March best buy camera

With the release of the TZ1 in 2006, Panasonic arguably invented the compact ultrazoom class of cameras. Though a few have followed them down this road by tightening up the dimensions of existing ultrazoom models or launching entirely new cross-segment devices, the TZ cameras remain among the most popular of Panasonic's offerings: as we reported last week, a TZ camera has been at or near the top of our Most Popular list for more than a year now.

All of this makes the release of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 that much more highly anticipated. Few expected sweeping changes to the latest model – that's not generally the way manufacturers approach the redesign of a highly successful camera – and most of the TZ5's hardware, including its excellent 10x Leica zoom, is familiar. A resolution bump and a larger screen keep key specs on the cutting edge for the new Lumix, but will these generally light overhauls on a fairly staid basic platform be enough to impress consumers this time around?






FEATURES OVERVIEW

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 is a 9.1 megapixel compact digicam with a 10x wide-angle Leica lens. Designed as a feature-rich, all-in-one shooting solution for slightly advanced photographers, the TZ5 is nonetheless a fully auto exposure camera. Panasonic's Intelligent Auto (iA) mode is a combination of settings and features designed to handle a range of shooting situations with a slightly more evaluative approach to exposure settings than a conventional auto setting.

As with several other Panasonic point-and-shoots, the TZ5 has five basic shooting modes:

Intelligent Auto: Permits user to select stabilization mode, burst shooting, image size and LCD mode.
Normal Picture: Permits user to select stabilization mode, burst shooting, auto focus mode, white balance, ISO, intelligent exposure, image size and LCD mode.
Scene Mode: Permits selection of any of 22 settings for specific scenes.
Motion Picture: Permits capture of moving images in 4:3 or 16:9 formats at 30, 15 or 10 frames per second depending on format and picture size.
Clipboard: "Useful when taking pictures of timetables, route maps or other information instead of taking notes."
One key separator between Panasonic's step-down TZ4 model and the TZ5 is the latter camera's ability to record 1280x720 HD video at 30 fps. While the TZ5's microphone has a bit of a boxy sound, overall video quality is really quite impressive. Unlike the majority of compact cameras, use of optical zoom is also allowed while shooting videos with the TZ5 – though as with the similarly functional TZ4, the zoom moves extremely slowly.

As noted, the TZ5 also sports Panasonic's Intelligent Auto mode, discussed previously on this site in other recent Panasonic reviews. Here as elsewhere, the system (which automatically selects a set of scene parameters from a list of several options, including macro, landscape, and portrait, based on situation characteristics) is consistently good in its ability to correctly identify the most appropriate preset – and to do so quickly, no less. While advanced users will still prefer the more program-style Normal Picture mode, Intelligent Auto still stands out as perhaps the very best automatic scene detection system currently available.


Note: Given the functional similarities between the TZ4 and TZ5 models, applicable portions of the TZ4 review were used for this write-up as well. Image quality and performance testing cited in this review is specific to the TZ5, however.