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

I did not buy his item from Amazon but would have done if I could have (they do not send electronic goods to Australia).

However, I value the Amazon reviews I read so decided to contribute myself.

I wanted to replace my Olympus MJU camera because the flas was too blinding and in certain conditions was late to fire causing a semi dark photo.

After some considerable research, I decided upon this Panasonic camera.

The video was probably the biggest attraction. My Canon Camcorder is digital but cumbersome and only records standard video. The idea of getting HD quality from a compact camera was too good to resist.

The 10x optical zoom also attracted me and the 9.1 megapixels is plenty over my required minimum of 6.

So how does the camera perform?

Very well actually, in fact it exceeded my expectations. The video is stunning and although I have no HD TV to play it back on (doh!) play back on my PC is better than I have from my Canon camcorder.

The photos are also very sharp and although not to the DSLR standard (but hey, it never said it was!) are excellent for my requirements.

There are plenty of options and features, too many for me to look at until I get time (ie never!).

The menu system took me a little while to get to grips with but once you see their logic, you're on a roll.

The camera is feaitly heavy, compared to my Olympus, but having said that it gives you a sense of grip when you hold it, I found.

The auto focus does struggle a little while zooming during a video shoot. However, in the past I never had the option to zoom with my compacts so I don't mind.

I read reports that the camera zoom sound is too loud and affects the recording. Well, not bothered me - yet!

One thing I really dislike about the autofocus (and my mobile phone does the same) is that a bright orange light is emitted and I find it actually disturbed my eyes in soe ocassions - perhaps it's just me. Also I found that I was not able to snap a photo of my baby without him being attracted by the light ... which ruined a chance shot and probably annoyed his eyes!

The flash is suitabaly bright but I dont find it blinding and it fires on cue!

Battery life was also a concern after a few reports but so far I am pleasantly pleased with it and cannot complain.

I was able to buy Transcend 16GB SDHC cards for high speed video storage and they work well. Obviously some would stick to Sandisk for performance but for those with a budget, Transcend did well.

My opinion of this camera is that it a great performer for video and stills, where some may fear it is going to be average on both. It might not be to everyone's tastes, but I find it excellent!

The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is the annoying autofocus light!

Now to get an HD TV! Well, to save up for one!

I purchased this camera about a week ago to replace my Canon S3. The Canon took great pictures but was a little bulky to just pop in my pocket so I was looking for something a little more compact but with a decent sized zoom.
After reading a lot of reviews and looking at test pictures I decided to go for the TZ5.
My initial thoughts on opening the box were favourable...although it is quite small it is a fairly weighty camera and feels well screwed together. I read the manual (briefly), charged the battery up, and proceeded to take a few "snaps".
They didn't look too bad on the cameras excellent LCD screen but once I loaded them onto my PC and looked on my monitor I was very disappointed with the image quality. All of the pictures looked slightly out of focus and didn't jump out at you like they did with my Canon. I printed a couple of the better ones off in 6x4 (decent printer and matching paper which has always given terrific results) and showed them to my wife. Her first comment was "they don't look in focus!"
I have played with the different settings in both the iA modes and standard, altering the ISO settings and focusing methods but I still cannot get decent quality pictures even on 100ISO. I have seen pictures taken with this camera posted on various forums and some of them look superb, almost as good as an SLR. Some of them haven't even been "retouched" other than the usual cropping that sort of thing. My results don't come anywhere near...
I have arranged for the camera to go back in the hope that there is a problem with either the lens or the sensor and that it's replacement will be better. I really hope it is, because there is an awful lot to like about this model. The fantastic zoom, the brilliant LCD screen and the various auto modes to name just a few.
But if the new one is no better, I will be looking around again in either the Canon or Olympus camps.

I made first use of this camera during a recent holiday in Alabama for some dramatic scenery and portrait pictures. The light conditions were favourable throughout the holiday, which also applied to some impressions of the Thames estuary on my return. The latter shoot was a particularly good test of the camera's capabilities because I was pointing into late afternoon sun.

I found the colour reproduction and exposures excellent on the automatic setting. I also used the portrait and landscape modes on several occasions. Both gave good results and I was equally satisfied with macro setting photos of flowers inside a public park.

Don't expect high definition video on anything like broadcasting standards. Also bear in mind you'll need to spend £20 or so on a cable to connect the camera with a suitable TV in the first place. The results were pretty wretched with the cable supplied in the box. But it's a bit of a bonus for me to to have the video facility. I would advise at least a 4GB SD card if you intend making video recordings.

