Bought last year's model last year here on Woot. We hate it. This is the first product Woot has sold that we truly hate.

This is some info with some links to photos and videos that I posted the last time this was for sale on Woot. I hope it helps...

genii69 wrote:I bought this camera the last time woot had it also. I love the camera. I am constantly amazed at the things that I keep finding out that it does. By default the digital zoom is turned off. Even with it off the camera will go to 21x (intelligent zoom)as a posting before this one mentioned. When I first started using the camera I also thought that the 21x was the limit. Well after playing with a bunch of settings the other night, I found out that there is a setting for digital zoom. I know everyone is not crazy about digital zoom but once I turned it on I was able to go out to 84.1x. Wow! It is digital but you can sure see far away with that setting. Anyway, I normally run it at 16x or less in IA mode but I have done some interesting things with burst mode (10 pictures per second). Even when not using burst I find that the shutter speed is very quick. I took a photo of a helicopter in flight and in the picture the blades look as if they are standing still with no motion blur that I can detect at all.

The 1080i 60fps video is incredibly smooth. The stabilization works better than any I have seen before. I took a couple of videos where I was intentionally shaking the camera up and down (several inches) and it came out in the video as a mild rocking.

The camera works better in low light than I expected after reading some of the reviews. It's not perfect but I find it is very good in most cases. There is also a handheld night photo mode that is amazing. It takes several shots in a row and then compares them to figure out what is noise and what is real (I think that's how it works anyway) and it is really cool. I took a photo of my house at night with no flash and handheld and it came out looking like I had it on a tripod.

I took a few shots of the moon a couple of nights ago and they came out best using the sports setting. I am still experimenting with the settings but I got a couple of really neat shots.

Overall, I know that there are cameras that will take better photos such as DSLRs etc. but for a pocket camera to do the things this one does is amazing. I will link to a few of the photos and videos I have taken with this camera...

First, these 2 pictures were taken from the same exact location. The first is zoomed all the way out and the second one is zoomed in to 21x.

http://home.fuse.net/lazyriver1/Panasonic%20Lumix%20DMC-ZS10/P1000211.JPG

http://home.fuse.net/lazyriver1/Panasonic%20Lumix%20DMC-ZS10/P1000213.JPG

(Yes that big building is there in the first picture too)


Next, the helicopter with the stationary blades (no zoom, IA mode)...

http://home.fuse.net/lazyriver1/Panasonic%20Lumix%20DMC-ZS10/Helicopter.jpg

The next one was using burst mode. When looking at this fountain with the naked eye, the water appeared to totally surround the pipes that it comes out of but in burst mode I got several pictures with the water appearing to be in different places. I think the water looks like ice in this one...

http://home.fuse.net/lazyriver1/Panasonic%20Lumix%20DMC-ZS10/Fountain.JPG


Here is a squirrel that was in a tree about 50 feet from me in low light. It was actually getting dark and the tree was in the shadows and I did not use the flash. I would think this was taken in the middle of the day if I didn't know better...

http://home.fuse.net/lazyriver1/Panasonic%20Lumix%20DMC-ZS10/Squirrel.jpg


The moon over my neighborhood...

http://home.fuse.net/lazyriver1/Panasonic%20Lumix%20DMC-ZS10/Moon.jpg


Then the handheld night shot (no flash) of my house. I think this would have been even better if our streetlight wasn't out at the time...

http://home.fuse.net/lazyriver1/Panasonic%20Lumix%20DMC-ZS10/P1000207.JPG

(on this one I'm just amazed that it didn't look like one big blur. It would have if I did the same thing with any of our other pocket cameras that we own)


Now, a couple of short videos. Both at an amusement park and I was just shooting to get a feel for the camera. Be sure to click at the bottom right of the YouTube window to select the highest resolution. I uploaded these 1080i videos and YouTube converted them to 1080p. I am not sure if they maintain the 60 frames per second though as I read somewhere that they only do 30fps...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG47bWlA_OA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NtRJw8XNSA


There you go... I hope that helps anyone considering this camera to make the best decision for them. It suits me well for my needs.

(Now, I just hope all my links came out ok)

Happy Wooting!!

...

DouginSC wrote:I am concerned about the battery. The link that someone kindly gave us to the owner's manual says:
"The camera has a function for distinguishing batteries which can be used
safely. The dedicated battery supports this function. The only batteries
suitable for use with this unit are genuine Panasonic products..."
...so if that means I will be required to buy an over-priced battery from Panasonic (or one of their cronies) I will NOT buy anything like that. Others in this thread indicate clone batteries are OK. SO can I use those eBay batteries or not?

Probably not. Aside from them making money, they are guarding against somebody giving a bad review, etc., who is using some cheapo eBay Chinese knock-off and then telling everyone that the camera sucks and batteries don't last. But the money part is also sweet for them.

Russ__F wrote:Bought last year's model last year here on Woot. We hate it. This is the first product Woot has sold that we truly hate.

I bought a shirt last year that I really hate. Does this have anything to do with the one I'm now wearing?

Ive got the 12.1 MP version bought off Woot. We use it constantly and it's one of the best cameras Ive ever owned.

sdc100 wrote:From the description:
While GPS sounds like a great idea, privacy experts warn against using it for photos you plan to post publicly. That's because anyone can download the photos and see where they were taken.

I've also seen articles showing how the GPS info is SO accurate, someone viewing it can figure out which room of your house it was taken in - thus which window corresponds to your teenage daughter's room, or which end of the house your xBox is located in, or whatever.

jonnycando wrote:For all the good and/or bad to be said of this model...it cannot be overstressed...the lens is the thing that puts the cherry on top of this camera....Leica lenses are some special stuff, and even if this piece isn't their dreamiest, it's still better than no name glass. I gave my GF a Panasonic a year or so ago...and I have to say the results compare favorably to my Canon gear into which far more money is invested.

