Product Description

12.1-megapixel effective recording * 5X optical zoom (4X digital/20X total zoom) * 2-11/16" LCD screen with automatic 9-step brightness adjustment * optical image stabilization * wide-angle lens for shooting landscapes and large groups * 35mm equivalent focal length: 29-145mm * top JPEG resolution: 4000 x 3000 * face detection adjusts focus and exposure settings for better portraits *

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1690 in Camera & Photo
• Color: Black
• Brand: Panasonic
• Model: FS15 Black
• Dimensions: 2.10" h x .90" w x 3.80" l, .26 pounds
• CPU: AMD Athlon 1 GHz
• Memory: 128000MB DRAM
• Hard Disk: 1GB
• Processors: 1
• Native resolution: 640x480
• Display size: 2.7
• Included Software: Yes

Features

• 12.1-megapixel resolution captures enough detail for poster-size prints
• 5x MEGA optical image-stabilized zoom; 29mm wide-angle Leica DC Vario-Elmar lens
• Intelligent Auto (iA) mode; Face Detection
• 2.7-inch LCD screen
• Capture images to SD/SDHC memory cards (not included)

From the Manufacturer

The 12.1-megapixel Lumix DMC-FS15 features a 29mm wide-angle Leica DC Vario-Elmar lens with a 5x optical zoom. Panasonic has enhanced the Intelligent Auto Mode (iA) on the DMC-FS15 from the previous FS models to now include AF tracking and Intelligent Exposure functions in addition to Mega O.I.S., Intelligent ISO Control, Intelligent Scene Selector and Face Detection. AF Tracking enables the user to "lock" the focus onto a moving subject. The camera then automatically tracks the subject as it moves, keeping it in focus without the need to hold the shutter button halfway down. Additionally, Intelligent Exposure helps capture natural-looking images by suppressing blocked shadows and blown highlights. It continually monitors the light source in the shooting environment and automatically activates the backlight compensation function if it detects the light source is behind the subject.

Other features of the FS15 include a Venus Engine IV processor, which enables an advanced processing system and quick response times. An intelligent LCD screen detects light conditions and automatically adjusts the brightness levels for viewing in sunlight and helps to preserve battery life. The new Photo Frame mode lets the user put attractive borders around photos, so when printed, they look like postcards in picture frames. Also, the new My Scene setting lets the user assign their most frequently used Scene modes to the setting, and with a simple switch, access that scene instantly. The FS-Series is also capable of recording WVGA (848 x 480) motion pictures at 30 frames per second in 16:9 wide-screen format, as well as standard VGA (640 x 480) format.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Camera for the price
Got the camera 2 days ago from Costco. Coupon brought the price down from $179.00 to $149.00. Took WEEKS of research before I decided on this one. Also at that price I got a 2MB card and a very nice camera case included.

It is well built, feels sturdy and not easily breakable

Wide Angle lens and 5x Zoom is very good compared to other point and shoots which have neither a 5x zoom or a wide angle

Digital zoom can go all the way to 20x or even 35x with 5 MP used. Not very clear but useful to have if you need it.

The pictures come out VERY clean with good colors, clarity and lighting.

Size is small enough for a pocket

Video is good quality...(wish you could zoom in video mode)

The IA button which basically presets scene, face recognition, lighting etc is GREAT if you dont want to press a hundred buttons to set up the shot. Just ONE button and your set to go!

Flash is a littttttle on the weak side but still good enough for anything I need.

LCD screen is VERY clear and automatically goes lighter or darker accoring to the lighting you are in...and EXCELLENT feature. Also has a setting for the LCD screen if you are putting the camera over your head for a crowd scene that the LCD can still be seen at that angle...I LOVE that feature as well

Lots of little extras in the hardware that I still need to explore....

Overall I could NOT be more pleased..the write ups online are good and my experience so far (I have taken a few dozen pictures to test it) is also very good. If you want a mid priced camera that can compete with the big boys on zoom, wide angle and picture quality...while at the same time having a small enough camera to carry in your pocket..this is DEF it.

