Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20K 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Black)

This is my third Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot camera, and I must say I am very impressed with the quality of such an inaxpensive ultra compact. My first two Panasonic Lumix cameras were the more expensive high end FX12 and FX33 ultra compacts and I didn't think the quality of this camera would be quite as good as the Leica lens FX series. I was pleasantly surprised with the new features and the quality of the FH20. The reason I was attracted to this camera other than another FX was the lower price (I am on a very scrawny budget), and twice the zoom (which is allot better than most ultra compact digital cameras), which was enough along with all the positive reviews for me to get the FH20 instead. And boy did I make the right choice. This camera looks allot nicer than my older ones with its highly polished brushed aluminum finish and you can feel the quality of the camera just by holding, it is indeed a very sturdy little thing. The detail in the pictures blow me away, but don't expect SLR quality. I love the macro zoom mode, the digital zoom doesn't degrade image quality at all. HD video is magnificent, even on my enormous TV. There are no real issues with this camera that I can see being an experienced amateur photographer. If you are looking for an easy to use pocketable camera that doesn't take allot of brain to operate but still produces excellent photos in all scenarios than this is the right camera. On the other hand if you are looking for a camera where you can take advantage of full manual controls than maybe you should invest a little bit more in your final decision. Bottom Line: Best camera you can get in the price range, packs allot of punch for such a small package.

I have been looking for a new digital camera that was small, took great pictures and was very simple to use (for those of us who are digital camera challanged). I had another brand but after a couple years of trying to figure out how it worked, just got disgusted because it was not as user friendly as they had said it was. Another thing I hated about other makes was the fact that they all used the AA batteries. This was a big part of the decision making because those AA batteries only lasted for about 10-20 minutes when put into the camera so was constantly changing them. So I started researching and reading hundred of reviews. After all was said and done, I went for the Panasonic Lumix FH-20. I got it out of the box and was pleasantly surprised at how compact and small it was and how very definitely these are VERY user friendly. I am so happy I don't have to carry a case of AA batteries with me anymore. The battery in this camera is awesome and lasts forever (well, you do have to charge it). The picutres I've taken so far are crip, sharp and the colors are true. Love the zoom feature too. This little camera really packs a punch..it has many other features that a simple to figure out and use. I'm just a simple person who just wants to aim, snap and go (and get great pics) and this camera has done that for me. You sure hit the nail on the head Panasonic for any digital camera challanged people out there..like me. I love my new little Lumix FH-20. Would recommed this camera to everyone. Oh, and believe me, you won't miss the viewfinder..I always found them annoying anyway. Happy picture taking everyone!

There are a lot of good things about this litte camera. 1. It's little. I purchased this for a hiking trip to California, so I needed it to be easily stowable. It is. 2. Ease of use. My previous camera was a Cannon, and I did not find there was any learning curve in adapting to a different menu set-up. I love the quick menu- it is incredibly convenient. 3. Ability to switch between file sizes easily. All on the quick menu. 4. Very good picture quality. I've been spoiled by Cannon, but Panasonic did OK. My biggest complaint: the zoom. I wanted to upgrade my zoom from the 4x I had on my Cannon to something with a little more...Ooomph. I figured the 8x would be great. Except for the fact that this camera can't seem to be able to focus between 3x and 6x. If I'm set to one extreme or the other (either zoomed all the way back or all the way in), it's fine. But as I zoom in the camera can't seem to find a spot to focus on. I've tried pushing down the button slightly, getting the zoom box and trying to show the camera where I wanted it to focus on, but that doesn't work either. I've tried other cameras with high zoom and have not run into the same issue. As the camera zooms, the focus stays true. The FH20 starts off focused, gets blurry, and then focuses again. Pretty disappointing performance when you're trying to shoot landscapes, and everything seems to be in that middle range. All in all this camera was an OK purchase. I like the burst shooting and the video recording, although I think it would have been better to add the video feature to the quick menu.

i wanted an out of the box professional quality pics point and shoot, and i just about got it. sure there are settings on a dslr that are missing from this camera, but its a point and shoot. for someone like me with no photography experience that just wants great pics of the kids, this camera is perfection. easy to set up, easy to use. i love the intelligent auto, i just leave it on that and shoot away. i love the burst mode for chasing the kids (literally LOL) and overall i am very happy with this purchase. UPDATE 4-10-11 took this camera to NYC for a weekend trip, and got some incredible pictures. it started to slow down here and there, and delay going into zoom, and also slowed down switching from shooting mode to review mode, but other than that it was great. battery life good to almost great, i shot most of the first day on a partially charged battery, and through the second with a full charge. (i had 2) took about 500 pics total. burst mode came in handy for times square, and the video was great in the cab. (showing the crazy traffic) at battery park i got up close and personal with lady liberty with the zoom. just incredible. (thats across the water for you non new yorkers) still in love with this camera. UPDATE 5-11-13. still loving this camera. i've moved beyond taking JUST pics of the kids, and am taking product shots for my etsy store, and while its still not a dslr, i can get some pretty good results with a lightbox and minimal photo editing (color correction etc) macro mode works well to capture the details of my crochet work, and overall, i'm still very happy with it. it has slowed down quite a bit in taking pictures since i got it, and i will probably have to see what i can do to fix that (reformat the sd card perhaps?) when i replace it (probably next year) i will pass it to my oldest daughter.

