Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 Reviews: Digital Compact Camera

+ Very good camera easy to use gives you great pictures indoors or out. GREAT camera to use also very smart to look at,
If your on the market for a new camera and its in your price range just go for it you wont be let down by it.

- cant find any yet.

+ good solid build. Although still getting used to using - so far has been easy to use with plenty of features.The Intelligent Auto mode allows you to take good quality photo's with very little effort. Pleasing to the eye and even my wife whose not into gadgets thinks it looks good and enjoys taking photo's with it.

- None so far

+ We have a decent Canon SLR, but for a point & shoot camera this is excellent. "AI" function is uncannily intuitive and sets the camera up perfectly 95% of the time. Video quality is also very impressive. Even the wife like to use which shows how user friendly it is.

- Petty really; Would have liked mini HDMI cable included for direct video playback.

+ Size,build quality,zoom,wide angle,a complete camera outfit in one package.

- No storage card supplied,a bit stingy considering the present cost of one.

+ Size, quality and reviewing photos from the camera as a slideshow

- Battery could last a bit longer

+ lens range is really good, from wide angle through to 10x optical the image quality is fantastic

- Since I bought this camera I have hardly used my Digital SLR

+ Lightweight. Clear viewfinder. Easy to understand user menus. Picture quality excellent.

- Did not come with a protective case or a high deffinition cable as standard equipment.

+ 10x zoom lens is superb, IA mode is so easy to use, image quality is first class, overall a fantastic camera.

- Screen hard to see in strong sunlight even with backlight on, so sometimes it is difficult to see what you are taking a picture of.

+ As a point-and-shoot camera the TZ-5 is an excellent choice. With it's large high resolution screen and fine ergonomics it is a pleasure to use. Image quality is very good and the "Intelligent Auto" mode appears to work very effectively. I would have no hesitation in recommending this item to someone who wants a high quality camera that does everything for them.

- Not "bad" points exactly, but worth taking into consideration... There is very little scope for "manual" intervention - this is effectively an auto-only camera. Also, it is not the most compact camera you can buy though given the range of the lens and size of the screen it's about as small as one could reasonably expect.

+ excellent optical zoom, face recognition all add up to great end photos

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Fantastic to use Good size screen
Good settings
Photos taken with Sunset,Night portrait and Night Scenery brilliant !

- None

+ i like the picture quality, its very bright and clear.

- i wish it was smaller

+ Super quality and easy to use quickly on holiday picks

- Slightly bigger than I thought and not easy to keep in a shirt pocket

+ I found this little camera to be fantastic, I took it away on holiday and I am amazed with my results as I had no practice beforehand. I then played the shots back plugged into the t v WOW I,m dead chuffed. THanks

- None

+ Great Features, especially zoom x 10 optical. Good menus. Intelligent Auto Mode works well.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Light weight and very easy to use.
Zoom feature is fantastic for such a compact camera.
Real value for money.

- The only bad point is it's a little larger than the previous models but this is due to the zoom feature so you can not complain too much.

+ easy to use,fool prof
really nice size
great zoom

- screen can scratch easy

+ verry easy to use and good results for a compact of this size. the option of manual mode is useful,although the auto mode selects what format ie scenery, portrait ect.i am delighted with the results.video is good also.

- surprised that you have to buy the mains adaptor as an extra. also the first camera i have had with a screen display instead of an eyepiece, hence in bright sunlight you have to shield the display screen in certain conditions.

+ Easy to grip and manipulate functions - am arthritic so this is very important for me.
Great zoom facility which gets me up close to subjects. Took some lovely pictures of gorillas at the zoo yesterday which was made possible as could keep at a distance without bothering them.

- Still early days with this camera so still getting to know it. As yet not come across any bad points.

+ The zoom, its simply fantastic and the screen shows your images perfectly

- Image quality is not good when you look at it on your pc screen, images appear not to be sharp around the edges, especial pictures of people. Would brake if dropped

+ Everything

- Can find no faults with camera at all

+ Robust, Image quality build quality value for money all excellent foolproof

- Positioning of microphone too near left hand edge

+ Very easy to use in automatic mode. Compact size is really good. Loads more features available on other modes if you want to use them. Image stabilisation works very well. Video is almost as good as my JVC HDD camcorder. 10 x zoom is as good as you can get on a compact.

