Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS7 10MP Digital Camera (Black)

Pros:
- Available in black
- LDC screen is very clear like the iphone

Cons:
- Camera can not crop/trim video (very helpful when making it smaller prior to upload on the net)
- Unable to tell which are pictures and which are videos, when browsing. No video icon to indicate video clips. Clicking display button will display video icon but also bring up too much info which interfered viewing the subject.
- No quick button to switch between shooting modes and had to go into menu/mode option to switch from still picture to vid mode and vice versa.

I have been researching point and shoot cameras for several weeks now. My previous $500 Panasonic camera got dropped and doesn't work any more. I wanted something cheaper this time around since I now see the fragility of electronics and have an almost 2 year old and a new baby on the way. My biggest criteria was to have a camera with a fast shutter lag time. With little kids you really need a camera that will take a picture right when you press the button or you will miss the moment that you were after. This is currently a big problem with a lot of the lower priced point and shoot digital cameras. I recently used my mother's camera that takes between 1 and 2 second to shoot the picture after the button is pressed and I ended up not capturing anything I was after. I have only had this camera for a couple of days now but I am very happy with it so far. It takes great fast pictures of my squirmy 2 year old. If you are looking for an inexpensive camera that will take quick pictures, this one is a great choice.

I ordered this camera for my wife who wanted a small camera to take with her. I ordered the Kingston SD4/4GBET (sdhc) memory at time of purchase. I had no problem with the memory, just droped it in and the camera recognised it, It shows over 700 pic's at 10 MP. I was amazed at the colors and quality of pic's. The Intelligent Auto function is great for stability of pic's that are unstable, I even tried this while moving the camera while shooting and the pic's came out clear. This is only my second digital camera, my old camera was a HP and this new one, even cheaper, is going to become our main camera. The HP ate batteries, the Panasonic is still on first charge and only one mark missing on battery indicator after several dozen pic's and lots of playing. I highly recomend this camera.

The camera takes good snapshots and has a nice (initial) price point for its performance. But the camera firmware needlessly prevents aftermarket batteries. The official battery is $30-$50, compared to a $10 aftermarket BCF10 battery. So budget a bit more.

On the heels of another reviewer, I just spent an hour going through years of archived photos having used the following cameras.

And to keep it short and sweet, I was shocked that the $137 Panasonic Lumix outperformed every camera EXCEPT for the HD Video of the new Canon SD780IS. However, the Panasonic family allows WVGA which takes up a LOT less disc space and perfect for Mac/PC viewing.

Canon SD200 = My first Elph camera worked perfectly in all conditions for over 3 years; ahead of its time. Under 1MB photos stored, but red eye reduction never worked.

Canon SD500 = Bought as upgrade with slightly noticeable difference for still & video, always kept photos in about 1MB size, worked like a charm before 2008 but red eye reduction never worked either.

Canon SD1100IS = the BEST Canon I have owned, but stolen last year. indoor, outdoor and video on AUTO were great! no complaints. Looking back, this camera outperformed the photo quality (all conditions) of the 12MP new SD780IS.

Panasonic DMC-FS7 = THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK PERIOD. the still photos and WVGA videos are amazing and AUTO setting for Panasonic is much more effective than Canon's technology. I was told the Leica lenses are far superior to Canon lens technology as well. This was also stolen overseas, so I bought the pricer FX48 below.

Panasonic DMC-FX48 = The still photos were NO different than the lesser priced FS7 and I tested all light conditions, speed etc. However, oddly, the HD video was terrible as compared to the Canon HD. It was very grainy and the motion sensor didn't work well. Sadly, I returned it.

Canon SD780IS = WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! I am overseas now again after tossing the box and papers, and now stuck with this this lousy camera. The HD video is amazing, but the auto focus never seems to work for stills, the PROGRAM mode is a royal pain in the *ss, the flash always seems to be too bright for indoors even after changing settings, and good luck trying to photo moving children - takes 1/2 day to focus and shoot. In summary, I changed settings and ISO and cannot get the same quality photos as the Canon SD1100IS (now 1200IS).

I AM BUYING ANOTHER PANASONIC DMC-FS7 AND SAYING GOODBYE TO CANON FOR NOW.

Hope this simple review helps, folks!