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Buy Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3 inch LCD (Black)

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The new Lumix ZS3 features 10.1-megapixels, a 25mm ultra-wide angle lens and 12x optical zoom, which means that 2x optical zoom added to the award-winning TZ-series cameras, but reduced its size. The ZS3 also features a Leica DC Vario-Elmar lens and High Definition (HD) video recording capabilities, known as AVCHD Lite.

ZS3 is the world’s first digital camera to record HD video recording function “AVCHD Lite. “Compared to the conventional Motion JPEG, AVCHD Lite allows longer shots with stunning high-definition visual and audio quality. This combined with a well thought out interface, a dedicated movie record button on the back of the camera panel covers, makes the ZS3 a hybrid model that performs well for both still and moving image capture.

ZS3 also extends the popular Panasonic’s Intelligent Auto (iA) mode with the addition of face detection – a feature that remembers faces from previous recordings. When a registered face appears in the frame, the camera focus and exposure priority to be beautiful to bear. With face recognition, when a familiar face is recorded many times, the camera requires users to register for the face. Once registered, if the face appears again in the frame, the camera display the name given to that person and prioritize the focus and exposure so that the registered face is bright and sharp.

New this year to the ZS series, iA mode is also available in movie mode. The system automatically selects the most appropriate scene mode and helps correct handshake, focus and clarity problems – making iA mode, your one-stop solution for capturing beautiful still and moving images. In Movie Mode, the ZS3, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) helps prevent handshake when using high-powered zoom. Face Detection automatically detects a face in the frame and adjusts focus, exposure, contrast and skin tone so perfectly clear. Intelligent Exposure continuously monitors the ambient light and adjusts exposure if circumstances change to prevent blown highlights and blocked shadows. And Intelligent Scene Selector automatically switches between Normal, Portrait, Macro, Landscape and Low Light modes depending on the situation in order to optimize the visual quality.

The power of imaging Lumix has evolved with the Venus Engine HD, which has two CPUs to provide about 2.4x CPU and support for AVCHD Lite and HDMI output. It integrates all the advanced features and camera operations with high performance and low power consumption. In image processing, its luminance noise and color noise separately before and after the signal decreased. This is further refined by separating the noise two-dimensional high frequency and low frequency noise. Then the circuits effectively reduce only the low frequency noise to the unwanted noise to a minimum and help produce beautiful, sharp still and moving images.

Playing with the ZS series is simple. Plug the camera’s SD memory card into the VIERA HDTVs ImageViewer SD Card slot for a photo slideshow. Or connect the camera via an optional mini HDMI cable, the DMW-HDC2, a Panasonic VIERA HDTV VIERA Link equipped and using the TV remote control to mixed slideshows of photos and videos to arrival. The ZS3 features a 3-inch high resolution 460,000-dot Intelligent LCD with wide viewing angle, improving visibility during recording and playback.

Other features of the Lumix ZS3 include:

• Increased Scene modes for both still and moving image shooting – optimized for a variety of situations. There are 26 scene modes for still images and 17 for moving images (Portrait, Soft Skin, Transform, Self-portrait, landscape, low light, Food, Party, Candlelight, Sunset, High Sensitivity, Beach, Snow, Aerial photo, Pin Hole, Film Grain and Underwater)
• Two new My Scene settings allows users to use their two most frequently used scene modes for the institution, and with a simple switch, access to a scene.
• New Panorama Assist Scene mode allows users to shoot some photos of a consistent, vertically or horizontally, according to them a guide that overlaps the screen. Then using those pictures and the bundled Panorama Maker software allows users to create dramatic panoramic images.
• High-Speed Burst (Speed Priority), consisting of about fires. 10 shots per second.
• Menus are clearer and easier to navigate the Display Format option.
• Macro Zoom function allows users to pull subjects closer to dramatic close-up shots with the 3x digital zoom wide angle.
• Supplied software: The latest version of PHOTOfunSTUDIO 3.0 HD Edition allows users to view, edit and archive fixed content with more ease and pleasure. Still and moving images can be transferred to the computer via a USB cable for viewing and archiving. Using PHOTOfunSTUDIO HD Edition 3.0 users can edit and remove unwanted parts of video clips recorded in AVCHD Lite. Content recorded in AVCHD Lite can be directly burned to a DVD disc or the software can convert the content into MPEG2 format. The software also features the Face Recognition function, which detects faces in images recorded, stored on the computer, making organizing and archiving pictures with a certain person a lot easier. Moreover, moving images are uploaded directly to YouTube.

