Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic DMCTZ5 Digital Camera - Black (9.1MP, 10x Optical Zoom) 3.0" LCD

The bad:

Nothing major thankfully, but....
The movies (all resolutions inc HiDef) are recorded in Apple MOV format, not Windows AVI, so not so many dvd players or tvs with card readers can play them nor can much standard PC software edit them. Apple's free "quick time" can PLAY them. Mac users should be happy I imagine.

The wrist strap has a hard-platic end piece that can "clink" against the camera case and be picked up when recording sound (yeah, picky I know).

Very thin lens iris cover. I think this is common to many compact cameras, but for one that otherwise feels good and "solid" in it's build quality, this is really lacking. I'm almost tempted to find a proper lens cover for it.

There are varying opinions on the net about it's low light performance. I would say that a lens that starts at F3.3 at 28mm is never going to be the best in low light. There are other (admittedly dearer) Lumix cameras that are better specced for that purpose.

If you buy an SDHC card, make sure it is "fast" enough. A cheap SD or SDHC card will make this feel like a "slow" camera. Not all class 6 cards are the same!

ALSO if you buy an SDHC card - and this may seem obvious - it won't work in a standard SD card reader. You'll need an SDHC card reader, or put up with using the USB connection between camera and PC. SDHC card readers can be had cheaply enough though.

The good:

Generally feels well built. Nice "proper" on/off, record/play and other buttons on the back. Proper hinged door concealing the USB and other connections (not one of those rubber things that never fits snugly again after being used a few times). Really good 3" LCD screen, though sometimes the photos look better on it than they do on your PC.

10x optical zoom, extendable to about 16 times optical if you drop the resolution (don't ask me how, but that's what the manual says). In effect, you're getting about a 28-280mm lens!

YOU CAN TAKE PHOTOS IN 3:2 FORMAT! YAY! No more getting the edges of your pics chopped off at the printers as 3:2 = 35mm Film scale like cameras from the olden days (LOL).

You can extract 2mb stills out of your 720p HD video clips (just press the shutter button whilst playing back your movie and it lets you save a still or group of consecutive stills on the memory card). On a sunny day, 2mb is fine for a 6x4" print.

In summary: Will probably last a bit longer than some cameras I have owned. Image quality fine. Built quality appears good. About right for the money. Am I a little underwhelmed after all the reaserch I put in before buying this camera? Slightly, but then maybe I should stop trying to pretend (as an ex SLR user), that a compact camera will ever match up to an SLR standard.

This is my 2nd Panasonic digital Camera (6th overall, including Canon G3). My first is the LX1 which takes brilliant pictures, but I wanted a longer zoom. I ordered the TZ5 from Amazon and it was delivered 2 days early, which made me happy to start with.
The camera is very easy to use as the menus have been improved dramatically. It is extremely easy to carry around and use. It starts in no time and with the IA mode selected it takes brilliant high quality pictures in most conditions.
The 10X optical zoom is every thing I was looking for and the picture stabilisation helps get very sharp picturs on maximum zoom. For those looking for more zoom you can boost it electronically if needed.
For a long zoom digital camera that sits easy in the pocket, I am very pleased with the quality pictures I get.
I must admit I haven't tried the HD movie feature yet.

First of all, excellent service from Amazon. Ordered on Sunday and delivered Tuesday.

The Panasonic TZ5 is a pretty unique camera. It is quite small and pocketable, the pictures make it look bigger than it is. Whilst this is not unusual, the 10x zoom lens is. You just don't think you can get a lens of this size in a package this small.

Performance of the camera is good. The camera powers on quickly, considering the size of the lens, and is ready to take a picture as soon as the lens is extended.

The lens is very good. It is a Leica lens with a range of 28-280mm. At the wide angle, there is only minimal barrel distortion and at the telephoto end, minimal pin cushioning.

The pictures produced by the TZ5 are very good. One has to remember that this is a compact camera and it does suffer from packing 9mp onto a small CCD.

If you want a pocket size camera with a big zoom, this is your only choice. Great flexibility in a small package.

Everything about this camera is brilliant. I took a long time searching for a compact camera which was as good as an SLR and this is definately it. The 10 times optical zoom is unrivaled by any other compact and with 9.1 megapixels its capable of taking excellent quality images. The large 3 inch screen enables you to see clearly what you're veiwing and examine in detail pictures you've recorded. The controls can be very easy and take excellent images on the IA (inteligent auto) mode but absolutely everything can be changed and adapted to suit more experienced users. The camera's face detection can easily pick out people and also changes to a block system to take pics of items and things that aren't faces. The camera also has settings for two children, pets and holidays where once on their setting will record the name and the date on which it was taken.

I was puzzled which camera to get - I have two old digital cameras but wanted one with image stabilisation. I bought this because of this feature and its long zoom. I haven't been disappointed so far - the zoom is terrific and coupled with image stabilisation is extremely effective. The camera is slightly bigger than my old Canon Ixus but still fits in a slightly roomier pocket.
I bought a Class 6 (6Mb/s) memory card, but when you get the camera its instructions ask for a Class 10 one to allow HD movie recording. So far my Class 6 one seems ok.
I have recommended this camera to friends. If your old compact doesn't have image stabilisation and you want to take distance shots, now is a good time to upgrade.