Panasonic Lumix, which model

[Shadeaux]

I know what you mean... I paid extra to get it sooner! I'm leaving for WDW in just a little over 2 weeks & want to get used to it before getting there!

I ordered the ZS7 from Crutchfield.com using my cashback bonus from Discovercard; the camera with a free case and 4gb sd card ended up only costing me $60! I figured I could be patient and take advantage of the free shipping. LOL, I should have remembered I'm not the most patient person! Have fun taking pictures at WDW!

 

[sabrinadv1]

I have the Panasonic Lumix dmc-fh20. I love this little thing. It does all sorts of stuff and the pictures are incredible. I posted some pictures on Amazon. They are under the blue model.

 

[FINFAN]

Are you talking about glare on the lcd when you're in bright sunlight? I have the power lcd mode set to auto which helped most of the time. I bought a Power Support anti-glare film for my Iphone that worked so well that I cut one of them to fit the lcd of my TZ5. I bought it from Apple.com. Really makes a huge difference in the sun.

thanks for the tip...we have an Apple store about 3 miles away, I am going to call and see if they carry the film in store..if not I think I will order it, 'casue it drives me nuts! I have gotten some awesome shots of DS playing tennis if I am on the shady side, but in the early day meets,,,not so lucky.
Gald to hear for the next model the ZS7 they fixed that issue...while bummed it's not for my camera, good to know Panasonic did some trouble shooting!

OK, Amazon sells an anti glare film for the zs3, duh! it's $10, so I guess I will order that! I am brain dead honestly, to have not looked into such an item.

 

[donac]

I have a TZ5 and love it.

 

[Shadeaux]

thanks for the tip...we have an Apple store about 3 miles away, I am going to call and see if they carry the film in store..if not I think I will order it, 'casue it drives me nuts! I have gotten some awesome shots of DS playing tennis if I am on the shady side, but in the early day meets,,,not so lucky.
Gald to hear for the next model the ZS7 they fixed that issue...while bummed it's not for my camera, good to know Panasonic did some trouble shooting!

OK, Amazon sells an anti glare film for the zs3, duh! it's $10, so I guess I will order that! I am brain dead honestly, to have not looked into such an item.

The anti glare film Amazon sells is okay, but it's very difficult to apply without bubbles. I also had problems with it coming off in the heat at WDW in the summer. The one by Power Support is SO much easier to apply and it stays on. It's quite a bit more expensive and you have to cut it to fit the camera, but in my opinion, well worth it.

 

[FINFAN]

The anti glare film Amazon sells is okay, but it's very difficult to apply without bubbles. I also had problems with it coming off in the heat at WDW in the summer. The one by Power Support is SO much easier to apply and it stays on. It's quite a bit more expensive and you have to cut it to fit the camera, but in my opinion, well worth it.

Ahhh, I didn't know that you tried the one Amazon sells...thanks for the heads up. Hopefully our Apple brick and mortor carries it.

 

[LoraJ]

I just got the $400 DMC-ZS7 (TZ10) for $349 from amazon!

I LOVE it... especially the travel mode with GPS feature & the dolby stereo sound. The 12 megapixels, 25mm wide angle lens, HD video with AVCHD lite & 12x optical zoom (16x "intelligent zoom") help too! They also fixed the glare on the viewfinder from it's earlier version ZS3 & the viewfinder is now a full 3 inches! I was using it in direct sunlight today & could see perfectly! I love this little thing!

Love it!

*Mac Users- I almost didn't get this one because imovie wouldn't work with the AVCHD but after HOURS of research I found out... if you update to imovie '09 & be sure to do the 8.0.3 update, imovie will now work with AVCHD. Just a little fact that took me a LOOOONG time to find out!

Let me know how your GPS does. I was just in New Orleans and it did not seem to work at all until I was at the zoo and then it tagged most of my pictures as Audubon Zoo. But here in NJ it works great. Sometimes I start snapping right away and forget to let it adjust to the new location.

I have a PC and I got some free program to concert the AVCHD.

