Panasonic Lumix DMC FH20

The Lumix line of point and shoot cameras from Panasonic seems to have something for everybody.  Unlike many of the others, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35 has motion zoom capability to so you can really take advantage of the 18x zoom.  In Creative Movie mode you can adjust the aperture and shutter speed to catch fast moving subjects, even if they are at different distances, so you can get a close up shot of someone far away as easily as taking detailed and dramatic close-ups using the dedicated video record button.  Auto focus lets you catch all the fast moving action as it happens.  That’s a pretty powerful combination for making movies more interesting and entertaining.

Point and shoots are used mostly for taking photos and this one has a lot of nice features.  The My Color mode brightness, color and saturation can be adjusted while you watch how the effects on the monitor right in front of your eyes.  Face recognition will detect three faces, not as many as a lot of other cameras.  Like it’s sister camera the Panasonic Lumix DMC FH20, the faces can be registered, with age, which is especially nice with children under 3, as it will pick them up and switch to Baby mode and adjust coloration to suit conditions.

Pictures of vacations and at family gatherings are usually the reasons one buys a camera in the first place and this one has a few other features you will like for those purposes.  Image stabilization keeps photos clear by compensating for hand movement while shooting.  The wide angle lens with zoom, macro and telescopic capabilities will cover all shooting distances and get the detail you desire.  The battery lasts a decent length of time and can take around 450 shots on a charge.

If you are looking for a take along, put it in your pocket kind camera, this may be a little too large for that, but you could certainly keep it in your car so you’d have it handy when the time comes to grab that shot.