 Excellent, best waterproof camera overall |
| Review Date: April 27, 2009 |
| Reviewer: michaelbuddy, STL, MO |
Until this month there were only 2 or three viable options in Waterproof cameras. All were limited, and one, the Ricoh was priced WAY too high.
This Lumix, my father-in-law just bought last month in Japan, same exact camera, different model number. I played with it several days. The images are very nice from what I can see. They are just as good as most other point and shoot digital cameras out. Probably not the best of the best, but definitely good. We shot outdoors and inside in restaurants without flash. We got decent shots. Basically put it up to most digital cameras and it fares fine. But with the water and shock resistance and HD video capabilities, you have a a huge win with this camera.
In my opinion, this Lumix beats out Olympus, Canon, FinePix, Pentax and Ricoh for the all around status. Why? This Lumix is Water and Shockproof. Has a 10 ft water proof (which is enough for most people) Does HD video 1280x720 with Audio. Takes SD cards including the 32GB SDHC High Capacity cards. This and the video is huge for me. The Olympus does not take SD, and is limited. You can put 4 hours of HD video on a 32GB HCSD card on this Lumix. Awesome. Get a couple 32Gig cards and you are more than covered for an entire vacation with a lot of filming. Great pics, great video, all weather with just this slim camera. That's why I love it.
The design is slim (the new Canon waterproof blue camera is awesome, don't get me wrong, but it's kinda big and round (and video isn't as good).
This Lumix doesn't have as good a zoom as the Canon, but it's decent, and sure, it can't go as deep as the Canon, however it's small enough for the pocket, durable, takes great shots, goes deep enough in the water for most, takes the best video as all.
This is the reason I think it gets best all around. If you only care about super small size, get the finepix. If you want the best underwater performance photos, get the Canon. I wouldn't recommend getting the Olympus unless they change to SD cards. Olympus' MicroSD and XD are both lame limited formats. With this Lumix you are ready for all kinds of things and it's easy to put in the pocket. Because the video is so good, I think it makes it the great all around rugged vacation camera. And I'd even consider shooting fun movies with it where perfect audio isn't required, as the quality is much better than some video cameras out now. (I haven't figured out how good the sound is yet on the HD video, so I can't speak to that, but they say it's decent quality.)
Some youtube videos were posted where people with this camera were using it effectively as a helmet cam and they even hooked it to their motorcycle and did driving videos. Stuff like that is why I'm so excited to buy my own. (helicopter / RC airplane / balloon camera shots this would be great being light and video is good)
Lastly, the Macro is very nice too. I'm sure there's better macro elsewhere if you compare, but this does very well and has an LED light for it too. If you have kids and you'd like for them to learn cameras and play and experiment, I think though this is not a cheap camera, it's durable, can do all kinds of nature shots and video of bugs, leaves, snow, rain, tadpoles, and is going to perform well under some stress. I feel like with a water and shockproof camera, you're getting components that are going to last for a while and you'll hopefully only need to replace the camera when a better one comes out (or you lose it.)
Hope this was helpful! |
Great all around - Waterproof that works!
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| Review Date: July 4, 2009 |
| Reviewer: D. Francey, Maine, USA |
Ill start with 3 complaints keeping this from being perfect.
1. Audio in videos clicks often if you aren't gentle about releasing the zoom buttons. The camera dims the audio volume when zooming to avoid picking up motor noises. This takes much better audio than my old kodak M1033 which distorted easily at concerts. THIS IS A GREAT CONCERT CAMERA for being tough and being able to pick up LOUD noise without cracking and distorting.
2. Lens placement means I am often covering the lens and my pictures have blurry dark spots in the corner. This is a common anchor point for steady shots.. so I get a lot of finger prints on the lens.
3. Sky is often washed out, but I fixed that with some manual tweaks.
This takes 720p video (at 59.97 frames per second - verified with sony vegas Pro 9). I have set my camera to take 16:9 shots even though it takes a few Megapixels off the size it looks great and matches the aspect ratio of new TVs and new monitors.
Underwater use has been fun, being waterproof makes it less risky to take places, like kayaking where you aren't there for underwater shots, but there is a high risk of water damage.
