Customer Reviews:
 The best compact digicam money can buy today April 2, 2008
Izak Kapilevich
78 out of 80 found this review helpful
As an advanced photographer with two pro DSLRs and an array of lenses I was looking for a light compact camera that will still have some of the features I am so used to from my DSLRs. This camera has the best lens in the industry bar none. Leica is superior to any other compact point and shoot lens out there (except other Lumix cameras that all use a Leica Lens). The camera is fast wt start up and can take 3 FPS in sports mode. It packs a 10X optical zoom and on the TZ5 can go up o 17X with some resolution loss. I never use Digital zoom as I do not consider it a zoom.
The Camera ergonomics is great, may of the features photographers need are easily accessible and well though of. I have been using the TZ3 for 2 years and took more than 10000 pictures with amazing results. I take many night shots and this is really where this camera excels. It can take 15, 30 and 60 seconds exposures which no other compact can do.
Battery life es very acceptable. A second battery is a recommended inexpensive accessory. The camera build quality is good, durable materials and high quality. I have evaluated a huge number of cameras and the Lumix comes on top by far based on its image quality, image stabilization, optical zoom, Leica superior lens, form factor and overall value. The closest camera you can get with similar performance is the Canon SX 100 IS. It is bigger, bulkier, heavier, much much slower and costs about the same. When it comes to compact point and shoot with advanced features and a hefty zoom nothing beats the Lumix.
If you know what you're getting into, you'll be thrilled April 24, 2008
New Englander (Massachusetts)
52 out of 53 found this review helpful
I already wrote a review on the little sister, the TZ4, which is a phenomenal camera; I am however returning it because the price differential with the TZ5 is so low at this point it made more sense for me to spring for the few extra bucks on the TZ5 .
If you read any professional reviews, you already know that this is not the camera for poster size enlargements, even at low ISO values. While the noise reduction has been turned down, there is still some NR smudging and noise. Thankfully, the noise at least can be removed to the point where I was able to doctor a sample ISO 1600 picture to look just fine in 4 x 6 size (thanks to NeatImage). And I've had no problems with 8 x 10's at ISO 100 and 200.
And guess what? That is THE ONLY issue with this camera, and it is one that all other compact cameras also share to various extents. The difference here is that many other compacts also add lots of other "negatives" to the mix, such as severe wide angle distortion, wild and wooly purple fringing, reduced zoom range, and corner blurriness . The TZ 4 and 5 do nothing of the kind.
For what you're getting, a compact, POCKETABLE 28 - 280 Leica lens with IS, there simply is nothing like it out there. And that's before even looking at the HD movie mode, the surprisingly accurate intelligent scene selection feature, the brilliant LCD and the jewel-like workmanship.
This is the ultimate vacation camera if you plan to leave your DSLR home and travel lightly, and aren't spending all day in museums shooting w/o flash. I highly recommend this camera, especially if you lock in the highest possible ISO value at 400, turn the dial to iA, and then give the camera to a complete newbie to shoot pictures with. I think he/she AND you will be very pleasantly surprised with the excellent results.
Great Small Camera! April 7, 2008
ryecats (Central CA)
43 out of 45 found this review helpful
I have a Pansonic DMC-FZ7 that takes excellent photos, but is a bit bulky when you don't want to look like a tourist. I've grown jealous of a friend's Panasonic DMC-TZ3 which he keeps on his belt loop in a Lowepro Rezo 30 case. It also has a wide angle lens which I don't have on the FZ7. I've purchased the TZ5 as a second camera for when I want to be a more discreet tourist without a camera bag. This may become my primary camera.
I am not a fan of small cameras as a rule. Some of them (e.g., Canon Elph) have screens and icons so small, I can't see them. But this camera has a lot of features, most also available on the TZ3 & new TZ4. (The TZ3/TZ4/TZ5 fit into the Lowepro Rezo 30 case, but no room to spare.)
The choice of which model to buy depends on your need for Megapixels and what you are willing to spend. I have used my friend's TZ3 and don't really notice any significant improvements in the workings of the TZ5 that would justify the price for routine point-and-shoot photos. However, the TZ5 has a 3 inch LCD while the TZ3 & TZ4 only have 2.5 inch. That was a deciding factor for me.
If you need a camera where you look through a traditional view finder to frame your photos, this is not the right camera for you. I prefer using the LCD screen, so I don't miss this feature.
I find the Panasonic menus easy to use to access all of the varied features. If you just want to use it as a point-and-shoot, it's easy to do. If you want to experiment, the features are there for you to play with...
There is another feature on Panasonic that is an absolute MUST for me. It is possible to set the flash "off" so it doesn't go off when you don't want it to (i.e., in places that restrict flash photography). Some of my friends have cameras where they have to turn the flash off each time. And they forget...
Another reason I opted for the Pansonic FZ/TZ series is the easy to use battery charger/rechargeable battery. The batteries that hold their charge for 1-3 days, but I do carry a spare. I'm not a fan of carrying around AA or AAA batteries.
 Great Travel Camera May 31, 2008
BBlair (Washington State)
34 out of 34 found this review helpful
I did a great deal of research before purchasing this camera because I don't have the time or money that some people apparently have to be doing the eBay revolving door thing. What I came to realize is that, disappointingly, there isn't a clearly superior compact or ultracompact camera out there. There are only cameras with greater or lesser compromises and the trick is finding the one you can live with. The Lumix TZ5 was a good travel companion and turned out to have few flaws.
