Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ15

Successor to the DMC-TZ3, Panasonic ramps up the specifications for its new flagship model, the TZ15. The sensor resolution has been increased from 7- to 9-megapixels, but still keeps the large 3-inch LCD display. A 10x optical zoom with a 28mm wide-angle lens sets this point-and-shoot to be one of the favourites among travellers. The TZ15 is also capable of capturing 720p HD-quality video. But if you are looking for a downscaled unit, you might want to consider the TZ11 (8-megapixel with no HD video recording) which was announced alongside the TZ15 at the PMA imaging show in January.

A rubber strip runs along the front left side of the camera for a better grip. (click for larger image)

Design
At first glance, our eyes were immediately attracted to the large lens barrel on the shooter. It's no wonder considering that it houses a 10x optical zoom. Unlike the FX36 (the current flagship model for the FX series), the lens shield for the TZ15 is made of plastic. We are not very confident of the protection it can offer, but if you are going to bring this point-and-shoot around in a hardy pouch, it should be fine.

The left side of the camera is slightly thicker due to the handgrip, whose function is further enhanced by a vertical strip of textured rubber. This is an improvement over the TZ3 (with a horizontally positioned rubber strip) because there is now more rubberised surface area for our fingers to grip.

A playback switch is located beside the thumbgrip on the rear, and this is convenient for switching between shooting and playback mode.

The top dial rotates between iA (Intelligent Auto), normal, scene, video recording and clipboard mode. However, do keep in mind that the dial rotates 360 degrees, and when it is in an inappropriate position, the shooting function won't be able to operate.

While its predecessor, the TZ3, weighs 257 grams (with battery and memory media), the TZ15 manages to shed a few grams and tips the scale at 240 grams with the battery and flash card. So ladies, you may want to take note if you don't want to weigh down your handbag.

The 28mm wide-angle lens with 10x optical zoom is definitely not small. (click for larger image)

Features
The closest point-and-shoot we think may be a competitor to the TZ15 is the Canon PowerShot SX100 IS which comes with 10x optical zoom, too. However, the 28mm wide-angle lens on the TZ15 gives it an edge over the Canon which is widest at 36mm only.

What we think may make the TZ15 a favourite among travellers is its wide-angle lens and long zoom range. Packed into a compact body, this shooter is a versatile performer on vacations, letting you capture vast expanses of landscape or closeup shots of foreign culture. You can also adjust how fast or slow you want to zoom by tweaking the amount of rotation on the zoom rocker. This is quite useful as occasionally we tend to zoom too much into our subjects.

There are three other zoom functions which we find handy. With Zoom Resume enabled, the camera will return to the last position the zoom lens was at before powering down. This is pretty handy when you are constantly shooting at a certain zoom range. A press on the E.Zoom button at the top of the camera will instantly zoom the lens to the max, while a second one will automatically downsize your image to 3-megapixels and activate Extra Optical Zoom, giving you a grand total of 16.9x optical zoom. This is achieved by concentrating only on the centre of the image. A third press on the button will return the zoom lens back to wide angle.

By choosing Multi-Aspect in Scene Mode, you can snap three pictures in different aspect ratios (3:2, 4:3 and 16:9) with a press on the shutter button. This is particularly useful when you are not sure which ratio will look best for your shot.

The 28mm wide-angle lens with 10x optical zoom is definitely not small. (click for larger image)

Like its predecessor, the TZ15 sports a 3-inch LCD display on the rear. However, the display resolution is improved to 460K-pixel resolution from 230K in the TZ3. By activating the intelligent LCD, the display will automatically adjust the brightness according to the surroundings. We like the High Angle LCD mode, which lets us hold the camera above eye level and still provide a good view for framing the shot.

The shooter comes with a dual playback function which lets you view two images side-by-side on the LCD display. This is useful when we need to compare the exposure for similar images.

While conventional digital cameras are capable of capturing video at only 640 x 480 pixels, the TZ15 is also able to record clips at 720p (1,280 x 720 pixels) HD quality. Next to the TZ15, only Panasonic's FX36 and Samsung's NV24HD are capable of 720p HD video recording. The file size that it generates is gargantuan, chalking up a total of 90MB for a 23-second clip. So if you are planning to utilise this feature a lot, don't rely on the meager 50MB internal memory. You may want to consider investing in a high-capacity flash memory card (SD, SDHC or MMC) instead.

Performance
Panasonic claims the Intelligent Exposure mode will "prevent blown highlights and blocked shadows". Which is true because even when faced with backlit or high-contrast scenes, the camera managed to properly expose the image for maximum details.

With Intelligent Exposure, the camera exposed for both the highlights and shadow regions. (click for larger image)

The iA mode was quick to detect different scenes and switch to the appropriate settings. Faced with people, the iA mode was fast to go into portrait mode. Boxes would appear around the face, indicating that the face detection function had been activated. It would continue to follow and track the faces even when they were moving. However, like all intelligent functions, the iA is not perfect. When it was brought into a dimly lit place with spotlights on the ceiling, it fluctuated between Fireworks and Night Scenery mode instead of Candlelight (which we had hoped).

The Quick AF was speedy in focusing on subjects at wide angle, and it performed well in dim lighting, too. However, when we zoomed in all the way, the focusing was a bit slow in seeking the correct focus point. But once it did, the focus stayed sharp even when we moved around.

The Lithium-ion battery that came with the TZ15 promised 330 shots on the specs sheet. Compared with its predecessor, which is capable of only 270 shots, this is quite an improvement. This could be due to the new Venus IV image-processing engine which Panasonic claims will reduce power consumption, thus improving battery life. This is good news for frequent travellers who may have problems finding a suitable electric point to charge their devices.

The flash output is well-balanced with the surroundings. Even in dim surroundings, our subjects were properly exposed together with the background. This is one feature that we really like because for most compacts, the camera will tend to expose for the subjects only.

The startup time for the point-and-shoot was a quick 1.74 seconds in our Lab tests. Time to first shot, however, was a tad slower at 3.3 seconds. Shot-to-shot time was acceptable at 2.4 seconds because the camera would retain the focus on the subject even after a shot was taken. The time taken between shots with the flash turned on was a little bit longer, but still acceptable.

Notice the rich amount of picture details in the highlight and shadow area. (click for larger image)

Image quality
The dynamic range on TZ15 is impressive. In a high-contrast image, the shooter managed to generate an image rich in details without blowing the highlights or blotching the shadows.

We can probably credit the new Venus IV image-processing engine for producing relatively clean images even at high ISO sensitivity. At ISO 800, we detected a slight hint of noise in the darker region. The image got a tad blotchy when we further increased the ISO to 1,600, but was still acceptable for making prints smaller than A4 size.

White balance was also accurate under different lighting conditions. The automatic white balance managed to detect a mixture of candlelight and tinge of fluorescent lamp, producing accurate colours.

The camera comes with two night scene modes -- Starry sky and Night landscape. The former will automatically set the ISO to 100 and let you choose an exposure time (15, 30 or 60 seconds). This mode gave us a noise-free image of a night scene, which is usually quite rare in a compact camera.

ISO 100

ISO 200

ISO 400

ISO 800

ISO 1600

(Click links above to enlarge)

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