Compact cameras with long-reaching optical zoom lenses are all the rage right now. Panasonic's 5-megapixel DMC-TZ1 is its latest entry, with a 35mm-to-350mm (35mm equivalent), f/2.8-to-f/4.2 10X Leica optical zoom lens in a body that measures 112mm by 58.1mm by 40.2mm and 262 grams with lens retracted and battery and SD card included. Though not quite as thin, it's about the same height and width as the dual-lens, 6-megapixel Kodak EasyShare V610, which has a higher suggested price than the Panasonic and doesn't include optical image stabilisation. The DMC-TZ1's extra thickness can be attributed to its large lens and the chunky grip that houses the memory card and the 1,000mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The grip gives the camera a unique look compared to the legions of boxy designs on the market, while also providing a solid outcrop to grasp, making one-handed shooting a possibility.
Speaking of one-handed shooting, the controls are neatly organised on the right of the camera, so you can keep your left hand free and still access the menus. The mode dial, the shutter button (surrounded by the zoom rocker), the image-stabilisation selector, and the power switch sit atop the camera, with all but the dial clustered above the grip. LCD mode, trash, and a four-way-plus-enter cluster of buttons round out the controls and are located on the bottom right of the camera back, next to the 2.5-inch LCD.
Exposure controls are limited to full auto and plus or minus 2EV (in 1/3EV steps) of exposure compensation. It includes automatic bracketing, so you can set the camera to automatically vary the exposure by up to plus or minus 1EV when you capture a series of three shots. Thus, one shot will be full auto, another will be up to -1EV, and the third up to 1EV. This is useful if you're in tricky lighting, and you want to make sure you get a good shot. Unfortunately, the lack of manual controls, such as aperture and shutter priority, means the DMC-TZ1 won't be enough for the artsy crowd who want to control their apertures for effect.
The camera's 18 scene modes offer some level of control when shooting in specific situations, including such favourites as Food and Aerial modes. There's also a high-sensitivity mode that boosts the ISO past the normal ISO 800 limit and automatically sets it somewhere between ISO 800 and ISO 1,600. The manual warns that in this mode, the resulting image may be a lower resolution, though in our field tests, it was still more than four megapixels. But given our noise test results (see below), you'll probably want to steer clear of this mode.
Metering options include spot, centre weighted, and multiple, which is similar to some cameras' matrix mode and combines measurements from the entire image area to calculate the proper exposure. There are five autofocus modes, including nine-area, one-area, spot, three-area high-speed, and one-area high-speed. All of the AF modes zero in on the middle of the screen, while the three-area mode narrows that to a horizontal band centred top to bottom, and the others narrow it further to a small area in the centre. In macro mode, the DMC-TZ1 can focus as close as two inches from its subject at its widest zoom setting.
Like some other Panasonic cameras, the DMC-TZ1 lets you choose the aspect ratio of your pictures: 4:3, 3:2, or 16:9. The 4:3 option makes the most of the image sensor, while the other two modes crop pixels from the top and bottom. You can also choose from 4:3 or 16:9 in the camera's movie mode, which can capture up to 848x480 resolution at up to 30fps with mono sound.
One of the coolest features in the DMC-TZ1 is its Flip Animation mode. It lets you combine up to 100 still images into a short movie at either 5fps or 10fps. Get yourself some green clay and you too can create your own Gumby-style clips -- just be careful not to move the camera too much between frames.
Panasonic's DMC-TZ1 performed well in our speed trials. Time from power up to capture its first image was a speedy 1.6 seconds, and time between subsequent shots measured 1.8 seconds without flash and a slightly more sluggish 2.6 seconds with flash enabled. Shutter lag was also fast: 0.5 second in high-contrast lighting and 1.2 seconds in low-contrast situations. The burst mode has three speed options; in its fastest, we were able to capture five low-quality (low compression) images at 3.1fps and three high-quality shots at 2.5fps.