 

Product Features

• 10.1-megapixel resolution captures enough detail for poster-size prints
• 12x Optical Image Stabilizer MEGA stablilized zoom, 25mm ultra-wide angle lens
• Capture video in HD “AVCHD Lite” format
• Intelligent Auto (iA) mode, Face Recognition Function
• Capture images to SD / SDHC memory cards (not included)

 

Customer Review

3rd time’s a charm- a standing “O” for the ZS3!, April 28, 2009
By  Michael J. Christensen (Elk Grove Village, IL United States)

I have owned two prior digital cameras- the first was a Canon that took good pictures, but was too bulky to pocket around and required AA batteries to power it. The second was a Sony CyberShot DSC-W150 that took crappy, blurry pictures in low light. Needless to say, I felt an upgrade was in order.

So I’m going on an east coast trip next month. My buddy and I are avid baseball fans. One problem: as we do not always have great seats, taking close-up pictures of ballplayers is a real pain with 99% of the compact point and shoots out there. This is because the camera’s size will only allow it 5X optical zoom. You can combine this with digital zooming, but I don’t need to tell you how terrible and pixilated this looks. Thus my conundrum. So I really wanted a compact, pocketable camera with a long range optical lens, without having to lug around an expensive digital SLR.

Enter the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3. When I read the specs on it, I was in awe. 10 megapixel, 12X OPTICAL zoom. Here’s the sweetest part about the zoom- if you planning to use smaller prints (i.e. 4X6), you can quickly adjust the camera’s Megapixel (MP) count from 10 to 7, 5, and 3 to yield maximum OPTICAL zooms of 14.3, 17.1, and 21.4 respectably, without much loss of detail on such prints. I wish Panasonic would have allowed the camera to adjust the MP count automatically as you zoom, but it’s not too much trouble to change the MP settings manually from the quick menu.

Another great feature: the camera’s screen is beautiful at 460,000 pixels, twice the count as the rival Canon Powershot SX200 IS (more on that camera later). From the moment you view your first picture, you’ll quickly notice how much sharper photos look on this camera. It’s a nice convenience to view photos on the camera in a manner closer to the quality that will actually be seen when you’re viewing them on the computer (and ultimately printing them).

I also want to give Panasonic kudos for the build quality and compactness of this camera. The ZS3 is a replacement for the popular TZ5 model, which was 9MP and 10X Optical Zoom. So they increased the resolution, and added a wider range lens, and REDUCED the size by .4 cubic inches. Specifications aside, I was more than pleased that this camera will comfortably fit inside my jeans pocket. It’s a bit bulkier than an ultracompact for sure, but not objectionably so. Note that the SX200 is a full 2.0 cubic inches thicker, another reason I passed on the Canon. Here’s a few more reasons the Canon falls short: the Canon has a cheesy looking popup flash that sticks out at the top of the camera, whether you’re using flash or not (bad design decision). It has less rated battery life than the Lumix. Also, when shooting video, the Canon does NOT allow you to use optical zooming.

Photo quality on the Lumix is excellent, although I’ve only snapped samples around my place so far. However, I’ve taken quite a few pictures at low light, and at maximum zoom levels to try to get a bad shot. So far, there’s none to be found. I’ll put this through its paces more when I travel next month, but I’m extremely pleased so far. As for video shooting, I’ve sampled it a bit, and it seems pretty solid. The camera gives you the choice of shooting video in its touted AVCHD Lite format (ideal for watching it on your TV in HD with an optional mini to standard HDMI cable), or JPEG if you prefer to email video clips to friends. This year’s model also added stereo sound on video playback versus last year’s monaural effort. One thing I found a bit strange, was the incredibly slow zooming when shooting video. I guess Panasonic was trying to give the user a more controlled, deliberate zoom, but unlike the snappy photo zooming, it’s a bit slow for my liking.

