Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ4 8.1 MP Digital Camera - Black

I got a tremendous buy on this display/demo camera paying half the SRP. I realized a life-long dream to have a Leica equipt camera.
Positives include: an 8.1MP rating, more than adequate for me; a 10x optical zoom a good feature that allows a good reach into distance, candid portraits and macro details. I would recommend the versatility of a 10x zoom on any digital camera you might consider. Most brands offer this kind of zoom on their better models. The camera is small and fits nicely in your shirtpocket. The viewfinder is clear and gives a good preview. (Sometimes a sharp looking preview does not result in as good a final picture.)
With well-lit scenes you will see extremely crisp pictures. The IA (intelligent auto)setting provides an answer to most picture taking. Other settings give greater control over varying situations.
The camera includes a burst or continuous burst multi-shot setting along with a continuing auto focus option for moving subject positions.
Before the picture snaps the viewfinder analyzes tonality and distance ranges and selects an appropriate focus and exposure setting.
The camera is ready to shoot movie clips with sound; I haven't done this yet and I will be learning just how many minutes of video it takes to fill a 8G SDHD chip.
Problems:
I have encountered some problems that may be resolved after I have better learned the menu settings to fit my own shooting applications. There is a learning curve involved to master a wide range of menu variations and setting options.
I took some shots of a music program in a theatre with subdued lighting; I tried several settings, with and without flash, experimenting to see if the focus and exposure would produce good pictures with descent white balance. Many were either motion blurred, out of focus, or too warm in tone. The flash is not strong enough to light objects on stage when they are more than 20 feet away. The camera on a non zoom position will give an extreme distortion of the vertical elements typical of a wide angle lens. On longer zoom setting this effect is lessened.
There is a small rechargable proprietary battery. I would like to see rechargable 2As as the power source so I could have a whole lot of extra batteries with me. But with an extra back up Panasonic battery or two for the camera one might be good for a longer session away from your charger.
Conclusion:
This is the 4th digital point and shoot camera I have owned. It is the best I have now. I am satisfied with it and I believe I will do better and better as I get more familiar with its settings and features. It is obvious that you can buy a really fine camera today for under 150 dollars. There is no comparison to what one costing over $400 a few years ago. There are so many competitive makes that offer similar features at similar prices. I have not been able to test and compare their features to my Lumix. But anyways, I have my first Leica!

Taking pictures is my favor. I have owned about 20 camera in many kind and brand. I realized that the panasonic TZ4 is the good camera but not perfect.The quality of pictures is fine in bright light, in low light it no good because its flash is not far. The date stampt set up is not easy like another brand, it don't have viewfinder too. The avantage of this camera is big zoom in small size to fit your pocket.

I know no other camera for this price that does what this camera does... terrific product, I own the TZ3, TZ4 and TZ5 besides some other older version of LUMIX. Only Fuji cameras come close to this performance/features cost relationship that Panasonic offers.

I was looking for a compact camera with a powerful zoom. This camera is both. I have another Panasonic camera that takes great photos so I got this one for my son. He is active as a skier and needed something compact and sturdy. I liked the feature of the 10 power optical zoom retracting and automatically closing over to protect the lense. Also, even at full digital zoom of 40 power there is no distortion or fuzziness. The colors remain bright, sharp and clear.

Superb zoom quality with little distortion.
The price is $50 less than a corresponding Sony that is as good.
The Panasonic also has the best repair record in Consumer Reports.
The manual is excellent and the viewfinder adjusts to the brightness of the lighting.

My only negative is that in low lighting the pictures tend to be on the dark side even with compensation.