Panasonic LUMIX ZS100 4K Digital Camera, 20.1 Megapixel 1-Inch Sensor 30p Video Camera, 10X LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT Lens, F2.8-5.9 Aperture, HYBRID O.I.S. Stabilization, 3-Inch LCD, DMC-ZS100K (Black)

I'm an experienced "enthusiast" amateur who has owned 10+ DSLRs and advanced "point and shoots". The Lumix ZS100, on balance, is the most advanced and most competent high quality camera I have ever held in my hand. It packs all of the capabilities of most mid-priced DSLRs and has a 250mm Leica optical lens (that zooms further up to 1000mm equivalent with its seamlessly integrated digital zoom). The ZS100 also includes a phenomenal 4K photo burst video/photo option and also has post shot focus (by allowing you to shoot simultaneously along multiple focal points). In short it includes an unbelievable amount of technology in a very small package. Also I believe it is the only compact "point and shoot" camera on the market with both a large 1 inch sensor (approaching DSLR size) and a 10x optical zoom. And, with almost all of the capabilities of a DSLR it is about 1/4 the size and weight. I expect to leave my DSLR at home from now on. The fully interactive touch screen and separate digital view finder (useful on sunny days) are both quite decent and somewhat unusual in this price range. And not sure why some are complaining on this site, the picture quality is top notch, comparable to the best of them at this sensor level and below. And I think the picture equals or beats many DSLRs with larger sensors. And its a pretty good bargain, especially with the $100 price drop that happened at the end of August (I suspect a new model is around the corner, but so what). And if you are looking for a bargain, what clinched it for me is that Panasonic is running a free three year warranty extension through March of 2018. So be sure NOT TO PAY FOR AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON YOUR OWN. Just search on "Lumix camera extended 3 year warranty" and you should find the registration forms (you need to buy it new from Amazon directly or one of Panasonic's other authorized USA dealers to get this deal.) You can set the camera to "auto" mode and forget about all the settings, but I would not recommend this camera if that's what you are going to do. Yes, as other reviews have said, to take advantage of all of the features (even for an experienced hobbyist) will take a bit of homework as using all these options can be (if you choose) a complicated. The mini-manual in the box is not very good, so be sure to download the full 400 page instruction book from the Panasonic support site. It is a bit dense but quite comprehensive. Also I would recommend the third-party guide book written by Alexander White available on Amazon. It is great book (hard copy or Kindle). So if you are pretty experienced and looking for a very advanced, high quality, easy to travel with camera this is the right one for you! And the free extra 2 years on your warranty (3 years total), will give you peace of mind if you are worried about all the technology that Panasonic has squeezed into the ZS100.

5 stars, even though, or even because, its auto-closing lens cover jammed within a week of starting to use it. But by that time I was enormously impressed by the quality of the photos from this pocket camera (but you better have pretty big pockets). So I called Amazon, and was stunned by the speed and quality of Amazon customer service. Within minutes the issue was resolved: another ZS100 was send that day, and I received UPS mailing labels for the return of the flawed camera. Two days later, I was back in the woods with a ZS100 again. I've been using Panasonics for a few years, now; the pocket models like this one and larger bridge cameras like the FZ200 and 300. While their operating system requires study, once you've got it down it's reasonably intuitive. I'm primarily a nature photographer, shooting while hiking and kayaking. If I'm expecting to do some serious photography, I take the bridge cameras. But if I don't want the weight/hassle, I take the smaller cameras. The ZS100 will fit into a pocket, but it does have to be a big pocket, and in a loose fitting pair of pants, or you'll struggle getting it in and out. A small fanny pack works as well or better. Photos are clear and crisp. You can choose your level of control, from shooting full Auto to complete manual. A huge range of pre-sets are possible, including 3 Custom settings: mine are set to general landscape photography, quick response animal shots, and the 4K Burst mode. 4K Burst wasn't something I had expected to make much use of, but I've discovered that being set up to use it lets me take some great pictures of birds taking off and landing from lakes and rivers. All in all, and excellent camera backed up by excellent Amazon customer service.