Some other minor quibbles: The dial that controls the shooting mode is extremely loose. If you lightly rub it against anything (a camera bag, your pocket), there’s a good chance it will shift. When you turn the camera on, it will digitally tell you what mode you’re in, but it’s still annoying when it happens by accident. Second, when making a quick zoom on an object, it will appear blurry on the camera’s screen until the shutter button is pressed. There are modes to continually focus the object when zooming, but this drains the camera’s battery life more rapidly. It would be nice if this feature was incorporated automatically without any such sacrifice.

Also, I’m not a huge fan of the included PhotofunStudio software bundled with this camera, as there are other, more compelling programs to view, edit, and print photos (I like Canon’s Zoombrowser program better). Finally, this is not the camera to buy if you’re into manual controls. There’s a ton of preset scenes that can be used (nighttime, portrait, baby, sunset, food, etc.), and you can adjust items like flash, white balance, and max ISO level, but this is meant to be a simple point and shoot for casual photographers. Note that the Lumix has an intelligent auto mode (IA) that will analyze the shooting conditions and pick the right scene, flash, and exposure without any adjustments by the user. This camera screams simplicity, but there’s enough tweaking on the Normal and Scene modes to keep the vast majority of amateur photographers happy.

Regardless of these nitpicks, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 is an awesome camera, unbeatable for those that want the best of both worlds- a great zoom lens and compact body. It’s a bit pricey at $399, but you’re getting quite a lot of camera for your hard earned dollars. I have no doubt that my third digital camera is a terrific buy and a long-term staple for my travels.

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Oh my goodness, what a camera!, March 28, 2009
By  Michael McKee “mystic cowboy” (Port Townsend, WA United States)

I have a pro friend who got a review copy of this for a couple of days. He let me use it for one of them, as he hasn’t shot with a point and shoot in a long time. I ordered my own within the first hour. What a camera. The zoom on this baby is amazing. It has a true wide angle and a long reach. Photos on both ends of the reach are sharp and have good color and saturation. I almost drooled when I printed out the samples. They are flat out the best point and shoot jpegs that I’ve had the pleasure of taking. Raw files would be nice but aren’t available, nor is much in the way of manual exposure control. As a bit of a control freak, I thought that would be a problem but honestly, Panasonic’s smart mode selection is brilliant at getting good, sharp exposures. Focusing is fast, even in low light. Flash seems fine, neither superior nor awful. I took 400 images and a short movie on my first outing and the battery still had some juice. It also has fast and accurate face detection. Holding the camera in my hand, pointing it in the general direction of people on the street without being obvious got consistently good focus. Oh, the image stabilization works very well, too.

The camera is just small enough to fit in a shirt pocket but unless you’re wearing heavy denim it’s just to heavy to be comfortable there. It slips fine in a vest pocket or jacket, though. Point and shoots have definitely improved in low light performance since I bought my last one. I got perfectly usable shots at 400 ISO. A little noise touch up and they print fine at 11×14. At 1600 ISO you can still get a usable Flickr sized image, again with a run through a noise processor like Noise Ninja.

It has a new video mode that uses half the memory of the normal mov files that it also supports. But finding where they are on the card is a bit of a treasure hunt the first time. They are also a pain to process. I ran a conversion program to turn them into H.264 format. That makes editing much easier. Do that first thing. You can even run the optical zoom while shooting movies, though focus can be a bit slow. Videos are much better than those from the Flip that is all I own for movies.

Great zoom, great photos, great lens, reasonable size, scary accurate automatic mode switching, wow!. If it had a bit more manual control it might be better, then again, I’ve got a few hundred really nice images. So no complaints.

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Excellent zoom and features, chose this over the Canon PowerShot SX200 IS, April 14, 2009
By  Helldiver (Toronto, Canada)

Although I have a Nikon D80 DSLR, I needed a more compact point and shoot camera replacement for my aging Canon S60 with dying batteries. After reading a couple of reviews and a visit to a local camera store I decided to choose the ZS3 over the competing Canon SX200 IS with very similar features. Although the Canon is more familiar to me and has more manual features, the compact size of the Panasonic with better battery life, robust video functions and the fact that it’s still made in Japan (versus the Canon which is now manufactured in China) edged out the Canon for me personally (you may want to try both to decide for yourself). So far I have been very happy with this versatile camera – screen is big and bright, facial recognition is neat, zoom is remarkable for a camera of its size and the video quality is excellent for a camera. Only downside is that like the camera store employee said – the autofocus motors inside the Panasonics do seem to be quite loud – i.e. if you are aiming the camera around randomly you can hear the motors whirling away as it refocuses at different potential targets. I enjoyed this purchase and I would recommend this camera to anyone who is looking for a easy-to-use, high quality point and shoot with 12x optical zoom.

