So, I've had the Olympus C-3040 for years now. I've taken over 5,000 pictures with it. It's a decent camera, but just too slow to capture the growing up process of my daughter. By the time the I turned the camera on and I zoomed and focused, she was long gone.

With daughter #2 looming on the horizon, I decided I needed to upgrade to a new camera. I decided on my criteria ahead of time:

• zoom factor (greater than 8x)
• manual control for zoom and focus
• fast startup time
• picture color and detail (I wanted to limit time spent on post processing)
• price factor (I didn't want spend over $1,000)

And so commenced my research. I read through reviews and forums and asked friends. I finally decided on the Panasonic DMC-FZ30. I had seriously considered the Fujifilm FinePix S9000 Z, but it's just about impossible to get at the moment. And initial feedback on the picture quality hasn't been that great. People have complained about the Panasonic's noise factor, but I'm used to noise and it's not that big of deal for me.

So I usually order my camera gear through B&H even though they are usually a little more expensive. Their level of service is worth the extra money. But this time they were $100 more on the Panasonic. And on a $650 camera that's quite a bit. So I placed my order with another vendor recommended on the camera forum. I wanted the camera in time for a planned zoo trip, so I paid for the faster shipping. The vendor took two days to process the order, so I wound up paying for Saturday shipping as well. A minor annoyance. So Saturday comes and the camera arrives. Woohoo! But after opening up the box I discovered there was no battery charger! A downside of the Panasonic cameras is that they use proprietary batteries. So I just paid money to have a dead camera shipped to me in a hurry. I called the vendor, and they confirmed that yes, I should have a battery charger. But it wasn't their fault, and I would have to deal with Panasonic. And they wouldn't refund the extra shipping charges since I did indeed receive the camera. "Here's the number for Panasonic. Have a nice day."

I called around to local stores in attempt to find a charger. No luck. "Why do you need a charger? It comes with the camera." By this time all sorts of fantasies of retribution were popping in my head.

I decided to suck it up and call Panasonic , already dreading the experience. But I was suprised. Boy was I suprised. Adrienne answered my call. She was pleasant and understanding. And friendly. She had the camera there on her desk along with the packaging. So she knew what I was talking about. They would ship out the charger to me, along with an extra battery. At no charge. I told them of my shock at being treated so nicely. "Why would want to bite the heads off our customers?" she replied. I told her I had a list of people she needed to talk to then.

So in the end I'm happy with my camera. I'm happy in the knowledge that if I do have any more problems, Panasonic will take care of me. And I've learned that cheaper isn't always better - I'll pay extra for the service. The amount of time I spent on the phone and my level of aggravation just wasn't worth the money.

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Published: (2005-10-05 09:17:37.0)