the photos is amazing for a camera that's under $350. After all, if noise is a concern then spend a lot more money and get a DSLR. This camera is not totally perfect and requires a little learning curve of the features but it worth the half hour of time to read the manual. The best feature of this camera is that is a megazoom that is lightweight, can easily fit in your pocket and is $150 cheaper than a Canon Powershot S3 and Sony H5. Sure the Canon and Sony have more manual features and higher megapixels but they can't fit in your pocket. I think 5-megapixels with a Leica lens will be more than satisfying for most people that take spontaneous family pictures. This TZ1K feels well made and the screen is very sharp. Good job Panasonic for making the perfect pocket do-all zoom camera!

I had been researching digital cameras for a while and had been trying to decide if a better zoom was more important than one of those teeny tiny cameras. This camera not only has a fantastic zoom but it is still smaller than many of the non-compact cameras with limited zoom. The camera is incredibly easy to use. It has a macro setting, which is fantastic for close ups and has adjustable flash settings. The flash itself is a teeny slit just above the lens but it is amazingly bright. You can review your pictures quickly and easily on the generously sized screen and downloading was a snap. The pictures come out amazingly clear and crisp. They're just terrific. It also has color settings right on the menu so if you wanted to make color look warmer or cooler (or in black and white or sepia) you can select it from the menu. The only thing I don't love about it is that it has an external lens cap that you have to actually take off yourself. It comes with a string to attach the cap to the side of the camera so you don't loose it though. I've found that most if not all cameras with an extended zoom tend to have external caps though. I also don't love that you have to take the battery out of the camera in order to charge it. I'm a little afraid that I'll forget to put it back in. I've seen that it's recommended to use high-speed SD cards with the camera but I don't find it very necessary. I used a normal 1GB SanDisk card and it still records the picture faster than many other digital cameras. One thing you have to know though is that the TZ1 does not have a viewfinder. You just use the LCD screen on the back. I actually like this more because then you're seeing exactly what you get and there is no more squinting through that teeny hole. Basically I think that it is the best camera that you can get - certainly in such a tiny package.

I've had the Lumix DMC-TZ1K for several weeks now, and I couldn't have asked for more in a compact digital camera for this price (which has already gone down since I ordered). I'm a digital camera novice, but I did my homework before buying, and this model seems like an all-around great deal.

Likes:
- Takes better macro than I was hoping.
- I love the settings in Scene mode. I use Soft Skin, Portrait, Food, and High Sensitivity modes most, and they really do work.
- Video quality is very decent; it'll be even better when I invest in a 2G memory card. My 512MB card holds about 5 minutes of video.
- I've taken some surprisingly good shots on the road, 60mph, in High Sensitivity mode. In this mode, you can compensate for lack of shutter speed and image stabilization.
- The buttons and menu are easy to use and highly readable.

Dislikes (minor):
- I wish the image stabilization was a little more effective. You still have to hold the camera very still to take a well-focused shot.
- Any other dislikes would be because I couldn't afford a digital SLR. ;-)

I'm quite satisfied with my purchase, and I recommend this camera for those who don't want to spend a lot.

I just got DMC-TZ1 (Silver) and I am loving it!.
I had a 3 different digital camera last 10 year and I had a following requirements.
*When I try to take a picture of my kids at concert or any event, I needed more than 3X (optical) zoom, so I needed over 6X.
*I wanted portable, not the semi-SLR camera. Too big for me to carry around.
*Some manual control. To take a semi-professional pictures.
*Good video capture capability with Zoom function. - My last sony digital camera has video capture but while taking video you cannot zoom at all. Many new digital camera has video capture function but almost none of them can do use zoom function during the recording. With TZ1 you can zoom in and out (10X) while taking video.
*Good image stabilization. With over 5X (my cannon digital camcorder) small movement can affect the video as well as picture.
*Fast camera, with Kids you don't want to miss that moment waiting for camera to start and focus. TZ1 is the fastest.

And I spend weeks of searching and reading reviews and spending hours in Fry's, BestBuy, CircuitCity etc. testing all the functions. Finally found this TZ1. It has everything that I was looking for.

Now I put away my Canon Digital Camcorder and only carry this samll TZ1 for all my pictures and videos and with 10X zoom I can capture all the precious moments of my kids with closeup.

Anyone who has kids, this camera is the camera for you. MOM and DAD.

I investigated and labored over my decision on my next digital camera. I've usually found Panasonic to be reliable, technologically advanced and of high quality. I had narrowed it down to Panasonic DMC FX01 for the shirt pocket, but then I learned about the TZ1 and my decision was made.

It is all it's represented to be. The 10x optical zoom is so effective and the pictures are beautiful. Autofocus is almost instantaneous and I can take many pictures in rapid succession. The quality is superb and 5 megapixels is all I need. The viewfinder (one of the reasons I was ready to replace my Kodak 4900) is bright, large,clear, and angle-able so you can hold the camera over your head and still look through the viewfinder.

I found the operation to be intuitive, but there are so many features that it may take quite a while before I fully explore them all.

Battery life seems outstanding. I zoomed, shot and flashed pretty continuously for 3 days and the battery still had lots left.

I put in a 1 Gigabyte ultra II card and I got the Lowepro D-res 20aw case for it. The case is lined in Tricot which is a good idea to avoid scratching the LCD. The camera fits nicely, but if you're going to carry any but the smallest accessories with it, go for the next size up in cases.

Tiny downsides... I would have liked it to be smaller, but then there would have to be compromises; and it's really not big or heavy. And, a lens cap rather than an automatic cover.

I'm truly surprised that the quality, features, technology, and Panasonic name came at such a reasonable price.

I would recommend it to anyone.

I used to have a old Leica camera that gave me really nice pictures. After playing with many different film and digital cameras in last few years, I am glad to re-discover the beauty of Leica lens on this great pocket sized camera.