I have only tested underwater in a lake. Lakes in Maine are full of minerals (brown/rust colored) so the pics tend to be darkened. Ocean or pool would be much brighter and less distorted. I got this camera to take to high risk events like sailing, kayaking, biking and its perfect for the job. I also use this for filming drum covers, drums are loud, this camera can handle the audio and fast movement in videos.
Color tones are beautiful. greens in particular remind me of my first sony, they are deep and eye catching.
I have not tested facial recognition, or really any special features but macro. Macro mode is much better than the olympus tough cameras and my previous kodak M1033. I also like having a dedicated video button versus having to goto a menu or restarting the camera in video mode.
Editing video is a breeze with sony vegas, my old kodak took quicktime files which are basically useless on a PC without wasting hours converting video. You do need a good computer to edit video. Filesizes of videos is much more manageable then my kodaks 720p videos (the video looks much better too, stays in focus better and adjusts to light changes faster).
Someone before this said you need a gaming computer to play HD video.. I disagree. The videos play on my desktop and both of my 3 year old laptops. So, unless you own an eMachines (junk and probably cost less than this camera) or a 4+ year old computer, you probably wont have trouble. (desktop is dual core 3.0ghz 6GB, laptop 1 is 1.5ghz dual core 2GB, laptop 2 is 2.4ghz single core 1GB). Its not a fault of the camera if your computer cant handle HD video, HD video takes a lot of processing power no matter what it came from, so clean the background programs out to free it up.
I give this camera 5/5 for taking near SLR quality pictures from a point and shoot, especially with macro images. Waterproof that works, and video quality that is top of the line with compatibility to work with.
**FOLLOW UP** Its been almost a year and it has had no issues. Waterproofing has held up fine, Ive tested it in swimming pools now too, and video is crystal clear. Video editing is now supported by windows movie maker. Battery life has been great, I bought a spare non-OEM off eBay for $7 and it works fine with the camera. Battery has made it through filming a 1.2hour concert in HD and a 3 day camping trip where I took ~40mins of video and ~300 photos on a single battery charge. AVCHD is SO much better than .MOV files for editing. |
An all around camera
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| Review Date: October 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Fulbert T. Chan, |
If you're the type to go through reviews after reviews before purchasing an item, well hopefully i can help.
After spending over a month researching and going to stores and reading all the reviews and head to head comparisons from the canon D10, Olympus tough 6000 and 8000 and Pentax w60 and the Lumix ts1. I finally decided on the TS1 for my all around camera and the camera to bring for my vacation to Hawaii.
Here's the pros and cons i encountered now that I've had it for 2 months. I won't go into detail about photo quality since you can get that info on other digital camera reviews sites. But I can say that my photos have turned out great especially if you know what this camera excels at.
Pros
+ durable enough to take on hikes and to the beach without worry.
+ takes great photos and videos underwater
+ HD video
+ wide angle shots.
+ 5x zoom
+ no issue w/ battery life (lasts all day and night)
+ multitude of manual options and scenery choices
+ has point and shoot setting for the photo challenged
+ doesn't look like an underwater camera
Cons
- Maintenance, if you take it underwater you have to before hand make sure no particles on the camera's doors, ie lint, and/or dirt. But that is to be expected when you purchase an underwater camera.
- seals do seem like it needs to be a bit thicker but i never had a problem w/ water getting to the battery compartment even after a week of constant drenching in the ocean either snorkeling, or kayaking. I did however clean it everyday if used in the ocean as per the instruction.
- the zoom button isn't in the best spot (in front of the capture button) and I wasn't thrilled that it was a slider type.
