Top positive review
146 people found this helpful
Great pics and video - MAC user notes
By Marie on Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2012
It was time to upgrade our old video camera AND point-and-shoot camera. I wanted a small, new camera that did BOTH really well, but was also small enough to fit in my purse or pocket. After much research, I decided on the Panasonic Lumix ZS19 (didn't go for the ZS20 since I can't see myself needing GPS on pics or videos.) So far, I'm really loving this camera. PICTURE QUALITY: I'm not a professional photographer, just a mom who needs a great camera on the go, and this fit the bill perfectly. Now that I see how good our videos look, I WISH I upgraded a long time ago. I first used the camera to take pics and video of my kids at an indoor TKD event, and several parents asked what kind of camera I was using because the photos were coming out so good! The indoor lighting varied from strong sunset coming in through the windows, to overhead fluorescent bulbs later in the evening, but I still was able to get great pics with and without the awesome 20x optical zoom ...and this was within hours of receiving the camera in the mail. I literally just needed to "point-and-shoot" to get great shots without knowing anything about the camera. SOMETHING TO KNOW IF YOU'RE USING A MAC: The software that comes with this camera is not compatible with a Mac, so the accompanying CD will only display a PDF copy of the user's manual, and NOT the software that is meant to be used with the camera. You can view and import your photos using iPhoto, HOWEVER, VIDEOS FROM THIS CAMERA WILL NOT DISPLAY IN iPHOTO. But there is a SIMPLE solution for this... After researching comments online, I found that by opening iMovie on my Mac, and selecting "IMPORT FROM CAMERA", I can easily and quickly import videos from this camera into iMovie. From there you can edit them, add music, text, etc., and then export your video to whatever format you want. I'm actually glad I discovered this because it forced me to open and use iMOVIE for the first time, and I've already made some incredible movies from the videos and pics I've taken with this camera. MEMORY CARD AND BATTERY COMMENT: Based on Amazon comments I read before I chose this camera, I also bought a "Class 10" memory card to go with it. I guess the "Class 10" is better for taking high-quality videos. The only thing I noticed is that taking video quickly drains the battery (albeit, I have the video quality set pretty high) so I also ordered a backup battery to have an extra on hand when I need it. This camera should probably not replace your video camera since you won't be able to take long movies due to the battery drain, but it's great for short clips here-and-there, which is pretty much all I take anyway. For what I needed, this camera was the perfect choice. I'm VERY pleased with it.
Top critical review
4 people found this helpful
Thought good to ok at first, now I Can't Stand This Camera!
By michifur on Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2013
I got this camera when I dropped my Canon Powershot S80 and it's a bit unfair to compare to that price/quality camera. I was looking for the widest (24mm) with good zoom (20x optical) in a compact camera. However, that said, when using "intelligent auto" (I'm not a "true' camera person & don't want to do my own settings all the time), the shutter speed is still too slow to do well with pets/moving objects. (It still doesn't do well on shutter priority, so the best option is the sports mode, which still isn't perfect/not always fast enuf to catch the pic w/o blur.) But more importantly, color is just not as true/great as my Canon. Also, on the screen, if the exposure looks perfect, however, when I look at it on my computer screen, it's a bit too dark. So I have to shoot for slightly exposed pic to get it right. I do love the small size & many features & great zoom, but disappointed with overall pictures. As other reviews have stated, it does better outdoors, not so good indoors & flash is not that strong. I don't know if it's just a function of the price range of this camera or if I should have gone with a canon/nikon instead. (Panasonic makes great electronics/products otherwise.) P.S. If u buy this, DO get the separate extra battery pack & charger combo. The charger that it comes with is very flimsy and takes forever (the first one shipped with camera came broken) and if going sightseeing all day, one charge may not last you all day if you take a lot of pictures or do videos. UPDATE: I downgraded my review. I can't stand this camera. I tried to get a pic of the roses in my garden. It was ok for individual roses. But when taking picture of the whole bush/garden, I tried morning sun, midday, and evening. All looked washed out/anemic on IA, even on "happy" which is supposed to give the colors more punch. My sister, who unbeknownst to me bought the same camera, also has problems with the zoom not working all the time, then camera freezes and won't take any pictures. I'm giving up. UPDATE: Tried "like-new" Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V, The colors indoors are much better than the Lumix, but the same outdoor garden rose's color still does NOT look true to life, rats! I'm going back to Canon. Also the control dial especially & other parts of the camera seemed cheap/flimsy for an otherwise good camera. UPDATE: Bought Canon PowerShot SX700 HS, 9.5 oz. (Canon Powershot SX50 hs got best reviews but at 19.4 oz, I just can't live with that big/heavy a camera.) Colors slight-moderately better than Sony Cybershot. Low light is still a bit of a problem, but there's a simple fix, "Live" option on the dial, where you can make adjustments for 3 things - light/vividness of color/cool vs warm color. (The "low light" option on the SCN/Scene mode only is helpful in seriously low light.) I do miss having a panoramic option, but I find I tend to do a movie in that case anyway. The camera body is solid/well constructed. You do have to use a button to pop up the flash when prompted, but it does save on battery life. Overall, has been the best so far picture-wise. (FYI, I also considered it's major competitor, Nikon Coolpix S9700, supposedly got better reviews on picture quality but too many negative reviews on the flash breaking & other glitches/problems made me shy away.)
Sort by:
Filter by:
By -
Verified Amazon Purchase
Vine Customer Review of Free Product
Sorry, no reviews match your current selections.
Try clearing or changing some filters.Show all reviews
Show more reviews