We have purcahsed a few different digital cameras from other brands, including Canon, Sony, and Nikon. For larger size, I really liked Nikon D70s, which takes great pictures, if you don't mind the weight and size. But my wife really likes a smaller one for taking with her in her hand bag.

Many people selecting the camera with how many mega pixel first. From our experience, mega pixel is not the first critiria for selecting a good picture. For many instances, with other brand of small camera (I don't want to bash other brand, so no name mentioned here), when my wife tried to shot photos for our children, camera would not be ready until they already gone from the scene. Many times, the other small camera would not be able to get good focus. Another problem we have with other brand small camera was no enough optical zoom so that the person very small in the picture. You can see mega pixels will not help in any of those cases. From our experience, if you have taken a good picture even with 3Mega pixel, that would be able to produce a nice 8x11 inch print out.

This little Panasonic DMC-TZ1K solved many of our problems. It produces fabulous pictures. Its pictures have vivid color. It reminds me my old Leica film camera in its picture quality. Its amazing 10x optical zoom with optical stablization produce really nice picture. 10x optical zoom is similar to a 200mm zoom lens in DSLR or SLR camera. This small camera also can take three pictures per seconds, instead of take three seond per picture of our old smaller digital one. Its size is not smallest for men's shirt pocket all the time, but small enough for fit in wonmen's bag without noticed.

This camera has no manual focus, due to its small size. For taking picture in different situation, it has two sets of scene sittings, one set for different objects, another one for different sceneray. If you are shooting for dark situation, please make sure select the night scene setting -- this camera will emit extra light for help focus in the dark night. The camera has a built-in light meter sort of thing that showing you if the light is enough before taking the picture.

If we plan to take a lot of night picture in dark places, we probably will take our Nikon D70s with a big external flash. Without flash shoe and manual focus, like all other small camera, it is hard to take good picture in dark places.

With enough room light or outdoor light, getting this camera is the first step for shooting a good picture. You will be delighted that you get this camera.

While all the reviews here have done a great justice to the many features and the outstanding image quality of the camera, not enough can be said for 10x optical zoom. The benefits of a 10x over a 3x (standard on many compact and sub-compact cameras) were the real dealmakers for me when it came time to buy a new digital. I was recently at an outdoor wedding in NYC and was seated at least twenty yards back from the altar. In "simple mode" and at 10x zoom I was taking pictures that positively shamed the 3x photos people sitting next to and in front of me were taking. Where distance is an issue, this camera makes you feel as though you can't take a bad picture. I was shooting goofball photos of the Brooklyn Bridge from inside a cab going 60mph and was still pleased with the result. So if you're willing to trade a minor boost in size (over the smallest cameras on the market) for a major boost in zoom you can't go wrong with the TZ1.

A versatile and easy to use digital camera for both amateur and semi-professional photographer. The built in stabilising factor is particularly useful for when using the excellent optical zoom. Tripod is always preferred for high zoom pictures. The handy "Scene 1" and Scene 2" preset facility is easy to set and just as easy to use, with a wide variety of scenes to choose from. A very good buy all round.

We had a Lumix FZ20 with a 12x zoom, which we loved to death except for three major downfalls -- it was big and clunky, it was slow to focus and wouldn't focus at all sometimes, and it had a major noise problem in lighting that never bothered our previous cameras. When we heard that the TZ1 would give us a 10X zoom at 1/3 the size and without focusing problems, we obsessed for months waiting for it to hit the market. We've now had our TZ1 for a few months and have taken 2 long vacations and about 2,500 photos with it. Here's our expansive list of thoughts...

Incredible: Having a 10x zoom that can go in a standard small case from Target and can be tossed in a daybag or purse.

Great: Panasonic has improved their focus system and added a focus assist light, and the old focus struggles are gone. The time needed to lock in a shot and capture it is now fast and accurate, and capturing subjects in low light isn't a problem any longer. What a relief.

Life Saver: How did we ever live without image stabilization? Panasonic started this movement, and now many other brands are using it. When utilizing the full 10X zoom, this feature is just plain necessary without a tripod.

Amazing: The macro/close-up mode allows you to get close enough to a bee that a 4X6 photo is all bee and the veins in its wings are crisp and clear. Our photos show things on raspberries that we couldn't even see with our naked eye. This feature, more than any other, makes people say, "What kind of camera do you have?!"

Major Downfall: Our greatest joy in this camera is the 10X zoom. But it has also proven to be our greatest disappointment because it is unusable over large distances. We didn't have this problem with our larger FZ20, and we can only assume that it's because the TZ1 lens is about 1/3 the size. If you want to zoom in on your child 25 feet from the water's edge, or a bird 15 feet up in a tree, you're in business. But if you want to zoom in on a mountain top, or crop a scenic vista, you'll be greeted with print quality that rivals the old 110 film format of 1980. Everything gets fuzzy and washed out, as if the photo was taken through a window with the sun bouncing off it.

Marjor Downfall 2: For some reason, Panasonic can't seem to get past their problems with noise in less-than-optimal lighting conditions. We've owned Pentax, Olympus, and Minolta cameras and never had this problem with them. Outdoor photos at dusk, night photos with a subject more than 6 or so feet away, and indoor photos in a room larger than about 10X10 all turn into a grainy, spotted mess. The "starry night" setting helps in specific circumstances, like shooting a city skyline at night, but there's still some noise to spare. And if there's anything red in the shot, forget it. You can manually lock in a lower ISO to counteract this effect, but then you get a photo that's too dark to use anyway -- not to mention that the whole purpose of a point-and-shoot camera is to eliminate manually setting things.

