Incredible Little Camera!
Pros:
> Incredible 10X zoom range
> Nice wide angle 28mm lens
> Very effective iAuto function
Cons:
> No viewfinder
> No manual modes
> Poor placement for microphone
The Bottom Line:
You won't find any other camera that can do this much for this price. A very convenient and versatile camera that anyone can use.
|
|
Overall Rating:
|
 |
|
Author's Review
I recently picked up a Pansonic DMC-TZ5 to use as my "walk around" camera when I didn't want to carry my Olympus E510 DSLR, and I am very pleased with the results I am getting.
The "TZ" stands for "Travel Zoom" which is an interesting product niche. There are superzooms much larger and heavier, and compact cameras with 3X to 5X zoom range, but nothing quite like this camera is offered by any other maker. The TZ5 is designed to be your travel companion, and is meant to be used in fully auto or in scene modes. It handles quickly, it is very compact, and the results you get can be very very good. The build quality and fit and finish is also excellent.
It has some very unique features, like an intelligent auto function that meters whatever you are pointing at, and selects the best settings or scene mode for the shot. For example, if you point at an object six inches from the lens, the camera will automatically switch to macro mode. It also has a large, very bright, high resolution LCD screen. And one thing I haven't seen on any other camera is a scene mode called "multi aspect." When you use this mode, the camera will simultaneously take three photos, one in each aspect ratio (4:3, 3:2, and 16:9)!
It has all the bells and whitstles you would expect on any modern compact, including "face detection" and a HD Movie mode.
This is an amazing little camera that does a lot of things well. There is really nothing else like it on the market today. A very compact camera with an incredible range at a very reasonable cost.
But, it isn't perfect. If you need an optical viewfinder, you won't find one here. And there are no manual shooting modes. One thing I did notice is the microphone for the movie function is located on the top left part of the camera, exactly where your finger would be if you held it with two hands! So, this was a poor design for placement.
If you are a perfectionist, this isn't the camera for you. Get a good DSLR, and several high quality lenses for ten times the price. But if you just want an inexpensive camera to carry around without you that takes very decent pictures, I would highly recommend this one.
But, see for yourself. Here are some sample photos I took with my TZ5:
http://flickr.com/photos/marty4650/sets/72157611124381561/detail/
