Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5K 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

My daughter is a cheerleader and all I ever got were the same pictures and blurry at that. They are just too far away. Now I can have choices of shots and CLEAR beautiful pictures. Has lots of neat features. Love the size, fits well in my hands. Very easy to use with computer. Best camera I have ever had.

I've had this product about a month. The only complaint thus far regarding the picture quality is sometimes the flash is too bright, but by the second picture it's adjusted perfectly. The colors and density of the images from this camera are amazing. The smart face and antishake technology really puts this unit over the top. The LCD display is phenomenal as well, incredibly detailed.
The surprise based on what I've read here is how great the video quality at 720P 30 FPS is. It creates a .MOV file; I'm using premiere elements to convert it to an .MPeg file to stream to a PS3 and ultimately to a 60" Elite Plasma and a 110' 1080P projector. The image quality is very good and definitely high def. I've got a HDV Sony HC-1 camcorder that records at 1080i and the TZ5's image quality is very good in comparison. I've owned a JVC HD1 720P 30fps HDV camcorder and I find the image quality of the TZ5 much better (I still have footage from the HD1 to compare). The video quality was much better than any DV camcorder that I've seen. If the audio were higher quality (the audio is mono and very compressed) and the record time more than 8 minutes this unit would be a great camcorder substitute.
I am recommending the heck out of this camcorder to friends and colleagues. I absolutely love it.

ebeowulf - I guess you reviewed a wrong camera!!! (LOL) not TZ5. Please see my comments to each of the issues you have pointed out and given this camera a miserly 1. There are 179 5 star comments to 7 1 star comments (less than 4%) in this site. So majority reviewers cannot be wrong. Again, we are not having SLR quality or low light performance when reviewing a P&S please.

Problems:
1) Buttons are awkwardly located, making it easy to accidentally press the wrong button.

There is only 1 dial that is out of way from fingers when you use. Other than that it is the shutter and zoom ring combo. there is a e.zoom button that is very tiny. The power switch and play/camera switch are physical toggle switch, that simply by press of a finger cannot be changed!!! What buttons are you talking about?
2) Power options for extending battery life are non-existent - the camera simply runs until it dies (without much advance notice). Please see the above comments to switch of LCD dear or read the manual beofre you write reviews.
3) On-camera menus are not intuitive.
It is one of the easiest menu systems I have come acrros in cameras. The quick menu is a child's play and icon based. A nitwit can understand this easily.
4) Movies are in the quicktime format - nothing plays quicktime except intrusive Apple software.
Agreed...Phew...
5) Pictures are NOT auto-rotated in windows. You have to use panasonic's "special" software, or otherwise rotate all pictures by hand.
Worng again...they are auto-rotated. Not the gyro types, but vertical pictures are display vertically but the camera in horizontal position
6) Tech support is snotty and unhelpful.
I have no experince of this...

PLEASE take the negative reviews for this camera seriously, especially the ones about picture quality. I really don't know much about cameras but even I can notice major noise and lack of quality in photos... especially when compared with my old Olympus camera. This one is just not worth the money, wish I could return it...

This camera makes me look like a pro! I set it to "automatic", frame it the way I like it...and all I get is "ooz and ows! This amazing camera makes my walks and visits an eye-opener 'cause I'm becoming more and more aware of interesting, exciting picture-possibilities to share with others. It allows me to look at what I took for granted, the ordinary things and happenings...and see it with a new, personal and original view. This makes my life more interesting and it can for you! So Panasonic Lumix--I can't thank you enough...And Amazon.com---your price and service are unbeatable...Got it prepaid within a few days! It's probably the best purchase I've made in a very long time!

Carl Baum, Palo Alto, CA