Unnecessary Hassle: While the menu system is easy to navigate, we wish we had to use it much less. The scene mode wheel at the top includes only three of the usual suspects (auto, macro, and movie) and leaves out all other obvious modes that should be at your fingertips (portrait, scenery, sport, night portrait [flash] and night scenery [no flash]). Reaching any of these requires digging through the menu. There are two "open" settings on the wheel that you can pre-set to these choices, but two isn't enough and those "open" spots would be much better utilized with unusual/personalized settings like baby (records your child's age to the day), underwater, etc.

Hassle Saver: In contrast to the bizarre shortage of settings available on the mode wheel, there is an extremely handy dedicated button for adjusting the exposure value. Too much sun? Too much shadow? Without having to go into the menu, you can bump the exposure up or down, one to three increments at a time, to achieve the balance you want.

Worry Saver: There's a great review setting that not only plays back your shot for a couple seconds after recording it, but also zooms in on it for a couple seconds to show what your quality will be after printing at 4X6. We used to think things looked fine on the little screen, then realized they were blurry after reaching print size. Now we know right away if we need to retake the photo.

Good and Bad: The 2.5-inch screen is big and wonderful, and it does a better job of gaining up and down than our previous digitals have. However, it's still hard to see in bright sunlight and we often gamble on whether we framed a shot as we wanted. The biggest inconvenience is that we often don't find out until later that we took some blurry or overexposed photos.

Irritating: The detached lens cap drives us mad. If you have even one other thing in your hands (like the case you just pulled the camera from), removing the lens cap becomes an ordeal. And once it's hanging from the strap, even the slightest breeze will blow it in front of the lens. I understand the lack of an automatic "door" for the lens saves on battery useage, but it's so not worth it.

Appreciated: The battery charger is ultra-tiny and requires no cord. The prongs flip out from the back to plug into the wall directly. This is a huge plus for us because we hate that we have to pack a whole bag in our suitcase just for chargers -- the cell phone, iPod, shaver, back-up camera (made that mistake once and never will again), etc.

Bonus: Of all the batteries we've owned over the years, this one lasts the longest. We've had 200-photo travel days where we haven't even had to use the spare we always carry. Another bonus is that the batteries are affordable, relatively speaking.

Confounding: We'll never understand why every camera over $200 isn't weather resistant. For just a few bucks more, they could be manufactured for the real world where simple things like rain and snow happen, and where real people do things like drink something cold on a hot day and get condensation water on their hands. Olympus seems to understand this, but their photo quality isn't as high. Why should we have to choose?

Overall: Despite the number of negative comments above, we really do love our TZ1. If the two "Major Downfalls" above were remedied, we would even give the TZ1 5 stars. Our current 4 stars is based on "The Big Picture" (yes, bad pun intended). Considering the $300-ish price point, and the fact that a point-and-shoot does all the work for you, you can't expect the moon served to you on a platter. Given the size of the TZ1, we can hardly believe our good fortune in having a 10X zoom packed in. Given that it's an automatic point-and-shoot, we can hardly believe our good fortune when we see the gorgeous photos we turn out with little to no effort on our part. And we can hardly believe that we got all of this for just over $300. The pros far outweigh the cons, and when this camera is good, it's VERY GOOD.

I have nothing bad to say about this camera. Things I like the most:

-nearly instant on
-large, bright viewfinder
-excellent image stabilization
-great battery life
-sensibly arranged menus
-nice solid chunky feel
-no protruding lens, thanks to the magic of sideways lens elements inside the body
-fast focus, fast shooting
-rechargeable batteries

I wanted something small that I could carry with me all the time, and I wanted as much optical zoom as I could get. 10x optical zoom is amazing in a camera this size.

Battery life is very good; I bought two extra Lenmar batteries thinking that small batteries would run out quickly, but I get many days' of battery life on casual use. I can run a battery down in a day of hard use or lots of flash pictures.

Things some folks might not like:

-no hot shoe for external flash
-no optical viewfinder
-no manual settings

Those things don't matter to me- if I want to lug around a full bag of gear, I still have my Lumix DMC-FZ20. Which is also an awesome camera.

I spent a while researching before purchasing this camera, finally making the choice between the TZ1 and the Canon A700. Both had above average zoom for relatively compact cameras (6x for the A700) and both were around $300. I was initially attracted to the TZ1 by the excellent 10x optical zoom, at the time not found on any other camera of this size (not small enough to go in jeans/shirt pocket but can go in jacket pocket or round neck or in a bag), but there were a few features it lacked that I wasn't too happy with. For one, the battery is a proprietary lithium-ion, instead of the two AA's that the A700 used. I have always preferred to use AA's, as they are easily replaced if they run out when you're not in a position to be able to charge them, and high capacity batteries tend to have good life (although obviously this depends on the camera). I had read that the battery life of the TZ1 was below average, and this was probably the biggest rubbing point in choosing this camera. My other problem is that it lacked a "Manual" mode where aperture size and exposure can be manually set. After having a point-and-shoot camera and being unhappy with its performance, especially in low-light conditions, I had hoped to be able to play with manual settings on my next model. Before making my mind up, I tried out each camera at a local store and was immediately impressed with the build quality of the TZ1. I thought the A700 felt cheap and plasticy in comparison.

Although tempted by the AA batteries and the manual settings of the A700, I eventually took the plunge and ordered the TZ1. After playing around with it for a bit, I can say that I am very pleased with my purchase and don't regret it at all. There are far more manual settings than I was expecting - exposure can be manually set to 1/8, 1/4, ½ or 1 second for low light conditions, or to 15, 30 or 60 seconds in "Starry Sky" mode. The ISO can also be manually selected up to 800, with 1600 automatically selected if necessary when the camera is in "High Sensitivity" mode. There are no manual aperture size controls, but there are a wide range of modes and also white balance settings (e.g. cloudy, artificial light, sunny, etc.) which really do make a difference if you use the right one. I haven't had a chance to play around with it that much yet but I'm hoping that the starry sky mode combined with one of the white balance settings which gives a smaller aperture size will allow photos of car light trails etc. to be taken. I have used the 60 second exposure to successfully take pictures of constellations, and the movement of the stars is even visible. I have also found that the TZ1 takes really impressive low-light images that really capture what the eye is seeing, rather than making everything bright orange like my previous camera did. The image stabilization also helps considerably here, and exposures of up to about ½ second can be used without having to support the camera or use a stand. The issue with the proprietary battery still bugs me a bit and I would have preferred it if it used AA's and had a longer battery life. I can still get a full day's shooting out of it though, and the battery charges within 1-2 hours. I also bought a spare battery which I carry with me just in case.