Amazing pictures
As a serious-amateur photographer, I have Canon Rebel Xti with some lenses from 300mm to 50mm f/1.8, I realize that I need to buy smaller camera to carry around. It's not funny if in the wedding somebody poke me and ask for taking photo because seeing me carrying big SLR with some lenses..... so the hunting for "good, not expensive, point and shoot" camera was started.

One thing that I really don't want to compromise is photo quality. I know that Leica have excellent quality for "point and shoot" camera, only thing is that they have also "excellent" price tag on it. The lowest tag for Leica is $600 (same as Canon Rebel), the second lowest is ridiculosly higher than $1500... so forgot the Leica.

I know that panasonic use Leica lens for their camera/camcorder product (I have HD panasonic camcorder with Leica lens, very good quality movie).... so let's try it. I bought this camera "Lumix DMC-fS15 12 MP" thru Amazon (best price I found), delivered within a week... no complain at all.
I found that the picture quality from this camera is really amazing, much better than other brand my friend uses...
The user interface is easy to understand. basically I just read once briefly the manual and that's it ready for action. The other feature i found interesting is the "burst", combine it one by one by iPhoto and change it into slow motion picture is really easy and "cool" (my sons said).

Also I found very practical is the charger doesn't need cable to connect to the power, you can connect it directly to the power.

Long wait rewarded: fantastic camera with lots of features
I just got this camera yesterday, so beware that I haven't explored all the options yet, but so far I LOVE it. My old Powershot A75 quit at the beginning of February, after which I spent two weeks worth of research and bought the Powershot A2000. I was immediately disappointed with it; athough I wasn't expecting the smallest camera on the market because it takes AA batteries, it was actually bigger than my old A75, which took four batteries instead of two. It also seemed really slow and sluggish, so I sent it back and decided to rethink my camera-buying strategy. Ultimately I decided I wanted to go with a lithium-ion battery instead, because though it may not be as convenient, it makes the camera much smaller and faster. Plus, the batteries are cheap enough to have an extra on hand, and unlike previous cameras I've owned that used AAs, the camera tells you how much battery power you have left so that you can plan ahead.

I decided to go with Panasonic because of its good ratings, especially on the Leica lens, but mostly because of the wide angle lens and its capacity for extra optical zoom, which I haven't seen available on any other brand. At first I wasn't sure how important the wide angle lens really was to me, but now that I have it I already can't imagine going back. With the option of 16:9 ratio as well as 4:3 (or 3:2) it's basically the difference between wide screen formatting on a TV and full screen, except that you have the option to switch back and forth when you want to.

For someone like me who likes to take pictures but doesn't always want to have to mess with settings, it seems like this camera actually has too many settings, BUT so far it seems to take very good pictures on the normal picture setting, and it's nice to have the extra settings when I need them. That is to say, they're there if you want them and for unusual shooting conditions, but they aren't necessary for most normal pictures. The self-portrait option does come in handy, though, because it waits for you to get in view to focus and then snaps the shot.

One thing that I've noticed that could either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it: the camera saves your most recent settings even after you've turned the camera off or put it into a different mode. This can be useful, because you can easily go back to the previous setting without redoing everything, but it can also be easy to forget what all changes you made to the standard format. I haven't encountered any way to set everything back to default all at once, so sometimes I forget that I have a particular setting selected (e.g. alterations to white balance, flash, picture size, etc.). Also, some features are unavailable in some settings, which can be a bit frustrating. For example, you can't take a picture in self-portrait mode in sepia coloring.

So there are a few quirks in the settings and it takes some getting used to in order to really learn all the different features and how to use them, but as I said before, the normal picture setting and iAuto seem to work quite nicely for basic pictures.

Another great feature on this model is the AF tracking, which allows the camera to focus on a moving object. Haven't tested this feature out much yet to see how it works, but I have a feeling it will come in handy.

My old Powershot is pretty limited compared to the capabilities to this little thing, but from what I saw of the Powershot A2000 for the week or so that I had it, the Lumix overshadows it as well. I've read that Canon picture quality is supposedly slightly better, with Panasonics producing a watercolor effect, but that difference seems minor to me compared to the wide angle lens combined with the zoom power and the other features available. (Wide angle is available on some Canons but mostly with no more than 4x optical zoom.) Once I read about this camera, I waited about three weeks until it was finally available, and it was worth the wait. Great little camera.