The LUMIX ZS99 is the Best Point and Shoot for the Money

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The creation of digital cameras has changed the way we photograph. Companies such as Nikon, Canon, Sony and Fujifilm have multiple cameras with distinct modes and options that can make your photography far more fun. If you are a young photographer learning new ropes, then these settings must be what you should tune into.

Tilt-Shift Mode

Green forest with tall pine trees and rocks scattered on a grassy clearing in the foreground. — Image by Nilofer Khan

Some APS-C and enthusiast cameras have a mode dial, which features multiple options. One is the tilt-shift mode, which, while only shot in JPEG, results in scenes that appear like miniature models. The example above shows you clearly how the blurred effect at the top and bottom makes the tree look smaller than they are. The boosted saturation also helps to make streets, cityscapes, and landscapes like dioramas. The best way to take photos using this mode is to shoot from a high vantage point and then look down. Since a miniature illusion depends on a perspective, you’d normally only look down at a model.

Fish-eye Mode

Snow-capped mountains under a cloudy sky with dense green pine trees in the foreground. — Image by Nilofer Khan

Another feature is the fish-eye mode, which helps to exaggerate the scene. The signature is the signature bulging, spherical distortion where straight lines curve outwards from the center. The barrel distortion helps to make the scene pronounced without the need of an actual fisheye lens. The fish-eye mode is more extreme towards the edges, so it helps to make your center out. Architecture, doorways, ceilings, and horizons can make a scene stand out.

Multiple Exposure Mode

Some cameras allow you to shoot multiple frames in one go. While some cameras allow RAW multiple exposure mode, like the R5, there are some that use only JPEG. If one image is not enough, then by blending two different photos, you can get a third picture. You can choose between blend modes (additive, average, lighten, darken) and change how the two images combine. Look at high-contrast subjects against dark or plain backgrounds. The second exposure could be something lighter, which can blend well with the first.

Star Filters

String lights and palm trees at night with colorful light streaks crossing the image diagonally. — Image by Feroz Khan

Star filters turn light into multi-pointed starbursts. This requires a filter with etched lines. This works well when you are shooting against light, such as streetlights, fairy lights, or sun glinting off water. This can be helpful when you are trying to make portraits, or even commercial shoots. Just keep in mind that you need a strong source of light that can make things good.

Other Built-In Modes

A man plays an arcade punching game, with plush toys displayed on shelves in the background. — Image by Chris Gampat

Toy camera/lo-fi filter: Some cameras allow you to simulate the look and feel of cheap plastic lenses. This means heavy vignetting, soft corners, and boosted contrast, evoking the Holga/Lomography aesthetic. This can be helpful for some parties/picnics.
Pop color/vivid filter: Isolates and dramatically increases one or two dominant colors in a scene while muting the rest. This can be helpful for portraits or street photography.
Dynamic range/HDR modes: Blend multiple exposures to provide one photo with great detail in highlights and shadows. This works best with high-contrast scenes, backlit interiors or bright midday sun.
Panorama mode: Some cameras allow you to show long, horizontal frames in-camera like a regular panorama. This is handy for landscapes, cityscapes, architecture shoots.

Black and white photo of pine trees in front of distant mountains under a bright, clear sky. — Image by Nilofer Khan

Grainy film/high-contrast monochrome filters: A heavier, more stylized version of the standard black and white modes on your camera. Sometimes, it is often exaggerated with grainy, analog feel.

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In early 2025, we reviewed the LUMIX ZS99, otherwise known as the Panasonic ZS99. And back then, I didn’t think that it was all that bad of a camera. There’s a lot of zoom power, image stabilization, RAW, a small package overall, and good looks that can be rendered by the camera’s processor. It spent a lot of time in my closet tucked into a camera bag. But when I pulled it back out recently, I realized that this is exactly what so many people have been clamoring for.

