Customer Reviews:
 Color me amazed November 27, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'm not one to write a lot of product reviews, but this one compels me to do so. I've been using digital cameras for a long time, and in the past have stuck with another brand (which I won't name because I don't want to convey that they're inferior - they're also very good, just not like this one, and may well be ideal for someone else). I got the DMC-TZ5 last month, shot a few images around campus, then took it off to San Francisco for a week.
To put it simply, I am blown away by the handling and image quality. You can read elsewhere about the outstanding Leica lens, the good build quality and materials, and I haven't taken it apart or put it on the test bench so I won't add to that discussion. But I'm a pretty demanding photographer, and this camera makes me very happy.
I took street grab shots all over the city and found the camera very responsive. The LCD worked fine for me in all lighting conditions, and I found it quite easy to compose and shoot. The most needed controls are easily accessible - white balance, exposure compensation, picture modes - and the menus and default settings are easy to work with to get the camera configured just the way you want. The ability to select different color profiles is especially nice. The grip and general configuration work well - I have fairly large hands and have no problem with this relatively small camera. The lens does take a moment to crank out or in when you turn the camera on or off but that's to be expected with a 10X zoom.
Flash photos worked fine, although like any small camera the flash reach is limited, but where it really blew me away was in taking image-stabilized low-light photos. I shot nighttime street scenes, lit by store signs and street lights only, and the images are sharp and crisp at ISO 800. No, I haven't printed them, but looking onscreen at full resolution they're better than any others I've seen. I'm sure one can get better from a D-SLR but I'm not willing to carry around that much camera equipment anymore - I want a camera that will always be with me and can still take excellent photos, and this fits the bill better than I had imagined.
I haven't used the video function so can't speak to that. Image uploading isn't exactly fast but I think that's a function of the high resolution and corresponding large files rather than some kind of electronic limitation. I like the blue color finish on the body even.
I see surprisingly little barrel distortion at the wide end of the zoom, and being able to go from 28-280mm equivalent is wonderful. And at the long end the image stabilization really does work. Well. Even in low light.
In sum, I love this camera!
Digital Camera November 25, 2008
0 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is a great camera but I returned it before it was shipped. I decided to get the Canon camcorder instead. I'm looking for something that will do both video and stills.
Love it! November 23, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Takes great pictures with lots of options. Nice and small it fits in a shirt pocket with ease even a pocket tee shirt. Dont know what kind of pockets other reviewers have that they say it wont fit in? Takes good movies even in low light. Feels very sturdy and yes the lens cover is very fragile but works fine. I bought the blue case that is made for the camera and it protects the camera fine. If you are thinking about buying this camera you wont be dissapointed unless you are a total nit picker like some!
Excellent camera November 23, 2008
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
We havent tried all its featueres yet, but this panasonic lumix meets our expectations in every way. Its wide angle is fantastic and the zoom a dream. We love it and highly recommend it.
 Solid performance in a compact ultra-zoom camera November 23, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ5 with 10X optical zoom was purchased in May 2008 from Amazon to replace my outdated 6 year old 4.1 Megapixel Canon Elph. This review is based upon 6 MONTHS of use.
I wanted more than the 3X from conventional compact digital cameras. After traveling to places such as India, Portugal, and Cancun, for example, 3X is not versatile enough to capture some of the landscapes, landmarks and distant subjects that I wanted to capture.
To be honest, resolution was not a factor in purchasing a camera but with 9.1 Megapixels, this camera was more than adequate for my purposes since I only print 4x6" photographs.
OPERATION:
This camera is great as a point and shoot camera. Shutter lag is reasonable for a camera of this class, unlike others I experimented with before buying this one.
FEATURES
Battery life indicator: You may take this feature for granted but my prior camera (Canon Digital Elph), did not have a battery life indicator. When traveling, battery life is a very important factor so that you don't miss shots. I bought 2 spare batteries with my camera.
The 27 megabytes of internal memory is inadequate for any practical purpose allowing for only about 8-10 photos at high resolution or a few seconds of video.
This camera has a user friendly menu system that is easy to navigate given the 4 directional buttons and central menu/enter button. There are two scene modes, Intelligent automatic mode, movie mode, clipboard mode and custom mode. A quick menu button is great for on-the-fly adjustments.
