Digital Camera

I just bought a Panasonic Lumix FX55 to replace my ageing 1.2 megapixels Epson camera. It has a lot of options (takes a while to read through the manual) and also has an auto mode for novice users. Picture quality is pretty good, night scene photography is good too (need a tripod for this). It comes with Arcsoft imaging software (I prefer Paint shop pro), a simple viewer and PhotoStudio for basic image retouching.

My only criticism is the camera doesn't have onboard features for sharpening images, all images are "soft" images. Also the camera is so small that I nearly dropped it a few times. It takes a maximum picture size of 10" x 8" which is more than enough for my needs (I only need 6" x 4" prints with the occasional 9" x 6" prints). Anyone into digital photography and what camera do you use?

My friend just got one of those and he says it's lovely. Looking at it myself to replace my slightly aging Canon Digital Ixus 400... for serious photography though I use a Canon EOS 350D - nice balance of power versus value.

I use a Fuji S5100. They're dirt cheap to buy now but mine was nearly £300 when I bought it about three years ago.

Wouldn't mind an EOS400D (or an EOS1D actually) but I don't do enough with photography to justify the cash any more. I might try to get back into doing wedding photography next year and see what happens.

(yes, with that camera! Even if I upgraded to a DSLR I'd still carry my S5100 as a backup).

It is a very good camera and I would recommend it but can be a bit daunting for a beginner due to its extensive options. I spent the whole of yesterday learning the options and taking sample photos ... I tested bright daylight to night photos (need a tripod for this) and the results were outstanding. Most of the time you will be using the "normal" mode (with slow sync flash for indoor shots) or "auto" mode .... I doubt many will use the movie mode, with a 4GB SDHC card I get about 15 minutes of movie and 960 photos at the highest 8MP resolution.

i got a panasonic fz50? have to check that one for sure
12*optical zoom double the zoom of my old slr
10mp
a god send for festivals, i was on APS and limited myself to 5 rolls max per day (40 shots each) and at £10 for developing + cd it cost a fair bit
so i did a one day event days after getting the camera (and spare battery) and did over what would have been a roll of film on one band alone (lush girl singer)

an unfortuante aquaintance with an 8/10* zoom took his photoes of said band as if he had a no zoom camera and all you saw were backs of heads and a bit of the band in the distance (or a dozzen photoes of me eating a crepe ffs)