Panasonic DMC TZ5 Review

The Panasonic DMC TZ5 is a 9 megapixel digital camera with a 10x optical zoom lens. The lens is a wide angle lens and this is a big help for squeezing extra detail into wide shots for subjects such as buildings, landscapes and groups of people.

What makes the DMC TZ5 different to other digital cameras with longer lenses is its size. Although not pocket sized it is still very small and compact. Panasonic market this part of their digital camera range as travel cameras and I can see why. With its handy size Panasonic have really reduced the burden of carrying a camera everywhere with you and with the long lens you should be able to get in close enough for more or less every shot.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
I have tested a few Panasonic digital cameras recently and I have noticed how well they are able to handle contrast and darker areas in a photo. The picture is sharp, but there is a small fall off in focusing towards the edges. Some of the blue lines on the boats also have a slight purple tinge.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
This is a good effort for a digital camera with a wide angle lens. Sharpness is good even as you reach the edges of the shot. There is some noise showing up at the most distant point of the scene.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
I am happy with this picture, but there are one or two issues that stop the photo from being of the highest quality. As with other super zoom cameras there is a small degree of purple fringing. This is where a thin purple line is added to light objects when they are caught by the sun. There is also a small loss of sharpness on the right hand side of the photo as the scene becomes more distant.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
There are no real problems here aside from the merest hint of purple fringing around some windows and doors. The brickwork stands out very well and in most situations focusing has worked well with the DMC TZ5.

Outdoor Portrait
All three of my portrait test shots were successful. The outdoor portrait has enough colour to give it some life, without the colours being overpowering. The skin tones are about right.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
This Panasonic digital camera lights the photo well. It is sharp and is my favourite shot out of the three portrait shots.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
Without flash the DMC TZ5 still does well. The photo has a good level of detail. It also has a natural look to it. Once again there is that bit more colour in the shot than I am used to seeing.

Colours
As with other Panasonic Digital Cameras colours are stronger than with most other brands. In my view this helps to produce vivid photos.

Macro
The macro shot is impressive. Focusing is sharp and the level of detail captured is up there with the better cameras.

ISO 400 and ISO 1600
The way Panasonic manage the ISO settings is a little different to other brands. With the DMC TZ5 you set the maximum ISO rating you wish to use and then the camera is intelligent to work out the actual setting. This tends to produce better results than with other brands in most situations.

Overall
Not perfect, but very good overall. You are likely to find sharp, colourful photos.

I was able to take a single shot in 0.42 seconds and five in 13.99 seconds. With flash a single shot took 1.05 seconds and five shots took 14.69 seconds. In an ideal world all of these times would be a little quicker, but they are not slow enough to put me off buying the camera.

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

The camera looks more like a regular compact digital camera than a cut down SLR camera. It has a small grip on the front. It is available in black, blue and silver.

103.3 x 59.3 x 36.5mm

214g

A lithium ion provides the power. Panasonic provide a battery and charger as standard. According to Panasonic you should be able to take around 300 shots in between charges.

A generous 50mb of storage has been built into the DMC TZ5 by Panasonic. This is enough for around 17 shots. The camera is compatible with SD and SDHC memory cards.

Click here to save money on SD memory cards..

Very Good. Although this Panasonic digital camera has one or two extra features thrown in it offers the simplicity of a point and shoot digital camera. The menu system is also bright, clear and easy to read.

Ease of use - design and build quality - overall picture quality - wide screen, (high-definition) movies - size and length of lens - wide angle lens - LCD screen quality

There is nothing that stands out

Another very good camera developed along similar lines is the Canon Powershot SX100 IS.

The Panasonic DMC TZ5 has a lot going for it. It has plenty of zoom power, takes an impressive picture, is small and compact, plus it also scores highly for ease of use. This is a camera well worth considering.

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 TZ5