Good photos & videos, Impressive features, very good value, some extra steps and other issues
Takes very good photos.
Once I got used to the differences with my old Lumix, it's not difficult to use, like inserting the memory card in the opposite direction.
What I don't like are extra steps for some settings, especially the C1 setting. I have it set for Pets. With the old Lumix, when I turn the dial to Pets, I'm ready to shoot. But when I turn to C1 with the ZS40, it keeps asking me for
the age and name of pet ... even though I have those settings shut off. (I complained to Panasonic about this.)
If the dial is on the C1 setting when I turn the camera on, then it's ready to shoot. But I often don't think of selecting any setting at the time I turn on the camera.
My other big problem is the location of the button to record video is way too close to the On/Off button. My fingers aren't big, but I have to look to see the button to hit. The first time I tried to stop the recording without looking, I hit the On/Off button and lost the recording. And if I look at the buttons, I lose sight of what I want to record.
I also had to get used to hitting different buttons on the camera than I did on the old one, like the Record settings, hitting the "delete" button instead of the menu/set button.
I've occasionally had problems with the flash, esp. when I'm shooting at 16x9. But usually that's okay.
Other than that, it's a very good camera. The video results are great; still shots are usually great, although long distance shots of a couple of miles or even a block away can be problematic when I zoom in past 30 (it can go up to 60). But, I must add, I've gotten terrific photos of the moon in which the craters can be seen, zoomed to 50/60.
In addition to liking my old Lumix (thousands of photos), I selected this Lumix because of the viewfinder. While I'm glad it's there, I rarely use it. It's much smaller than viewfinders used to be, and I can't see well out of it; the adjuster know is tiny and difficult for me to adjust. But it does come in very handy when there's sun glare.
One feature I love is the ability to take a still photo while I'm recording video. That's really neat! But HD video seems to be only with 16x9, and I often like to shoot HD in 4x3. But as I said, the video quality is very good to excellent.
I love the tiny tripod which came with this cam. I used it when I got the moon shots.
The battery charger made this purchase a very good deal.
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