Panasonic DMC-TZ5 review

I award this camera 10 out of 10. The Panasonic DMC-TZ5 has everything I need in a digital compact camera.

Initial DMC-TZ5 Review

I’ve had the DMC-TZ5 for about three weeks now having ordered it from Amazon.co.uk back in May and so far I’m very impressed. (This is the first camera I've bought for about 7 years the last been a Kodak DC4800 and before that an SLR Nikon FE2). Actually it’s my second Lumix TZ5. The first one I received was the Silver DMC-TZ5. Nice but not the Black DMC-TZ5 that I ordered.

I spent a fare amount of time looking for a replacement for my aged Kodak and at the moment don’t have the need or time to spend on a new SLR system. So I was looking for a light compact camera with a decent zoom (better than 3x), 8 million pixels or greater and if possible, video capabilities.

DMC-TZ5 - First impressions

Out of the box the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 just oozes quality and has a good solid feel to it while still being light and compact. As for the size well, it fits nicely in the palm of my hand, length ways (I have medium sized hands, if that helps). The first thing that grabbed my attention was the 3 inch LCD screen. It looks huge and takes up about 70% of the space on the back of the camera, more like a mini TV screen.

Charging the battery on the DMC-TZ5

Before doing anything with the TZ5 you need to charge the battery as they are not sold pre-charged. The initial charge took about 2 hours which is as it suggests in the DMC-TZ5 operating instructions. Standard accessories in the box include the mains lead and battery charger.

Charging the DMC-TZ5 Lumix battery is just a matter of clipping the battery into the battery charger, pretty straight forward as you can easily see where the three battery terminals touch the contacts on the charger. (The word Lumix on the battery should face up). Then connect the AC mains lead to the charger and switch on the power. There’s a light on the charger which displays green when charging is in progress. Once it's complete the light goes out and your ready to pop the battery back into the camera.

Inserting the TZ5 Battery and SD Memory Card

On the bottom of the DMC-TZ5 you'll find a small latch that you need to slide back to release the SD Card / Battery door which flips open. I popped in an 8GB SDHC card which slides in nicely with a bit of springy resistance until it clicks fast. To remove the memory card you just press it down in the centre and it will spring up just enough to pick it out with your fingers.

To get the battery in there is another little lever to ease out of the way. This clicks back to hold the battery in place once the battery is fully inserted.

Built-in Memory

There is actually about 50MB of internal or clipboard memory which means you can take pictures without the SD card inserted. However, internal memory is slower than SD memory and anyway there isn’t much of it. The clipboard memory is a useful feature that lets you store smaller resolution photos of useful information like timetables, street maps, tube maps or other useful information that can be photographed.

Setting the clock on the DMC-TZ5

Before taking your first picture you should set the date and time on the clock. When you first switch the camera on a message will remind you to do this which only takes a minute.

DMC-TZ5 Controls

On the top of the camera is the On/Off switch. Flipping this to on and the camera whirls into action. The 3” LCD Flicks on, the lens barrier slides open and the 28-280mm equivalent LEICA Vario-Elmar lens extends outwards, all in little more than a second.

As well as the Camera ON/OFF switch on the top of the camera there is the Shutter button, zoom lever, Mode dial and an E.Zoom button. Also, on the top are the tiny holes indicating where the microphone is and next to them the speaker. The Lumix DMC-TZ5 doesn't come with the traditional viewfinder so you need to use the large 3" LCD screen to compose your pictures. Much better anyway so it's fine by me.

On the back of the camera to the right of the 3” LCD display there is a REC/PLAY switch which selects either taking pictures mode or viewing pictures mode. Underneath this there is a group of cursor buttons that select various functions and allow you to navigate the various menu systems or flip through your photographs.

Just below the cursor buttons there is a display button to change between different LCD monitor displays like guide lines and a Q.MENU (Quick Setting) button used to call up menus items easily.

DMC-TZ5 in Use

Panasonic DMC-TZ5

In use all the main controls are nicely placed and easily accessible in particular the wide angle to telephoto lever, shutter button and the REC/PLAY mode switch. When taking pictures these buttons and levers are the ones I use most, usually, in the sequence of zooming in and out, pressing the shutter release and then switching to PLAY mode to review the photographs.

I really liked the large bright screen on the DMC-TZ5 especially for reviewing the images. The 460,000 pixels give a sharp and detail image for reviewing. The Intelligent Auto mode also takes care of stuff not just for beginners but anyone doing point and shoot photos. In auto mode face detection, exposure control and image stabilization resulted in some great looking pictures without much effort on my part.

The combination of automated function on the TZ5 camera like Intelligent exposure and image stabilization really do take care of all the hassle in getting problem free pictures so much so that that you only need to think about finding the shot and then composing the picture in the display screen. Most of the time I hardly touched the mode dial leaving it in the Intelligent Auto [iA] mode to take care of the shot.

One feature I did get on with is the Macro mode. I just love getting in close on subjects whether animal, vegetable or mineral. MACRO and TELE-MACRO on the DMC-TZ5 allow you to get right up close for some dramatic and incredibly detailed shots making the Panasonic TZ5 fun to use. However, for an out and about travel camera it’s the 28mm wide angle to 280mm equivalent telephoto that truly gives this camera it versatility.

Having the 28mm wide-angle and 10x Optical zoom means your far more likely to get the pictures you want. Add to this the video capabilities on the DMC-TZ5 to shoot 720p HD video in 16:9, the 9.1 mega pixels, the 3" LCD screen, Optical Image stabiliser, face detection, intelligent exposure and automatic red-eye reduction and the Panasonic DMC-TZ5 will make an excellent contender for the Best Digital Compact Camera award. Click this link for Technical Details DMC-TZ5 Technical Details

DMC-TZ5 Verdict

Incredibly versatile compact digital camera with some great features and functions not as yet found on others cameras of this type. The optics are excellent and able to produce some stunning pictures. To cap it all the DMC-TZ5 can take High definition motion pictures of 1280 x 720p at 30fps. No doubt the success of the TZ5 will mean more wide-angle - 10x Optical Zooms being made available from the likes of Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Canon, Olympus and Fujifilm. Compare Prices for the DMC-TZ5 UK Suppliers

Other DMC-TZ5 Reviews and Comments

Click Here for BEST PRICES >>>

Review 1

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5
CameraLabs.com (online), Highly Recommended
"The flexibility and convenience of having such a long reach in a relatively pocketable body cannot be underestimated"
Read Review
March 2008

Review 2

Photography Blog Essential, DMC-TZ5, Online
"The DMC-TZ5 is a well-built camera with a high quality metal body"
Read Review
May 2008

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