PANASONIC LUMIX ZS200 15X Leica DC Lens with Stabilization, 20.1 Megapixel, Large 1 inch Low Light Sensor (DC-ZS200S USA Silver)

The two uploaded photos are of the same section of landscape, one zoomed out (24mm) and the other fully zoomed in (360mm).Review:Got this to avoid carrying my dlsr and lenses on hikes, and to do time lapse of sunrises and sunsets.Step 1: Throw away the (junk/out of date) user guide in the box right after you open it once to scan the qr code to download the excellent user manual.Step2: Install (under the same cover as the battery) a 128gb or less SD cardStep 3: Charge the battery (charging port under the same small cover as the hdmi port)Step 4: Set the wheel to iA+ (fully automatic shutter speed/exposure f stop) and if desired set the drive mode to burst with burst speed set to slow (2 shots per second if/while you hold down the shuttter release).Step 5: Turn it on, point and shoot.What actually prompted me to make this purchase is that I went on a great hike with views where I took a good number of pictures with my (decent) Samsung A71 5G UW smartphone Camera, but afterward found that the pictures didn't have anywhere close to sufficient resolution to want to print - or even share, *especially the zoomed in ones* - which was painfully dissapointing.In comparison, the ZS200 displays markedly superior picture quality - staggeringly better when zoomed.(Among other things, a good lesson/reminder on the merits of optical vs. digital zoom).So far (10 days/1050 pictures later) I am overall quite pleased with this camera. The size, weight, picture quality and particularly the zoomed picture quality make the purchase price more than worth it for me. I remove the top portion of the camera case (not included, see below) when I go hiking, throw the cover strap over my shoulder and I'm finding it fairly quick to grab, turn on and shoot without having to remove the shoulder strap. After some practice, I find I am also able to do that one handed which is a plus, as I often have both my trekking poles in my other hand.All that is to say I think I'll have a fair chance to get some opportunistic/fleeting shots of wildlife using this setup if and when they present themselves.The camera does have a multitude of features and settings that I really haven't played with in the week or so since I got it, but it is quite a sophisticated piece of compact engineering.It's fairly deep into "real camera" territory for those who want to manage their own depth of field/shutter speed etc, so don't mistake it for the severely limited point and shoots of yesteryear.One note about time lapse that I couldn't find in the user manual:If you use a shot interval > 30 seconds for time lapse photography, the camera will retract the lens barrel every shot, darken the display, then extend the lens barrel and turn on the display for the next shot.I had to try different shot intervals to determine where the barrel stays put for the duration (<= 30 seconds) but when I originally set it to 150 shots at 1 minute intervals I observed the barrel extending and retracting each shot (150 times per time lapse series).I for one don't want to put that much wear and tear on the lens barrel stepper motor and parts, so I'll only use 30 seconds or less for a time lapse interval, but it seemed like something Panasonic should have spelled out in their manual (searched and couldn't find anything about that operation).Of note is I did have the lens set partially zoomed (~110mm) when I observed this, but I really don't believe that was a factor.Also bought and reccommendMini Tripod for Camera,Zomei Travel Table Tripod with 3-Way Pan/Tilt Head 1/4 inches Quick Release Plate and Bag for DSLR Camera(THIS TRIPOD IS ONLY 20.5" FULLY EXTENDED)SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I Card - C10, U3, V30, 4K UHD, SD CardMegaGear Ever Ready Genuine Leather Camera Case Compatible with Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100, DC-ZS200(IF YOU LIKE LEATHER, RETRO STYLE COVERS)For me, the only downside (more aptly the cheap side) I will mention that the battery cover latch and the charging/hdmi port cover feel a bit flimsy to me, but I couldn't possibly justify dropping my review score by a star due to to those two largely aesthetic details.

I previously had Canon, Casio and Sony compact digital cameras until I switched to the Panasonic LUMIX travel zoom cameras which I liked for their image quality, ease of use and great zoom range. This is my third Panasonic travel zoom camera with this one replacing a ZS50. The ZS50 was good but it had a small image sensor and I was looking for better image quality along with low light performance. The ZS200 is slightly thicker and heavier than the ZS50 but it feels more solidly built. With the introduction of the ZS200, this is the first compact camera which I thought combined a large sensor with a zoom range that would be large enough for travel photography, so I purchased it for an upcoming vacation. The previous ZS100 had a more limited zoom range and produced unacceptable “softer” images based on reviews. A co-worker of mine has a ZS100 and complains about the camera producing soft images with a lot a purple fringing occurring around foliage. The lens and image processor are different between these two cameras.I just came back from a 23 day trip to Greece visiting Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Delos, Meteora, Delphi and used the ZS200. I used SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB Class 3 95MB/sec SD cards and took 5,200 photos (24GB) with the ZS200 using 16:9 format for widescreen displays, 8MP jpg, high-quality setting since am not planning to make any large prints or do any post production modifications. I set the camera to full intelligent auto+ mode for ease of use while traveling and found the camera easy to use in terms of start up, shut down, focusing, image stabilization and framing the view using the screen. Regarding Image quality, I feel that this camera takes excellent images in terms of sharpness, color rendition and low lighting when placed in full auto mode. Compared to all the other digital cameras that I have had, the battery life of this camera is truly remarkable. After a full day of taking over 300 photos, constantly zooming, cycling on and off the camera, the battery still had two bars left. If you just take photos with no videos, then I don’t ever see a need for having a second backup battery if you charge at night like I didI am not a fan of the touchscreen because it is too easy to mistakenly bring up the side menus and make unwanted adjustments to the camera. The on-off switch could also use more resistance since I mistakenly turned it on in my camera bag several times. It would be nice to have some water and dust resistance incorporated but maybe Panny is saving these features for future versions. I also installed a Peak Design Leash Camera Strap Black (L-BL-3) which works better than just a hand strap in being able to walk with the camera hands-free on my neck or over my shoulder and take images on the fly. There are some major features like manual modes, RAW format and 4K video which I am not interested in and did not use. I am a casual travel photographer and this camera on full intelligent auto+ mode works for me. Having owned three Panasonic LUMINX cameras, I have not had any problems which required me to contact Panasonic for servicing so I cannot comment on their quality (or lack thereof) of customer care. I may just have been lucky in getting perfectly functioning cameras but I am not complaining:)