Wow!! What a Camera!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Leica lens; 12x Optical zoom; Compact; Image stabilization

Cons: Battery life not the greatest

The Bottom Line: 
Great camera for beginner to pro. For beginners, it has 'Simple Mode' for awesome shots. For pros, it is full-featured and compact. All users will find what they want.

Author's Review
I finally converted to the digital world. So far, I have been extremely happy with my choice. I'm more of an amateur photographer who does this as a personal hobby. The Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ3 met all my expectations and more. First thing I noticed was how small it is! I honestly thought it would be slightly larger, but I'm pleased because I can fit it into a small purse! The next thing that caught my eye was its capability to focus in low light. WOW!! With barely any light in the room, it was still focusing extremely well. I took it to the racetrack the next day and tested out the rest of its functions. Simple mode is very easy to use and takes such great shots that point and shoot users will take photos like pros. I especially liked how I was able to underexpose or overexpose with just a couple of button clicks. Very nice feature. The image stabilization was very nice. Especially when trying to pan. I am definitely impressed and enjoying this camera. The one drawback was the battery life. Fortunately, I had ordered a spare battery. I was able to shoot practically all day on one battery, but much longer, and it would have been drained completely. My personal recommendation is a spare battery pack and a 1GB SD Card if you don't travel with a laptop.