There is no optical viewfinder, so you'll have to use the 2.5-inch LCD to frame your shots. Thankfully, the screen was easily visible even in bright sunlight. It also did a remarkable job of gaining up in low light while still maintaining a decent representation of colours, so you won't be left in the dark when shooting images in your favourite dimly lit dance club.
Automatic white balance produced extremely yellowish casts in images shot with our lab's tungsten lights. The Tungsten preset did a much better job, though, leaving a slightly warm cast that wasn't perfectly neutral but kept that tungsten feel alive. The manual white-balance setting did a good job of neutralising colours.
Images from the Lumix DMC-TZ1 showed accurate, natural colours, with plenty of saturation. Plus, exposures were generally accurate, though it had a tendency to clip detail from the brightest portions of our field test images. Unfortunately, we also saw moiré in the finer details of our test images, which were noticeably soft and suffered from JPEG artefacts and fringing. More troubling, though, was that like a lot of Panasonic cameras, the DMC-TZ1 had a tough time keeping noise in check. Even at ISO 80, there were noticeable multicolour speckles throughout our test images, and ISO 100 looked very similar. At ISO 200, the noise grew worse with significant mottling in darker colours, and by ISO 400, noise obscured significant amounts of detail, though images may still be useful as 4x6-inch prints. By ISO 800, noise was so rampant that images were not fit to print.
Panasonic's Lumix DMC-TZ1 might have a big lens, an ergonomically pleasing design, and some cool features, but its image-quality issues should make you pause if you plan to make letter-size or larger prints. Snapshooters who want only 4x6 prints will probably do OK with this camera, but they should take a look at the competition, such as Kodak's EasyShare V610, or even a superzoom, such as Canon's PowerShot S3 IS.
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Typical shot-to-shot time | |
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Shutter lag (typical) |
Frames per second (larger is better)
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Typical continuous-shooting speed |
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tandavakrishna_tungala
28/11/2008, 04:20 AM
rating
8/10
I gought this camera throuth online for Rs.6,000 from ebay.in. I used several film and digital cameras for 30 years. I shot several photos and videos with Panasonic Lumix TZ1. Picture quality and video quality are good while shooting outdoor and good lighting conditions. It is less than DSLR and more than same type of compact digital cameras. Main advantage of this camera is 10x optical zoom and Image stabilization. It can produce good images in low light conditions while using digital slave flash. I am thankful to the seller for sold this camera for very low price even till today it's price is Rs.15,990.
Pros: 10x opticam zoom, Image stabilization and vivid picture quality.
Cons: Noice at higher ISO settings and poor flash. Images are not fit for large enlargement photo prints.
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pentax camera
24/05/2008, 09:37 PM
rating
7/10
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 is for every one. Fun with this camera very well on your this vacations. I like it camera for its fast performance.
Pros: Stylish design.
Fast and reliable.
Cons: Nothing in cons.
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mollydooka
07/12/2007, 06:22 AM
rating
10/10
I bought this camera for my partner for her birthday in aug'06, prior to our trip to europe (her first). Unlike a previous commenter, I found a Belkin case that is a perfect size for the TZ1. Fantastic travel camera, simple to operate, great zoom, we're both really happy with it and glad that we didn't get one of the "slim-line" cameras. Panasonic have of course brought out new models now, but we're happy with this one and find the 5mp ample for our needs (mainly travel & family shots).
Pros: Controls & manual easy to follow, user-friendly menu, excellent zoom, OIS, good-size for one-handed operation (although we lefties have been completely ignored....again!).
Cons: Unlike the cnet reviewer, we found that the LCD screen is very difficult to see in bright sunlight, even with the enhanced mode on, but that's pretty standard with LCD screens, so it's not really a "con". Burst mode button (doubles as delete button) a bit close to menu & surrounding navigation buttons, so found that some users were inadvertently switching burst mode on (but not me of course!!).
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monstersound
23/06/2007, 01:40 AM
rating
9/10
All things considered, this is an amayzing camera for the price. I think the reviewr missed the point of this camera.