The LUMIX ZS99 is Still an Excellent Camera

Over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten really experimental with the ZS99 after pulling it back out of the closet and into my pocket. I’ve used the monochrome mode to make my own look that resembles cyanotypes. I’ve also been trying the other photo modes and overall, just having fun by enjoying the environment around me.

That, ultimately, is one of the best parts about having a camera that’s just for fun. The ZS99 has a flash for that stereotypical point and shoot look. Plus, there’s a large zoom. And if you really aren’t happy with your images, you can edit the RAW files later on. However, also know that there are tons of in-camera filters and even looks. You can’t load Real Time LUTs onto the camera; but I didn’t find that to be a deal breaker at all.

A brick apartment building with cars parked in front, partially shaded by trees in late afternoon light.

A distorted city street with cars and buildings, overlaid by fragmented, mirrored shapes and tree shadows.

Something that I think is really fun in the in-camera retouching feature. You can tell the camera to get rid of something in a frame by drawing over it. And though people looking for photoshopped levels of perfection won’t be happy with the results at all, I embrace it as pixel art done in-camera. And honestly, it’s really cool. In fact, I find it hard not to like it because it’s just so weird and random at times.

A handwritten birthday card among plush toys reads: Dear Lex, you bloomed into someone wonderful.

Tree trunk with a large bark gash in front of parked cars on a sunny street.

Tall grasses and wildflowers reach toward a bright blue sky with wispy white clouds.

Blurry photo of a street with cars parked and a tree in front of a multi-story brick building.

Tall, thin plant with small buds silhouetted against a purple and blue sky with wispy clouds.

A shadow of a chimney falls across the beige siding of a house beneath a clear blue sky.

Two brick apartment buildings with fire escapes, trees on the left, and sunlight casting shadows.

A white van is parked on a shaded street in front of a brick apartment building with trees.

Black and white photo of a cluttered backyard behind a two-story house with chain link fence.

Black and white image of overgrown grass in a fenced bed near a white van parked on the street.

A tree-lined residential street with parked cars and houses in the early evening sunlight.

Multiple train tracks run parallel, next to green bushes and utility wires, with buildings in the background.

A tree-lined sidewalk runs beside parked cars and brick houses on a sunny day in a residential neighborhood.

Variegated leaves with white and green patterns and clusters of small yellow buds on a bush.

Sidewalk under metal scaffolding with parked cars and trees along the street on a sunny day.

Window with metal bars, curtains, and an air conditioner installed on the right side of a beige siding wall.

Open laundromat entrance with visible washing machines, an ATM sign, and a yellow service sign outside.

Brown shoes on a sunlit sidewalk with scattered leaves and long shadows.

Blurred image of a green field and trees with motion streaks under a pale sky, buildings barely visible.

Close-up of vibrant pink crepe myrtle flowers and buds with green leaves in the background.

A large white cross on a stone church wall next to a steel overpass, seen from below in black and white.

A white car is parked outside a laundromat with a blue and white sign on a sunny day.

The most important thing about this camera, however, is that you can and always want to bring it with you. And the ZS99 is small enough yet powerful enough to do that. It can be a vacation camera, a street camera, and a whatever camera. I still really like what it can do and it’s doing it all at a much more affordable price than lots of other point and shoots on the market.

That’s really all that I’ve got to say about this camera. I wish it had weather resistance. But honestly, the whole idea of us needing super big sensors with all the processing power that in some of these cameras is a lie. We don’t need the bigger sensors, but they still do offer advantages. However, so too do the smaller sensor cameras. And in many cases, they’re still more than doing a good enough job.

Get rid of the ads!

An ad-free experience
A free mystery box for Lightroom or Capture One
All the books in our store
20% discount on Capture One
30% discount on Imalume Photo Theft Protection
20% off Herbs and Kettle Tea Company.
20% off your order from MPIX printing services.
5% off Viltrox Products via their eCommerce store.
10% off all film developing, printing and scanning services from Blue Moon Camera and Machine
15% off 7Artisans products: The lens and accessory maker is offering a sweet discount for Phoblographer's readers.