My first ZS100 camera arrived DOA. It seemed to work until the first time I tried to zoom out. Then, part way out the lens ground (literally) to a halt and I got the dreaded "System Error: Zoom" message on the screen. I tried turning it off but the lens was jammed. I applied a little pressure and tried turning it on and off a few times and finally got the lens to retract normally. I powered it on and it seemed normal until I tried to zoom and then the same thing happened again. I went online and tried the few things recommend by Panasonic. No help. I did a chat with a Panasonic rep online and he said the camera needs to be returned. I was NOT a happy camper. I had been very excited to get this new camera and it was defective! Worse, I found I was not alone in this, there were a significant number of others that had the same issue, though some did not have it occur right out of the box. I called Amazon support and they were GREAT. I had a replacement camera in my hands the next day!!!! The replacement has worked fine for the past couple of months, but I still have the thought in the back of my head each time I turn it one, "is it going to fail this time". That is NOT what you want to have in you head when using a fairly expensive camera. Note that I did not deduct any points for this issue since it was rectified immediately and the replacement camera works fine. But it is disappointing to read online about all the others that have this issue and yet Panasonic has not seemed to address the problem other than offering to repair it (which requires paying to send it to them and waiting several months for it to be fixed - and possibly being denied a warranty fix because they claim you must have damaged the camera). This did not happen to me, but others reported this added abuse after their camera broke. Anyway, back to the replacement camera. I have been very pleased with almost all of the features and operation of the camera. Yes, there are way too many items in the menu making for a high learning curve. But I don't have to use all those features and settings. If I just ignore those I do not understand or that do not interest me, I am able to have a lot of control over the features of the camera that I care about. The negatives I found are 1) the camera does not focus well in low light. I have had a number of blurry pictures that should have been clear. I am talking about light like normal indoor room light not darkness. 2) The facial recognition (the camera can memorize up to 6 people's faces and will identify them on screen when it sees them) is inaccurate. It usually knows it is seeing one of the people in the list but id's the person as someone else in that list. 3) There are some "gotchyas" - for example, the touted 5-axis stabilization does not work during 4K video recording. Why not? 4) If you want to let the camera process the pictures into a JPG format (rather than using the much larger RAW format files that need post processing by you) the results are not always good. Some JPG format photos look great, others have too much contrast or details have been lost in bright or dark areas (low dynamic range). The RAW (unprocessed) photos do not usually have these shortcomings. I have started to save BOTH the JPG and RAW format files for each picture (which the camera will do) and use the JPG picture where it looks good, or use the RAW picture if the JPG has issues that can be fixed by using the RAW format file. Many reviewers have said the camera is slippery. I do not find it slippery as much as "not tacky" to the touch. But given the choice of using only the words "solid, firm feel" or "slippery" I would have to choose the latter. You can use some rubberized tape or buy one of the add on grips by Flipbac ($9.95 on Amazon) to address the issue. While the camera DOES fit in my shirt pocket (but would not be a good fit in a normal pants pocket) it is slightly too heavy and pulls down that side of the shirt. So, yes I do keep it in a shirt pocket most of the time, but if you care about how your shirt looks, which I don't, you may decide to use a neck strap (which I think would actually look worse - but would be more convenient). I have read and watched a LOT of reviews of this camera both before and after I purchased it. The reviews are about 95% positive. It feels good to read reviews by experts (or at least authorities) on cameras and hear them say nice things about the product I just spent a lot of money to purchase (though I did catch the camera on sale for under $500). Thinking about all the pros and cons of the camera that reviewers have mentioned AND that I have experienced, I am happy with my decision and would definitely recommend this camera to someone who wanted a compact, easy to carry and use camera with great features. My biggest issue is that zoom failure problem which might reappear at the worst possible time. But I am thinking positive and hoping that this camera is not going to have that issue.

