PANASONIC LUMIX ZS50 Camera, 30X LEICA DC Vario-ELMAR Lens, 12.1 Megapixels, High Sensitivity Sensor, Eye Viewfinder, DMC-ZS50S (USA SILVER)

UPDATE 7-Jan-2017: The annoying behavior of the viewfinder's automatic eye sensor that I mentioned in my original review has been solved! Using the camera's standard internal settings menu, I turned off the automatic sensor and programmed the 2nd function button on the back of the camera to toggle between viewfinder & big screen. Joy! I also recently used the camera in a winter ice display where the average temperature was just seven degrees Fahrenheit, keeping the camera turned on almost continuously for 35 minutes plus zooming in & out every few minutes to make sure the lenses hadn't frozen. I came out of the display with about 1/3 of a battery charge while other visitors had their camera & smartphone batteries drained almost completely by the cold. YMMV but it's not the first time I've found the batteries this camera uses do very well in extreme cold (just keep in mind the camera _can_ freeze if exposed to extreme cold for too long without warm hands around it). ORIGINAL REVIEW: This being my 3rd Panasonic Lumix camera, I was expecting few (if any) surprises -- and for the most part was right. This is A Good Thing. The ZS50 replaces a ZS40 that went to the beach with me one time too many (sand gets in very bad places with all those moving parts on the lens). It feels a bit heftier than the 40 but all the controls are exactly where I'd come to expect them and the general physical handling of the two cameras is nearly identical. The one caveat is that the viewfinder will automatically turn on -- thus turning off the main screen on back -- any time a finger, loose shirt collar, etc. gets too close to the sensor, so I've had to pay more attention to exactly how I'm holding the camera to avoid those, "omigosh, it just stopped worki- oh, no, it's just the viewfinder" moments. (I expect this to become automatic as I use the camera more over time.) Some things I've come to especially like: - The "shoot through glass" option in the Scenes menu (I don't remember having this on the ZS40) - MUCH much higher resolution image in the viewfinder, good enough to use it 100% of the time if I want. - The camera's reaction time seems faster; even using the "Intelligent Auto" setting (see note below) there's less wait between pressing the button and actually taking a picture. The old ZS40 was fast enough most of the time, but this new ZS50 is fast enough nearly ALL the time. I can't tell you if this is real or just my perception... but in any case I'm happier with this perception. - There's been a definite improvement in the quality of low-light images. - Just as with my older ZS40 and TZ5, the ZS50's zoom capability is amazing (especially in a camera this small). - The ZS50 uses the exact same batteries as its older sibling, saving me a bunch of money (and now I have *three* extra batteries, which is great for travel and events where I'm keeping the camera turned on for long periods of time). - The ZS50 comes with an actual battery charger as well as a USB cable, a real improvement over the USB-only charging feature of the ZS40. (I was able to buy a 3rd party charger with 2 extra batteries, so it was more of an annoyance than a problem; it's nice to know I now have a spare charger along with the spare batteries.) Some differences that don't really matter: - The ZS50 actually has a lower megapixel count than the older ZS40 (I think it's 12.1 vs 18) but I've not been able to see any difference in image quality until I start enlarging images beyond 8x10. - I had the all-black version of the ZS40 so the finish of the ZS50 looks flashier, but this isn't an issue aside from the two looking different. The all-black coating was supposed to have some anti-slip properties but I've had zero problems hanging onto the ZS50 even with damp hands while moving fast. Some caveats: - The "Intelligent Auto" setting on the ZS50 has the same annoying habits of the older version, especially its propensity to decide many photos are either backlit or a hand-held night shot even when not. I've learned that the Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes are my friends. - That auto-on feature for the viewfinder can go from "wow, cool" to PITA in no time flat; I'm still having to pay attention to exactly how I'm holding the camera and/or what's near it when I'd rather pay attention to my subjects. (Hopefully this will be a case of familiarity breeding adjustment.) - The flash is located perfectly to be blocked or shaded by my hand; I'm also having to learn how to hold it properly when using the flash. - Problems shared with the older ZS40 are the lack of hot shoe or microphone jack, but the flash is relatively powerful (especially when your fingers aren't blocking it) and the sound from the two tiny microphones on the top of the camera is surprisingly good. - Also similar to the ZS40 (but slightly improved) is the amount of image pixelation at higher zoom levels, even when using only optical zoom. - The GPS feature built into the older ZS40 is gone; I never used it (the feature eats batteries) but for some users this could be an issue. All in all, this is an excellent camera that blurs the line between high-end point & shoot versus low-end DSLR. Battery life is good; color balance is good under a wide range of lighting; the full-range zoom is droolworthy; shutter delay is nearly nonexistent; it's small enough to (carefully) fit in a pocket or into a cheap case hanging from one's belt; and it's compact enough to be great for travel. Treated with proper respect (and based on the older TZ5 and ZS40 I abused), I expect the ZS50 to last me at least 3-5 years and probably become a hand-me-down in the family.