Of course the main selling point of this camera is the zoom which is certainly impressive. 10x zoom is substantially better than the 3x or 4x usually found on cameras of this size, and by setting the image quality to 3MP, an optical zoom of 12.5 can be used - 50x with digital zoom! The image stabilization really helps here as well, and clear pictures can be taken at 10x (or 12.5x) without using a stand. Although I only tried the A700 briefly, I found that even at only 6x, without the image stabilization, photos at the tele end of the zoom were invariably blurred, especially indoors. I may well have not been using the optimum settings, however.

In conclusion, I would recommend the TZ1 to anyone who wants a good quality camera capable of taking clear pictures at high zoom and in low-light conditions but does not want to carry around a large D-SLR. For my uses, the 10x zoom and 5MP resolution was is a far more potent combination than 3x or 4x with a 6MP or 7MP resolution like many other model's at this price point. The interface is simple to get the hang of if you have used a digital camera before, yet there are still more advanced features that previous owners of point-and-shoot cameras can have fun exploring and experimenting with.

This camera is perfect. The photos I have on this site are a little fuzzy due to the upload process (compression, and sizing). The same pictures look fantastic in print and on my computer (mac). Many reviews complain about not enough user or manual settings, I find this camera to be quite adjustable. The instruction manual is easy to read and understand, giving the photographer many flexable setting to use. The pictures posted here are completly un-manipulated (ie: no photoshop). Please remember to buy an extra battery, the first charge lasted an impressive 180 pictures, but with out another battery, you're done for 3hrs (charging time). Quick to turn on and use, extra quiet and can be very candid without using the flash. Enjoy!

Yes, if you want a compact digital camera with super-zoom capabilities, you are currently very limited (as of 7/2006). And for the moment, I'd say this is probably your best bet, but it's definitely far from perfect.

This camera does deliver on the zoom range. For that, it is great. But the overall quality of the pictures has been somewhat disappointing compared to my past experience, even with a digital camera five years old. The images are not particularly sharp; in fact, they're almost fuzzy and sometimes have noise in them when you zoom in only a little. Also, the flash is horrible. Up close, it overwhelms everything (overexposure) while farther away it gets nothing (underexposure); there doesn't seem to be any real middle ground.

Unlike what some have said, though, I think the battery life has been great. I got a second battery, but it has kind of seemed pointless since I rarely have to switch batteries out. Also, the build quality (with the exception of the cheap battery and storage card flap) is quite superb. The camera feels solid and almost luxurious in your hands.

In short, if you want a small camera but must have the ability to zoom in close on subjects far away, this is your camera.

This is the first digital camera I have purchased. I researched diffrent cameras based on quality and price because I was not looking to spend over $325. When I came across this camera(Panasonic DMC-TZ1) I was amazed at all the features the camera had for the price. The 10x zoom is amazing and, while some resolution is sacraficed, you can still take clear pictures with the digital zoom. It has many other features that I have not used yet such as: scene settings(night portrait, night scenery, self portrait,stary sky, fireworks),video recording with sound, and flip animation to name a few. The only problem that I have with this camera is the lack of manual controls. Based on price, quality of pictures, camera weight and overall look and feel; I think that this camera is a good idea if you are: 1) Buying your first digital camera. 2)An amature photographer or new to photography, as it has simple mode and lots of automatic settings. 3)Looking to get the most out of your money.

I looked around awhile and decided that I did want something with good optical zoom. I'm not an expert photographer, but I want good, consistent pictures and the flexibility to zoom when I need to. I've taken about 200 pics so far and I'm very happy with my choice. It's easy to carry and I don't have to pack some big, huge thing around on climbing and hiking trips. The only thing I can complain about is the lens cap...but I understand why it's a compromise with this camera. If you have to have a viewfinder rather than the LCD, don't buy it. The myriad of presets make the necessity for manual controls really unnecessary. Don't hesitate to buy this one if you want a small, easy to use camera with 10X optical zoom and image stabilization.

Great camera. I have had great luck with it. In 3 months I've taken about 800 pictures. Most of them outdoors during my hikes. In fact I bought this camera because it was the smallest 10x zoom I could find. It fits great into my pocket for hiking. The huge LCD screen is my favorite feature. Just make sure to cover it when you're taking pictures in bright light.

The only drawback is that there is no manual mode, but this is a "beginner" camera.

First off, I'm not a photographer. And my hands are shaky from too many drugs.

As a non-photographer with shaky hands, this camera has been fabulous. Just got back from a trip to Europe, and my pictures look great. The camera was easy to carry (great size and weight), and easy to point and shoot. I didn't have a power convertor for Amsterdam, however, so I was forced to rely on only the fully charged battery I had when I got there - and it lasted me for more than a week. I was VERY impressed.

The only problem I had with the camera (and it might be a problem with me instead) is that I had a very difficult time taking photos in low light. With the flash on, colors were often distorted to red - without the flash, things I could see with my eye quite clearly simply showed up as black. I'm not sure if I have options for overexposure or anything, but this was the one issue I had with the camera.

