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.

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.

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.

My purchase was the result of a month or more of research. My goal was to find an ultracompact camera for $200 or less that would produce very good images and provide a wide angle lens with at least 4X optical zoom. I learned photography on a Nikon FT2 SLR and although I enjoyed selecting aperture and shutter speed for each shot I was willing to give into an automode digital camera for the sake of convenience and speed. So the search began. Canon seemed to be the obvious choice at 1st, but after handling a few of the different models, I found them to feel not solidly built. Yes the reviews are good but I was never one to follow the masses. So I began to look at Nikon and Panasonic. Nikons just don't seem to have the quality they were once noted for and the reviews were just OK. So I looked at the Lumix with a Leica lens. The price was right and a wide angle 29mm to 145 mm, 5X optical. Nice. Reviews were not as numerous as the Canons but indicated good satisfaction on the part of owners. So I took the plunge.
This seems to be a very versatile camera. A point and shoot at its best. More importantly I'm having fun taking pictures again. I can't comment on image quality/noise as I have not enlarged any images so far but quite frankly it probably will be a non issue for me as I am not a professional and just need a clear images to record events, people, and maybe a video or two.
So far I'm very happy with the camera features. The IA setting allows you to shoot away without worrying about selecting scene modes with very good results. The LCD is bright and clear. Love the placement of the control buttons. I have large hands and have no problems with the small buttons. The menus are very easy to follow even without reviewing the manual. The flash is more than adequate. I got some great portraits using it in doors. I shot a video off the TV zoomed at 5x and wow it came out great and was very stable. I purchased a Transcend 8 gig memory card with a USB reader for the camera. Worked great with my Macbook 1st try. Camera start up is very quick. Image reviewing is easy and fast. I'm looking forward to trying out different modes and options. This is going to be a favorite for me with travel, sporting events, and family photos. The size and weight is optimal for the shirt or jacket pocket. I found a few of the Canons to be too small for my hands. Also, most of the Canon line only have a 2.5 inch LCD vs a 2.7 inch LCD in the Lumix. You also have to pay a $50 + premium for wide angle and a 5X zoom in the Canon. So this was a good buy IMHO. I plan to post a few images in the near future. Panasonic name has always been good to me.
Good job Pany!! A great camera. Also...see Panasonic.com for a free 4 gig card and camera case when you purchase this camera.
Highly recommended.

I have owned a half-dozen compact digital cameras over the last 10 years, and I also own 2 DSLRs and a half-dozen lenses. This doesn't mean that I know what I'm talking about, but sometimes I like to pretend it does.

First, what I like about the camera: the zoom range is very useful, camera is very light, lens is sharp in the corners and center (though, oddly, not so much in between), screen is nice, interface is very easy to use, exposure compensation is bound to a button, +/-1-stop exposure bracketing, intelligent auto modes (ISO, face-detection, tracking, OIS, i-exposure, scene detection) are useful and can be turned on individually, tripod mount is metal, and the 5fps high speed continuous mode is pretty nifty (though it's only 3Mp). The iA ISO mode is surprisingly sophisticated, and the autofocus tracking actually works (it tracks by color, by the way, so if there isn't strong color contrast with the background, then it doesn't work). There's an iA button on the top, which turns on all the iA modes; useful when handing the camera to a stranger. Noise control is better than I was expecting.

What I didn't like: the lack of a histogram (live or otherwise) is truly irking in this day and age; zoom seems to be linear, so it's hard to get precise framing at shorter focal lengths; feels very cheap and plasticy; though the buttons feel good, all the switches (power, zoom, and play/record) feel loose and wobbly; why is there even a play/record switch? it should be a button; even at base ISO, there is visible noise when viewing at 100%; battery life is average at best; ASM modes are missing, though I find them to be of limited usefulness on compacts; I wish it captured in RAW, but that's asking too much.

It should give decent 8x10 prints up through ISO 200 (at least), if that's any indication of image quality. I don't think you can expect any more than that from a camera in this price class. 4x6 prints should look fine even at ISO 1600; ditto for web shots. Since that's all I wanted out of this camera I'm more than satisfied with the image quality.

For the money, I wasn't expecting much, but it's actually more fun to use than any other compact I've owned, and the features aren't all just a bunch of useless gimmicks. I haven't bought a compact in 2 years, though, which maybe has colored my expectations.

