Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC20S

I bought this camera pretty much because it was a. on sale and b. came with a bunch of goodies (a free 128 MB memory card and 2 free 16 MB memory cards). This was my first digital camera purchase, and I hope I learn from this $200 mistake. The Panasonic brand has pretty much always been good to me, but I guess I should have stayed with a brand that has been in the industry a bit longer (Cannon, Olympus, Minolta, Kodak, etc.) Anyhow, this appears to be an entry-level camera...not too many bells and whistles.

Pretty good picture quality, easy to use, small and light

3x optical zoom not enough, uses 2 AA batteries and sucks them down fast so you either have to a. turn off the LCD screen and use the viewfinder to conserve power, b. turn off the camera in between shots and wait for it to warm up (turn on the digital zoom from the menu again, if needed) to conserve power, which can cause you to miss shots or c. bring along several extra sets of AA batteries (make sure they are rechargable or what you spend on batteries will soon exceed what you spent on the camera), as the batteries drain the flash recharge time gets longer and longer (which can also cause you to miss shots), awkward compartment for battery and memory card

None

well i had the camera for 6 months, 2 repairs later i decided to take it back. It worked fine while it was working ,good clarity,and easy to use

1 year warranty

component failure

none

good

I had 2 35mm SLR camera's Pentax and Minolta. Both of these are superb but like most SLR's bulky. I also like to take many pictures as I found even with the totally automatic Pentax my failure rate too high and developing costs expensive. I also scan the photos into my PC for editing and inclusion in a family tree project. I bought the Panasonic because the sales representative at Henry's led me in that direction after quite a lenghty review of my requirements. I have returned the 1st camera for an exchange for perceived exposure problems. I have decided that this is a problem inherent in this product. I have varying results in outdoor shots especially in strong sunlight. There seems to be too much backlighting and over/under exposure results in the photos. These to some degree can be corrected on the PC. I have found that the images are not even close to the the film results of my previous 35mm cameras. I hav an HP scnjet 2200c which costs me under $100 cdn and give me equal or better results than the Panasonic Digital. In reading other reviews in this section my finding were consistant with those on indoor focus and flash. My opinion on this is that it would have been better if left off. To say that flash/focus indoors is poor would be an understatement.

Good feel, much like a 35mm. Reasonably easy controls, light and compact

Overall Picture quality, slow battery charge for flash, slow focus. Clumsy battery install.

Henry's customer service excellent.

i am having a digital camera from a long time. and i mistakenly choose this one over the Canon A40 and coolpix 2000. but i find that was a wrong thing to do. this is a a comparable camera since the photo taking is the slowest of all. pictures are nice when you shoot outside, but inside the building it is too bad, barely focus in a low light, needs long time to flash chage, and now it is not working after 35 days of buying, and customer service is not the heighest. DO NOT BUY IT

nice design

low light shooting is bad needs long time to flash charge takes long time to focus

canon A40 i used and got a excellent service, also recommend nikon coolpix 2100

This camera was none of the things I expected in a first digital. I purchased it with intention of replacing the 35mm point and shoot to avoid shooting roll after roll of film, paying for processing, only to put a handfull of prints into an album. My LC20 does that just fine, but I was surprised how much more effort it requires to take simple snap shots compared to my Olympus Stylus. That said, I never dreamed that an entry level digital could take such incredible pictures. The Leica lens lives up to the company's reputation. If you're on a budget, but want to go digital and take quality photos, get this camera. It does not have the speed and ease of use as some others (e.g. Nikon coolpix 2500, 2000; Canon A40), but those guys can't touch the image quality.

Buitiful color saturation and clarity of image. No camera in this price range can touch the quality image it produces. I have no difficulty with 8 x 10 enlargements. They are almost indistinguishable from 35mm. The controls are simple and intuitive. I spent about a half-hour with the manual out of the box and I am now comfortable with all the settings and adjustments available. The fact that it runs on only 2 AA means that it won't keep a charge as long as other digitals, but it also means you can take pictures as long as you can find 2 AA's with a charge. The camera also comes with a set of NiMH AA's and a charger (not part of the competition's packages). For night and indoor portraits, put it on a small tripod and set it to the night scene mode with extended exposure. It takes great shots this way. The SD cards are are expensive, but seem to be the next trend in multi-media memory with many other applications. The burst and video modes are fun, but only useful if image quality is not an issue. With the included video cable, you can view images/video directly from camera to TV, or record a slide show/video on the VCR, no PC required.

The BIG problem with this camera is it's focus speed, reload speed, and low light auto focus. This camera cannot mill around a dimly lit party and snap off quick pics. In AF/AE mode, it needs way too long to focus in low light, if it can focus at all. I missed many pictures before I discovered it works fine left in infinity mode for simple snap shots. However, the flash has very limited range. I have been able to salvage low light images on the PC, but the quality and color is not the same. The simple solution was a $20 Quantray slave flash. Throw in a couple of AAA batteries, and put the flash in your pocket. If you want a flash shot that's more than 10 feet away or using the zoom, pull out the slave and hold it with the camera. This has worked great. One surprising draw back, considering the technology put into this unit, is the inabilty to use AF/AE lock with the timer. If you are taken shots with the timer, you have to shoot in infinity mode, or rely on the camera's first impression focussing. In daylight, this is not an issue, but it is impossible to get a good indoor/night shot by using the timer (except in night scene mode, which requires your subject's patience).

Nikon coolpix 2000, 2500; CanonA40

Not an issue yet. Camera feels very solid and sturdy.