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Panasonic Lumix
DMC-TZ6 (ZS1) - Digital Camera Review |
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Panasonic have this
to say about the camera: "The new TZ series
packs a LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens with 12x optical zoom into a compact
body. This versatile photographic tool lets you shoot everything from
sweeping vistas at the 25mm wide-angle setting to dynamic 300mm telephoto
shots. And the lens system's exquisite rendering ability lets you capture
even the subtle nuances of the sights and scenes in your travels." You can find more information on their website. The Camera: a
visual tour: (Photos of the camera taken with the Casio
Exilim FC100) Size Comparison: Compared to a Pentax PC-550 35mm film camera - a medium/compact sized 35mm film camera (with no zoom).
Specifications
/ Features:
Box Contents:
Average box contents - a large memory card would be nice, as would a case (for example the Lowepro Apex 30AW) and are both recommended purchases. Menu system:
The menu system is easy to use, logical, well layed out and easy to see
thanks to the large 2.7" screen. The camera has a "Quick Menu"
button on the back that gives you quick access to all the most commonly
used options whilst taking photos (such as burst mode, iso, white balance,
image size etc), and then the Menu can be accessed when additional settings
need changing. The playback menu gives all the usual options such as a
slideshow, and lets you edit the photo title, or put a text stamp on the
photo. An explanation of the scene modes can be viewed by pressing the
Display / Info button. Picture Size / Quality: The camera lets you choose the image size (10m, 7m, 5m, 3m, 2m, VGA), and aspect ratio (4:3, 3:2 at 9mp, 6mp, 4.5mp, and 2.5mp, 16:9 at 7.5mp, 5.5mp, 3.5mp, and 2mp), and gives you two choices regarding how much compression is applied to the images. Higher quality images take a large amount of memory, so a high capacity memory card is definitely recommended, unless you're prepared to sacrifice image size to fit more pictures in memory. There is a very good choice of image sizes, aspect ratios, and compression options. Battery usage: Battery life is rated at 320 shots, according to CIPA standards (the TZ7 is rated at 300 shots) - I was able to take around 322 shots before the battery went flat, this is slightly better than average. Memory cards: A large memory card is relatively cheap, and highly recommended, I would recommend at a bare minimum a 1gb memory card, if you intend to take fine JPEG images, and preferably a 2gb memory card, or larger. The larger the memory card, the more photos you will be able to take. If you are likely to go on holiday then the largest memory card you can afford would definitely be worth investing in, as you don't always know when you will next be at a computer. You can use SD or SDHC memory cards - I tend to use Sandisk Ultra II Plus USB SD memory cards as these let you plug the memory card straight into a USB socket making it easy to transfer images onto any computer, they are available as 1GB SD, or 2GB SD cards and 4GB SDHC cards. Listed below are links to memory cards that will work with the Panasonic Lumix TZ6: Find the latest
prices for SD memory cards at Amazon.co.uk: 1gb (1000mb): £2,
2gb (2000mb): £4,
4gb (4000mb SDHC): £6,
8gb (8000mb SDHC): £10,
16gb (16000mb SDHC): £28 Speed: The camera is fairly quick to switch on and take photos, from off, to taking a photo in 2.6 seconds (with Quick AF on). Focusing seemed quick, except in very low light - this takes a little longer to focus depending on the subject, and focus at the telephoto end of the zoom was slightly slower. The playback mode is quick. The camera shutter response seemed instant when pre-focused responding in 0.1 seconds or less - and shot to shot time was fairly quick, with a delay of around 1.6 seconds between shots without flash. The flash recharge time added about a second delay allowing a shot to be taken every 2.5 seconds. Continuous shooting is quite good offering 2.5 fps for 3 shots at the highest resolution. An unlimited continuous shooting mode shoots at around 2 fps. The cameras menus seemed quick. Ease of use: The camera is very easy to use, with a logical menu system, and easy to access features. The camera has a number of modes such as "intelligent AUTO" and numerous scene modes so that you should be able to get good shots. The face detection focus can help capture photos of people and will automatically expose the photo so they subjects face is correctly exposed. The controls on the back of the camera are straightforward, and it's easy to switch modes using the clear mode dial, and mode switch. The menus are responsive and are also easy to use, and the options are big enough and easy to see clearly. The modes are easy to access, and a lot of the options can be accessed using the buttons on the back. It's also easy to see when photos are in focus using the zoomed review mode. The screen is very clear, and features a bright mode - it can also be used in bright sunlight. Ergonomics and Buttons: (Feel, placement, labels, etc) The layout of the buttons and controls are good, with all button and controls reachable with your right hand. The zoom control and shutter release is very good. The mode dial is positioned well making it easy to switch modes with your thumb (a little too easy?), and the quick menu button gives quick access to your favourite settings. I thought the camera felt very good with a good (but small) thumb gip and the back and a good hand grip at the front. The camera feels very well made, with a robust metal body. The camera is easy to hold, fits into pockets, and looks good, with a premium styled body available in a couple of colours (black or silver). The on / off and play / photo switches both felt very pleasing when used, and should mean that you don't accidentally switch the camera on in your pocket. The tripod mount is made out of metal, and is positioned near the middle of the camera which is an improvement over the predecessor.
