"Let me start by saying I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my camera. I didn't even know Panasonic made digital cameras until I started researching. After comparing this camera with all the others in this price range, and reading the many positive reviews, I felt like I had no other choice but to buy this camera. I'm glad I did.
First, the zoom capablilities on the Panasonic FZ15 are amazing. No other camera in this price range has a 12x optical zoom and a 4x digital zoom. I have gotten some amazing shots because of the zoom, that I would have missed otherwise.
Second, the image stabilizer is a must. Even when using the zoom, and no tripod, the pictures come out clear the majority of the time. Which is awesome considering that other digital cameras can give you a fuzzy picture when you aren't even using a zoom! Should you decide not to purchase this camera (for some strange reason) at least get one with an image stabilizer.
Third, the LCD screen is the best. I compared my Panasonic FZ15 screen to my Mom's Kodak EasyShare 7590 and my aunt's Canon Sureshot A80 and I was NOT impressed with their LCD screens. My aunt couldn't even see what pictures she was taking while indoors. And the Kodak's screen was definitely "grainier" than my Panasonic. Though I will admit, the Kodak is also a good camera.
Fourth, this camera is very flexible. You can set everything on automatic and still take some pretty good pictures. But, if you read the manual (which is well-written and easy to understand) and play with the camera a little bit, you can do alot manually and take some great shots. I'm not technologically savvy, and I picked up on the "how's" of aperature, shutter speed, ISO, etc. pretty quick. The camera is very user friendly.
Fifth, the lens is a high quality lens; I visited www.dpreview.com and the lens is one of the things that the professional reviewer praised on this camera. (You have to read the review on the FZ20, same camera just more MPs) The quality of the lens shows up in the quality of the pictures.
Another thing I noticed with this camera is the ability to take sharp, clear pictures in total darkness. I couldn't even see what I was taking a picture of, and the pictures still came out great.
The one and only drawback that I have found so far is that the camera only comes with an 8MB card, which is useless. So, make sure you buy a bigger card when you purchase the camera.
You can't go wrong buying this camera! "

    "What a great camera! All of the pictures that I have taken have been beautiful. The flash is amazing. I zoomed in on something across my living room, in the dark, with the flash, and got a great picture. I have yet to take a bad picture. It feels just like an SLR camera with out the high price. It has taken the place of my Canon Rebel. It is very user friendly. I really didn't need the manual to figure out how to use it. I keep looking for something to take pictures of. I can't wait for Christmas morning. I know I'll fill my SD card and have to use another one. I highly recommend this camera. "

    "Got one for Christmas, this camera has it all! My first picture was of an object 25ft away using the built in flash. The picture was awesome! Perfectly focused and exposed. It has a very nice viewfinder/LCD option, image stabilization option can be set to constant or just before the shutter snaps or off altogether, (you'll want to use it at higher magnifications) also has a histogram display function which enables you to constantly monitor light levels for a perfect shot, up to 3fps and more bells and whistles to keep you occupied than could fit into this review. The only thing it doesn't have is sound but then again if you want sound and motion then buy a video camera instead! This is the perfect digital still camera, with 12x optical zoom and manual/auto/manual-assist focus options it can take a perfect picture every time or let you experiment with fully automatic, Aperture/shutter or fully manual exposure options. There's even a 1.5x tele-converter available which will give you well over 600mm. These Leica lenses are truly awesome! It comes with a USB interface cable and a tv cable so you can see your pics on your TV directly from your camera. Charger automatically turns off when battery is ready, a lens hood for blocking out stray sunlight when outside and a 16mb SD card, (you will want to buy the 256). Software included is easy to use and has enough options to be as high-tech as you like. Loads easily on XP. In my opinion for the price it is the best digital camera out there today! "

    "After researching high magnification digital cameras for quite a while, I finally settled on the Panasonic FZ15K mostly because of it's features, and the good user ratings that I was able to find online. The features I wanted were high zoom, image stabilization, a burst mode, and low shutter lag (the time it takes for the picture to be taken after you press the shutter).

I've taken pictures with the FZ15K for two weeks now and couldn't be more impressed with this camera. Although there are lots of features, everything is smartly layed out so you will quickly be able to learn how to take advantage of all of the wonderful features.

The zoom/image stablization is amazing. 10X-12X pictures with shutter speeds of 1/60 sec are taken with a snap and always come out clear. The viewfinder and LCD are both clear and the information in the LCD is clear and easy to undrestand. Shutter lag is very low once you prefocus by pressing on the shutter slightly. It feels like a normal SLR after that with very little shutter lag. There is a bracketing feature that takes three consecutive pictures with slightly different exposures for difficult lighting situations, but most times I have used it, the normal shot is the best. The burst mode is fantastic with 4 pictures/second. I can't wait to take pictures at my daughters softball games this summer. The flash is bright and recharges very quickly. There are also lots of modes to choose from - snow , panning, fireworks, low light, sports, etc that adjust the settings on the camera for those unique situations. I tried taking pictures with bright sun and snow using the "snow" mode and they all came out great. Although you won't be using it very often, the manual focus also works very good.

Do yourself a favor, if your looking for a digital in this price range, look no longer. I can't imagine how you could do any better than this one. "

    "Many people consider this camera the best solution short of the much more expensive DLSR's.

It comes with Leica lenses, quality lenses usually found in much more expensive cameras.

The 12x continuous zoom with dual mode stabilizer feature that lets you hand-hold the camera for clear pictures, even at 420 mm setting at f2.8 brightness throughout the entire zoom range.
With a super-fast response, lets you snap off consecutive shots at 3 frames per second, or in Consecutive Shooting setting, it can take unlimited pictures until the SD card gets full, all this with full resolution. As with all other manufactures, you'll have to get a decent SD card, since it comes with an 8Mb card.

Also I think it has better AF then its bigger brother, the FZ20, and the pictures are sharper, due in part to the ISO64 mode.
I don't agree with the other reviewer assessment about noise. At ISO400 there will be some noise, but not at the level to render this camera useless. Keep in mind THIS IS NOT A DSLR. You can't get Dslr functions and quality at half the price.

Now one word of caution. The FZ15, like all the other Lumix cameras, are lacking the "gain-up" functionality in low light conditions. In other words, if you're in low light conditions, the LCD screen will not brighten-up, but you can manage around this annoyance.
If you'll use this camera mostly for indoors shoots, you better look somewhere else. "