Nevertheless, I highly recommend it for anyone looking for an entry-level device. Very pleased. :)

This is the finest little camera I have ever owned, and has more features than you can shake a stick at. The trouble is how do you learn to shake the stick?
The Japanese are wonderful people, but they will never master the English idiom. They would do well to let a native American do the final editing of their manuals. Some faults in the manual are just carelessness. For example if you want to know how to operate the flash look in the index under "B" for "Built in flash". The need for reference to the manual would be reduced if the inscrutable symbols on the LCD were replaced with plain text.

Another problem is the weak detent on the mode dial which is easy to knock out of kilter. In some instances an optical view finder would be a handy alternative to the LCD, but I don't know of any manufacturer that offers that combination.

I got this camera almost 2 weeks ago and have already taken close to 1k pics. The first night I got it, I took it to a concert I went to and was able to capture some incredible pictures. Everyone who saw them was impressed that something that small and the distance I was from the stage could get pics that looked like I was right up against the stage. The colors were crisp and clear. It took me no more then 10 minutes to load up the disc, read the instructions and then download the pics off the camera (I had to repeat a step since I was a ditz and didn't the first time with the disc).

This past weekend, my nephew graduated from bootcamp. Other members of my family had brought their digital camera but they were disappointed that they couldn't get better zoom or clarity. They took a look at what I was capturing and are now thinking about purchasing one. We took a night time limo tour of some places but pics were coming out to dark. I did a little playing around and found a setting on my camera that boosted the flash, the only thing with that is the shutter speed is slower (took up to 8 seconds to capture the pic so no moving in that time). I just had to switch my camera over to SCN 1, hit the menu button and went down to night scenery. That greatly increased the light output from the flash. I bought 2 1gb memory and have yet to fill one of them completely up.

Overall, I love this camera. I am taking some of my best pictures ever with it and I can't wait till this weekend to get some more pics. Panasonic has done it again with making another great product. I am really picky on what I buy but when it came to their products I knew from past experiences that I was getting a qreat deal and a beautiful camera.

I won't go into the merits and the value of this camera, you can easily do so from the previous reviews and other website that have given this camera great reviews.

Just have to warn everyone: THIS CAMERA IS NOT BLACK COLORED. It is GUNMETAL GREY (which is definately a shade of BLUE). I won't hazard to guess that the blue version of this camera is something like Cosmic Blue. Well I prefer my cameras to either be black/silver or all silver to go with everything, and not have blue in there, so I am returning it in favor of the silver one (TZ1S).

Just a heads up for everyone.

Good:
This is the only camera on the market with all these features: the relative small size, big zoom, being able to use zoom while taking video, image stabilization.

Bad:
* Size can be smaller (You can always ask.)

I owned two Panasomic Lumix cameras: FZ1 and TZ1. Besides them, I also have extensive experiences using Canon , Nikon models that were highly rated. The major usage of my camera are for shooting macro images, and nothing beats Lumix in that. The images yielded by Lumic are so precise, cripsy, natural. Once you own a Panasonic Lumix, it is difficult to go with other models. The combination of the LEICA lens, the high resolution LCD, and the magical autonomic shooting mode makes Lumix unbeatable!

I don't think you can compare this camera to the canon S2/S3 or the Sony H5. This is a compact, pocket camera that is half their size and weight. You will not get a zoom that is as clear as something that has twice the space to work with. Compare this to similar cameras: Sony Cybershots or Canon SDxxx then you would be more than impressed. 3x versus 10x....no competition. If you are looking for a camera with a great zoom that is compact and easy to carry with you everywhere, then look no further. Also, ignore digital zoom when you are researching. Digital zoom just makes everything more blurry. Optical zoom is key to great pictures. Hope this helps others in their decision. :-)

I bought this camera based on the high approval rating on this site and on ConsumerReport's advice that it had excellent video quality.

I am very happy with my purchase even though I believe my old Canon G2 and probably other Canons such as Canon A620/520 take better photos.

I use a 2GB card in the camera and shoot both stills as well as videos. Most of my videos are of my kids indoors or when they are performing onstage. The 10x zoom is perfect and video quality is excellent in all situations.

I am finding that a digicam such as this is better for videos because you are using a single device and you tend to limit your video clips to important moments rather than shooting the whole event.

The short video clips are convenient for posting online on sites such youtube.com, or video.yahoo.com. All I do is copy the clips to my computer, and then combine and encode in MPEG-4 using a free tool such as MPEG STreamclip (squared5.com). It takes me all of 15 minutes for a short video of, say, 5 minutes.

My family and friends may start to see the video immediately. This way of sharing videos is a lot more convenient than making a DVD and mailing it.

I have a MiniDV Sony camcorder also. The indoor video from this camera appears to be better than Sony's.

Note though that taking good stills is challenging when the lighting is tricky, such as when part of the object is in sunlight and part is not. But with time, you get the hang of it. At times, I have noticed that the flash photos come out too dark. But most photos are very good.

A really great camera. Excellent features, easy to use but sometimes frustrating when taking photos at night.
I highly recommend this camera to all levels of photographers.

Great camera. This is the best one I have ever purchased. I've had Polaroid, Kodak and now this Panasonic -- but I think is is by far the best quality. If they had a built in sliding lense cover that would be wonderful --- but I can manage with this one.

This is the best digital camera you'll own. I'm a novice photographer, and I have purchased other digital cameras, sadly returning them. I was beginning to think there were no good digital cameras out there! I did my homework. I looked online for reviews of digital cameras, and everyone who purchased one was very satisfied. I thought I had to buy a camera with higher mega pixels, but I was sure wrong. This camera takes extremely clear pictures and also has an image stablizer to boot! It has so many features, from easy mode to sports, with everything at the touch of your fingertips. It also has a self-timer and you can also insert the date. [...] Say goodbye to roll film!!!! I did purchase 1 GB memory to take unlimited pictures. I LOVE THIS CAMERA. Everyone who has seen this camera is amazed!! Buy one!!! You won't regret it!!!