Pros: small, big viewer, powerful zoom, exellent 30fps video
Cons: if you need high ISO, it can add a bit of noise.
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David Do
11/05/2007, 08:01 PM
rating
9/10
This camera gives you composition flexibility that you just cant get with other point and shoots and its small size gives you the portability that DSLRs cannot match The best of both worlds CNET your review got it totally wrong This is THE PERFECT TRAVEL CAMERA Amazing lens in a compact body Get the biggest card you can because you will be taking shots that you never would consider taking with a 3x zoom Downsides yes there are noise issues with higher ISO speeds but worth living with
Pros: 10x zoom gives you amazing flexibility in compostion
Optical image stabiliser works great and is a necessity with this amount of zoom
Compact size lets you take it around everywhere and allows you to take candid shots where DSLRs would scare intended subjects away
Its not too small so you get steady your hand on that chunky grip
The auto focus system is very fast
You can zoom in while in video mode I dont think any other camera allows you to do that
General ease of use is great
The tripod mount pivot point is under the lens great for this wide stitch shots
The LCD is fantastic and both the high angle mode and high power mode do their respective jobs fantastically
Cons: Panasonic must fix the noise issue that is present in their entire line up of Lumix cameras but that being said the noise level is no greater than that found on the Kodak range of cameras (The easyshare has the worst noise levels i have ever seen easily twice as bad as the TZ1)
The battery life is not great I recommend you get a second battery
No built in lens cap
The finish is very easily scratched
Its very hard to find a camera case that fits well
THe auto focus is too active in video mode especially if you try to zoom
There is no frame by frame playback in video mode
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scracy
30/01/2007, 07:12 PM
rating
9/10
Fantastic camera better in many ways than my old fuji S5600.Picture quality is great very clean sharp and vivid images.Very well made body and lens,feels solid.Cnet have got this review quite wrong in my opinion,yes there are some noise issues but only above iso 200,which i seldom use.No noticeable purple fringing unlike similar canon camera's.An advanced point and shoot camera that would suit 90% of the population.It doesnt have much in the way of manual settings but cnet should bare in mind this is not a dslr nor is it intended to be.This is an easy camera to use though it takes a bit of experimenting to get even better shots.OIS sounds a bit like a sales pitch but it actually works really well.Quality japanese electronics (yes made in japan) combined with german optics! it doesn't get any better!
Pros: Great image quality
Fantastic lens and build quality
Metal body
Great lcd
10xoptical zoom
Easy/Fun to use
Cons: Removeable lens cap
Noisy above iso200
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Psymon
07/01/2007, 09:41 PM
rating
10/10
I am a Graphic Reproducer by trade so i know alot about image quality and this camera has far outweighed my expectations. Pleny of features for the semi-pro photographer.
Pros: Image Quailty, Ease of use, Able to zoom while doing videos.
Cons: None. Cnets review is way off the mark.
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GreggM
21/12/2006, 05:58 AM
rating
9/10
I purchased this camera for outdoor wildlife shots, and I couldn't be happier. The 10x zoom is great, and there are enough controls to get the results I want under most conditions.
Pros: 10X optical zoom with image stabilization.
Pocket sized so you have the camera with you to get the shot.
Cons: Not the greatest camera for photos indoor and with a flash.
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rambo
12/11/2006, 02:50 PM
rating
10/10
Used extensively (over 1000 shots) on a recent holiday with absolutely no problems. Photos are great, and the camera is dead easy to operate. The metal body feels great to hold, and is tough too (dropped on concrete from waist high- oops!)
Pros: -Solid build.
-Great pic quality.
-10 x zoom is awesome.
Cons: None.
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williamo
08/11/2006, 05:34 PM
rating
9/10
I've had this camera for about 6 months.
I think it's quite possible one of the best cameras I've ever laid hands on. The Panasonic software is easy to use, the screen is big and clear and the photos are very good quality.
Pros: Leica Lens
Big screen
Colours are really good
Lots of modes
Cons: Nothing I can think of.
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