Seconding this, my wife and I have a ZS6 and a ZS10 and the optical elements in them (plus surprisingly high-quality image capture for the price range) are great. We've been asked what kind of gear we use to take pictures with by at least a couple friends who are seriously into photography and have much higher end stuff, based on the quality of the photos.

Middlin' low-light but that's where everything that isn't amazing sucks. Learn the various configuration options if you want to do more than just snap quick pics with them, you can set the ZS series up to mitigate initial image quality issues and make the very most of the high-quality (low artifact) optics and sensors.

The ZS10 may need a firmware update out the gate, probably been mentioned already given that this woot is coming to an end, but it's a lot of camera for the price.

I bought this the last time it was offered on Woot. I think it takes the best "point & shoot" pictures I've seen to date. You will not be disappointed. It just plain takes great pictures.

jeccaree wrote:I have this camera and I love it. For a point and shoot - fantastic. Here's a little proof in the mother-effin-Slayer (I shot this photo recently from at least 20feet back from the stage in a huge crowd).

This is my go-to camera when there's "no professional cameras allowed" at music shows.

my gosh, buffy really let herself go.

I have the DMC-TZ5, which my girlfriend bought me for Christmas. It's been an absolutely fabulous camera and I have used it heavily for three years now. I've been thinking about upgrading, but I'm a little concerned about getting a refurb, too. I see a few folks have posted who have had positive experiences, anyone out there have a negative one?

EDIT: Forgot my my reason to ask, which was to see if anyone could clarify the firmware question from a few posts ago. If this refurb *IS* an old version of the firmware, how do you update it? Anyone had experience with this, good or bad?

genii69 wrote:This is some info with some links to photos and videos that I posted the last time this was for sale on Woot. I hope it helps...

Great Job!

Thanks for another nice deal Woot.

mlecki wrote:
EDIT: Forgot my my reason to ask, which was to see if anyone could clarify the firmware question from a few posts ago. If this refurb *IS* an old version of the firmware, how do you update it?

Earlier DMC-ZS10 from Woot came with Version 1.1. Here is the Ver. 1.2 update with instructions at the web link below:

Panasonic DMC-ZS10 Firmware Update to Version 1.2 Available August 3, 2011

sdc100 wrote:User's manual

Thanks. This is the 150-Page Owner's Manual with Advanced Features that comes on the CD with the camera.

jeccaree wrote:I have this camera and I love it. For a point and shoot - fantastic. Here's a little proof in the mother-effin-Slayer (I shot this photo recently from at least 20feet back from the stage in a huge crowd).

This is my go-to camera when there's "no professional cameras allowed" at music shows.

\m/

Krumlov wrote:Here is a great Zoom chart from Fujifilm to show you how about how a 16x would look!

http://www.fujifilm.ca/products/digital_cameras/j/finepix_jx250/features/img/page_11/Zoom_Chart.jpg

georgiegirl1 wrote:this link does not work .(

[MOD: Just tried it and it worked for me in Chrome and FB. Try again, perhaps?)

Yep, it worked fine for me too, but for some reason the web link appears cut off on the Woot forum. To help avoid any more confusion, let's make it easier in the hyperlink below:


Fujifilm Zoom Chart for Wide Angle, 3x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 18x, & 30x Photo Comparisons

whatsamattaU wrote:Previous woot:

http://www.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=4588038

Good job whatsamattaU on your web link for the Woot sale on Aug. 13. You had more good posts in another previous Woot for this camera in the web link below:

Previous Woot on Oct. 9, 2011 for More Info on this Panasonic Camera

like2wheel wrote:How many digital cameras & vacuums can 1 person own??

i know...the woot off had way too many dysons and digital cameras. and then what do you know...more right after. is Dyson affiliated with woot???

Is there any way, that I can buy it now?

Well, I got one. We'll see if I can live without an optical viewfinder.

I never received tracking info, and I can't get it when I go to the Fed-ex link.

jnevil wrote:**Shipping Update**

Panasonic 14.1MP Digital Camera with Leica 16x Optical Zoom, GPS & HD Video has completely shipped via FEDEX SMART POST. All tracking has already been emailed out. You can also find your tracking number by following this link and use your ORDER NUMBER as the reference number.

FEDEX TRACKING

Got mine in the mail but it had the wrong charger - the battery just does not fit in the charger at all. What do I do?

Arrived today. The included Panasonic 4GB card is defective - can't be written to or formatted. Works fine with my old SD card.

Anyone know how to get the defective card replaced?

Other than that, packaging is fine, camera LCD is outstanding and the zoom is terrific. Tried a few shots in iA mode at full zoom and am very impressed with the clarity and sharpness.

Checked the firmware and it is the current version (Aug 2011).

Pretty lousy camera. Previous models were superior. Panasonic is going downhill fast & its a pity they don't read these reviews.

Major issue is image quality.

Megapixel count keeps going up but the sensor isn't getting any bigger so the images get more pixelated / distorted. Go back to a 5 or 6MP image like on the ZS3 and the image quality would be MUCH better. Granted, you can zoom while shooting video with the newer models but I'd gladly go back to a still camera with outstanding image quality compared to what the ZS10 (fails) delivers.

Grateful I did not pay full price for this item thanks to woot.

I just picked uo this camera. I am unable to lad the software into my 1 year old MAC. Might anyone know how I can get the software to work to edit the pictures U take with this camera? And if you could reply to [MOD: No emails please] that would be even better. (But Ill try to find my way back here tomorrow too)
Thanks...
anita


From Moderator: Please use PMs instead.