Photo quality Photo quality Most important is picture quality not higher mega pixel?I wish that Panasonic reduce the mega pixel on this camera ZS1Effective pixels = 10.1 MPTotal Pixels = 10.3 MPSensor Size = 1/2.5Pixel Density = 41 MP/cmNice Camera good quality and sharp lens Small sensor 1/2.5 compared to number of mega pixel it has This Camera should not go more than 6 Mega Pixel or use a bigger sensor 1/2.3 It will be a challenge Camera If Panasonic do it Photo quality Photo quality Most important is picture quality not higher mega pixel?I wish that Panasonic reduce the mega pixel on this camera ZS1Effective... » Read More Photo quality Photo quality Most important is picture quality not higher mega pixel?I wish that Panasonic reduce the mega pixel on this camera ZS1Effective pixels = 10.1 MPTotal Pixels = 10.3 MPSensor Size = 1/2.5Pixel Density = 41 MP/cmNice Camera good quality and sharp lens Small sensor 1/2.5 compared to number of mega pixel it has This Camera should not go more than 6 Mega Pixel or use a bigger sensor 1/2.3 It will be a challenge Camera If Panasonic do it « Show Less
1608676
thank u for this info, but i have a question which compact camera will be good quality especially in the low light conditions?maybe the sony H20, the fuji F70, panasonic fz38, canon sx20
1608677
Maybe it is good in low light because for the same reason it is no sharper than a cheap 5 MP camera: all the light is concentrated on a smaller CCD. Maybe it is really no better than other new cameras i low light. I have always been happy with simple sony and samsung cameras. Cameras are one of the devices you really have to test side-by-side in the store to know.
1608678
In looking up what AL-Musafer is saying, I found out cameras normally use about 1,500 pixels/cm^2, but this one is using 2,500, nearly twice as many. A 1/2.5 CCD is normally used in a 4 MP camera, not a 10 MP. This is also supposed to make it less effective in low light, but most of us have reported excellent low light ability. The Sony's I tested had equal zoom with greater sharpness, but I did not think to test low-light ability.In any event there are no shots I was able to take and detect a difference between the 10 MP and 5 MP settings.
1608679
Its good to be happy with it but if you see the image quality of the dSLR then you feel the deferant,,as my experience in camera and photography rarely I need large mega pixel , but I need Image Quality,the most important is Pixel Density Not Higher MP.Think why people buy dSLR and carry it with lots of lens?
1964730
Amendment to my previous answer. At 64X zoom, the effective resoluion may closer to 4 megapixels, not 1 megapixel. I was just experimenting with the camera at 64X and the images aren't bad, but they absolutely do require a well-lit subject!
1924594
Sensor size, not megapixels, is what matters. If you cram a lot of pixels onto a small sensor, and put the same number of pixels on a larger sensor, the pixels on the larger sensor are bigger. All other things equal, you end up with better image quality when you enlarge images captured with the camera that has the larger sensor. http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/digital-camera-megapixels-and-sensor-size.html
1234928
It is 12 megapixels vs 10.0 for the Canon. It is 4x optical zoom vs 5x optical zoom on the Canon. We had the first version and loved it and bought this one this summer because we wanted an underwater enclosure. We have only had Olympus cameras since 1999 and we love them. We have two of these smaller cameras, a slightly bigger version and a full blown DSLR and we have never had any problems with them and we love the Scenes features in the ZX series cameras. And they are a couple hundred bucks cheaper than the Canon's that I can see. Hope this helps.
590977
The photo quality seemed pretty good to me! I don't remember mp details. I ended up returning the camera because after 1 snorkel trip it stopped working!
588407
I learned that more pixels does not necessarily mean better pictures. What really matters is the size of the sensor. In compact or even superzoom cameras the sensor used is a small one.
1350793
Panasonic sd 60k get more picture wide len and more zoom and &lt;&lt;optical&gt;&gt; image stabilization. I got them both and in the end of testing, I return sony cx 150. there is one down side thou the 3.5 hour battery is expensive for panasonic. and sometime the auto white balance is a bit slower but in the end it all good.
2221319
The ZS7 doesn't have 1080i, and image quality most likely suffers from the drawbacks of its counterparts. Panasonic not having 1080i makes little sense nowadays, and CMOS sensor technology might help considerably.
719551
I have the Kodak zi8. I took it to Macchu-Pichu and performed beautifully well, spite being banged a few times. I am not sure the Panasonic would stand the roughness, even though it performs well. And the Kodak has a larger screen, so you can see what you are filming.
134354
The two biggest differences between the ZS1 and ZS3 are the ZS3s ability to shoot HD video and the much higher quality LCD on the ZS3. The LCD size is only sightly higher, but the resolution of the screen is substantially higher than that of the ZS1. Also, the ZS3 will produce better videos. It can film HD and has a stereo microphone instead of a mono one. In addition, according to Cnet "The ZS3 actually uses a 12-megapixel sensor in order to maintain the same angle of view 16:9 and 4:3 aspect modes" while the ZS1 only features a 10mp sensor. All that said, Panasonic just announced the specifications and pricing of the new versions of this line of cameras so if you are willing to wait I would try to see if the price drops on these next month when the new ones arrive or just skip this model and get one of the newer ones. http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/12/panasonic-prices-lumix-dmc-ts2-dmc-zs5-dmc-zs7-and-dmc-zr3-cam/
1572554
Most people don't understand the concept of pixel count vs resolution. Many think the more pixels the better. This simply isn't the case. http://www.dpreview.com/ In the case of the FZ40/47 10 mp would be overkill. Thanks to clever software, people mistakenly think that a 6mm by 4mm sensor can take photos like a 4/3 or APS-C camera. Not by a long shot.
1724240
It will do both but I cant recommend this camera! After short periods of use the cameras' sensor developed "dark spots" that look like little black clouds on every picture. I thought it was a fluke or something I did. I bought an identical one and the same thing happened within 2 weeks. They can not be used for anything that needs a "clear" now picture and I will not buy another Panasonic of this type.
2038468
I have the same problem. I like the Nikon but it just came out. The Panasonic has very good reviews including the zs1. I believe the zs1 is just as good of a camera as the zs3 except for video. I would still like some opinions on the nikon s8000 vs panasonic zs1 or zs3.
1254702
Pixels, schmixels. Sensor size is more important. You will never be able to the tell the difference between 12 MP and 16 MP with this camera's sensor. Carrying around extra useless pixels just makes bigger files with essentially no improvement in quality.
1148632
Here is one more review on the Panasonic from cnet:http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/panasonic-lumix-dmc-zs10/4505-6501_7-34505713.html?tag=mncol;lstcameralabs.com has posted some test photos as well.. not their full review yet though.
844346
In addition to several other professional reviews available online in favor of the Panasonic ZS3/TZ7, one of the most reputable online sources for photography (i.e., The Luminous Landscape) has published its findings on April 28, 2009, comparing Panasonics ZS3, Canon SX200, and Fuji F200EXR, and I found it very informative:http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/pocket.shtml
1333326
Resolution is directly related to mega-pixels, but there are other more important factors that influence image quality. They include image noise, color depth, and dynamic range, which are all related to the size of the sensor. The P7800 has a larger sensor than the S9300, so the P7800 will produce much higher quality images, especially in low light. The P7800 will not match the image quality of a DSLR because a DSLR has a much larger sensor than the P7800. A DSLR will always beat a smaller camera when it comes to image quality, but the trade off is that the camera is larger and heavier. The quality of the optics is also important, and the P7800 has a faster, higher quality lens than the S9300. Hope this helps!