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In the 6 months or so since I wrote the above, I've noticed that noise performance is extremely poor if you underexpose the image. Now it is true that most cameras produce bad results when underexposed at high ISOs. However, even at ISO 400, underexposed images will often show very large color splotches that are pretty much visible at any reasonable viewing size, and which remains even after very strong chroma noise reduction in post processing; this goes doubly when shooting at 1600. It is very important to nail the exposure when shooting at higher ISOs, and here the lack of a histogram (to check exposure) is extra irritating. That said, if the exposure is fine, then what I said above about image quality still holds.

The Panasonic FS15 is nice featured camera. The 5x zoom is sufficient for my needs and the 29mm wide angle lens is a plus. Video capture is clear but you cannot zoom while recording. The pictures come out clear and crisp. The flash for nighttime shots is definitely sufficient, it was able to capture a clear picture in my pitch black living room. The camera starts up in under two seconds and my battery is still full after about 70+ shots. I very much recommend this camera to anyone looking for a point and shoot. Some people complain about the weak flash but it is completely usable in all lighting conditions. Get a DSLR if you want superior shots in the dark.

Over the past seven years I've owned three different Canons, upgrading as each camera reached its limit in terms of current features. Actually I probably would've held off for another year if my trusty SD800 hadn't broken.

In the past I've considered Panasonic but with my last two purchases my familiarity with the Canon functions/operations stopped me from trying a Panasonic. Another factor that has attracted me to Panasonic has been the Leica lens. When making this most recent purchase decision I compared the DMC-FS15 to comparable Canons. The main difference was the price with the Panasonic Lumix's being significantly less expensive.

I decided to finally give Panasonic a chance. The Lumix has not disappointed. I've taken two weeks worth of photos while on my family vacation. I took a variety of photos during the day and night and with a lot of movement (i.e. my family at Disney World). I really like how well the FS15 takes pictures without my needing to adjust settings. At the same time it still has a multitude of manual and other automatic settings that come in handy. For me the 5x Optical Zoom and the wide angle lens were the main selling points. I considered the Lumix ZS3 for its 12x wide angle zoom but decided that for my purposes the 5x would suffice.

There are only three things that I do not like about the FS15. First it does not use a standard USB cable, so I might be in trouble if I ever forget to pack the cable or lose it. Also the extra batteries are on the pricey side and it seems (based on internet reviews) that there are issues with 3rd party batteries. The other annoyance is the manner in which one switches the camera to movie mode. With the Canon it was turn a flick of the dial. With the Lumix, you've got to press the mode button, scroll down to movie, and select. This can be problematic if you want to capture a video right away. However despite these minor issues I still really like the FS15. Based on my picture current experience with the FS15 I can highly recommend it. Plus the price on Amazon is great!

I purchased the lumix FS15 to replace my aging Canon A... After getting this camera I took lots of pictures indoors and outdoors. I felt that it consistently underperformed in both situations.
Indoors, the photos were affected by spotty flash coverage, sometimes the subject was washed out while at other times they appeared dark.
In outdoor shots the camera had difficulty choosing the correct exposure for the subject in the foreground e.g. in outdoor portraits taken with auto flash mode, the camera would not turn on the flash-fill to balance the lighting on the subject with a brighter background.
On the positive side I did get some great close-up photos using the macro-zoom function.
I ended up returning this camera, it just could not get the job done in most situations.

I just took this camera to Alaska for a 2 week vacation and it took great pictures. Was very easy to use. I loved the Intelligent Auto because all my pictures came out perfect with that setting. The video was great and easy to use. There is an IA (intelligent Auto) button on top which you can touch and it can switch between picture or motion picture.
I highly recommend for anyone who doesn't want high tech. Great battery longevity also.

I bought a Lumix to my mother 2 years ago and it has been a very good camera since then. Now I wanted a camera for my own, and I bought this one after some market research. It does what I need; my only regret is that it takes its time to take the picture. I think Sony has faster shooting comparing with a friend camera last weekend trip.

In spite of it, battery lifetime and performance is very good. The new night scenery takes a lot less time (1s shoot). It has more resolution/size options than before. A new power saving mode. Cool enough for a non-professional use.