You  may also want to read this, Canon PowerShot SD1200IS 10 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD

Buy Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20/B 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom and Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization

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List Price: $389.95
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Zoom in on the 10.1-megapixel DSC-H20 Cyber-shot digital camera and the best shot. With its impressive Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 10x optical zoom wide-angle, it’s easy to capture the moment with impeccable detail. A 3.0-inch touch screen makes viewing your pictures a breeze and the ingenious iAuto mode takes the guesswork out of choosing the best camera settings when you are not sure which one to choose. There’s also a built-in technologies such as optical SteadyShot image stabilization that reduces blur and Smile Shutter mode that automatically captures a smile when it happens. Feel like recording HD video? The H20 captures crisp, 720p videos that can be viewed on your HDTV. There is even an anti-blink function to help anyone look their best and in-camera photo retouching.

Cyber-shot DSC-H20 Highlights

10.1-megapixel Super HAD CCD image sensor
A powerful 10.1-megapixel, 1/2.3-inch Super HAD CCD image sensor helps you capture gorgeous images with superb contrast and clarity down to the smallest detail. With 10.1 megapixels, you beautiful, photo-quality prints up to A3 + (13 x 19-inch) size, or crop your images and still come away with a high-resolution images.

Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with 10x optical zoom
The professional quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with 10x optical zoom brings distant subjects closer for great outdoor, sports, travel and photographs.

3.0-inch Clear Photo LCD (230k pixels)
Generous 3.0-inch (230K pixels) Clear Photo LCD screen offers crisp, natural colors that makes it easy to compose pictures, read menus and photos, even in bright sunlight.

BIONZ image processor
The BIONZ processor delivers high resolution and fast performance you expect from a Sony digital camera.

Intelligent Auto Mode
Intelligent Auto (iAuto) mode goes beyond the traditional automatic settings by recognizing and adapting to circumstances of the scene and lighting, enhancing natural skin tones and reduce blur. By integrating advanced features such as Intelligent Scene Recognition, Face Detection and optical SteadyShot, iAuto you can take advantage of the latest Sony Cyber-shot technology without automatic mode. Whether you shoot wide landscapes, capturing action playground, or taking photos on a birthday or wedding shower, iAuto will optimize your camera settings to help you get away with a great shot to ensure.

HD Movie
Put more of your memories in High Definition (720p) video. Record HD movies in 720p high definition MPEG4 format for stunning big-screen home movie playback. Take up to 29 minutes in 720p format (or up to 2 GB) per film.

Intelligent Scene Recognition
Intelligent Scene Recognition (iSCN) Mode automatically detects eight different types of scenes and, in just 1/30th of a second, selects the appropriate camera settings: Backlight, Backlight Portrait, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Twilight using a tripod, Portrait, Landscape, and Macro. iSCN has two modes: Auto and Advanced. In Auto mode the camera takes a single shot using the optimal settings. In Advance Mode, the camera takes a picture with the standard automatic settings and, if in difficult lighting conditions (low light or backlight) immediately half picture with optimized setting takes, so you can choose what to keep.

Face Detection Technology
Face Detection Technology detects up to eight individual faces and controls flash, focus, exposure and white balance for accurate, natural skin tones with reduced red-eye to bring. It can also give priority to children or adults. Newly added Face Detection Motion adjusts ISO sensitivity and shutter speeds up the face when motion is detected, causing the subjects blur face.

Face Priority Selection
Focus, exposure and white balance for a particular face is now easier with selectable visual memory, even if the subject leaves the frame. This feature is ideal for weddings and other events, the goal is always to focus on one particular person.

