Review on 📷 Panasonic DMC-ZS45W 16 MP Digital Camera: A Sleek & Stunning White 3-Inch LCD Device by Carol Long

I bought this Lumix DMC-ZS45 as an add-on rather than to replace my old Canon PowerShot camera. The feature that drew me to Lumix was the ability to rotate the monitor so you can see yourself when taking selfies. I bought a refurbished camera and so far I am happy with its performance. The camera comes with a very simple fold-out instruction manual. If you want to take advantage and learn more about the various features of the camera, the best way is to download the manual from the Panasonic website. I found the camera user friendly when I realized that depending on the shooting mode selected, settings may appear and/or change. I'm not a photography expert, so I usually set my camera to IA (Intelligent Auto) and let the camera figure it out. Settings on the dial apply to shooting modes ranging from automatic to the ability to choose your own aperture, shutter speed and exposure settings. It also gives you access to scenes and creative modes. Portrait, Soft Skin, Landscape, Night Portrait, Child, Pets are just some of the shooting modes included in the scene menu. In Creative mode, you can add art filters (black and white, sepia, etc.) to your shots. However, to set any of these modes, you'll have to dig through the menus, meaning it can take precious seconds or minutes to switch from "Portrait" to "Landscape". I think that's probably one of Lumix's biggest downsides. With my Canon I can do the same just by turning the dial. I also found that the Lumix's flash was weaker than the Canon's. Under certain conditions and settings, it will trigger twice, and if you don't know, your object will likely have moved when it triggers the second time. Overall I think the camera takes good pictures and saves faster than my Canon. I'm sure it helps that I gave Lumix a high speed memory card (SDHC UHS-I card). The main attraction of this camera is the ability to take selfies. The camera switches to automatic recording mode as soon as you turn the monitor towards you. The wink detector works well (if you're wearing glasses, you'll have to take them off when you wink at the camera), but it's not the quick wink that triggers the camera's countdown. You have to close one eye and keep it that way until the countdown starts. You can set the camera to take up to 4 selfies in a row and choose from 3 defocus (background blur) patterns, but you have to be sure you're within the frame. Everything outside the frame is blurred. The camera may freeze if you accidentally toggle the dial between the two modes while taking a selfie. I've noticed that if I remove the battery and then reinsert it, the camera restarts. I usually transfer my photos to my computer using the USB connection cable that comes with the camera. It's easy and fast. I don't want to worry about passwords or Wi-Fi security. I've only had this camera for about a month and I'm still playing with it. But for now I like