 

[britfish]

Ok, all the models numbers are definitely confusing. I think I narrowed it down between the Z3 and Z7 It looks like on Amazon the difference is about $50. Any input since I have narrowed it down. (I looked at the Z5 but it looks like it doesn't take movies??)

 

[FINFAN]

Ok, all the models numbers are definitely confusing. I think I narrowed it down between the Z3 and Z7 It looks like on Amazon the difference is about $50. Any input since I have narrowed it down. (I looked at the Z5 but it looks like it doesn't take movies??)

Have you looked at them in a store or only on line? The reason I ask is I like to get a feel for the actual camera in my hands, ease of dials etc.( tho I did not do that with my Z3 as DH gave it as a gift, but it is really user friendly to me) From what MissMet posted, the Z7 has an edge with the anti glare improvements and the smidge larger lcd screen. It looks like the GPS is a nice feature as well, if you think you will use it. I think you will be happy with either..go with what you are comfrotable spending, you may want a nice case, or extra cards etc...or you may prefer to put the extra into the camera. Let us know what you order and good luck! Thanks for starting this thread as well...I had asked questions over on the photography board and only rec'd 1 response, this helped me so much more!

 

[britfish]

Can anyone tell me what kind of battery the Lumix uses?

 

[FINFAN]

cool, thanks for posting the link! It is funny because I have the z3, but it is red, like the Z7 in the link. I guess DH got a good deal, he paid 245 delivery included

 

[MissMet]

I found a link comparing the two models I am looking at and it is so helpful! Thank you all for your help
http://snapsort.com/compare/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC-ZS3-vs-Panasonic_Lumix_DMC-ZS7

Some of the other "upgrades" not listed in that article...

-antiglare coating on a slightly larger lcd screen
-Dolby Digital Stereo sound for recording in HD
-improved image stabilization
-lots of manual controls & adjustments
-GPS for tagging pictures (does drain some of the battery even when the camera is off but you can turn the gps function off or to airplane mode.)

There are a lot of great reviews comparing the two at this link. It's people who have had both & explain the "everyday" differences.
http://www.12xlumix.com/?p=15

 

[left210]

I have the TZ4 and the main thing I dont like about it is with indoor shots it always makes the background black when you use the flash. Has that improved with the newer models?

 

[mrudman]

Ok, all the models numbers are definitely confusing. I think I narrowed it down between the Z3 and Z7 It looks like on Amazon the difference is about $50. Any input since I have narrowed it down. (I looked at the Z5 but it looks like it doesn't take movies??)

The TZ5 does take movies, just not HD ones (although they are still very good quality/wonderful sound)

 

[Jenny-momof3]

I have the TZ5 and I just love this camera. But sadly my flash is no longer working at all. Does anyone know how I go about maybe getting it fixed?

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

We got the TZ-5 on clearance at Office Depot last month for only $149. So far we love it!

 

[mrudman]

Anyone know of any discounts/coupon codes that I could use at either Sears.com or b&h photo.com for the ZS7/TZ10?

Wanting to buy it fairly soon so I can get comfortable with it for our trip.. and seems to be about the same price give or take $10 no matter what site you go to ($240-250).

So hoping maybe I could use a discount on it somehow... any ideas?

 

[LoraJ]

Can anyone tell me what kind of battery the Lumix uses?

Every Lumix we have has a different battery. They are the kind you charge. They last a pretty good amount of time. You'll want to recharge every night when traveling.

 

[britfish]

Every Lumix we have has a different battery. They are the kind you charge. They last a pretty good amount of time. You'll want to recharge every night when traveling.

Do you purchase a spare battery or does the one battery make it through a full day at the parks?

 

[LoraJ]

Do you purchase a spare battery or does the one battery make it through a full day at the parks?

Mine always made it through a full day with room to spare. I guess it depends on how much you use it. I said charge every night to be safe, but I think I actually only charge mine twice a trip. I only take a few movies a day though and maybe 50 pictures tops.

With the ZS7, the battery went down faster due to the GPS, but I just got back from New Orleans and only charged it once while there. Took a couple of movies and about 200 pictures.