Review on 📷 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1 10 Megapixel Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-inch LCD Screen (Black) by Brian Garrett

I'm a fairly die-hard Olympus user and have tried many of their digital offerings over the past few years, now with E330 and E510 DSLRs with many Olympus and Sigma Lenses for some semi-professional and personal use. I travel a lot so wanted a good backup, my lovely Oly 5060 was too big for most of my bags and my 1 year old Canon A550 (a great performer with AA which I like) was great especially in terms of zoom limited at the wide end. I haven't looked closely at Oly's compacts due to some of the more scattered reviews and my feeling that the company has all but stopped innovating in this market. After reading a bunch of reviews I'm hoping I bought the ZS1 a few weeks ago and gave it a real workout by attending a Red Sox game at Fenway Park and then almost a week at the Rocky Shore from Maine. To stay light while walking I attached a long zoom telephoto lens to my Oly 510 and slipped my ZS1 into my shirt pocket to cover everything from 25mm to around 150mm where my Oly 140-600 (35 eq.) picked up . Great combo. I didn't have to change lenses in windy weather, although when I needed them they were in a nearby car. Okay, some highlights: Lumix takes great photos with virtually no noise up to ISO 400 at ALL magnifications; image stabilization is quite effective; not exactly the same as my Oly 510, but perfectly adequate - IA mode, which with its frequent use of multiple exposure areas and choice of scene modes is totally unsuitable, and I found its accuracy equal or better than my Oly in many cases (also if I've occasionally used one of my other Oly lenses instead of the usually fancy telephoto lenses; Oly DSLRs have a lot of great qualities, but focusing isn't one of them in my opinion). Of the hundreds of photos taken, none had major issues with focus or exposure. NONE, and the ones I had with exposure were processed in simple post-processing - I had limited battery life at first, about 100 photos at most (with more views on the LCD), but as the battery went through charge cycles, the time increased. to the point where yesterday I took over 650 shots in an hour of idle time and the battery was still alive!) - starts up very quickly and takes the first shot. About the same as my Olys going through a sensor cleaning cycle. While there's no manual control to speak of, I mostly rely on exposure compensation and the camera's normal Normal mode makes this very easy. and also there are ISO settings. If I have one complaint, it's that Panasonic's latest firmware (1.2) doesn't allow for third-party batteries, which Panny doesn't really tell us or the seller I bought the clone from. aggravating. You can download firmware version 1.1 which allows clones, but I didn't want to mess with that. Instead, I dumped a rare OEM battery on the Revain, at a higher price point of course. All of this means I have a camera that is perfect for me. For very informal or business trips, it offers almost all the features and qualities you need. For situations where you need the flexibility of a good DSLR, this is the perfect support or companion. In fact, every now and then I think about all the investments in my DSLRs, most lenses cost twice as much as Lumix, and scratch my head. If this little camera could somehow have an extra flash, it would be a wonderful product. Finally, it would be great if some of the big companies could set a standard for battery life and stop extorting consumers for that extra chunk of their hard-earned cash. , the main reason I've always preferred AA on small cameras. Oly has used the BLM-1 in most of its DSLRs for many years, starting with the point-and-shoot 5060 model. They're easy to swap out, and the clones, which I really like, are easy to buy (Oli also makes a small lithium battery holder which practically means that if someone needs backup power you can go to many pharmacies and hardware stores ( Walmart - it stays in my shaving kit). What's particularly annoying is that Panny doesn't seem to make many batteries for my new camera. Stupid situation. ----------- Update: I just took a ZS1 and my Olympus E-510 (with 3 small kit lenses) on a road trip and took a lot of comparison shots. Landscapes, family celebrations, some events. Some observations: - Focusing on Panny is more accurate and in most cases just as fast as a DSLR; It's certainly better in relatively low light, and has given me excellent results down to ISO 800 and at low shutter speeds - sharpness is slightly less on the Panny than the Oly, but can easily be adjusted in post-processing - could with a bit more fiddling I get excellent flash results from Panny; The "manual" setting is much better than IA's. That's why I call the camera a "spoiler". Does it outperform a good DSLR? Of course not. Fewer options and accessories. But for many types of travel, snaps, and situations that don't require a flash, this is one hell of a camera; among the best I've had. For those of us who prefer netbooks to heavy laptops and just want to be light and flexible, it would be hard to do better.