This camera works extremely well in good light. As other reviewers have said, it is not the best camera for low-light work.

I have had some luck indoors with bad light, but it takes tweaking. A steady rest or tripod helps.

For vacation or nature photography, it is hard to beat. It's fairly small, but has a tremendous zoom when desired.

I am pleased with the lens and CCD.

The camera takes very nice crisp pictures. The zoom function works very well for getting just the right shot. There are many functions available many of which I have not yet taught myself to use. The only problem I have had is that the LCD display is hard to see when taking pictures outside on a bright day.

This camera did not get 5 stars for three main reasons.

1) When using the playback feature to view photos on the camera, it is very slow.

2) I would like an optical viewfinder for very bright conditions.

3) Considering the quality of the zoom, I would like this camera to offer a little more than 5MP and keep its compact size.

Other than that, I am very happy with the quality of pictures. I have photographed the Grand Canyon as well as oridinary family photos and the pictures are excellent.

If you want zoom power, this is one of your choice. It has 10x optical zoom. You can do much more than a regular 3x "palm" size point and shoot. Although the size is a little bigger, it is worth it. You can even use it as a video camcorder with its zoom power. Quality is super, it has sound too. Not bad. Color is pretty accurate. Long power life, quick flash recharge. You can take multiple shoot with one button. Very easy to use.

There are few things I don't like. There is no time stamp function. It may not bother you, but I like that feature. It may be there, but I can't find it. There is no viewfinder. You probably don't need it coz its 2.5 in LCD is big enough for you to see what you need. Lens cap is not auto. It is not big deal here as the lens are big for the zoom power.

I just took it to a 8 days cruise and I had 3 GB of pictures and videos! Yes, this Panasonic do all jobs.

I love this camera. I originally wanted a smaller one, but the 10x optical zoom and image stabilizer features sold me. I took this camera on an Alaskan cruise and took over 400 pictures. It took some time to learn all the functions so I got some advice from the cruise ships image technician. She gave me some wonderful tips and explained every camera detail. The led screen is adequate, but I would still like the option of using a view finder - good in high light situations. The 10x optical zoom worked great when shooting a pic of a bald eagle. The image stabilizer controlled any shaky movements although I'm still experimenting with that feature. The camera fits comfortably in your hand and the buttons are easy to locate. I got the blue model and everyone compliments the cool camera I have. The 5 mp's show good detail in standard sized photos. I haven't had any blown up to 8X10's yet. Battery life is decent, comes with a charger, supplied memory card is crap. Spend the extra $35 and get a 1gb mem card. Other than that...awesome camera!

The reviews I read on Amazon made the camera sound great, although reviews on other sites complained of poor picture quality. My mistake was believing the Amazon reviews. I wanted to like this camera, it is beautiful, jewel-like, and a pleasure to hold. Operation is a bit difficult due to reflections on the lcd display. But the clincher was the picture quality. More than half of the pictures I take in any situation are out of focus. I majored in photography in college and know how to hold the camera still. The focus is poor even in photos at the wide angle setting, depending on the lighting conditions. Very disappointing! I have a Nikon D70 and Canon S400 so perhaps my standards are high, but this puppy is in a box and on its way back.

The Panasonic Lumix line is truly remarkable. Between the Leica design approved lenses, the incredibly effective optical image stabilization and the very decent ergonomics, just about every need is accomodated.

I wanted a pocket camera with extraordinary zoom capability. The TZ1 pretty much satisfies my needs. There are things I don't like about it. No optical viewfinder - but the reality is that with a 10x zoom, you're not going to get an optical viewfinder. (The TZ1 is compact because it uses a truly unique folded lens system. The image is actually diverted by 90 degrees. Very slick design.) The battery is only good for about 200 shots if you use the flash. You definitely want to carry an extra batter or two with this camera. Flash recycle time is also a bit on the lengthy side. The conventional lens cap is something of a pain to work with. Attached by a short cord, it tends to drift into the way of the lens when you are taking pictures. Best to keep it cupped in your hand while you shoot.

That's pretty much the worst of it.

There are abundant good points. The TZ1 is not super-compact, but it does fit nicely in pants or jacket pocket. Start-up time is quite quick for a point and shoot. The 5 megapixel resolution is more than adequate for most purposes. The 10x zoom is great, though zoom speed is a tad on the slow side. Focus is also a bit soft at maximum zoom. Exposure metering is quite good. The video capabiltiies are extraordinary. With a 2 GB SD card, you can capture slightly more than 20 minutes of 640 x 480 24 fps video with good quality audio. As noted above, the optical image stabilization is as good as it gets.

Ergonomically, this camera is a pleasure to use, even with my relatively large hands. All the controls on the back are well placed and accessible. The exposure button is almost ideally placed: I've had very little difficulty locating it. The zoom swith comes to hand naturally (though, as noted, the zoom speed is on the slow side). You can easily use this camera with one hand.

The LCD screen is usable in every situation except direct bright sunlight. The viewing angle is surprisingly large, so you can shoot from low and high angles. The flash, by the way, appears to work beyond its published range. The exposure metering system does an excellent job with fill flash.

Overall, the TZ1 is a very nice pocket camera. Don't be bothered by the 5 MP sensor - with the Leica design approved optics, the 10x optical zoom and optical image stabilization, the TZ1 is more than suitable for most casual photographic situations.

Jerry

I just received my Lumix TZ1 3 days ago and have taken over 700 pictures! The quality and clarity of the photos is simply outstanding. The image stabilizer was a huge selling point for me, and has works almost flawlessly, and is irreplaceable when using the 10X zoom.

The camera is packed with features, and has many customizable settings. The interface is very intuitive, and the camera is easily operated with one hand. You can tell the quality by the nice heft and solid body construction. It also has nice touches like springs on the battery cover, a locking digital/charging port, and internal battery for date and time storage.

