Excellent higher end consumer camera- Panasonic FZ-5

The Panasonic FZ-5 is definitely not the camera for someone who wants to just take a few pictures of their friends and family. It's a much more advanced camera than a simple point and shoot. This is no SLR, but then again, nothing compares to an SLR/DSLR.

Initially, one will notice the larger than average size of the camera. The reason? The lens. Panasonic got it right when they went to Leica, the company who INVENTED 35 mm film cameras to make their lenses. It's got 12x optical zoom capability, which is a 36-432mm equivalent of the older film cameras. Those numbers, to me, are enough to set the camera at its price range. Plus, with optical image stabilization, you get a bit of help with camera shake at long focal length. However, don't count on that making all your "zoomed-in" pictures perfectly clear!

Another great part of this camera is all the manual controls. In full manual mode, you get to select your aperture (which is a 2.8 if I might add at minimum focal length), your shutter speed, going all the way to 1/2000th of a second, your ISO settings, etc and so forth. You get TONS of control with the camera. And, if you don't know exactly what you're doing but you want to learn, you can change to Automatic mode (indicated as a hearth symbol) or program mode, giving you a small choice of settings. The flash on the camera is more powerful than most small point and shoot cameras as well.

It also helps that this camera has a great macro function. Owning this camera, I've found that your lens can literally be touching an object it is taking a picture of in macro mode. The only downfall to macro mode is that your lens is far away enough from the flash that if you fire your flash in macro mode you will get a semi circle of black in the bottom half of your picture. It's unfortunate, but I've found that many macro shots look better when not used with a flash.

Another benefit to this camera is the digital viewfinder found in all Panasonic digital cameras and camcorders. It's great for bright situations and feels more like an older film camera.

One of the few problems with this camera is the lack of manual focusing. It can be a bit of a hassle, especially when at maximum focal length; but aside from the auto-focus struggling at maximum telephoto, it's a great auto-focus system. If you need a camera like this one but want manual focusing, step up to its big brothers, the Panasonic FZ-7 or FZ-30.

The only other problem I've found with the camera is that sometimes your pictures will appear "noisy" (little red, blue, and green pixels in random places) especially in dark situations. It's not terribly noisy, and sometimes not even noticeable. Then again, if you're looking for professional pictures, you need to step up to a professional camera. This is not a professional camera, but it is definitely a great camera.

In conclusion, this is a great camera. If you need a versatile camera but don't want to carry around a huge digital SLR, then this is the perfect camera for you! By the way, I forgot to mention that it's SUPER light for its size. Plus, it's got one of the best lenses for a non-professional camera! I highly recommend it.