Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was looking to replace my old Canon Powershot that's an ultracompact. While the size made it super portable, I needed something with more zoom capability and a better lens for low light conditions. I was willing to sacrifice some additional weight and size to get that. Don't get me wrong--this is no high end DSLR camera. I have a Nikon D90 for taking exceptional photos and that will be the camera I always go to for professional results. I wanted something far more portable that did not require a camera bag when traveling, biking and hiking. I've had this camera for about a week now (purchased in Hong Kong while traveling). I was introduced to this while looking for a Lumix, but since they were out of stock they introduced me to this one. Since there were no reviews yet I tried a variety of shots within the store and was amazed how far the zoom worked and focus was very quick in situations. Low light photos look really good so far, but I need to experiment more. The camera has a solid feel to it. Definitely weighs more than my ultracompact, but I knew that going into this class of camera. There are numerous features and the menu system can be a little daunting, but I tend not to get carried away with all of those special scene features. Although the ability for the camera to take a picture based on the introduction of a face, a face smiling or winking is pretty slick. LCD screen is beautiful and high resolution. I've even linked it to my iPhone5 over Wi-Fi and like the ability to transfer pictures so that I can post some immediately on Flickr or Facebook. I have not taken many videos yet, but it looks nice so far. I do like the ability of having a separate button for videos in addition to the normal shutter release. Very handy when you just want to take a quick video without having to switch modes on the camera. However, the manual says you cannot change the zoom while taking video, so I want to verify that and make sure the focus keeps up. There is also a special mode where the camera will take short videos a few seconds long leading up to pressing the shutter release resulting in all of the clips being stitched together in one video. Again, another feature I have not tried much yet. Also keep these few things in mind based on the questions I've seen here on Amazon so far. No memory card is provided. Most digital cameras for years do not include one as the options are huge and each person has their own needs on how much storage they need (and they're cheap). If you're looking for a good case, the Case Logic QBP-202 is a perfect fit (still allows you to store a small cable and some SD cards if needed).