Super Saver Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5K 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)
Special Offers and Product Promotions
Purchase this product from Amazon.com, and receive a unique coupon code for 20 free prints (10 4×6, 5 5×7, 5 8×10) from Shutterfly–a $26.80 value. Offer valid through August 31, 2008. Code will be delivered to your Media Library at time of purchase. One code per customer.
Technical Details
- 9-megapixel resolution captures enough detail for poster-sized prints
- 10x optical zoom Leica DC lens; Face Detection
- New Panasonic Venus Engine IV improves noise reduction, elevates the detection accuracy and corrective effects
- 3.0-inch LCD; Mega O.I.S. and Intelligent ISO
- Captures images to SD memory cards (not included)
Manufacturer Description
The 9.1-megapixel Panasonic DMC-TZ5 packs a 28mm wide-angle, 10x optical zoom Leica DC lens in a compact design, ideal for the active photographer who needs a versatile camera. By combining a 28mm wide-angle lens, which lets you capture a wider-framed shot when compared to a traditional 35mm camera, with the TZ-Series 10x optical zoom, you’re empowered to take expanded shots, both wide and far. Panasonic’s Intelligent Auto technologies are also expanded, with new Intelligent Exposure and Digital Red-eye Correction.
With the addition of Intelligent Exposure and Digital Red-eye Correction, Panasonic’s Advanced Intelligent Auto mode consists of seven intuitive technologies, all which are specifically designed to help make photo-taking an enjoyable and seamless process unnoticed by the consumer — helping them to take clear photos. When in Advanced Intelligent Auto mode, the following technologies all operate automatically; no settings need to be manually changed.
Also new to the TZ5 is the Venus Engine IV, Panasonic’s new high-performance image processing LSI. The Venus Engine IV produces higher-quality pictures than its predecessor, the Venus Engine III, by using a more advanced signal processing system. The new Venus Engine IV also improves noise reduction, elevates the detection accuracy and corrective effects in both Mega O.I.S. and Intelligent ISO and reduces the shutter release time lag. Both models also incorporate Intelligent LCD, which detects the lighting condition and controls the brightness level of the LCD in 11 fine steps, to offer optimal clarity in any situation, whether dark or light; indoors or outdoors. With a newly developed 460,000-dot high resolution in the TZ5’s 3.0-inch LCD, photos can be easily viewed on the display, regardless of the shooting environment.
The TZ5 is also capable of recording 720p high-definition motion pictures, and because of its support of SD memory cards, is easily compatible with Panasonic Viera plasma HDTVs that have an integrated SD memory card slot, so viewing photos is simple. Also, with the newly added HD component output capability, users can also connect the TZ5 to an HDTV and watch a slideshow complete with mood-appropriate music, choosing from natural, slow, urban and swing.
Lumix DMC-TZ5A Highlights
Intelligent Exposure With this new feature, photos will no longer be under- or over-exposed. Instead, the TZ5 instantly analyzes the framed image and adjusts the brightness in areas that are too dark because of dim lighting, backlighting or the use of the flash. The camera will automatically adjust the brightness accordingly.
Digital Red-eye Correction This feature helps to eliminate the red-eye problem that sometimes results when taking flash shots at the night. Incorporated into the built-in flash, the camera emits a small preliminary flash before the main flash, detects red-eye and will digitally correct it.
Mega O.I.S. Gyrosensors detect hand-shake and the lens system shifts to compensate, helping to prevent hand-shake from creating a blurry image.
Intelligent ISO With Intelligent ISO, the TZ5 can determine if the photo subject is moving and change the ISO setting and shutter speed accordingly, thus giving a blur-free photo.
Intelligent Scene Selector Intelligent Scene Selector senses the ambient conditions, recognizes the shooting environment and will automatically select the appropriate scene mode from: Scenery, Portrait, Macro, Night Portrait or Night Scenery mode. This intuitive technology, helps you use the most common scene modes that are built into the camera, but often go unused, without making any manual adjustments.
Face Detection Panasonic’s Face Detection detects faces anywhere in the frame and automatically chooses the optimal focus and exposure settings so portraits come out clear and crisp. Detecting up to 15 faces, Panasonic’s Face Detection can even track a face if the subject is moving.
Continuous AF The Continuous AF (auto focus) system maintains focus on the subject even without pressing a shutter button halfway, thus minimizing the AF time.
Product Description
9-megapixel effective recording * 10X optical zoom (4X digital/40X total zoom) * 3″ color LCD screen with automatic 10-step brightness adjustment * optical image stabilization * wide-angle lens for shooting landscapes and large groups * 35mm equivalent focal length: 28-280mm * top JPEG resolution: 3648 x 2736 * face detection adjusts focus and exposure settings for better portraits * scene recognition identifies shooting conditions and selects optimal settings * intelligent ISO detects subject movement and adjusts camera settings to prevent blur * high sensitivity mode for better low-light and flash-free shooting * variable ISO sensitivity (film speed equivalent) settings * variable burst mode lets you select shooting resolution and speed (up to 10 frames per second) *
Customer Reviews
The TZ5 is in a class of its own, offering both a wide angle lens and an excellent zoom.
In addition, the specs show an excellent 3″ LCD screen and HD video recording. The TZ3 (the predecessor of the TZ5) is one of the top recommended compact cameras on many camera review sites. The other camera that consistently tops the charts is the canon sd870is. Because the canon sd870is and the TZ5 are among the few compact cameras that have a wide angle (28mm) lens, I will reference the sd870is at times during this review as a comparison. Again, please keep in mind that these cameras aren’t necessarily in the same class (the canon has a 28-105mm zoom lens and the Panasonic TZ5 has a 28-280mm zoom lens). Also, while I have used a TZ3, I don’t actually own one.
