IgloONotes

So it was upon finding out about my travels to Germany for a year that I set out finding the perfect Camera. I searched long and hard, running into a couple tough choices along the way but in the end, I chose the Panasonic DMC-TZ5 for its oustanding feaure set:

10x optical zoom

720P HD movie recording with zoom

Optical Image stabilization

High resolution 3" LCD screen.

Despite the lack of manual features, I did not consider myself to be professional enough to tinker with all the menus that the fully features ones had. Besides, I found that most of the time even when using an SLR, I would simply flick it on auto mode to get a quick shot.

In my first review of the camera I pointed out a few niggles with the design but was otherwise very happy with it. After three months, I can easily say that this is far and away the best point and shoot camera that I have ever used.

Functionality

The first niggle that I complained about earlier was the operation of the power button. I was afraid that the direction of the sliding button would allow it to turn on accidentally when I slip it into my case. First of all, it has only happened to me once (when I was hastily stuffin it in while not really paying attention to what I was doing) and second, it actually makes sense.

Think about it this way. When you turn on a light, its natural for you to flick your finger up and turn on the switch. With the big red emergency toggle switches, you have to lift the cap and flick the switch up to turn it on. With the TZ5, when you flick your finger out, you turn it off. But wait...I was just saying when you flick your finger you turn it on right? By switching the direction, it prevents you from accidentally turning it on. In addition, when you're holding the camera in your hand and your finger is resting on the shutter, you don't have to worry about your finger sliding down and turning on the camera.

The lack of manual controls is easily compensated by a fantastic Auto function. 90% of the time I just stick it in iA mode More than once I've looked at the pictures and thought to myself, how did that happen? Its ability to snap great shots is really mind boggling. Of course, you'll need something with a bit more controls to do some fancier camera tricks.

The e.zoom button which allows one touch zoom all the way to the max is awesome, allowing quick pictures when you really need to catch them.

In scene mode, there's a whole plethora of choices. Acouple worth of mentioning is the baby and pet modes. You can set the date and even name your special one with the picture.

The night mode offers 15s, 30s, and 60s shutter speeds. I've never used it so I can't tell you how the pictures turn out.

A really cool feature is the autobracketing mode. In manual mode, you can select this and it will take three consecutive pictures, each with a different exposure. This really helps when doing some HDR photography.

When travelling, its nice to have a camera that won't break on you. The TZ5 has a really solid construction and I was smacking around a store model and didn't notice any discernable problems. I am glad to say that my camera has never experienced the consequences of a free fall. I'm sure if it did, it would survive. Anyone willing to prove my theory?

Snapping the photos

I've taken the camera with me to a number of places. Scenic Castles, Outdoor landscapes, stunning sunsets, fast cars, all taking advantage of every feature of the camera. The only place it seemed to let me down was in dark indoor situations. The iA mode would ratchet up the iso as high as it can go giving the pictures way too much iso fuzz. When switching it into manual mode, I would turn cap the iso at 200 and take another picture. It wouldn't be as fuzzy, but I wouldn't be comfortable printing a letter sized photo with it. In this respect, my old Canon IXUS 430 was better.

The scenery this camera can take is really amazing. Just snap the picture an voila, you've got something that can even make professionals ask what camera you were using.

The macro mode works just as I would expect, with no real problems. The Telemacro (close objects while using 10x zoom) allows for some really cool camera tricks. I like using it for flowers because I would zoom in at 10x zoom and take the picture. What this does is give the picture a really narrow focus, blurring everything in the background.

The Mega OIS optical Image stabilization is a real life saver. This is definitely needed when taking images at 10x optical zoom. In most situations, I can zoom right in and not even worry about any blur. There is the odd occation when it is blurry, but that's usually when I'm walking and taking a picture at the same time.

Battery life was outstanding. Rated at 300 pictures, Panasonic severely underrates the camera. During my day at the racetrack, I managed to take 578 pictures in full resolution, including about 10 minutes of HD Video! Don't ask me how it did it, it just did.

The autofocus is usually quite fast but I noticed that in bright daylight and in full zoom, it would take multiple attempts to focus. Though I was trying to focus on a giant tv screen in front of the bright sky with the sun almost right above. Probably tough for most cameras.

My day the Norisring race track in Germany was a real test of the Camera and boy did it prove its worth. I could zoom right in on the cars almost as if I was standing right along the armco. The fast shutter speed was fast enough though I have to admit that many pictures were were blurry. But I think that can be attributed to my inexperience of taking fast cars. This is one situation that a viewfinder would have been really nice. I also tried out the high speed burst mode but was quite sad that it turned the resolution down to 3 megapixels. Besides, it was also really hard to catch the cars in the frame. I did manage to get some really great shots though, the Mega OIS pulling me out of sticky situations. The big zoom and OIS were not the only features proving this camera worthy. It was the HD Video.

Filming in HD

When I first bought the camera I complained about the autofocus during movies. It would continue focusing the picture even if the camera was still. From what I read on the forums, this was a hot topic. After upgrading the firmware to ver. 1.2, I can say that mostly all the problems have dissapeared. It doesn't hunt for focus when the camera is still and when you're moving fast, it won't throw the camera out of focus just when you're trying to get the right shot. The sound quality is still not awesome but what can you expect? For the average person, you won't even notice the sound and instead revel in the quality of the video. I was overall very pleased with the performance except for a very odd anomaly.

Sometimes when I would try recording, it would spit me the error 'Your card is not fast enough to record video'. I know my card is fast enough because I have the 8GB Sandisk Extreme III. Though There is a pattern emerging and I noticed that this would only happen after the card was starting to get past half full. What's even wierder is that most often than not, I would try recording again and then it would work. I have an odd feeling that maybe its my memory card that has a problem.

Conclusion

Just like Ebert and Roeper, I will give this Camera two thumbs up. It shoots amazing pictures when you really don't expect it and records movies in HD with the ability to zoom. The 10x optical zoom is really amazing and combined with the Mega OIS, it gets you pictures you never thought possible.

Finally, its all in a package light and small enough to slide in you pocket and take with you everywhere you want to go. Be it for a jaunt at the racetrack or a day out by the river, the Panasonic DMC-TZ5 will snap pictures that will be worth more than a thousand words.

Tags: Germany, IgloOViews, Panasonic TZ5, TZ5