Anti-blink Function
It is frustrating to think you’ve captured that perfect shot only to revise it later and discover one of your subjects blinked just as you press the shutter button. The Anti-blink function works to counter blinking and squinting help. When the camera is set to Soft Snap, the Anti-blink function imposes two images, recording only the photo with less squinting. If a flash is detected in other shooting modes, a warning will be displayed after the recording you make.

Red-eye reductions
Helps common red-eye problems.

Smile Shutter technology
The popular Smile Shutter technology automatically detects and captures a smiling face. Simply activate by pressing the Smile Shutter button and the camera will smile when it happens to capture. You can also select subject priority (Adult or Child Priority or touch subject on screen) and indicate the degree of Smile Detection Sensitivity to high (small smile), medium (laugh) or low (grin). Smile Shutter is also a good replacement for the self-timer. Just laugh when everyone is ready, and the camera will automatically capture the image.

Double Anti-blur Solution
The combination of Optical SteadyShot image stabilization and high ISO sensitivity helps compensate for shaky hands, minimizes blur and allows flash-free shooting to preserve the mood.

Optical SteadyShot image stabilization
Optical SteadyShot image stabilization uses a built-in gyro sensor to detect camera shake and automatically shifts the lens to help blur without affecting image quality to avoid.

High Sensitivity mode (ISO 3200)
High ISO allows for faster shutter speeds, so you can take pictures indoors or in low light without the need for a flash. In addition to High Sensitivity Mode (ISO), you can select up to eight ISO settings (Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200) when shooting in Program Auto Mode to adjust sensitivity to your shooting conditions.

Dynamic Range Optimizer Standard and Plus
Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) Standard and Plus uses a sophisticated algorithm to determine the best exposure and contrast settings for almost every conceivable environment. The result is a more natural images with clearer details that better match what your naked eye. DRO is particularly effective when shooting backlit portraits or any scene with dramatic contrast between background and foreground lighting. DRO Plus allows for even greater optimization by analyzing each region of an image and performing additional image processing.

Useful photo features
Choose from 13 convenient photo features rapid adjustment for specific shooting conditions. Photo modes include iAuto, Easy, Program, and Scene Selection, such as high sensitivity, Landscape, Soft Snap, Twilight Portrait, Twilight, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, Underwater and Gourmet Mode. Gourmet mode lets you capture the mouth watering culinary creations with all the color and clarity of the images you see in gourmet magazines.

9-point autofocus
Because an off-centered subject can be shot more interesting, a 9-point auto focus system measures nine precision focus points, allowing you greater creative freedom to compose your photos.

Burst mode
You can burn up to 100 photos in about 0.62 seconds (for each resolution, a high-resolution VGA mode. Results may vary based on settings and Memory Stick media is used).

Function Guide
This beginner-friendly optional function helps navigate through the various functions and settings displaying the description of chosen functions or settings on the LCD screen.

Simplified Buttons
Experience the simplicity of buttons and menus that focus on the most used functions. The shooting song focuses on the type of use: Easy, Intelligent Auto, Scene, Program and Film – the most used functions like Play and Delete buttons are easy to hard. All other functions can be found under a menu button.

Easy shooting mode
Easy shooting mode, even beginners can take great photos. In Easy Recording program, easy to understand simple instructions displayed on the LCD screen and the camera switches to all auto settings with iSCN so you just picture without worrying about settings. The menu is also easier to play small, but straight ahead to provide operational features for those who fear that choosing the wrong settings.

High Resolution 16:9 Mode
Using the High Resolution 16:9 mode, images with high resolution images in the 16:9 aspect ratio favored by HDTV. This setting is ideal if you are planning your viewing images on a compatible HDTV and invite friends and relatives as part of a slideshow.

Memory Stick Duo Convenience
The Cyber-shot DSC-H20 camera accepts Memory Stick PRO Duo media (sold separately).

Stamina Battery Power
Provides extended battery life and capacity when using a fully charged lithium-ion battery. The included battery supports up to 220 shots.

Easy Image Management
Easy Image Management takes the hassle out of sorting large amounts of image data, so you can quickly select the desired pictures. Images can be viewed in four convenient ways: by Standard Folder view, Date view, Event view and Favorites showing only user-selected images. You can also use the power of Face Detection technology to filter by face type (choices include all people, children, infants, and smiles).

