2016-04-04T18:03:10
Rated 4 out of 5
Few Quirks, Good Pictures
I mostly chose this camera because it had ok reviews, and was a really good price on Adorama. Overall, I'm thoroughly happy with it.
The most common complaints I saw levied at it were, in my opinion, really overrated.
One item several reviews mentioned is that the power button is really close to the WiFi button. One is a pill shape, one is a circle. At no point have I ever confused the two. There was a reviewer who returned his camera because of this 'defect'.
Another issue I read about was the microphone leaves something to be desired. There is a 'wind' option that will help reduce the noise, but I'm not really looking to shoot video with it.
The 20x zoom is fantastic for wildlife and landscapes. The 'creative control' functions are actually interesting to use, even though they're a little gimmicky.
Photos themselves, are crisp and the sensor allows for some nice depth of field (although with no manual focus, I'm not able to consistently set it up. Could be user error). The automatic settings do a solid job of making most shots dummy proof. While there is no RAW support, the JPEG compression is rather good. Rarely will I ever see any artificating or image defects.
The WiFi features are actually really useful. Using you phone as a remote control allows you to modify zoom and exposure and is great for tripod shots.The ability to transfer the images directly to my phone is appreciated. The 'Smart Transfer' function, where the camera will connect to your home WiFi, find a designated computer and transfer images automatically as soon as it's charging, might be my favorite feature.
It's not all perfect. You need to enable the WiFi on the camera, connect your phone to the camera's hotspot, then start the app. So there is a solid 2 or 3 minutes of set-up to using the remote control.
Additionally, I had mixed success in locating computers on my home network. Typing in passwords is not fun. Despite my preference to transfer the images to my Windows machine, I had to settle for them going to the Mac.
But if the biggest complaint I can levy against my camera is "It's not a really good webserver"?
I can live with that.
Less about the camera and more about Adorama, I was so impressed at how fast and what excellent condition the camera arrived in. It was sold as used. The box was certainly opened, but the camera was immaculate. There was some trepidation on my part as I don't tend to buy used technology, but I may very well never buy a camera anywhere else.
Blaine C.
2015-12-17T11:22:22
Rated 1 out of 5
Usual Panasonic Defects
I used to have a ZS19 which was great camera for one year before it completely failed with the stuck zoom/shutter. After that I found out that Panasonic lumix are known for that. One year later, I bought this ZS45 hoping that Panasonic would have taken care of this problem. Obviously, they have not as this camera has started this problem right from the start. I am planning to return to Adorama. Hopefully they will take it back. In addition to the sticky shutter/zoom, the camera also gives me constant error message of Memory card error which will go away only if I take the battery and put it back in. On the positive side, when the camera takes pictures, it is very good quality. Another nice thing is it is pocket size with 20X zoom.
Fotographer
2015-12-11T21:14:28
Rated 4 out of 5
Seems like a nice camera
I just got the camera, and have not downloaded any pictures, yet. But I have taken several. The exposure looks good, and it focuses quickly.
This is my 3rd ZS camera, and I have been very impressed with the other two. They both had the sticky shutter problem and the inside the lens dust issue, but I got about 3 years of good use out of both of them before I decided to replace them. This version looks much snazzier than the other two. It also has the tilt up view finder screen, which I think I will get some good use out of. The manual controls are improved as well.
The tilt screen makes for a bulkier camera, but it still fits into the pocket of my jeans, which is where I nearly always carry it.. (Hence the dust problem.)
I have read that the higher megapixel ZSs, which this one is, have lower image quality than my older versions. I will see if I notice a difference. For me, the size, the zoom range, and its other features are more important that super image quality. But I have never encountered a pocketable digital camera that comes close to my older ZS cameras in image quality to my eye. So if this one is a little off, it is likely to still be better than the rest.
mtwater