Esta cámara tiene una excelente calidad de imagen en un tamaño sumamente conveniente, cabe, literalmente, en tu bolsillo, obviamente si usas un pantalón ajustado no funcionará igual, pero tranquilamente puedes colocarla en el bolsillo de una chamarra o de una camisa. Su lente 25 - 250 mm tiene un gran rango a tu disposición, es bastante luminoso f2.8 en su distancia más corta, sin embargo tan pronto y haces zoom, rápidamente se vuelve algo oscuro hasta un 5.6, lo cual no es ideal en condiciones de poca luz como un cumpleaños cuando soplas las velas del pastel, aquí viene el flash al rescate, el cual puedes ajustar de intensidad y tener una excelente exposición en tus fotos. Su sensor de una pulgada es de buen tamaño y en general se desempeña muy bien, pero no esperes que sea el menos ruidoso, su ISO al máximo lo colocaría en un 800 antes de que se vuelva notorio el ruido en fotos RAW o el suavizado del filtrado en jpeg. Yo aprendí a tomar fotografías completamente manual con esta cámara, es mi primera cámara que consideraría un poco más seria, así que realmente me dediqué a aprender a utilizarla en su máxima extensión, sin embargo, si eres un usuario más bien de disparar y que la cámara haga el trabajo por ti, también tiene un desempeño excepcional, su autofocus es rápido y preciso, en condiciones de poca luz puede tardar un poco más, pero hace bien su trabajo. Haciendo un lado la fotografía, y entrando a la sección de video, lo que sin lugar a dudas vuelve extraordinaria esta cámara es su capacidad 4K y la estabilización de imagen, puedes tomar videos sumamente suaves y nítidos en todo momento, no tengo queja alguna de sus capacidades de video. Tiene muchas opciones desde VGA, pasando por FULL HD a 60P o 30P y 4K a 24P únicamente. Sin embargo, notas de inmediato la calidad de imagen y sobre todo, no se me calentó demasiado el tiempo que estuve grabando (tampoco es que grabe mucho video, pero lo hace muy bien). En cuanto a su batería, es sencillamente excelente, puedes pasarte todo el día tomando fotos y dándole un uso rudo y te alcanzará perfectamente, realmente me sorprendió su versatilidad en este sentido. Puedes controlarla remotamente utilizando la app de panasonic para celular (en mi caso android), y enviar fotografías desde la cámara, obviamente, en detrimento de la duración de la batería, pero es bueno cuando quieres tomar fotos grupales donde estás incluido. En cuanto a ergonomía, ví algunas reseñas (en inglés) antes de comprar la cámara, donde muchos se quejaron de que no tenía un agarre firme, lo cual, descarté de inmediato cuando la tuve en mis manos. La cámara es tan ligera, que no es necesario tener un mango de hule rugoso o algo parecido, con tus propias manos es más que suficiente. Su pantalla touch no fue para nada un problema como algunos indicaban también, todo el tiempo que la utilicé jamás toqué por error algún botón en pantalla (aun así, si lo deseas la puedes desactivar) y por el contrario, resultó sumamente útil poder incluso tener la función de tocar en algún punto y que la cámara lo enfocara y que automáticamente tomara la fotografía (algo así como en los celulares). Si te tomas el tiempo de aprender a utilizarla (que tiene un manual bastante extenso y detallado), estoy seguro de que le podrás sacar muy buen jugo a una cámara de excelentes prestaciones como esta. Finalmente, como todo, los puntos que creo no son un defecto, sino un aspecto inevitable de intentar tener todo en un empaque tan pequeño: la cámara NO es la mejor para tomar retratos, si lo que te interesa son fotos con un bokeh bestial, sencillamente no lo conseguirás, por el otro lado, si lo que te interesa es tomar fotografías en entornos oscuros, tampoco cumplirá tu cometido, hará lo que pueda y con el apoyo del flash puede salir muy bien, pero no es su ambiente más cómodo. Yo diría que su potencial es en un plan de vacaciones, donde necesitas algo versátil, cómodo y pequeño, listo para salir de tu bolsillo y capturar todo lo que necesites, desde aquellos motivos distantes metiendo todo el zoom y fotos más abiertas en entornos más oscuros con su máxima apertura y sensibilidad. En resumen, si lo que quieres es una cámara discreta, nada ostentoso y que sencillamente haga su trabajo, a un buen precio al fin que no planeas ser fotógrafo profesional, que te ahorre el problema de tener que comprar lentes, tripie, flash y una infinidad de aditamentos que tienen las cámaras gama un poco más alta que apenas y caben en una mochila, esta es tu cámara. PD Adjunto algunas fotografías, como comentaba, si sabes utilizar la cámara, puedes hacer un lado sus defectos y por el contrario saber cómo enfrentarlos para tener excelentes fotos, en este caso, realicé astrofotografía, lo cual, salió excepcionalmente bien, algo que me decían sería muy complicado y no saldría bien.

