Let me start off by saying a little bit about myself. I recently started working at a very photogenic location and was inspired to start taking photos with my iPhone. The quality of the pictures was surprisingly good but I needed more options. The shutter lag and shots per second were just miserable, so I started doing some research into a camera I planned on really investing some time and money into for once! I've had a P&S in the past but never knew much about it and basically just used it for the occasional vacation or family outing. I also own a Kodak ZX-1(one of the Flip competitors) which I used for the same kind of thing.
When starting to do my research, I originally looked into DSLRs and loved them but found them to be a little too large and costly for my liking. I didn't need something pocketable or cheap but I believe I found a good balance of size, cost, and functionality in the XZ-1.
I haven't had a ton of time with the XZ-1 but I have taken a wide range of photos, such as action shots of animals, long exposures of the night sky, and family portraits.
I love having so many options for taking action shots. If I can anticipate the action, I can set M/S/A/P or even iAuto and grab a great shot at least once a second. If I can't anticipate the action but I just have a feeling, I can turn on the HI1 or HI2 setting and take some decent shots 7-15 frames a second. These settings work especially well in bright sunlight. Darker shots tend to get too noisy since the high shutter speed bumps the ISO up quite high.
I've only tried the night sky photography a few times but I've had some great results. Comparing my results to a friend with a more expensive DSLR left me fairly surprised. I'm not sure what camera model or lens was being used but when using similar settings to mine, my shots came out much clearer and brighter. Once my tripod arrives, I'll be experimenting more and update the review with some examples.
The family portraits I've taken have been very successful. I was happy and surprised with the depth of field capabilities of the XZ-1. I've never owned a camera with this ability at all so its a lot of fun to experiment with.
Some of the other features of the XZ-1 include a scalable flash, 720p video and some fun ART filters. The scalable flash is very interesting to someone who has never owned a camera like this and as definitely come in handy. I enjoy taking pictures of my dogs inside and a full blown flash can just ruin the shots. When I put the flash on 1/64th or 1/16th, I can get some nice action shots without over exposing. I haven't tried the video at all but I will be going on vacation in a few months and I'll update the review then =). The ART filters can be fun. Pop Art takes some great shots of locations with a wide range of color and dramatic tone can take some great shots of nature. I also find dramatic tone to be fun in combination with a full flash, especially with animals with fur. The only thing that definitely doesn't work with dramatic tone is portraits of people...unless of course you're making a zombie movie...
I plan on posting examples soon so check back! Also, if you have any questions feel free to reply here or PM me. I'm sure I'm missing a lot from this review so if I think of anything, I'll update it.