Since it irritates me when people say that they do a great deal of research and then never share it (doesn't that irritate you?), here are some of the cameras I ruled out based on my (maybe not your) criteria:
Fujifilm FinePix F100fd (difficult menu design, pink banding issue), Canon PowerShot SD890 IS (reported awful handling and poorly designed controls), Casio Exilim Card EX-S10 (No image stabilization, very slim, picture quality ok, weak zoom, tiny controls), Casio Exilim EX-S880 (No image stabilization, reported poor image quality), Olympus Stylus 850 SW (reportedly poor video shooting, poor battery life), Pentax Optio V10 (No image stabilization), Casio EX-Z1080 (Reduced pixels compared to others, 38mm starting range), Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55 (Reportedly falls short on image quality, no viewfinder, larger), Ricoh Caplio R7 (No optical viewfinder, very noisy, some barrel distortion when fully extended, poor customer service?, reported quality mediocre), Pentax Optio A40 (Reportedly poor autofocus), and Canon PowerShot A470 (No viewfinder, no image stabilization, weak zoom).
Unfortunately, doing all this research meant I didn't get the Lumix TZ5 till right before my trip to Amsterdam - I was literally reading the manual on the plane. I don't recommend this, but it does serve as a good crash test for what the camera could (and could not) do out-of-the-box.
As you probably know, this isn't an ultracompact but it is not as big as some reviewers make out. Could fit in a large pocket but it is rather heavy and unprotected in that environment so I got a LowePro case for it that sat on my belt. Worked well, allowed for extra batteries and SD card, and access was quick for candid shots.
Things that worked well:
* The Intelligent Auto mode worked pretty well for most situations. I suggest studying the exposure compensation settings since I had to use these often in high contrast and full sun situations.
* One handed operation works well.
* Menu system was pretty intuitive for basic functions.
* Zoom is amazing and E.Zoom setting was very useful. Be sure to read how to use the "extended optical zoom" which lets you go out to 16.9x at reduced picture quality (I believe you have to have picture quality set at max 9MB and this is then reduced to 3MB). I didn't use the digital zoom.
* The screen is gorgeous and the playback is amazing - many people commented on this.
* Taking video is pretty easy, though I would have preferred a button rather than having to rotate a dial. Be careful on playback to distinguish between what is a still picture and what is video - I accidentally deleted some video because I thought they were poor still shots, rather than the start of the video.
* If the dial is accidentally rotated, the camera will not let you take a picture until you correctly choose an actually setting.
* Fairly quick start up - not stellar but not bad.
* Can set up something called Travel Date, which will organize pictures by 1st, 2nd, 3rd day. This was useful when sharing pictures and to help you remember the chronology of the trip.
* You can zoom while taking video, although more slowly than with still shots.
What didn't work well:
* No matter what you read, the pretty LCD screen is no replacement for a view finder even when you use the Auto Power LCD option to compensate. In daylight, even on the brightest setting, the screen washes out. Another problem I had was I had to remove my glasses to compose on the screen, which was a hassle with rapidly-moving candid shots. This was the biggest disappointment and I took off one star for this.
* Certain functions of the camera will only work in certain settings. For example, you can only set the self-timer for 10 sec in IA mode, histograms cannot be displayed in IA mode, exposure settings can only be used in normal mode, extended optical zoom cannot be used in motion picture mode, etc. It can be frustrating, and you can miss a good shot, if you don't have all that memorized. I imagine all cameras are like this, but thought I would mention it since we are discussing an out-of-the-box experience.
* The door to the sockets on the right-hand side comes open easily (does not lock closed but only snaps shut), which is a hassle at times. I am concerned that it will snap off one day.
* In my opinion, the flash is underpowered.
Overall, I am happy with the TZ5 and impressed with the pictures and video it produced - especially since I had so little experience with it. My friend, who is a film maker by trade, was also impressed with the camera. It is bigger than I would have liked, but the trade off for a 10X zoom was worth it for me.
Do get an extra battery - I went through both batteries in 4 hours of shooting, mostly stills but some video. Big hassle to run out of juice in the middle of your day. A SD Extreme III 8GB was recommended in some reviews and it worked well for me, especially with shooting video. In doing research about buying a camera, one of the most helpful websites I found was the "What Camera Should I Buy?" forum at the Digital Camera Resource Page - [...]
In looking at the reviews here on Amazon for the TZ5, be aware that they are organized by color, so check each color for information about this camera.
Awesome Camera for anyone! April 6, 2008
Kaye Milligan (SLC, UT)
33 out of 35 found this review helpful
I bought this camera after 3 years of researching digital cameras. I know its a little excessive but I wanted to make sure I was getting the best for my money. A few things really caught my eye with this camera. The 10x zoom. The 460,000 pixel screen and the Intelligent Auto mode. There are so many features on the camera its hard to explain them all. It takes amazing pictures, especially for a point and shoot. There are lots of scene specific choices. It takes great night shots with the starry night mode and fantastic video in widescreen and highdef 720p. Which is amazing. I can't believe a camera this small can take this kind of video. I'm always trying to get pictures of my 8 month old nephew but he moves so fast I needed a very fast camera and this is it. I always get the shot I want. It has a rubberized grip and a spot for the thumb which helps alot because I just had wrist surgery and it helps me alot when holding the camera. Most point and shoots don't have this. It has convenient popup menu and camera or playmode switch which is really nice. I would highly recommend this camera any day to anybody. It beats out all the other point and shoots I've ever used by a long shot.
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