In-camera retouching
Retouch and enhance your photos on the road with 10 in-camera editing functions: cut, Red-Eye Correction, Soft Focus, partial color, fisheye lens, Cross Filter, Radial Blur, Retro, Happy Face and Unsharp Masking effects.

Multi-purpose Resize function
The Multi-purpose Resize function lets you change the aspect ratio of an image in the camera, so you can adjust images if necessary, whether you want to view them on a compatible HDTV, or e-mail them / upload them to a blog.

HDTV compatibility
View your pictures and videos in stunning high definition on a Sony BRAVIA or similar HDTV using the optional VMC-MHC2 HD output adapter cable (sold separately).

PhotoTV HD
Bring your photos to life and enjoy highly detailed, sharp images with PhotoTV HD-capable Sony Bravia HDTV. PhotoTV HD fine tunes settings on your HDTV such as sharpness, gradation and color images that look more like actual printed photographs to display.

Wide Zoom Display
To use the entire image of the compatible HDTV screen (sold separately), Wide Zoom display automatically expands standard 4:3 and 3:2 images to 16:9.

PHOTO MUSIC function
PHOTO MUSIC combines images with music (5 minutes per track) for fun and entertaining slide shows to produce. The standard visual effects (Simple, Nostalgic, Active and Stylish). You can choose from pre-loaded tracks on the camera or transfer your own from a compatible PC (sold separately).

Picture Motion Browser Ver. 4.2.02
Sony PMB (Picture Motion Browser) PC software offers a simple, easy to use way to capture video and still images on your PC, as well as sort, edit, and output to data disc and the Web (compatible computer with internet connection required). Finding your images with PMB is easy to view calendar and search Wikipedia. Face search you can filter on faces (one or several) and a specific person’s face. Share pictures and videos on popular sites with Media Services function.

Product Features

• 10.1-megapixel Super HAD CCD image sensor
• 10x optical zoom Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens; Optical SteadyShot image stabilization
• 720p high-definition movie capture; BIONZ image processor
• 3.0-inch (230K pixels) LCD; Face Detection and Smile Shutter technology
• 11MB built-in memory; capture images to Memory Stick Duo/PRO Duo Media (not included)

 

Customer Review

Everything I wanted and needed in a camera, May 13, 2009
By  Petra Springer (Middlefield, Ohio)

I am no expert when it comes to photography but enjoy taking good pictures of my family and friends. I have kids in sports and I like to take my own pictures for picture giving. I read many reviews (for hours) on various cameras and endet up with this one here. I first was going to get the DSC-H50 (one step up from the DSC-H20). When I went to the store to buy it, however, it was to large for my taste. It was to big to fit in a pants pocket and even for my small purse it was quite large. Here are the main reasons why this camera is awesome!

This camera here is not as compact as your typical slim camera (due to the 10x zoom), but it is small enough to fit in a purse or even a jacket/pants pocket if need be.

This camera has a burst mode so you can hold down the shutter and the camera will take numerous pictures, thus making it ideal for action shots. I took it to a Volleyball tournament and got unbelievable shots of my daughter serving and hitting! I cought her in mid air more then a few times…just what I had hoped for. I also took pictures at a track meet and got kids jumping hurdles…the pictures look almost like magazine shots!

This camera is extremely easy to use in the easy and auto adjust mode! It tells you everything on the screen. You can start shooting pretty much right away…it’s that easy! The manual is good to have for reference and questions and if you really want to get to know your camera.

The zoom is great and plenty! I took pictures from the mezzanine onto the Volleyball courts and could get nice close up shots! 10x is plenty for me!

The battery life is also impressive, as long as you keep your screen on a regular bright setting. First I had it set to “bright” and the battery didn’t do well. Then I set it to normal and it lasts a long time. I took about 150 shots and not a single bar was missing from the battery!

It has a rechargebale battery so you don’t have to keep buying regular batteries. Also, it does say that you can get a international charger so the battery charger can be plugged in anywhere in the world. (Still have to get that myself). What a nice option.

The quality of the pictures is also great! I took a team photo and my daughter took it to a practice to show the others. They choose the picture to use in a frame as a gift to the coaches. It turned out so good and all I did was push a button!

