Customer Ratings & Reviews

Before buying this camera, I was constantly purchasing disposable cameras and spending even more money developing the photos. I finally decided to invest in a real camera, and I’m so glad I chose this one. It’s lightweight, easy to use, and perfect for beginners. The variety of settings is impressive, including manual controls if you want to experiment, and it even shoots in stunning 4K video. The photo quality is crystal clear with great color accuracy and sharpness. Battery life is solid — I can easily shoot all day on a single charge — and it feels sturdy without being too bulky. Plus, transferring photos to my phone or laptop is super simple with the built-in WiFi/Bluetooth. I highly recommend this camera to anyone looking for a reliable, high-quality option without the complicated learning curve.

So I’ll start off by saying this camera held up to what I’d hoped it would be. With that being said, I bought it knowing about a couple of its drawbacks thanks to previous reviewer’s insights. So here are some of those “cons” real quick: The flash is in fact in an inconvenient spot. But I was used to shooting another point and shoot camera with a flash in the same spot. The camera is BORDERLINE pocketable, I think any bigger and it’d fall out of that classification. The camera also struggles in low light. It would struggle to pick up on a subject in dim lighting, and the struggle only got worse as I zoomed in more and more. So with all that out of the way, here are some of the things I really enjoy about this camera: The 720mm zoom is INCREDIBLE. I was really skeptical of it, just because my phone goes to potato quality after a certain threshold of zoom. But the specs don’t lie, and the optical zoom is spectacular. Images were so clear. In lower lighting the image clarity gets less great, which is when the flash comes into play. The flash is really good at fanning out and capturing the scene and subject. It’s nice and bright, and of course you can change the intensity in the settings. The ability to tilt the screen is a really fun feature. I don’t use this camera for video so I can’t speak to anything on that front, but all in all this was a great replacement for my old point and shoot, and I take it with me on all my hikes and outdoor walks and family gettogethers.

Great camera -- I love Panasonic Lumix products! This ZS99 seems so familiar to my old Lumix DC-ZS70, which completely wore out after several years and several thousand photos. I require a real camera in hand, and a purse-sized one at that, that's easy to operate with one hand and take wherever I go. No giant lenses for me, and cell phones are too awkward, proven by the numbers of blurry images. My new ZS99 is more affordable than the $1500+ models and provides very sharp images. The zoom has helped me sharpen my artistic eye, producing high-quality greeting cards that have garnered praise from friends, a couple of whom are collecting them. About the only thing it can't do well is capture hummingbird wings in flight, but the faces and bodies are fine.

Camera pretty good!. I tend to cover the flash with my fingers also other people do the same if I ask to take a picture. Video quality pretty good. Like the fact that I can send the photos to my phone with wifi Connect.

My first “big” camera purchase and I couldn’t be happier with it! The quality of photos are phenomenal and it is so easy to travel with! Do not regret this purchase at all(:

This is my first digital camera. I don't have anything to compare it with besides my iPhone. So far it's very user friendly and has so much cool features that it amazes me. It's lightweight, battery life if I use it a lot it takes up to 2 days until I need to charge it. I love the aesthetics of how it looks like! Best purchase ever! Here are some of the photos I shot using their retro setting.

Is small enough to fit in a coat pocket. It’s wonderfully travel-friendly and very nicely turned out. The lens built into this camera has a relatively huge 30x optical zoom range, equating to 24-720mm in full-frame terms, and stretching from fairly generous wide-angle coverage to mighty super-telephoto reach.

I absolutely love this camera! It’s perfect for what I need. My son plays baseball and without having to be super close to the field, I can be farther away and still comfortably still take nice photos that aren’t pixelated or poor quality. For far distance photos as someone who isn’t a professional photographer, you really can’t beat the price point and quality. Another plus of this camera is the flip up screen, it definitely is one of my favorite features for sure. If you’re looking for something that is great quality while still being a great functional camera for long distances this is a great option.

Love amazing quality high recommend and easy to use

Great point and shoot camera for beginners and experienced photographers who like to control different features. I was on the hunt for the canon g7x and found that this was very comparable in terms of quality, features, and compact. If you’re a beginner you don’t need to change any settings and can just adjust the different modes. If you’re more experienced there are a lot of adjustments you can make with white balance, filters, personalized shooting settings and more! It has a great zoom and my personal favorite feature is the blur effect in selfie mode.

I just bought this camera, and so far I absolutely love it! This is my very first camera, so I’m still learning how to use all the settings and get the hang of everything. I’ve only taken a few photos so far, but the image quality is seriously amazing. I’ve attached a couple of the pictures I’ve taken, not many yet, but I’m already blown away by how good they look.

This is the most affordable & high quality camera I could find! No regrets

I love the quality, it takes amazing pictures. After you learn how to maneuver it it’s way easier to work with it.

Hi, I came to the store to buy a gift for my wife for her birthday about a month ago. I was looking to buy the Canon G7x and it was simply out of stock. One of the store's salespeople came to me with an offer for the Lumix ZS99. I hadn't seen the camera before. He convinced me to buy the camera. I explained to him that my wife's birthday is in 3 weeks from the date of purchase and what would I do if she didn't like the camera. He suggested that I purchase a membership for $50. He said that I would receive a 60-day return option. In the end, he advised me to come back after a few days to cancel the membership and everything would remain as he promised. In any case, I received the camera a few days later. A week ago, my wife opened the camera for the first time and the camera was simply horrible. The quality is not good at all. The focus doesn't look good at all. In the end, the guy scammed me. I went back to the store to return the camera and I simply didn't get any response. I paid over $600. This camera is not worth it. Do yourself a favor and don't go near this camera. It's at my house. I just have no choice but to buy this camera...

