Panasonic LUMIX FZ300 Long Zoom Digital Camera Features 12.1 Megapixel, 1/2.3-Inch Sensor, 4K Video, WiFi, Splash & Dustproof Camera Body, LEICA DC 24X F2.8 Zoom Lens - DMC-FZ300K - (Black) USA

I bought the FZ300 as a present for my wife. She loved the FZ150 she was using but found it's limitations discouraging. She didn't want my FZ200 and didn’t like the FZ1000 I bought her at first because it was too big and heavy . I ended up adding it to my camera collection (it's a great 5 star camera that I enjoy using and I highly recommend). The FZ300 is smaller and lighter than the FZ1000 and seemed like a good upgrade for her to use.Before I gave my wife the camera I tested the camera out and was extremely impressed with the huge number of improvements in the camera over the FZ200. The FZ200 has the same lens and sensor as the FZ300 but the difference that the improved processor, much better EVF and touch screen, much better build quality, weather proofing make this camera a terrific buy. There are so many other features, neither of us has tried will make this camera useful for just about any occasionShe likes to use just the IA setting like many users and the FZ300 works just perfect in that setting. She used the camera on our just completed cruise and was so enthusiast about it's performance, I kept hearing , "I love this camera", . "I love this camera". . In viewing her images they were coming out sharp, detailed, and perfect exposure. We were both amazed that even the lower light indoors images and video showed great detail. I set a 1600 ISO limit and images showed very good dynamic range, much better than the FZ200 I had used previously. The best features she liked were the beautiful bright sharp EVF, the fast accurate focus and the touch screen was a WOW, She also loved the many extra features. She found the handling superb. It does feel great in the hand and the new styling matches the newer Panasonic cameras. The menus are easy and the super control panel seen on expensive cameras is terrific. You can quickly adjust any setting on the LCD without going through extensive menus like most cameras. The touch focus on the LCD screen is also a great feature. Macro images are also much easier to take and look great.Some really great points and extra features that make the camera very special1. The camera has an excellent grip, it feels good in the hands. Easy to use.2. Very good camera build, feels more solid than the excellent FZ2003. Camera has weather sealing and can be used in inclement weather. Not waterproof!4. Great zoom range. From 25 to 6005. EVF is larger and improved over FZ200 and can view scenes and info better6. Touchscreen LCD is a great improvement which allows easier use of camera7. Can set the focus point while viewing through EVF, focus area, extra functions buttons.8. Constant F2.8 aperture throughout the entire zoom area. Allows more light, better low light9. Has mechanical shutter (quiet) and electronic shutter (noise free) great in museums10. Extremely fast focus, much improved over the FZ200. Depth from defocus process?11. 4K photos, 30FPS images come out 8mp, can easily select perfect photo on LCD12. 4K video now possible. Carefully done and results are excellent.13. Camera appears very fast. Fast startup and ready to use.14. Microphone port allows adding external Microphone. Useful when windy conditions.15. Improved low light images even with the small sensor. Up to 1600 with some noise16. Camera while small dSLR sized is fairly light even with the big zoom lens.17. Can easily add filters, including Polarizers, ND filters and super closeup filters18. Includes a very good lens hood that can protect the lens without adding a UV filter19. Image quality is excellent in good light, shows good dynamic range and lots of detail.20. Wifi allows easy transfer of images. And camera control through app.21. Images and video overall is excellent with lots of keepers.22. F2.8 constant aperture lens allows improved Bokeh (background blur not usually possible with small sensor.). Mostly seen in macro images.23. Good quality macro images possible.What isn’t so great with this excellent camera and could be improved.1. Camera uses a very small sensor, so low light images and video are limited2. Small sensor has lower dynamic range and less detail in images.3. Could use a headphone jack for video.4. Missing extra wide angle because of fixed lens.5. Not pocket able, so camera needs a bag or strap.6. Low light images and video while tops for small sensor are still limited and can be noisy.7. Lens is integrated in camera so you really can’t change the lens.8. Camera is not inexpensive but considering all the features, it’s a good buy.If you love super zoom cameras or you are a birder, this is a must buy. It won't replace the FZ1000 which has a much larger 1 inch sensor with better image quality, better low light quality and better dynamic range. But the FZ300 is a true super zoom; it stands in a class all it's own and it is well worth upgrading if you have a FZ150/FZ200 or other older Canon or Nikon super zoom. Right now as of 2016, it's the best small sensor super zoom you can buy. If the camera seems too big or expensive for you, consider the Panasonic ZS50 which is a great pocket super zoom with an EVF or the new ZS100 which now has a 1 inch sensor and touchscreen EVF..but costs more than the FZ300..

I've only had this camera for 2 or 3 weeks so my experience is limited, but so far I'm very happy with it.I had a fairly cheap digital camera before this (GE X550), and I was looking for something that was a step up while trying to stay to $500 or $600.This camera has a lot of fancy features. It has what you'd expect from any camera that's above the point-and-shoot level. You can set it to full auto exposure, manual, aperture priority, or shutter priority. Etc. The features you'd expect to find in any DSLR or mirrorless camera.It has a bunch of handy features. Like a burst mode, where as long as you hold the shutter button down it will keep clicking pictures. (Choice of speed ranging from, don't quote me on the numbers, I think something like 5 shots per second up to maybe 20.) Auto-bracket mode: Click a picture and it will automatically take 2 more, one with a slightly darker exposure and one slightly lighter. (How much darker or lighter is a setting, and while I usually use 3 you can also do 5 or 7.) Image stabilization that works very well. I did some night shots hand held with shutter speeds of 1 or 2 seconds and they came out with no obvious blur. Option to have a constant brightness on the viewfinder or to have the brightness reflect what the picture will look like. One thing that you may think of as cute fluff but I think is pretty handy: You can set it so that the image shows up on the LCD panel, in the viewfinder, or you can have it use the LCD panel but then automatically switch to the viewfinder when you put your eye up to it. Or to me handiest option of all: the LCD panel folds out (I presume to protect the screen), so if the LCD panel is "open" it uses that, if it's closed it uses the viewfinder. Auto focus or manual focus. (It has a feature they claim will keep a moving object in focus, I haven't tried to use that.) Lots of other settings and options that I haven't played with much (or don't understand :-)It doesn't have changeable lenses, but the built-in lens has like a 20X zoom.Aperture ranges from F/2.8 to F/8.0. Shutter speeds range from open until you release the button to I think 1/4000 of a second. There's a choice between electronic and mixed electronic/mechanical shutter. If you use the electronic shutter the shutter speeds can be even faster but there are some limitations with it. (The "mixed" mode opens the shutter electronically but closes it mechanically.)The camera will also take video. I've only played with this briefly, mostly I wanted a still camera, so I can't say a lot about that.There are a bunch of "creative" options, like you can take pictures in sepia tones, very high contrast, soft focus, etc.The menus can be accessed with buttons to scroll around or by using the touch screen. The controls you're likely to want to use all the time, setting the basic mode (S/A/M/P etc), shutter speed, focus, zoom, couple of others, are buttons or knobs. Common options are quickly reached from a few main buttons, like ISO speed, white balance, and focus mode. And there's a customizable "quick menu", so if you routinely use some feature you can set it to be reachable fairly easily without having to scroll through all the menus.Drawbacks I've noticed:You can't swap lenses. It's got a zoom lens that's permanently attached.It's ability to give a shallow depth of field is limited. If you like to take portraits, for example, with a blurred background, you may have difficulty achieving this. I want to play with this some more.I'm sure a professional photographer could point to more limitations but that's all I've really noticed so far.