Panasonic DMC LZ10 Review

The Panasonic DMC LZ10 is a 10 megapixel digital camera with a 5x optical zoom lens. It has manual exposure controls.

If you are looking for some extra features for a reasonable price then the DMC LZ10 could be the right camera for you. The specification includes manual exposure controls, image stabilisation, bracketing and wide screen movies. It also has a wider than standard lens for landscape and group portrait photos.

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Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
My first test shot with the DMC LZ10 suggests that focusing is likely to be roughly average. There is evidence of a loss of detail on the boats where the sun strikes them. This has also caused some of the blue lines to take on a purple tinge in places.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
This photo shows vivid colour. Sharpness is good without being outstanding. Some areas of the photo are darker than they could be.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
I am disappointed with this shot. It is just not sharp enough for my liking.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
Overall sharpness is better than with the zoom fully extended, but it is still not pin sharp. Taking all four outdoor test shots into consideration I would like to have seen sharper photos in general.

Outdoor Portrait
This is my favourite portrait shot of those taken with the DMC LZ10. The colours have a warm feel to them. As with one of the outdoor scenic shots the shady areas could do with more light.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
Even with the flash on I feel the photo could be brighter. Focusing is better for the portrait shots in general than for the more distant scenic shots.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
I must admit that the day this photo was taken was not quite as bright as it has been for other recent test shots. Even so I am still disappointed that the photo is as dark as it is. The lighting available at the time was still good.

Colours
As with other cameras in the Panasonic range colours are stronger than they are from other brands. I have mentioned before that colour strength is a mater of personal taste. I think the colours stay within reasonable bounds.

Macro
This is a good effort. I find Panasonic digital cameras take good close up shots in general and the DMC LZ10 carries on that reputation.

ISO 400 and ISO 1600
Noise is always a problem as the ISO rating is increased no matter what camera you use. At ISO 400 noise levels are quite acceptable in the brighter areas of the shot. As you would expect the darker areas show higher levels of noise. Once you reach ISO 1600 noise is a big problem.

Overall
The DMC LZ10 could do better when it comes to focusing. I also found lighting to be a bit uneven and shady areas could do with greater illumination.

A single photo took 0.45 seconds and five shots took 12.25 seconds. These are just about acceptable times. With flash turned on times slow down a lot. A single shot took 1.73 seconds and five took 25.25 seconds.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

The DMC LZ10 has a fairly standard design for a compact camera that is too large to slip into a pocket. It is a typical rectangular shape with a raised grip area on the right hand side.

97.5 62 x 33.3mm

141g

Two AA batteries power the camera. Panasonic suggests you should be able to take up to 160 shots with a standard set of alkaline batteries.

20MB have been built into the camera. I was able to take 6 photos before the memory was full. The DMC LZ10 is also compatible with SD and SDHC cards.

Click here to save money on SD cards..

Very Good. Panasonic cameras have clear and easy to read menus. The control dial on the top of the camera places a number of key controls at your finger tips as well.

Ease of use - wide screen movies

Shutter delay could be that little faster, especially with flash.

I think a better bet is the Canon Powershot A590 IS. It only has a 4x zoom lens, but the overall quality is superior.

When it comes to picture quality my feeling is that the Panasonic DMC LZ10 does not quite hit the mark. It is not that bad, but there are one or two problems that make other cameras a better choice.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menu

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Panasonic DMC LZ10