Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Okay, first off I bought this during the lighting deal at $149. I was concerned with everyone saying Amazon had made a mistake and that this was the ZS8. Well I just got it and it says it is the ZS9. The manual (which is made for the ZS8 and ZS9) appears to suggest the sole difference between the two is that the ZS9 does stereo recording in video while the ZS8 only allowed for mono. So, Amazon did not make a mistake. ZS9 is written write on top of the camera. Found it odd Panasonic's own web site did not mention the ZZ9. **Update 11/19/11. Camera continues to work well. I have never expected much from flashes on point and shoot cameras but this one seems to have less output than most. If you plan on shooting with a lot of flash I am not sure this would be the best camera (though I try to never use the flash anyway). I also learned that firmware on some of the Panasonic cameras (and I believe this one) prevent the use of third party less expensive batteries (ugh). If you are like me and stock up on cheap extra batteries you may want to look into this as an issue. The Panasonic battery runs about $33 bucks while one can usually find third party batteries around the $10 range. **Updated 11/26/11. After having enough time with the camera I decided that the flaws, at least in my situation, made this a camera not suited for my use. My house tends to be darker with a majority of the lighting coming from incandescent light. The low light photo quality was just not very good. Even when using the flash on auto the camera would sometimes set an ISO of 800 which I could not understand. At ISO 800 the pictures have noticeable noise. I would say that the low light quality even with flash would be best for facebook, etc. I would be afraid to blow them up to anything maybe beyond a 4x6. I also had an opportunity to review the video quality. I had once tried a Canon 230 HX and that quality was simply great. I did not see anywhere near that quality indoors - but perhaps it is a light issue once again. If you are planning on mainly shooting in the outdoors I am sure this may be a great option. However, if you are looking for a small camera that can be used in all lighting conditions a back sided CMOS camera may be a better option. I am still trying to find that perfect fit between my old Canon ELPH and my Canon T1i SLR. Still looking for something that fits right in the middle.