My favorite aspect of the camera is how user friendly it is. You don't have to guess how to use it, or how to access settings and review photos. The brilliant LCD takes the guesswork out of composition, and the many focus modes, coupled with the OIS, almost guarantee a good shot. The video quality with the widescreen aspect ratio is a lot of fun. I've gotten a lot of compliments on the features/price ratio of this camera. This is a great purchase, and I would recommend it to all levels of photographers.

Great zoom. Great battery life, but can be tricky to get a good picture. Not really point and shoot. Weak low light performance.

But the real killer is that it just stopped working 5 months after purchase.

Make sure you buy this a long extended warranty for this item.

I'd had my eye on the TZ1 for a few months, and when Amazon's price dropped to just over $200, I finally went for it. I was drawn in by the great feature set - optical image stabilizer, 10x zoom, small form factor (for such a large zoom). I had read every review I could find of the camera, and was a bit wary of the noise complaints, but I decided that I had to give the camera a try for myself. I need a camera that I can pocket and bring with me to concerts. I need the zoom because I can't guarantee that I'll be close to the stage, and the image stabilizer will really help with slower shutter speeds in low light. So, I bought the camera in time for our Christmas party, where our band was going to be playing. Unfortunately, the camera failed the test miserably. It was too dark to use the camera without a flash, and any picture taken with ISO 200 or above is really unusable for anything except a quick snapshot. I didn't get any pictures of the band that I really want to save. I tried to get good shots in a few different modes - simple, standard, and a few of the scene modes, but nothing looked good. I didn't give up immediately and tried to take some more low-light pictures at home the next night, but there was just more of the same noisy pictures. Any white area in the picture ended up with red, blue, and green speckles through it.
I am not new to digital photography - I've owned two Canon point-and-shoots (the great S30 and the S410) and primarily use my Nikon D70 now. I know how to get good photos from a camera, but this one is just too noisy to be useful in low-light. If you're primarily going to be taking pictures outside during the day and can keep the ISO set at 100, then this might work very well for you. Like I said, I really wanted to love this camera, but the noise problems were too severe. Unfortunately, it looks like this is a problem with all Panasonic digital cameras. Hopefully they can fix this in their next generation. I'll be the first in line to buy a TZ2 if they can fix it!

I did tons of research before I bought this camera. The 10x zoom, size of the camera, large screen, and capability to zoom during movies sold me. I have read several bad reviews. They obviously want the capability of a $1000 camera in a $220 package. 5MP is more than enough for anyone that is not going to sell enlargements of 11X14 or bigger. I used the camera in every lighting situation on my last cruise. It always gave me great pictures. Don't cheap out on a low end SD card. You get what you pay for. Buy the SanDisk Ultra II 1GB. It works great. The read/write spead is super fast.
This is a great camera. It is a great deal for the money. I bought an extra battery and hardly ever need it. Most of the people that have problems with this camera have probably not read all the instructions. They want all the cool stuff but don't want to learn how to use them.
I compared my photos with ones taken from three other (more expensive) cameras. Mine were as good if not better. This camera is easy to carry if you get a small belt case. I have not even used my digital video camera since i got this jewel. It takes great video clips. It is a little limited in very low light, but not bad.

What more you expect form a compact camera - manual focus, hot shoe etc? Why? This is a small compact camera with 10x zoom + zoom during video also. Does this sound different, yes. Its a cool camera. Both indoor and outdoor snaps are good. All details are very well list on this site or visit panasonic.com.
I booked this at Amazon on 18/Dec with standard shipping and was glad to receive it on 21/Dec. Thanks a ton Amazon... u r gr8!
I personally like this`camera - people who want point and shoot with xtra zoom and few options this is good one. There is no view finder but the LCD Economy mode might help. The LCD is big and good. First decide what type of photographer u r, how fast u want your camera to click, how frequently, do u have patience to make manual controls or u use Auto mode always, what u will do with your snaps - print BIG posters or share via email and then buy a suitable camera.
Standard advice - Keep 2 set of batteries. 1 or 2 GB card. Believe in God, love your family and keep clicking :-)

Panasonic rocks and so does it's Lumix range of digital cameras. I have owned and tested several brands of digicams before over the past 3 years and I can say without any hesitation that Panasonic is the king.

I own the Lumix DMC-TZ1K 5MP camera and boy, it does take "beautiful, crisp and very vivid images". I have never taken indoor shots so good. And the Optical Image Stabilization works well in all situations.

Outdoor shots under good lighting conditions are just handled with extraordinary ease by this little megazoom wonder. The pictures actually look better then the scene itself!!! Even if the weather is cloudy, the camera can still take superior quality shots.

If you are thinking whether you should grab this one or not, believe me , you can't go wrong on this one. Buy it and enjoy great quality pictures and shots for many years to come. Panasonic products also tend to last longer than other brands.

I specifically bought this camera because its "folded mirrors" design provided a 10x optical zoom without the bulk of the other brands. I'm delighted with the quality of the pictures and with the fact that it comes with a plug-in battery charger (I did buy a spare battery so I could have one charged at all times). The zoom and LCD screen (instead of the little viewfinder) allow me to take great pictures at concerts and sporting events where I'm too far from the action for a lesser zoom.

I bought this camera for my wife. She has had three previous digital cameras over the past five years. This one is the best by far. She loves the compact size, large view screen, and great pictures. My son is a part-time photographer and he checked it out when it first arrived. He was very impressed, which is unusual. It is a great bargin for a 10X optical zoom.

I spent a lot of time researching digital cameras before I made the switch, this one got good reviews and I can see why. It is a good size, not to big like most cameras with this much zoom. It's not a small sassy thing, but I really wanted a good zoom. The multiple picture settings are great, even takes awesome night shots. There is virtually no blur in the photos. I don't take great pictures, but with this camera I have been impressing myself. Highly recomend this camera. I recomend getting extra battery so you always have a charged one available.