This is a honey of a camera, which lets you save high quality images in a variety of situations without lugging around a big sack full of accessories. Its relatively large one-inch sensor is a big plus. The camera is very compact yet has a pleasing heft to it, with a metal body shell and a nice retro control layout. The upper control wheels have distinct detents, with a meaty feel to them. But the lens ring is very low effort, so it's possible to inadvertently change its setting if you're not careful. Some reviewers seem to have issues with the Leica-designed zoom lens. I have none, because it makes no sense to compare this thing with a full-bore DSLR. The lens is of good quality, with a useful zoom range. However, be aware that the available f-stop drops off as the zoom increases. You only get f2.8 at the wide angle setting. The eye-level electronic viewfinder is a rare find in a camera this size. It's easy to focus it with the little diopter wheel, and it has enough eye relief to use with glasses. The tiny pop-up flash is quite capable, and there is a slow-synch flash setting, which helps when you need to lighten the background. Beware: If you leave the ISO setting on automatic, the zs100 can select insanely high values that will give you grain that compromises detail -- otherwise known as electonic noise. But you can set an ISO upper limit, or nail your ISO at a specific value. And unlike most cameras this size, you can shoot in full manual mode, and save RAW files for advanced post-processing. You will need an accessory grip for this camera, because the finish is slippery. Amazon has the Flipbac G3 grip, which is inexpensive, made of grippy silicone, and ensures a solid hold. This camera is not splash proof, dust proof or knock-proof, so you need a case. The Megagear case, also sold on Amazon, fits perfectly and accomodates the extra grip if you add one. The camera uses battery power at a greater rate than the manufacturer claims, so I suggest buying the BM Premium combo pack of two extra batteries and a charger. The 400-page advanced manual available online is one of the the most poorly written pieces of documentation I have seen, and anyone who is not familiar with digital cameras will be completely at sea. But if you are familiar with them, you'll be fine with the documentation. I have no comment about the zs100 video features, which I understand are major, but which I do not use or care about. I bought this for still photography. FYI, I'm a former journalist, trained in photography, and recently retired from a communications job in which I regularly used pro-level DSLRs in the line of duty. I hope this review is useful.

I take tons of photos, mostly moving targets in bright sunlight, tree canopy covered areas or in snow, rain and low light. I’m an off-roader and a downhill skier and don’t want to kill my phone battery so I bought this camera. I miss a big DSLR but truthfully they are too big to lug around. This camera is a rockstar performer. I chose these pics attached to the review because it was either too bright, or too bright under a shaded tree area with dust flying around, or in bad forest fire air quality and the pictures are great. I even did a photoshoot for a friends website and social media posts and people rave about his posts. It takes some getting used to for sure, changing the photo modes and how quickly/slow the shutter speeds are in different modes. But honestly, it’s a gem of a camera. Even the video in bright sunlight under trees with dust flying, the quality is good.

Genial para volver a vivir la esencia de la fotografía, sin ser experto, el modo automático te da los parámetros perfectos. Sensor de gran tamaño, obtén fotos puras como lo ve tus ojos. Genial para olvidarte del procesado de imagen de los teléfonos.

tiene una funcion automatica para tomar fotos, pero si quieres modificar cosas como el iso o el tiempo de apertura te tomara un poco mas de tiempo entederle a la camara