Good but too many options

The best shooting mode for beginners is probably not the default "beginners" or "don't think" mode.
It's probably rather an adaptation of the "Speed" priority mode even for beginners. (The S on the mode selector)
This allow good indoor without always requiring flash (warmest and more natural pictures, that's the way I liked it specially now that digital array allow very low lighting condition compare to chemical film)

The optic (Leica design!) is GREAT!!
Really! I did compare it with others digital camera from friends on same pictures and for this price, its look the best I seen (I made them disappointed, even jaleous maybe...).

To mention also the "macro" capabilities. Work fine. Sometime even a better way to look on small details than taking a magnifier !

Zoom is very good in X 12. (There is a good image stabilizer, needed when using this optical zoom ratio)

Back LCD is decent not more! But as it also have a "true" display viewer using a separate internal LCD. "You really see what you shoot". Zoom, focus, etc.. Is easy and safe to check then

This is closest thing to a "reflex" but for 1/3 of the price.
I really love it and prefer (always) this mode to anything else, because more precise framing, no spurious light.
I love it as it's the best way to setup picture under sunny conditions.

So a very good array and even better Optics;


COULD HAD BEEN GOOD;

Really lacking is a 2 levels action "focus then shoot" trigger button which would focus on level then do final shoot on second level.
Because taking care of autofocus can be complex and sometime impossible (or I didn't find teh right way to use it) speciall when doing indoor
Of course you may change the "checked area" for automatic setting of focus and chose one of the (not less than !!! ) 6 modes ..
But I am not sure that a 2 levels button would have been expensive enough to avoid it. This would allow focusing on target and then, without releasing first level, setting up the frame composition you want for real shoot.
Does the others competiting product you look for have this feature ? then investigate this Con carefully.


Also why did folks at Panasonic create it with this very extensive set of menus?

It could take too much time to go trough, just to get the surely wonderful option available but ... "sorry too late! The dolphin is back in water."

You will probably never use all the shooting options.
I am not even sure you will just look at all that exist!

For learning I recommend:
Dedicate 2 hours to learn it and do shooting inside and outside.

Play with ASA equivalence, then looks at how shutters setting impact lightness for indoor without flash.

Then you start to be ready.

It come with a big sun deflector.
NEVER leave it indoor on X 1 zoom or you will try to understand for hours why and how did you leave your finger in front of the lens.
As it's on the way of the Flash, you'll get a pretty big shadow on the picture top and specially bottom.
Looking on the LCD without the flash on (obviously!) you do not see this effect!!
Clearly for you now, I get caught ...



STRANGE
The "Movie" mode is very interesting (You'd better use a 512M or 1GB Card!!) but for unknown reason, once downloaded on my PC or my MAC (yes I use both!) the resulting MOV is very dark, tried on WinAmp, WMA, QuickTime
Like if you look at LSB 8 bits of data on a 16bits pixels depth, or 4 LSB on 8 bits depth...strange!
Only the camera can replay it with normal intensity (using the Video output I get good quality on TV), looks like a bug.
I didn't find (yet) any info on that matter, of course teh vendor had never heard about that (could be exact since notthat many people create MOV with a camera), and didn't try calling anyone at Panasonic, support; theses days!...


EXTRA
The camera (precisely Panasonic) doesn't support external power supply, too bad when you are out of power.

However there is an undocumented female power plug on the connection side.
As voltage is now frequently determined by the diameter of the internal needle of theses plugs, a genuine DC adapter (NOT the one with exchangeable plug and variable voltage!!) might work defacto I never tried.
The battery is 7.2 Volts and on the bottom of the camera it's written 8.4 Volts DC , it make sens so .. I will look for a 8.4 volts adapter. And we will see.. ( I even suspect that a 9 Volt might do the job but could blow out internal regulator)

Also to mention, it's looks like you do not need to install any software that come on the CD rom supplied with it. Your PC USB detector looks at the Camera and install it as a separate removable disk, just like a Flash disk. So accessing picture is easy, just make a copy.
The supplied set of soft is not extremely usefull, (Image bank and archiver, etc..)

Question of taste: I dislike the "silver" color, it doesn't look great, it's a "cold" silver gray, not a "champagne" or "ivory" silver gray, Black would look better (closer to the Nikon it's contender)