Image Quality: Here are some real world sample photos taken in various settings, such as Inside, Outside, Macro, to demonstrate the quality of pictures taken and also show different features of the camera. Larger versions of these photos, plus more photos are available in the Panasonic Lumix TZ6 Sample Photo Gallery! Inside:
Inside: The camera has very good colour - It took a good "Heather and Flower" photo - there is almost no red-eye in the photo. It has a fairly good flash, and copes fairly well with group photos, although if the subject is too far away then detail can appear very low if the ISO setting goes above ISO400. There is some red-eye in group photos. On AUTO ISO, the ISO setting was quite low, and noise was acceptable. The camera did a good job at focusing most of the time in low-light, the LED illuminator helped focus. ISO Noise Test: Noise: Noise is generally a bad thing - it removes detail, and gives a grainy effect over the image. With digital cameras noise can be a real problem as digital camera noise is often made out of blue, red or green dots. As the ISO setting increases, pictures tend to have more noise. Noise is most noticeable in dark areas of photos. The camera has an Automatic mode for ISO levels (ranging from ISO 100 - ISO1600), manual ISO settings (ISO: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600), and further ISO settings upto ISO3200 / ISO6400 in high sensitivity mode. Below you'll find the noise test image, plus actual pixel crops, viewable at 100%, from the image taken at different ISO settings, compared with the 9 megapixel Canon Powershot SX110 IS and 12 megapixel Fujifilm FinePix F100fd.
ISO Noise Test Photos - Flash is off. Canon Powershot SX110 IS on the left, Panasonic Lumix TZ6 in the middle, Fujifilm FinePix F100fd on the right. Any tonal difference is due to white balance or lighting / metering differences.
Noise results: Slightly less noise than it's predecessor the TZ5, and also slightly less noise than the Canon Powershot SX110 IS. Images are also quite sharp, although noise is more noticeable than the Fuji F100fd. ISO settings up to ISO400 are good. Image Stabilisation: The Panasonic Lumix TZ6 features real image stabilisation, called Mega Optical Image Stabilisation. This feature helps reduce image blur due to low light or long zoom photography. With image stabilisation switched on the images are much sharper and clearer, and are much more likely to come out blur free, especially in low light, when using the zoom or when using slow shutter speeds.
Outside:
Outside: The camera has nicely saturated colours - colourful but not overly saturated. There was very good detail, and the camera took a number of pleasing images outside, with good contrast, although there was some chromatic aberrations and purple fringing in areas of high contrast. In general 'normal' quality jpeg artefacts are not easily seen, however areas with strong contrasts benefit from use of the highest quality setting. Images are slightly soft, but nothing too worrying. Noise is evident in most photos, mainly in dark areas, however, this was mainly noticeable when "pixel peeping" and viewing the images at 100% on the screen, when printed at A4 this noise was barely visible. Zoom: This lens provides a 12x optical zoom starting at 25mm equivalent which is great for wide angle shots (useful indoors, and at parties etc), and the camera zooms to 300mm allowing photos of distant objects. I've included examples below to show what the zoom is capable of. Digital zoom basically takes a crop of the centre of the frame and enlarges the image, degrading image quality, and is therefore best avoided, unless you use this camera's easy zoom feature. The easy zoom feature lets you zoom in further if you select a smaller image size.
Exposure: The photos of the clock tower are exposed well with detail in the dark areas - however the sky is slightly over exposed - exposure in other photos was generally very good. Vignetting was not noticed in these photos. It can be useful to under expose images with bright backgrounds (eg; sky) with use of exposure compensation. Lens noise and zoom: The lens makes very little noise, and gives you around 35 steps between wide and telephoto - this gives very good control over how you frame your subject. Other Image Quality issues: Purple fringing / Chromatic aberration was ocassionally seen in areas of high contrast. Macro Lens Performance:
The camera can take macro photos where the subject is roughly 3cm away from the lens in macro mode. Colour and detail is very good. The camera has manual white balance which can help get better shots in artificial lighting. Video mode: The camera features a very good video mode - it records 16:9 Aspect Ratio: 848x480 30fps videos with sound as MOV files and has fairly good compression allowing you to record long videos. The video mode does let you use the optical zoom whilst recording, sound is also recorded even when using the zoom. Conclusion
What I like:
What I don't like:
Additional Test Images are viewable in the Panasonic Lumix TZ6 Sample Photo Gallery. |