When shooting pictures, it has a option for the file size you select. If you know you want to email pictures, or for example if you sell on eBay and want to download pictures onto the ebay site, you select the small file size and shoot pictures that way for working with them online. For pictures that you use for portraits for example, you choose a larger file (pixels I guess), and that way it does not distort the picture when you enlarge it. That is also extremely easy to figure out!

Last but not least…I plugged it into my pc with the supplied USB cord and retrieved the photos the same way I always did in the past. I have not yet added the picture cd that came with it, but my guess is that it will work very good. I also took the 2GB SD card to Wal mart and made nice prints (you have to purchase the pro duo stick seperate…look for the “Sony pro-Duo Stick” cost about $13-$15). The 2 GB is plenty for me, I think it holds about 400 pictures).

Great camera…I have not found a flaw yet!

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mostly pleased, August 28, 2009
By  sheeroses “sheeroses” (md, usa)

After much research and trying out a few cameras (Panasonic Zs1 being its main competitor) I am settling for this sony H20. The picture quality in the H20 was just much more clear. The Panasonic Lumix Zs1 had inconsistent performance and I found some pictures to be very grainy and unpleasing. I was lured in by the Panasonic’s wide angle lens and several scene selection modes, but in the end none of those matter if your picture is grainy and not of printable quality. The biggest positive about this camera is its consistently good picture quality and performance. I took this camera with me to Southeast Asia and was able to get good pictures out of a moving car and at all zooms both indoors and outdoors. I was able to get some stunning pics with the lumix but only at times and for each good pic I had about 20 bad ones, and when your traveling or trying to capture a moment you just don’t have time to shoot 20-30 frames to get a good one. For this Sony camera to be truly perfect I really wish it had a wide angle lens, a panoramic assist function (like the Sony HX1 which is much bigger and not much better pic quality but the panoramic function is incredible), a more compact design with a built in lens cap and flash so the cap doesn’t pop off every time you take a picture. I looked and looked for the perfect camera and with those added features this would be it, but for now I will settle for this camera and hopefully sony will add those functions and improve this camera in its next upgrade. If you are looking for a compact travel camera that is several steps up from the normal 3x zoom and takes consistently good crisp pictures in various settings I would recommend this camera. It is not nearly as bulky as DSLRs making it a very easy travel companion, and it takes better pics than the other competing cameras in its range as well as some mega zoom cameras.

UPDATE: November 2009-
Before I left on my trip to Turkey and Europe I ended up purchasing another camera, the Canon Sx10is. This camera was more expensive and bigger both things I was initially trying to fight against, but I am so glad I went for this extra investment because the pictures I have been able to take on my trip (panoramic and regular) have come out absolutely stunning, all on auto setting, and using the panoramic assist function. It is a little bulkier then the sony but it still fits in my purse and the results in the pic quality are incredible.I figure I will probably not come back to these places and get the opportunity to take stunning pics again, so the slightly more money and bulk ended up being no bother when I will have very memorable pictures to look back on my trips. Look for my review and uploaded pics on the canon powershot page. If you can afford it and can take slightly more bulk, this camera ended up being the ultimate winner for me, and was everything I was trying to force the sony to be. I wanted to offer this option to those who are looking for something a little more then the sony has to offer. check out this canon before deciding.

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Great Camera!! Best Value!!!, May 12, 2009
By  TechGeek (Texas)

I bought this camera for a two week trip I was about to take. I also purchased an extra extended battery and an 8GB memory card for the camera. The main reason I purchased the camera was for its ability to take pictures quickly. I looked through consumer reports and this one was one of the top rated cameras. The cost is very good for this quality camera. I could take a picture withing a couple of seconds after turning the camera on and I could take a picture again less than a second later. This camera also has great battery life. Even if you just use the included battery, you can still get around 3-400 pictures (assuming you are not using flash). The zoom on the camera is great. It is a 10x optical zoom and additional 7x digital zoom. This gives you the power of a 17x zoom. If you take your picture at 17x zoom, you can then zoom in on your picture another 8x under the “review your pictures” menu. This camera is also small enough to fit into a small over the shoulder camera bag. It fit into my old camera bag that I used to have a small Olympus camera in. I recommend this camera for ages 16 and up. It is a great camera that it comparable to any SLR camera. I think it is better than a SLR because it is so much smaller than any SLR you could purchase.

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