Initial impressions on the TZ6

After a lot of research(a misleading term for the googling I did) on compact cameras, I decided to buy the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ6(Panasonic TZ6). I was very clear on what I wanted: A compact digicam with the highest zoom in the range. And the right price(read low price) of course.

So my search began and the truly speaking there were not many options. There was a Canon 110IS(which I definitely did not want because my bro already had the same model, an excellent camera but why have the same model again in the family?), a couple of FujiFilms - Finepix F-72(super good glossy finish), Fuji S-2000 HD(some very nice shooting modes which every amateur photographer actually needs with an excellent grip and HD recording) and a yet to launch Finepix F-80 which I believe is the best looking super zoom compact, a Casio, a Sony and an Olympus. But any site I visited, the TZ6 seemed to be the favorite. DPReview thinks it is a must have, CNET rates it a very high 9.4 or so and a few other sites I visited all suggested the Lumix TZ6.

The price in India was a little above my budget and so I decided to buy it in the UK. It was actually quite a huge difference of about 8000Rs. With the camera delivered last Friday, I set out on the streets of London to click. I first went to the Wembley Stadium. I clicked, I reviewed the pic. Something was definitely wrong, after all the reviews I had really high expectations. Blaming it on my poor photography skills, I put the camera in iA mode, panasonic's intelligent auto mode and the results were even worse. I don't know if its the London sky heavy with dark clouds or if its the camera. I tried the 'clouds' mode in the camera and clicked again and then played around with a couple of more modes. Not that the photos were bad, its the high expectations I had. I thought just setting the auto-mode would produce excellent pics.

Some sample pics on a very cloudy day:

Yesterday I went to the British Museum and tried some indoor photography. Every object of interest was differently lit - day light, indoor halogen lights, florescent lights, incandescent lights etc. Objects within the glass cases were just impossible to click with the reflection. And again, the iA mode disappointed. Fiddling with the other options in camera proved to be more fruitful producing some nice pics.

Either the camera is a let-down(which may not be the case considering the amazing reviews its got) or I still have not figured out the right modes. So there is some more midnight oil to burn reading up the manual.