Gilbert H Hoxie
New member
This camera is my fourth compact after a lifetime using SLRs and is an upgrade from a Canon SD 800is.
The zoom range is outstanding.
At ISOs between 80 and 200 image quality seems blurry compared to the Canon in normal to brightly-lit scenes.
In darker scenes or shady portions of a shot, the Panasonic easily outperforms the Canon.
Problems:
MAJOR PROBLEM: Battery Life is short! I'm planning day long hikes and routinely shoot hundreds of photos of wildlife using rapid-fire mode, and would exhaust the only battery I have by lunchtime.
MAJOR PROBLEM: OEM and even Panasonic batteries not available. The 'Net suggests downgrading to firmware version 1.1 and using OEMs, but that sounds like it might risk warranty coverage and hit against the inevitable next firmware upgrade. Panasonic is punishing its customers by not letting them use OEM batteries (firmware 1.2, on ZS3s since August, recognizes OEM batteries and shuts the camera down).
The zoom range is outstanding.
At ISOs between 80 and 200 image quality seems blurry compared to the Canon in normal to brightly-lit scenes.
In darker scenes or shady portions of a shot, the Panasonic easily outperforms the Canon.
Problems:
MAJOR PROBLEM: Battery Life is short! I'm planning day long hikes and routinely shoot hundreds of photos of wildlife using rapid-fire mode, and would exhaust the only battery I have by lunchtime.
MAJOR PROBLEM: OEM and even Panasonic batteries not available. The 'Net suggests downgrading to firmware version 1.1 and using OEMs, but that sounds like it might risk warranty coverage and hit against the inevitable next firmware upgrade. Panasonic is punishing its customers by not letting them use OEM batteries (firmware 1.2, on ZS3s since August, recognizes OEM batteries and shuts the camera down).