Panasonic Lumix 9MP Digital Camera

Panasonic Lumix 9MP Digital Camera Review

Great Camera!

"Outstanding combination of size and features. Without a doubt, the best digital camera I've owned."

[30 of 30 customers found this review helpful]

Panasonic Lumix 9MP Digital Camera Review

TZ5: Leica lens a winner!

"The Panasonic TZ5 is a fast, small, digital point-and-shoot with a Leica 10x optical zoom, and 3 inch high-resolution (470,000 pixel) LCD screen.



The 10x Leica optical zoom (28mm-280mm equiv.) is a delight to use showing no color fringing (truly surprising) that I could see, and amazing detail. And the camera is replete with features such as image stabilization (two modes), metering modes, auto-focus modes, three aspects ratios (4:3, 3:2, and 16:9), and HD video.



The Panasonic TZ5 lens exhibits exceptional sharpness and contrast even in the corners. As is typical of Panasonic cameras (TZ3, FZ8, FZ18, etc.), if you view your image at 100% on-screen you will see "noise" (similar to a fine-grain pattern) throughout your midtones and shadow areas. Shooting with a setting of FINE, the highest quality, and 9MP (full sensor), I found image noise is barely visible at 100% on large prints, and invisible on a 8x10 or smaller size prints. On an 11x14 print the image of 3,456 x 2,590 pixels is actually printing at 78%.



Noise becomes more noticeable at any ISO above 200. If you are more demanding of your images and want to minimize the effects of noise, I recommend Noise Ninja. I've gotten great results from it but it is not the only product on the market. Find something that you feel works for you. But again, some may not find the noise objectionable at all, particularly in prints.



AUTO program prioritizes shutter speed over lens opening (aperture) often setting it to the maximum, and SCENE modes change ISO (increasing noise) frequently to achieve its priority. There is manual mode and for those of us itching to control aperture settings it is a bit frustrating (even with a plus or minus two stop override) but the results are usually exceptional.



This is a terrific point-and-shoot Panasonic for a beginner, but also yields commendable results to those experienced or more demanding photographers if you can learn to accept the auto results."

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[10 of 10 customers found this review helpful]

Panasonic Lumix 9MP Digital Camera Review

Highly impressed!

"I purchased this camera as a gift for my wife. I own a Canon Rebel XTi digital SLR which is bulky and not meant to be a throw-in-your-purse-to-carry-around-all-the-time kind of camera. I had originally gone with pure brand name recognition and bought her a compact Nikon S550 10MP point and shoot. The image quality was horrible, grainy and even worse in low light. I did some online research and came across the Panasonic DMC-TZ5. Not quite as compact but many more features, not to mention the whopping 10X optical zoom. I purchased it from JR (which by the way had the best price by far) and my wife and I could not be happier. The camera has proved to be the one thing we never leave at home. It goes everywhere with us, and I no longer lug around my SLR. The image quality is phenomenal for a point and shoot. Several friends have gone out and purchased this camera after seeing or using ours. It is well worth the money."

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[8 of 8 customers found this review helpful]

Panasonic Lumix 9MP Digital Camera Review

Excellent!!! I would buy it again!

"This camera is extremely versatile and compact. You are almost assured that your pictures are going to turn up beautiful, as long as you know how to compose the pic. The lens is sharp and the colors vibrant. Since I have it, I've taken more pictures than I've taken in a while. Because of its size, I keep it around, so I am Always ready to shoot when the opportunity presents itself.Great product!"

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[3 of 3 customers found this review helpful]

Panasonic Lumix 9MP Digital Camera Review

Panasonic Lumix DMCTZ5A - A Brief Review

"I did hours of research before picking the Lumix. I bought it specifically for a vacation my wife and I took to French Polynesia. We toured the islands on a sailing ship (the Star Flyer) and I wanted a camera with excellent wide angle and telephoto features, reasonable cost and a good lens. The Lumix met and exceeded all my needs and expectations. It has excellent wide angle capability and much better than average telephoto range. I took hundreds of photos and was very pleased with its performance. I was unexpectedly surprised by its low-light and macro capabilities as well. I sell a lot of items on [...] am now using it for close-up photography for[...]sales and it has also replaced a Canon Digital Elf as my everyday camera for both [...] and personal use. I found its menus to be logical and relatively intuitive. Great camera for the money and, I believe, perhaps the most versatile compact digital on the market today."

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