Panasonic LUMIX ZS99 Point and Shoot Camera, Compact Camera for Travel with 30x Zoom with 24-720mm Zoom Lens, and 4K Video/Photo, Great for Travel and Concerts, DC-ZS99

Better than expected
I’m still learning how to use it on M mode but first impressions: great quality, amazing zoom and love how it captures everything on video, i thought maybe the microphone wouldn’t work well but it really does!! 5 stars🤩

Impulse buy that wish I had researched more
I wanted a camera with great optical zoom and when I heard this was being released I pre-ordered it. I wish I would’ve waited a bit and done more research. Also, wish I would’ve tried it more within the “return window”, otherwise I would’ve sent it back. For amateurs photographers, such as myself, the automatic modes are not great. For some more experienced photographers, not sure why they would bother with this camera. Not sure who it is for (other than suckers like me.). I guess I’ll try to make best of it and use it in certain situations (bright light situations where I can’t get close to things like day trip to the zoo, or peeking at women on the beach… joking!?).PROS:As of first half of 2025 there really isn’t a “name brand” (Canon, Sony, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic…) compact pocket camera being made by anyone that is in this price range and general features.Has best in class optical zoom lens. You can really zoom in close!Decent macro for close up picture in bright light.CONS:It is advertised as a pocket camera and does fit in a jeans pocket, but is tight. And because of the way the buttons are located I often accidentally hit the “on” button and the lens tries to extend and the gears grind. Though that does make “my package” look larger, it will probably at some point break the lens.Speaking of the design of the buttons… the flash is also located in a horrible place, on right side near the shutter button so lots of chance that you’ll finger will block the flash.Takes HORRIBLE grainydark pictures in low light (at least in automatic AI mode), and doesn’t really take crisp pictures in medium level light either (see attached pic). Depth of focus is shallow and things just seem fuzzy.The focus detection is below average. It would be slow to focus or lose focus and stay blurry while I was trying to zooming in for videos.Flimsy door to cover charge port which will most likely break very soon.

Good camera for the price.
I love LUMIX cameras. I own S5ii that I purchased during my trip to Japan. It’s an amazing camera. However, it is bulky and I needed something smaller to take on trips. Enter LUMIX ZS99. With 700mm lens… and priced well below its competitors.The good:Camera feels like a good quality built camera. I know it’s a cliche to say, but after using some of the other brands cameras that are made out of plastic and feel like a toy, this lumix feel like it was built with care and class.The controls are very intuitive. And if you are familiar with LUMIX cameras, this camera will be easy to use right out of the box.The lens is incredible and is arguably the best quality of this camera. If you are looking for a camera with a great zoom, look no further.Natural light outdoor pictures look great.Low light indoor pictures surprisingly look just as good. Which is amazing.The badThe battery life of the camera is not the greatest. Especially if you are using WiFi to transfer pictures to your phone or laptop, you might want to invest in second battery.There are absolutely zero accessories for this camera. Panasonic doesn’t even have the decency to offer a neck strap or a case. All accessories must be purchased from 3rd party.Now for the uglyVideo quality is terrible. I get it. The camera’s sensor is the same as my iPhone, but at least my phone can make the video smooth. The video from ZS99 is very glitchy and almost unwatchable.Flash location – who in Panasonic’s R&D department approved this craziness?!?! The flash is located right below the shutter button. Which means, in order for the flash to be effective, you almost have to hold the camera in such awkward way that you risk dropping it.No hot shoe – it can’t be that hard to offer this camera with a hot shoe. Not even for external flash, because everyone knows Panasonic can’t make a descent flash, but even for the ability to attach an external microphone. Although, with such poor video recording ability, I don’t know if I even want that anymore.Image stabilization- forget that. This camera doesn’t have image stabilization like they claim. Definitely not for video. If you are shooting photo or video with the zoom all the way to 720mm, you better have the camera on a tripod or you will get some unfocused garbage.Overall, this is a good camera. The image quality is way above just about every other camera in its class. Of course if you are willing to shell out double or triple the money, you will get a bigger sensor and better quality images. But for the price, this is arguably the best camera on the market. For someone who travels a lot, this camera is a great companion.

G
What a huge waste of money. The worst camper I have ever bought. It takes horrible pictures. I have tried every setting, yet every picture looks washed out and grey and now out of nowhere, the menu screen will start flickering. I will never but another Panasonic camera again. Complete trash. Complete waste of money.