I highly recommend this camera if you need it for a vacation and also one that you can use everyday. It's not perfect but against the other cameras in its class, this one has all you will need. |
An Outdoorsman's Dream Camera
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| Review Date: July 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Michael E, pa |
| Here is the cold hard truth, It's the only high quality waterproof,shockproof camera on the market that can take incredible high quality 12mp photos (even hd video)! All the point any shoot settings can be manually reset/set to please even the pickiest snob photographers. Oh, did I mention, it fits in your pocket! As a hunter,fisherman, boater I've been waiting years for a camera of this quality that not only can get wet,but actually perform UNDERWATER! Some of these reviewers need a reality check and realize this is a quantum leap in the digital camera sector! You can pick any camera apart, there are hundreds for sell, but only 5 compacts exist that can take water environments and this is the best of them. Your other options are ,buy a huge diving SLR, wait 3 more years for the next leap in technology, or put a sandwich bag over your existing camera and hope it doesn't rain or you ruin it with a wet hand. Trust me, it will! Bottom line, if your an outdoorsman or a beach or pool bum who would like great photos in all environments, buy this one. And remember, waterproof also means dirt and dustproof.Technical info is available on several sites if you need it. This was one on my best purchases.I can't wait for the next rain soaked vacation! |
Better than I expected
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| Review Date: November 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: William J. Kelly, |
| I bought this camera to replace a four year old Sony Cybershot and wow have I been impressed. I wanted something a little tougher and waterproof this time so I didn't need a case to take it snorkelling and this fit the bill. Under water pictures turn out great as well as every day pictures. I was concerned that the image quality wouldn't be up to snuff after reading some of the reviews but they are far and above better than the pictures taken with the old Sony. For the price and the features you can't go wrong! |
Very nice quality pictures
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Raghu Inti, |
I am a beginner (basic user) camera user. I was using the Lumix FZ5 with good results and was looking for a waterproof camera. It was a toss up between this and the canon D10. I chose this for its portability and wide angle.
Bought this camera for our trip to Florida. It is an excellent waterproof camera, worked well in/on the beach. The pictures were sharp. The colors were accurate. A little too much noise at higher ISO levels, but that is pretty standard at this camera level. In low light situations, the flash is a little too bright and makes the pictures appear a little artificial. Love the videos it generates. Very portable and great looking camera, unlike the egg shaped canon, which can look out of place for every day use.
I recommend this camera with very minor reservations (not enough to drag it down to 4 stars).
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Excellent Camera for the outdoors!
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| Review Date: January 22, 2010 |
| Reviewer: A. J. Menard, Albany, NY |
Purchased this camera to go on a cruise where I was planning of scuba diving. Pushed the camera well beyond its depth limits. Came back with great photos of stingrays, coral and fish. Most people I showed photos to were amazed by the photos and the camera that took them. It is rugged, and easy to use. I left my SLR on ship and only carried this into port each time. Video is crisp, with good color, and easy to shoot. That was the second most amazing thing, getting such vivid HD video (720) of course underwater at a great price. Filming while scuba diving was easier than while snorkeling as you can concentrate on being still while being able to breath and maintain buoyancy, more difficult while navigating with a snorkel.
A great camera that I would recommend to anyone.
In winter I plan on carrying this while snowboarding and shooting video in the terrain parks etc. Used to always worry about the condensation etc with my other cameras going from really cold to the lodge. Not anymore.
Nothing bad to say. |
great camera
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| Review Date: November 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Kansas girl, kansas |
| Great camera. Quality pictures for a point and shoot. Worked perfect in the water. Took it to the beach and worked great. Great camera to take on vacations...you don't have to worry about it getting wet. I hooked it on my wrist and carried it everywhere. Love the features that most of the other point and shoots don't have. It gives you some options with the flash and adjusting the exposure, which is nice. Video is also good quality. Would definitely recommend this camera. |
Perfect!
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| Review Date: January 31, 2010 |
| Reviewer: T. Vaite, Tahiti French Polynesia |
| Totally waterproof. I live on an island were there is 90% of humidity in the air, I go to the beach very often with my friends and always have fun moments to capture in videos or pics, so this camera is perfect! Great image and sound quality, easy to use and carry around. I definitely recommend this product. |
Panasonic created a winner
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| Review Date: April 6, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Michael A. Warrick, Tucson, AZ |
| Best little camera I ever bought. Great picture quality. Hi-def video is beautiful and always in focus. I take it mountain biking and hiking. It never disappoints. I love being able to not worry about it. I filmed Shamu while getting soaked! Great stuff to share with others. The only complaints are that the record button for video is so small you can't work with ski gloves and the zoom control is very stiff. Other than that, I love to show off my cool indestructable camera. Plus the orange looks way cool. No regrets! |
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