*also posted on Amazon* Have had this for 5 months or so but mainly used for concerts & events not daily I was looking for a compact camera with long-range zoom for concerts and sports, that will capture good quality video from both close seats and from higher or nosebleed seats and this totally delivers. Over time, it's actually cheaper than buying floor seats lol Why I Chose It For this specific use, there’s really nothing else like it No phone camera, not even high-end or Chinese global models like the: Oppo X8 Ultra Vivo X200 Xiaomi 15 Ultra (which are largely praised for their camera capabilities - mostly photo, not so much video) can match this compact camera's video zoom. Those 3 are super expensive (>$1000) and don’t come close. Phones rely heavily on multiple lenses and AI after 5x zoom. This gives you a 30x optical zoom from one lens Galaxy s25 ultra has a 5x optical zoom and the iPhone 16 pro max is 10x zoom. Even if Im slightly wrong it still doesnt come close..thats my whole point The other camera I considered... FZ80D That was a chonky boy and not inconspicuous enough for me, I didn’t want to risk being stopped before going into the venue. From the research I did: Probably the second closest option Has great stabilization Similar or bigger zoom range More affordable Still worthy of consideration if size isn't an issue. --- Pros of the ZS99 Doesn’t look pro-level, so most venues allow it (It meets the standard requirement of not having a detachable lens-always check the rules first, but you should be fine unless they’re being picky. You can also email some venues in advance and have their response for reference once the event rolls around just in case) Compact but sturdy, good grip Fits in men’s pockets (Maybe not women’s, those pockets are a scam... check bag size limits and toss it in a small bag if needed.) Intelligent Auto Mode is easy to use User Manual is super organized and easy to search through Stabilization is good Not as buttery as a phone’s “super steady” mode But that kind of adds to the live-event vibe Steady you can see what’s going on clearly but you can tell someone recorded it handheld, like you wouldn't assume a tripod was used Bonus tip: Turn on Continuous Autofocus (AFC) for sports / action / lots of dancing or movement → Game changer for me. I noticed the difference immediately Way better zoom than any phone, period. --- Cons Overheats during extended use. When it overheats it can stop recording Charging port rubbery thingy feels flimsy Be gentle, or just get a separate battery pack and external charger (Manual tells you what kind of battery to look for) Wrist strap is fine Especially if you’ve got a bag to store your camera between uses But if you’re planning to record for hours → consider a sturdier neck strap so you can just be ready to record without having it in your hand 24/7 Time limits: 4K caps at 15 minutes per clip 1080p (FHD) maxes out at 30 minutes Feels a bit short, but unless you're filming an entire Metallica concert, one song at a time should be fine (Personally, I think 1080p actually looks better than 4K at full zoom as it captures smoother movement) Battery life My battery died right before the main event after ~6 hours. → Bring a power bank or spare battery --- Final Thoughts If you're a casual enjoyer, you'll likely walk away pretty satisfied. The main selling point is that 30x zoom. It’s unmatched in a compact package like this. If anything looks a bit grainy or overexposed in the moment, you can always clean it up later in editing. And when I refer to editing it’s literally just the built-in editing for saturation and highlights / shadows etc on your phone. Transfer is straightforward, and there are good YouTube videos on this camera. My favorite channel on it is Tech to Remember’s videos. Great help. That wraps up my casual review of the ZS99 for concerts and live events. I’ll update if anything else comes to mind & if this site allows

Camera quality is really good. It’s the perfect size for traveling. The only more difficult thing is the flash is on a spot where people naturally put their finger but just a quick reminder is enough. It has a lot of adjustable settings for all different styles of photography. I’ve used it a while day and never had problem with battery life.

It’s a really nice compact all-around camera with some great pro features like post-focus stacking, manual focus, and other functions. There’s great ergonomics like comfortable hand grips, good dials and rings, and other intuitive controls. The camera has a great auto mode and fantastic semi-auto creative controls. The long zoom lets you utilize this camera on the go, giving you the ability to get close enough to everything you want to shoot without having to carry a large lens or compromise picture quality. However, my only reservation so far is the flash, which is simply put in the wrong place. It always gets blocked by your hand on the camera grip.

The camera is built with quality and feels good in the hand. Colors pop and the image is very nice. You can tell the difference between this and an iPhone as long as you have good light. Battery will last 1 full day of pictures or a weekend of lighter pictures taking. I’d recommend getting a spare battery as well. Only downside of this camera is the flash placement, as your finger will naturally block it. But that is something you eventually get used to. Flash is bright and makes a big difference. The flash is the reason I bought this over the similarly priced Sony.

LOVE MY CAMERA ! It takes amazing pictures. It took a while to get the settings right but once I did it was perfect. I bought the camera to take to Europe and the pictures came out amazing. It’s small and compact and very easy to fit in a purse or small handbag.

So far I’m liking this camera a lot, it’s compact fit on my cross body bag and also the zoom performance is insane!