The camera is extremely good value for money and I have been absolutely delighted with my pictures. I'm spending much less time manipulating them afterwards and have hardly wasted any at all. I unreservedly recommend the TZ5 for general photography use. It looks like a quality product and it is.

If you are looking to buy a new camera then this is
the one to buy!!.I cannot believe the quality of the zoom
on this camera, even when zooming in at x10 the picture quality
is superb.
The large lcd dispay is the best ive seen. Crystal clear and brightens it self automatically in bright sunlight handy for beach shots. 3.0 inch & 460,000 pixels!!
I opened the box charged the battery set the time/date and was using the camera immediately its that easy!!.If you purchase a component cable(not supplied)you can view still pictures and movie in HD!(on a HD tv of course!!)
BUY IT!!

Normally I use large DSLR or bridge camera, but I wanted a small camera that would fit in my pocket when I don't want to carry a large camera with me, this camera is just about small enough to fit into a large pocket.

What attracted me to this particular model was its 10x zoom range from 28mm to 280mm (35mm equivalent) and its reasonable 9.1mp resolution.

I went out and took some pictures with this camera, and some more almost identical pictures with a Canon EOS DSLR, and the pictures from the Panasonic fared very well in comparison.

I was expecting the picture quality from a 10x zoom on such a small camera to suffer, but I was pleasantly surprised, the pictures were sharp throughout the focal range, even at its longest focal length, and there was no apparent chromatic aberrations, (colour fringing around high contrast subjects) plus the image stablizer worked well in all but very dim light conditions.

As in all compact cameras the image censor is very small, and cramming 9 or 10 megapixels onto such a small censor often causes problems with digital noise, especially at higher ISO settings, This camera also scored very well here with digital noise not apparent at all at ISO 100 or 200. gradually worsening at higher ISO settings but still well within acceptable levels for a compact camera, the cameras built in noise reduction causes some fine detail to be lost at higher ISO settings, but this is only apparent at higher magnifications of the image.

At very low light levels this camera performs reasonably well compared to some of the competition, and flash exposures are excellent, full of detail and well exposed.

The autofocus is reasonably fast and accurate in most cases, only struggling in very low contrast or difficult to focus subjects, and the face detection works well, macro will focus as close as 5cm at the 28mm setting.

The camera itself feels solidly built, the menu's are logically laid out and fairly easy to navigate, and you will soon get to grips with it.

There are more than enough modes on it to keep the budding photographer happy, with 2 auto settings and 22 auto scene modes to cover most conditions, and an exposure compensation setting of (+/- 2 at 1/3 stop increments) for those awkward situations when one of the auto modes will not give a correct exposure, although there is no manual setting.

The LCD monitor is a large 3" monitor, and is very clear, making it easy to compose your pictures and to view pictures afterwards, although such a large screen could be vulnerable to damage so a good quality padded camera case is recommended.

A seperate optical viewfinder would have been a welcome addition to make taking pictures of moving subjects easier to take, especially at longer focal lengths, but most compact cameras do not have them anymore.

It does have a video and sound recording function, but I have not tried that yet, so I cannot comment on that, except that the microphone is positioned on the top left of the camera where it could easily be covered by a finger.

PROS

Well built and easy to use.
Better picture quality than many compacts.
10x zoom covers the most usefull range from wide angle to a decent telephoto.
9.1mp resolution is more than enough for all but the biggest enlargements.
It is compatible with SDHC cards.
Large clear screen.
Video and sound recording function.
A printed manual, not one of those pdf files on a disc.
Image stablizer.
User settable ISO.
Enough exposure modes to cope with most situations.
Good as a second camera when it would not be practical to take a larger camera.
Good price for what you get.

CONS

No SD card supplied, so you will need to buy one seperately.
No viewfinder other than the LCD screen.
Microphone could have been sited better.
No manual exposure setting, but the exposure compensation does help.
Can be a little complicated at first for novice users, but the manual is good.
A little too big for small pockets.

Verdict.

This is a good camera for anyone who wants to replace a cheaper outdated camera with something that will take decent pictures and has a good zoom range, and for anyone who wants a small camera as a backup to a larger camera.

All in all this is a very good little camera for the price, with very little to be said against it, and it comes highly recommended.



This review can also be seen on Ciao! under the name of Markh5682