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Digital Camera experts please help me select on the following panasonic cameras?

I plan to purchase a digital camera. In the past I owned Nikons and canon and this time I want to use Panasonic.

I have narrowed down to 1) Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5A 9.1-Megapixel Digital Camera – Blue (http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/205950/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do#prodspecs)

And 2) Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28S 10.1-Megapixel Digital Camera – Silver http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-FZ28S-10-1-Megapixel-Digital-Camera-Silver/sem/rpsm/oid/220855/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do?cc_fm=Similar+Items+Mod

I need that the picture qualities be the best and there should be ease of handling and maximum wide angle and photo quality maintained at high zoom. I do not care about the digital zoon.
I need to click pictures of our baby and indoor photos. Basically I need something that is more sophisticated than point and shoot but not as expensive as the digital slr’s.

I am tending towards the DMCFZ28S however when I see that the TZ5A has many more features. I am not able to figure out what good features is the DMCFZ28S missing. Secondly I am not able to see Panasonic cameras in any of the stores.
Dear experts please give me pointers so that I can make a choice. Also please let me know if these are the latest cameras as well or there are new versions/models for this camera
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28S 10.1-Megapixel Digital Camera does have a view finder. I checked reviews on amazon and everybody seems to love the panasonic. The night shots in nikon coolpix where not that great. I liked the cannon but now I want to have a different one. I dont seem to like the sony

Public Comments

1. Panasonic Cameras are terrible... Stick with Cannon... they are the best!

2. i think its a good idea to go to retailers on line who include customer reviews and read the reviews of those who have purchased the cameras you are interested in.. that's what i do with pretty much everything i buy as far as electronics goes... best on your efforts.. :)

3. Go download the manuals from the Panasonic website. See if the menu structures are intuitive for you.

If you're willing to spend time to learn about cameras, then go for the more complex one. However, if you have a baby then you probably don't have such luxuries of time. So get something that will allow you to treat the camera as something slightly better than a point-and-shoot but get much better quality.

4. i have a Nikon Coolpix ive had it for over three years and it is AWESOME and Nikon has been around for a long time but DO NOT TRUST panasonic they are horrible!

5. The question you are asking sounds like an expensive mistake about to happen which will cause you great frustration.
You've had Nikon and Canon in the past and both of these manufacturers not only make it their own equipment but make professionally accepted equipment as well.
Panasonic, to the best of my knowledge, doesn't make anything at all. They only contract out to job shops to make their equipment and then purchase from the lowest bidder the equipment they sell.
Also I notice that both cameras you have chosen to not have optical viewfinder's. This means that either camera must be held at arms length while you are viewing it through an LCD screen to take pictures. Handling a camera in this way means almost instant death to any hope of motion for the picture sharpness. In order to get sharp pictures of your child, you will probably need to use flash for every picture you take because it is almost impossible to hold your camera steady at arms length.
Just some suggestions...
The Canon and Nikon cameras you've previously owned were good choices. Either camera takes a good and professionally accepted images, superior to anything Panasonic can do assuming correct camera use. You should also never consider any camera which does not have an optical viewfinder. Holding a room camera with an optical viewfinder up to your head with both hands is a very stable way to hold a camera and will greatly contribute to image sharpness under lowlight conditions without flash. Holding your camera at arms length so you can use a LCD screen to see what you are getting, never contributes to sharpness.

6. Below is the link to a forum to which I belong, that will show you the rating for both of these cameras. I have owned the TZ3 by Panasonic and traded up to the FZ18 and I love it. Wonderful pictures, but I am disappointed that I cannot zoom while in movie mode. The wide angle lens was a real selling point for me for the type of photography I do. I also love the extended zoom. Check out the link and read and post a question. You will get help very quickly.
Val