Design:
Excellent, in fact there are very few things I can see that they could have done better. The body of the camera is very well designed and mostly made of metal (another reviewer wrote that it is made of plastic - it’s not). I haven’t used/seen the black or silver cameras, but the blue color looks very nice and adds texture to the camera making it easier to grip. The TZ5 isn’t as compact as some other cameras like the sd870is, and therefore isn’t as pocketable. However, for the vast majority of applications, and as a travel camera, it is the perfect size. You can use this camera easily with one hand, in contrast with smaller cameras like those in the canon digital elph series. All of the controls are easy to use and access and the majority of camera looks/feels of very high quality (exceptions: the power switch and the AV door on the side are a little sketchy, also the tripod mount is plastic). The screen on the back is beautiful, but lacks anti-reflective coating like the sd870is. As other reviewers have noted, the improvement in resolution is most obvious when reviewing the photos in play back mode. When taking pictures, the increase in resolution isn’t as obvious. However, this is the best screen I have ever seen on a point and shoot camera.
Menu System:
This camera is very easy to use, and the menu system is very logically designed. The Q-menu button allows access to features that you would want access to more often/quickly (e.g. white balance and ISO settings). I can’t say enough about the usability of this camera, it certainly outdoes the canon. Additionally, the graphics of the menus have been improved compared to previous panasonic cameras.
Photos:
There are various scene modes to take advantage of, but the most important new feature to note is the intelligent auto mode. In the intelligent auto mode, if you are taking a picture of a person, the camera detects the face (the face detection works extremely well by the way) and puts the camera in portrait mode, automatically removing red-eye if a flash is needed (not only with a pre-flash, but digitally as well! Nice!) -This feature is available outside intelligent auto mode as well-. If you are taking a close-up of a flower or other object, the camera is automatically put in macro mode, and if you are taking a picture of a landscape the camera is put in landscape mode. It is rarely fooled and works extremely well. In the intelligent auto mode the camera automatically adjusts the ISO (which can be scary above 400). In the camera settings you can adjust the MAX ISO you want the camera to go to while set in automatic ISO. However, in the intelligent auto mode, the camera will take the ISO as high as 800 if it needs to (this doesn’t happen often). The intelligent auto mode is absolutely fantastic for novices that don’t want to have to worry about tinkering with the camera settings.
How is the picture quality? Very good. In fact I was extremely pleased with it until I compared it to the canon sd870is. Of course, most of the differences are not evident until you start analyzing the photos at 75-100% magnification. However, viewed at 100% the TZ5 dispalys more noise at all ISO settings than the canon and I prefer the smooth appearance of the photos produced by the canon cameras. The color saturation was only *slightly* better with the sd870is, but the sd870is tended to expose the pictures better in some situations, and was rarely bested by the TZ5.
The macro mode on the TZ5 is very good but not as good as I was expecting. The canon allows you to get much closer and tends to make *slightly* better photos in this mode. However, for the majority of people that aren’t going to analyze every aspect of the photo, the TZ5 will do more than an adequate job.
Lens:
This leica lens is one of the shining points for the TZ5. The zoom is incredible, fast and quiet. Also, unlike the canon there is very little distortion and also unlike the canon, I never noticed any blurred corners. The ability to go from 28-280mm is an incredible feature. I do wish that the lens was faster (only f3.3 - 4.9) compared to the sd870is (f2.8-5.8). In addition, this allows the canon to produce more depth of field (which I prefer). Overall, this is an easy win for the TZ5, no other compact can compete.
Video Mode:
I was very excited to see the videos that this camera produces. I would call them good with average sound quality. Yes, it is nice that they are such high resolution (and you can zoom during video), but the overall quality of the videos is still lacking. I made a 640×480 video with both the sd870is and the TZ5 (obviously the TZ5 can attain much higher resolution at 1280×720, but for testing purposes I wanted to make them the same resolution; the canon can only make a 640×480 video) and the canon embarrassed the TZ5 in both video quality and sound quality. On its own and for what it is, the high definition video from the TZ5 looks good, but it won’t stand up to scrutiny. Don’t buy this camera for the HD video capability and expect miracles. As others have noted, this is a point and shoot camera with video recording capability, not a stand alone high definition video recorder. *As a side note, make sure you turn off the continuous focus feature for the best videos, otherwise it is always focusing in and out*
Overall, I am very impressed with this camera. The lens is first rate, the design of both the camera body and its software is excellent. While the photo quality is very good, I would like to see photo quality (color saturation, exposure and detail) more similar to the canon and of course, like everyone else, I was hoping that the HD video would have been better. Focusing takes noticably longer than the sd870is and startup time, while great, isn’t as good as the sd870is. Despite the mentioned negatives, I definitely recommend this camera. When I travel what I am I going to take with as a compact camera? It is going to be the Panasonic TZ5.
I am sure I forgot to mention something, so If you have any questions or comments about this review, please post them and I will reply when I can! Thanks!
*Make sure you buy a high speed sd or sdhc card for this camera. It requires a high speed card for the HD video. I bought the SanDisk 4 GB Extreme III SDHC Card with MicroMate USB 2.0 Reader, and it works perfectly. Have fun!
