Review on 📷 Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 12MP Orange Digital Camera - Wide Angle Zoom, Image Stabilization, LCD by Fred Griffin

I love canoeing and don't want to lug around more "stuff" than I need. The electronics I carry with me need to be waterproof – cell phone, GPS, solar charger and camera. I took a chance and ordered this Lumix six weeks before it was released because it claimed to be not only a waterproof camera but also an HD camcorder. I've had it for a few months now and really abused it. It's been dropped, crushed and soaked more times than I care to admit. On my last walk while filming the video, I dropped it in the mud and rinsed it off in a stream while it continued to record. I'm very happy with its durability and I'm amazed I didn't scratch the lens or damage the seal. However, the photos are very good (considering this is point and shoot). There isn't much zoom, but I was more interested in the wide angle, as advertised. I compensate for the limited zoom by shooting all photos at 12 megapixels and zooming in later when needed. Movies are okay, but don't expect it to compare to a dedicated HD camcorder. The video quality is very good, but the "stabilization" is limited, and the zoom function is not smooth and slow when zooming in and out; He has a zoom speed - fast. In summary, the HD video component is a great bonus feature of a very good waterproof compact camera, nothing more. The battery seems to last forever, even when shooting video, but I always carry a spare battery for long trips. If you intend to record a lot of videos, get a pair of SD cards that are at least 8GB. In general I am very satisfied. If you have the money and space to lug around an HD camcorder along with a point-and-shoot camera, you better do it. But if you want a small package that doesn't do anything fancy but does a lot of good stuff, this is for you.