The intelligent auto-mode is where I keep the camera, for a majority of photographs keeping the operation simple - this is the point and shoot mode for a majority of casual users, like myself. On this mode, picture size (9 MP, 5MP, 3MP and 0.3 MP), aspect ratio (4:3, 3:2, and 16:9), burst mode, and color mode (standard, natural, vivid, black/white and sepia), can be toggled in the menu.
The custom mode allows me to change other factors such as ISO, continuous auto focus, metering mode, white balance, audio recording, and intelligent exposure, to name a few.
The glass LCD has various modes to allow you to see the settings, a 9 segmented partition and no data. I like seeing a histogram in real time to determine the color range of the photograph.
The auto-focus mode has face detection, 3 area high speed, 1 area high speed, spot, 1 area, and 9 area. I personally keep it in face detection unless I am taking a photo of a landmark or other outdoor subject.
Movie mode is versatile and I use this as a back up camcorder for times when I want to take a quick video. However, due to the small microphone, the sound quality is not optimal for say, a piano recital or speech where sound is essential. The picture quality is excellent. The aspect ratio (4:3, 16:9), picture mode (30 fps/16:9 high or low quality 15 fps/16:9 high or low quality), white balance, metering mode and auto-focus mode can be adjusted.
QUALITY
Picture quality is excellent for the purposes of casual use (i.e. parties, performances, events, stills, pets, children, outdoors. Zoom photographs is limited by low light given the built in flash.
Movie mode is a versatile feature since it records in high definition 720p. The video format is in Quicktime mode. Image quality is limited by low light.
CONSTRUCTION:
The body is made of metal and has a nice heavier weight that allows me to hold it steady. The textured grip in the front allows me to operate the camera one handed.
A toggle switch allows the user to take photos or view the photos. This is a convenient and well thought out feature since cumbersome menus (or even multifunctioned buttons) on other cameras make this reviewer/user confused. This camera, once you understand what button to use doesn't require the user/operator to have to look at all of the buttons to operate it.
There are 3 output ports, including AV out/digital, component out and DC in. The battery cover is easy to open and close. The small Lithium battery and SD card fit in the same compartment. In the past 6 months of heavy use, I have not had problems with getting the battery or card out.
There is an eccentrically placed port to allow mounting on a tripod. The location is not useful for handheld tripods but works for conventional full featured tripods.
PROS
Image quality
10X zoom for a compact camera
720p HD quality movies
Solid construction
Vivid glass LCD screen
Menu system and 5 button navigation
Excellent battery life
Battery life indicator
CONS
Poor sound quality with video
Low light limitations with zoom and video
Wheel selection feature turns 360 degrees (needs to be 'locked' to operate)
Slightly heavier than its compact counterparts
RECOMMENDATIONS:
If you want to use this camera for HD video, I highly recommend SDHC memory cards. I purchased 2 Transcend SDHC cards with this camera:
Transcend 8 GB SDHC SD Class 6 Flash Memory Card TS8GSDHC6E [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]
The biggest pitfall I found (since I do not use the USB connection to upload to my computer) is transferring my photos using a USB card reader. The high capacity SD cards, SDHC, are recognized by the card reader. I bought the following reader since it can read my SDHC card and my old memory cards:
15-1 USB 2 (XD CAPABLE)
Instead of the Panasonic battery, the follow battery, I purchased, is a more economical alternative for a mere fraction of the cost of the original OEM:
Li-Ion Battery for Panasonic CGA-S007 / CGR-S007
If you want to use this camera for HD video, I highly recommend SDHC memory cards. I purchased 2 Transcend SDHC cards with this camera:
Transcend 8 GB SDHC SD Class 6 Flash Memory Card TS8GSDHC6E [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]
Instead of the Panasonic battery, the follow battery, I purchased, is a more economical alternative for a mere fraction of the cost of the original OEM:
Li-Ion Battery for Panasonic CGA-S007 / CGR-S007
VERDICT
For the low price, versatility for a compact point and shoot, this camera goes above and beyond for its price point and is an excellent value.
Two thumbs up.
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