After having my Canon PowerShot S110 Digital ELPH for over 10 years I was finally ready to upgrade. I researched the heck out of the newer digital, small, point and shoots and finally settled on the Lumix FH20. I liked the size, the MegaPixels, but especially the massive optical zoom. I liked the camera so much we bought two, one for me and one for the wife. We've had them six months now, and mine is resting in the trash with a broken lens mechanics issue and the wifes has a nice piece of ducttape covering the hole where the battery and memory card used to live. As evidenced by the ten year history with the Canon I am not hard on my things. This camera (Lumix) was done in by an accidental drop of two feet onto a tile floor while on. The camera immediately had a black screen when in camera mode and would not take pictures anymore. You could hear something rattling inside. After reading about fixes for this, I ended up taking it apart. What I found was a completely plastic camera (except for the glass of the lens itself). I have now read that Panasonic is famous for being cheaply built, and unfortunately I learned the hard way. The Canon was a tank. This Panasonic is barely more than a toy. The wife's camera? She had it in her purse, pulled it out one day, no more battery door. It had opened itself and snapped off. The camera takes nice photos, is easy to use and looks great...but who cares when it is a cheaply made time bomb waiting to blow at any moment. DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA IF YOU INTEND TO USE IT....IT IS NOT MADE FOR REAL LIFE USE.

I am ordering this camera for the second time in less than 30 days. I purchased the camera quickly and without much research as the camera I owned stopped working several days before leaving for my first vacation in 3 years -- a Caribbean cruise. The camera arrived 2 days prior to my leaving so I didn't have much time to read the directions, figure out how to use it, etc. I didn't take it out of the box until I boarded the ship. I just began clicking away. It was extremely easy to use, extremely easy to figure out all the different features, compact enough to fit in my small bag, and it took great pictures. I really did only have to point and shoot! It includes features to enhance your picture if you are taking a beach scene, taking a picture of food, taking a scenery shot, etc., etc. As great as I thought it was, my perfect little red camera couldn't survive being inadvertently dropped in the pool by me at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville on the island of Grand Turk while I was trying to capture another great vacation moment. Maybe I should have had one less margarita but I felt during that particular week, a few were deserved. I loved the camera so much for that one week that I'm ordering another one. I loved it so much that despite being laid off from my job of 17 years only 16 hours prior to leaving for this recent vacation, and having to now watch every penny while I look for another job, I want to have this camera to capture life's moment's as this next chapter of my book begins. PS: I was able to rescue the memory card and all my pictures were fine and came out great.

Ok This camera I've only had for a few weeks, but so far i am very very satisfied with the product. The camera is fairly easy to use, has tons of features that honestly I know I wont be using often but THE best feature it has is the intelligent Automatic button and function. That's pretty much all I use, but until I get the hang of the other functions. What truly convinced me that this camera was great was when I used the zoom to take a picture of a moth standing on a leaf of a palm tree three feet away from the window and finding out that not only did the image not blurr out but the iA (Intelligent Automatic) could simultaneously focus a macro image from 3 feet away...I don't know how to describe it except with the very same picture I took as evidence. I have not tried the video feature just yet, so this review will definitely be updated in the future. Like I said I've only had it for a few weeks. The battery life so far so good, I have only charged it once and have used it for three different events and it's still alive. Pros: - iA (intelligent automatic) - Image stabilizer works great - Good battery life - Small and sleek and light Cons: - In low light images sometimes turn out a bit pixelated

For the money, this is the best camera you can get. I am a sculptor of miniature fairies and needed a high-res camera for extreme macro shots. But I only had $180 in my budget. I paid quite a bit less than that for this Lumix. With a little learning curve, I am able to change exposure times, white settings, lighting, focus, etc. I'm getting professional-looking photos and, in my opinion, they are every bit as good as the ones the experts online are using with $3,000 cameras. Not kidding. I am also a landscape pastel painter and am getting incredible nature shots. The colors are true and closeups and wide angle shots are high resolution with little effort. I've also taken family portraits and used the "burst" mode for multiple shots of my pets with great results. It's small and the parts seem well-made. I dropped it on the hardwood floor when my dog went flying by and it still works like a charm. The battery lasts ALMOST as long as my old Kodak EasyShare DX7630 (which has a GREAT battery life and is a GREAT camera and you can buy it cheaply now. It just didn't have quite the res at macro levels I needed). I have not played with the video mode too much, but did get a clearer picture than I expected. There are three things that may deter a potential buyer or the Lumix DMC-FH20: 1. There IS a bit of a learning curve. You have to be willing to play with it for a few hours. 2. The manual is practically useless. Also, there is very little instruction available online. I plan on posting a few instructions based on my experience soon. 3. Without changing the white settings each time, or adjusting the "modes" the photos tend to be a tad too yellow/orange. This is easily solved by adjusting the camera; you just have to figure it out first. Or change the color balance in Photoshop with just a little tweaking. I hope this review helps, and good luck with your photographing endeavors!