I've had the ZS50 for a few weeks now, and the more I use it, the more impressed I am. I just finished writing a five-article hands-on review which I have posted on my photography Web site. I just Googled for Brian Byrd ZS50, and the first three results were three articles from the series. There is a lot to say, which is why I wrote five articles, but I will try to hit the highlights here. For the past 18 months I have been happy with my Fujifilm FinePix F900EXR. I bought the ZS50 as soon as it was available because it has all the feature of the F900, plus a viewfinder, a 30x zoom instead of a 20x, and more. I'll never buy a camera without RAW image capability, so that's a must-have. The quality of the viewfinder is fine. Having a viewfinder is indispensable at times, and has already come in very handy. 20x zoom is great, 30x zoom is awesome! As other reviewers have noted, the optical image stabilization works very well. I have been very impressed with it. The full manual exposure control is implemented well, but the manual focus it not as great. Read my articles for all the details. The Wi-Fi remote control is a dream come true. I tested it out at the bird feeder in my backyard and got some amazing shots! The image quality of the 12 MP sensor (thank you Panasonic for your wise decision to reduce the pixel count!) is so good that I was able to enlarge some shots with a 100% crop and they still came out really good. I would not dare to crop like that with images from my F900. See my Web site for all the bird photos. The ZS50 focuses a lot slower when the focus mode is set to AF Macro, so make sure you have the focus mode set to regular AF unless you are doing some close-up shots. For the best focusing in low-light situations, you will want to make sure the AF Assist Lamp option is turned on in the menu. Apart from the great remote control, the rest of the mobile app is not very impressive. It would be nice if the ZS50 had some sort of tilting LCD screen, but the remote control feature can compensate for that in some situations. Accompanying my five articles are three photo albums of test shots taken with the ZS50 during the past three weeks, so that you don't merely get all of my blah, blah, blah, but you can actually see for yourself what this great little camera is capable of. All in all, I am very happy with it. It definitely surpasses the Fujifilm F900. Of course, it is not perfect, but then no camera is. Every camera is designed and built with compromises and trade-offs. Considering the relatively-low price and how much functionality Panasonic has packed into a pretty-small package, I can give it 5 stars without hesitation.

Excellent overall. I wanted a compact camera so I wouldn't have to lug around my DSLR nor depend on my (quite good) smartphone camera, but I also wanted an EVF and enough control. It's easy and fairly intuitive to use, and easy to carry around. Photos are generally good, though not up to SLR quality. I'd say the lens is impressive for a 30x zoom, while color rendition is okay. Flash is quite weak but adequate for a compact. Tip: Consider getting a spare USB Type A <-> UC-E6 charging cable. I wish it used the more common Type A <-> MicroUSB connector common among smartphones, but the one provided is also commonly used by Nikon, so a spare should be fairly easy to find.

Great quality, slim camera with a lot of feature inside, perfect for travel, i have a GH4 but this tiny one is a good alternative for quality/price, thank you!

I have wanted a lumix for a long time. I have a “bigger” camera for wildlife trips, but may not need it. This takes great pictures. Arrived promptly.

Une caméra de qualité. Pas en 4K , mais moins exigeant en mémoire.

Great camera zoom is excellent only problem hard to connect to wifi

Great camera. Better than expected.