Helen (dpreview, Panasonic forum, 31 March 2004)...
in P mode ONLY, the close focusing limit is much larger than in macro, so if you're using that it could be the problem. It's a funny piece of design -- at 12x zoom, no matter what exposure mode you use, the close focus (which necessarily *isn't* very close at that powerful telephoto setting!) is the same (i.e. in any exposure mode) this is quite normal for any similar camera too; but at 1x zoom (full wide angle), the A, S, M and Macro modes go down to 5cm, whilst P can only manage down to 40cm. As you zoom further, these minimum distances will gradually increase in all cases -- I don't know at what point in the zoom range every mode starts having the same close-focus limit. Of course, autofocusing can be trickier in the close focus range too, especially if you're not in Mode 1 of the stabiliser, because of the magnification -- not only does the slightest movement of yourself and the camera back or forth constitute a big shift in focus, but the jiggle of the lines of contrast it is trying to find makes it harder for it to get a lock on them. Not usually a big issue, but one to consider.