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Good reviews on Buzzillions.
http://www.buzzillions.com/reviews/panasonic-dmc-fh20k-lumix-14-1-megapixel-digital-camera-black-reviews

how's the battery life on these things? am I pretty much obligated to buy a second, more powerful battery?

Neat.

$139.99 over atamazon! Rated 4 out of 5 stars overall by customers so it can't be that bad. Might be a good backup camera when you can't take a bigger one with better specs.

I was looking at the latest Consumer Reports (in print) and it was a Recommended pick at $190. Also got 4+ star reviews at customer reviews at B&H Photo, one of the most reputable camera stores anywhere, where it is $139.99.

Might be a decent gift as long as there aren't any issues with the referbishment.

I bought it NEW from Amazon on Nov.30th for $99 no tax, free shipping. Regular price was $139 but it was one of the lightning deals that day.
Refurb should be cheaper than $105 woot. Good camera for $99, very nice quality pictures even at highest zoom.

C NET

Froogled

Videos:

video test

cnet First Look

unboxing

Hey now, records motion images in high def, so we can get that close up of Uncle Al doin' the truffle shuffle Christmas eve, after a few glasses of wine.

Things we never wanted to record in high def.

This is a great camera. I've had one for a while now and have not been disappointed, except for the fact that the Zoom is only 8x and I really like the 12x "pull it right into your face" kind of deal... but, this will do.

Can it zoom while recording video?

Hmmm, Im very tempted by this...Lemme see if it grows on my in the next few minutes.

Looks like people are starting to realize it's the OPTICAL zoom that makes a difference. Digital zoom just enlarges your pixels. 8x optical isn't bad, but twice that would be better.

I bought this camera on Amazon a few months ago so I could have something portable to bring with me on my trip to China. It's an awesome little camera. The Intelligent Auto mode is great. There's not really much manual controls on this camera but the iA mode takes great shots! I don't even know why they have the normal auto mode when the intelligent auto mode is clearly superior. I was pretty surprised and very satisfied with it. It's also quite well built since I dropped it in a puddle at the World Expo while in Shanghai and it still works fine (though a little scratched up). The video on it is quite good as well.

reggaemyelitis wrote:This is a great camera. I've had one for a while now and have not been disappointed, except for the fact that the Zoom is only 8x and I really like the 12x "pull it right into your face" kind of deal... but, this will do.

For what it's worth, it does have a 4x digital on top of the 8x optical. Not that digital is worth much really.

Here's a full (long) list of specs

artoonie wrote:Can it zoom while recording video?

Nope. I just bought this and haven't even got it in the mail yet but that was one of the items I noticed

artoonie wrote:Can it zoom while recording video?

NO optical but 4x digital zoom works for video.

Some stuff about megapixels and point-and-shoot digicams:

SLR Cameras vs. Point-and-Shoot

Another Reason To Avoid Giant Megapixel Point-And-Shoot Cameras

The Megapixel Myth

Tips for Using a Point & Shoot Camera

Getting the Most Out of Your Point and Shoot Camera

5 tips for better photos with point-and-shoot cameras

Pretty impressive specs... The key word here is "OPTICAL." This has a massive 8x Optical Zoom and Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), in both photo and video modes. Stabilization is critical with such high zoom, unless you have a tripod because all shakes are magnified. You rarely see optical stabilization n a camera under $100. Same goes for zoom more than 5x. The battery life is also excellent (if they're accurate). Finally, it comes with a case. I might go for one...

wisenekt wrote:$139.99 over atamazon! Rated 4 out of 5 stars overall by customers so it can't be that bad. Might be a good backup camera when you can't take a bigger one with better specs.

However though, there is no 2G memory card. Sorry woot, didn't want to sell you short.

Anybody know what format the video is saved as? Does the 8X zoom work while recording video, or just still pictures?

For the full specs see:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Panasonic/panasonic_dmcfs30.asp
(the 2.7"LCD gives it away as the FH20/FS30, not the FH22/FS33)

and an in-depth review:
http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC_FS30_FH20/

You'll probably want a better SD card if speed is important as this one is not great.

Contemplating buying this is a gift but the thought of gifting a refurb kinda leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

If I were buying it for myself I wouldn't care at all but if I'm giving it to someone else I would feel better knowing it was new.

Can you recharge the battery through USB?

Could come in handy with my XPal battery I got from woot.....

artoonie wrote:Can it zoom while recording video?

Other Pannies released at the same time can (ZS5, ZS7, ZR3), but I've not researched this exact one.

So I quickly looked though the specs and I don't see anyone mentioning whether this thing has exposure bracketing (AEB) for taking HDR pictures. My ancient Lumix DMC TZ3 can do it, and I'm addicted to it.

In PC World's new reliability/satisfaction survey, Panasonic has overtaken Canon for the top spot:



Here's the article.

kevlar51 wrote:how's the battery life on these things? am I pretty much obligated to buy a second, more powerful battery?

Long battery life one of the features of this camera. It supposedly uses an "Energy-saving Venus Engine IV image processing engine and efficient, rechargeable battery help to extend shooting time to about 300 shots on a single charge."

In real use, cameras rarely reach the rated battery life (which is done under ideal conditions, with many features turned off), but even 200 or so photos is pretty good.

kevlar51 wrote:how's the battery life on these things? am I pretty much obligated to buy a second, more powerful battery?

I bought this camera about a month ago to take with me on a trip to Europe. I did buy a 2nd battery from Batteries Plus and because I used it all day, I did have it die out on me a couple of times, but it lasted much longer than the batteries in my old Canon camera! I was impressed - and still am! So nice to have a camera that was small enough to slip into my pocket - no lense cover to slip off - and great, quick pictures!!
I did a fair amount of research before buying this camera. http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/DMCFH20/DMCFH20A.HTM was one review, but I found another one that had a true blue Canon lover that really liked this camera. I'm very happy with mine.

Here's the manual.

Need to get my dad a camera for christmas. Dont know if a refurb is going to cut it...

Same price at Fry's on Black Friday and still $140 at Costco with a 2 GB SD card, case, and 90 day return policy.

My grandma's got this camera. I've been plotting her ultimate demise so I could inherit it. Now I can just have my own, phew! That's a big load off my shoulders. Thanks Woot!

I've been using my Canon Powershot A590 for years now. It takes great pictures, but I never liked the zoom or its video capabilities. This Panasonic has 8x optical zoom and HD video. I'm going in for one in the hopes that it can retire my old Canon.

artoonie wrote:Can it zoom while recording video?

Samsungs are one of the few brands where even inexpensive models allow optical zooming during video.

Here's the PDF manual