The optical image stabalizing works perfectly as it should, the 10x optical zoom through the Leica lense is just superb, takes vibrant, vivid pictures. however they did turn out slightly over-exposed, so i adjusted it to -1EV and the pictures are picture perfect! the ajustable shutter speed is helpful for some very low light pictures from 1/8 to 1 sec, ajustable ISO mode is also a good feature, there is still a little "noise" in darker pictures but all in all this is a fantastic camera at any price, and whats even more, the video is fantastic 640x480@30fps is un-heard of in a camera this price and size and it works well till the card is full which is a long time on a 2gb SD. now to the physical aspects: as mentioned earlier, this is not actually black, it's dark grey (gunmetal) but i mean who really cares, the 2.5" screen has some very nice modes inclusing high angel which increases the viewing angle downward, it's small, feels of quality, very cool looking, and most of all fits perfectly into me pocket!

Overall a great camera. It is the smallest 10x zoom that I have seen. Picture quality is very good but I would not say that it is great. Once we learned all the various settings for the flash it was a lot easier to use than our old one. The battery life is a welcome change from our old AA powered camera that needed new batteries every 50 shots or so. This one lasts for at least 200 per charge.

i'm not a camera expert and i'm still learning how to use this camera to its maximum potential, but i can already see what beautiful, clear and vibrant pictures it takes. my dad doesn't like to use it because it doesn't have a viewfinder. he keeps putting the camera up to his face when i want to be in a picture and i have to remind him to use the screen. i, on the other hand, don't mind a bit. and when he sees the quality of the photographs he knows losing the viewfinder is a small price to pay.

i researched digital cameras with at least a 6x optical zoom for about three months, and read hundreds of reviews before deciding panasonic had the edge with their Leica lens and Optical Image Stabilizer technology. originally, i wanted the 12x zoom model, but it seemed too bulky. this camera gives me almost the same zoom capability in a more manageable size for day-to-day use.

my sister has a tiny digital camera she can wear around her neck. yes, it's more convenient, but when we were at the vancouver aquarium she ended up asking me to give her copies of my amazing pictures. which begs the question: why have a camera that doesn't take pictures you absolutely love? my camera does!

This camera has all the bells and whistles that you need!! I've used it for 3 months and it has been done a stellar job. Here are the specifics:
Battery life: outstanding!! I bought a spare just in case but I just can't seem to drain the battery even after several days of use including video.
Picture quality: I've set it at 2 Megapixel, so I can get 1500 pics on my 2Gb SD card and also because I don't plan on printing any 8x10s. The quality has been better than expected and the various scene modes make it easy to use- I set it on night scenery mode and took a pic of the Chicago skyline (at dusk) from the Shedd Aquarium pier and it turned out like a post card!
Video: I've stopped having to borrow my parents video camera, since this camera allows me to zoom (upto 10x) while recording videos. The video quality is as expected based on a 640x480 setting at 30fps. I set it to 10fps if I am recording birthday parties, etc.. and at 30fps when recording sports. One note: If set to the hightest quality setting (640x480 @ 30fps) you'll only get about an hour of recording on a 2Gb SD card.
Settings: It has a nifty setting shaped like a "heart" called simple mode. This is great for kids or beginners. Just point and shoot and the pics come out great. There are other settings for the more experienced which let you set the aperture and shutter speeds in addition to several pre-set modes for various scenes from sports to night scenery.

All in all for the money it's more versatile than any other camera I've seen on the market! Make sure to buy a small tripod and a 2GB SD card.

"Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1A 5MP Compact Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom" this heading says everything!
If you need a compact super zoom you should buy this camera.

I got this camera before Christmas so I could take some holiday photos. The image stabilization is wonderful, especially when u use the zoom feature at 10X. The presets were helpful in some situations but I haven't tried the others. Overall, this camera is great. It may be a lil bulky, unlike the credit card cameras (ultra compact), I still love this camera. The zoom is amazing as well as the color and picture quality. I would recommend this camera to anyone.

I had bought the smaller lumix DMC FX8 (3x zoom) about a year ago to use when traveling. Took excellent pix, with lots and lots of setting options...all worked well and the picture quality was great with the image stabilization.

I then decided to buy the 10x zoom based on that, and I was not at all disappointed. This zoom equates to about a 175mm lens in the old 35 mm, which means you get a very good image magnification.

I like the colors rendered (but you must switch between standard and warm depending on subject , and kind of lighting, but I like this choice of flex).

My wife also loves it, and it is now "her" camera and I am stuck with the older DMC-FX8 for myself. I like them both, and the OIS system is QUITE good on long shots avoiding shake and blur.

We like the bracket mode, taking three exposures automatically in quick series, one of which is guaranteed to be excellent. And also the long battery life of both, the video mode, and the relatively small form factor make me quite satisfied.

We probably take several thousand photos a year (saving only the good ones) and I really feel one can't go wrong here, especially if you want something with a little more sophistication than just an idiot-targeted Point and shoot camera.

Delivery was on time and in good packaging. Price point is very attractive I feel, for a camera of its capabilities.

Only slight negative is that on the TZ1K there is a plastic lens cap on lanyard, and this is a little cumbersome compared to the FX8 which closes up itself. Good luck!

My shopping criteria included a wide zoom range and image stabilization in addition to good image quality. This camera does a good job at all of these. One thing that is a little different with this camera is that you use a half press on the shutter button to engage autofocus. If you just snap away without doing that you might get some out of focus pictures. I happily accept that since the 10x zoom gives you incredible flexibility composing shots. The image stabilization also seems to be very good, which is pretty much a requirement for hand held photography with a zoom range like this. I purchased this with a Panasonic branded SD card and the combination works great.