Panasonic DMC-ZS30: Time to upgrade from my Canon A720IS. Looking at the ZS30 in the $300 price range. Any comments from anyone that has this camera would be great!

drstevens

Time to upgrade from my Canon A720IS. Looking at the ZS30 in the $300 price range. Any comments from anyone that has this camera would be great!

Racmanaz Loc: Sunny Tucson!

Looks like a nice little camera with wifi, NFC and a touch screen. B&H has it on sale now for $279

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

drstevens wrote:

Time to upgrade from my Canon A720IS. Looking at the ZS30 in the $300 price range. Any comments from anyone that has this camera would be great!

Is the Panasonic the only other camera you are considering and/or would you like feedback on other models?

drstevens

I have been looking at others: Canon SX50,SX280, any other suggestions? Thanks

drstevens

Also Canon SX510...

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

drstevens wrote:

I have been looking at others: Canon SX50,SX280, any other suggestions? Thanks

Would you have any use for the features of a Canon SX-50? Prices are dropping.

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

Hi drstevens, don't hesitate to buy the ZS30, it's a great camera and produces excellent images. One tip though, unless you need to use the GPS make sure it's switched off as its uses a lot of battery power. I leave my GPS on but I do carry spare batteries. It is also very compact and will fit in your pockets. The Canon SX280 is a similar size camera with excellent quality images. The Canon SX50 is also a good choice but it very heavy and bulkier than the others mentioned.
Any more help let me know,
John.

medavis43 Loc: Folkston, GA

I have a ZS30 and use it all the time for family pics and such. Nice long zoom on it. I took it with me to Europe for 2 weeks and it did a nice job. Was glad I wasn't carrying around huge camera and lens for those long shots. Even took decent pics of windows in Notre Dame. I have had several Panasonic cameras. Have a FZ200 as well. Use the bridge cameras because of the zoom capabilities.

Wahawk Loc: NE IA

drstevens wrote:

Also Canon SX510...

Depends on what you are looking for, but when looking at the SX510 vs the SX50, there is a HUGE difference!! SX50 is a little over the $300 point, but well worth it!! If that meets your physical size requirements, it would be a GREAT choice.

Just use the Search at the top of the page and enter SX50 (or whatever model you want to look into) and check out the posts that reference that camera. The SX50 has MANY people here that LOVE it!! Plus a few that hate it!

medavis43 Loc: Folkston, GA

You might look at ZS25 (I think) pretty much same specs but no GPS and no wi-fi. A little cheaper. One of the things that I really liked about the ZS30 was a setting for through glass. It was cold and rainy most of the time we were in Germany and we took lots of pics from inside the car. Nice and clear and no reflections. Can't compare to Canon since I used Pentax when I shot with film and then switched to Panasonic.

Racmanaz Loc: Sunny Tucson!

medavis43 wrote:

You might look at ZS25 (I think) pretty much same specs but no GPS and no wi-fi. A little cheaper. One of the things that I really liked about the ZS30 was a setting for through glass. It was cold and rainy most of the time we were in Germany and we took lots of pics from inside the car. Nice and clear and no reflections. Can't compare to Canon since I used Pentax when I shot with film and then switched to Panasonic.

Medavis, do you have any idea what the camera uses to make that camera "see through" glass with no refection? My LX7 has it but have no idea what it is, maybe it's a built in polarizer??

masonmike Loc: Vancouver, Washington

Bought the Panasonic ZS20 for my wife last year. This a great little point & shoot & she really has takin some really nice photos with it. Many of the same features as the 30. I like the in- camera panorama feature which is something my big DSLR does not have. If you live near a Costco they had the Lumix ZS30 in a kit for a really good price. .

LolaPL Loc: Richardson, Texas

Just replaced my ZS3, yes,3, with the ZS30, and I love it mostly! Inside shots were a bit soft. Outside, it is amazingly sharp! Video inside is tack sharp...go figure.

MikeMck Loc: Southern Maryland on the Bay

Any comments from anyone that has this camera would be great![/quote]

I have had the camera and used it for the Xmas photos and I love it. Just the right size for those hit and run pics. Here's a sample

Graeme Loc: El Cerrito, California

medavis43 wrote:

You might look at ZS25 (I think) pretty much same specs but no GPS and no wi-fi. A little cheaper. One of the things that I really liked about the ZS30 was a setting for through glass. It was cold and rainy most of the time we were in Germany and we took lots of pics from inside the car. Nice and clear and no reflections. Can't compare to Canon since I used Pentax when I shot with film and then switched to Panasonic.

What is the "through glass" setting? It doesn't seem to be listed in specs on dpreview.com

Sounds like a plus for shooting in museums.