- can't think of any!

+ High Optical zoom is what I was looking for, 28mm wide angle lens is a bonus, large view screen very good and clear, face detection is great, very pleased with the price I got it for aswell.

- Heavier than my old camera, but lighter and more compact than a SLR which I was looking at.

+ Just suits a women not heavy

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Reviewer left no comment

- Not having a viewfinder that you can hold to your eye - just having to use the screen.

+ Lots of features, pretty easy to get to grips with from the start, especially if you've been using digital cameras for a while already. If this is your first camera I suppose the amount of features could be a bit daunting, but that could be said about any camera in this price bracket.
The 10x zoom combined with Image Stabiliser is a great feature. One of the few, if not the only, compact camera with a 10x zoom.

- Image quality can be a bit "iffy". Even at the lowest ISO setting, and this features in many reviews by the camera websites/magazines, the image in low light can be a bit grainy. This is a bit disappointing, as it only gets worse the more the ISO is bumped up to compensate for low light. Then if you limit yourself to only using ISO 100 to 400, you can still get good shots but again the graininess may show if you're printing larger prints.

+ Super picture quality and great for point & push with excellent immage stabilzer and AF. Good reange of features which allow more technical photography.

- Slightly cheap feal to build quality compared to some major compeditiors such as the Cannon IXUS. Many of the better functions are burried quite deep in the menue system and the camera does not automaticaly save adjusted settings after switch off.

+ 10X zoom is outstanding, you don't find this on many compacts so definitely the best feature. The camera is intelligent and when on automatic settings focuses really well and is able to recognise faces. The huge screen on the back is excellent, very clear to see and you don't get the feeling that it is fragile (this was the case on my previous camera). The picture quality is very good, I am delighted so far with the photos I have taken.

- I read about this myself in other reviews, and it is true to say that the lens cover is wafer thin. This has not presented me with a problem yet, but it is a worry.

+ very good all round

- have not found any

+ Simple, massive zoom, wide screen, picture quality and video excellent.

- No manual settings

+ Great value for money, fits even the wide pictures in.
Fast picture time from when turning on it only takes about 3 sces for it to be ready for a picture.
Battery is really good takes lots of picks and never runs out!
ease of use even i can do it and im realy bad with gadgets, but it is really in depth at the same time if you wanna do more professional picks like my partner does so it works for both.
The face recognision is really good as it follows the person or animal if there moving!
zoom is the best it even zooms in to the tinest things with out loosing the detail.

- the microfone is in a really stupid place so when your using the video recorder you naturally put your finger on it and block out the sound!
you dont have as much controll as you would some other carmeras.

+ Bought as gift for husband. He is really taken with the ease of use, excellent wide view shots and zoom clarity. Amazed at the number of shots able to be taken at maximum resolution. Reawakened his interest in taking photos.

- Did not understand that it came without a smart card. Although after reading sealed info! it explained that pictures could be taken. More info required for us non camera users

+ Good zoom for a smaller camera.
Easy to use

- cheap plastic feel to the battery compartment.
No so good at capturing fast motion images.

+ easy to use super for close up shots

- none found at mo

+ Very easy to use camera with fantastic optical zoom and clarity. Still learning how to use all features, but a great little camera with lots of features to shoot in all kinds of light, i.e. candlelight, sports, night portrait, night scenery, baby portraits etc etc.

- Haven't found any yet!

+ zoom, wide angel lense.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Great Camera small, good features, good lens can't realy fault it

- Think that the lens cover is a bit flimsy

+ easy to use if you're an amateur photographer
lots of options to adjust images if you're keen
lovely clear screen,
very good video facility
great portrait and action pics so far.....

- none I can find

+ Excellent value for a camera boasting so many features, having just come from an APS camera the whole experience is a revelation in how much I can utilise the camera and software before and after taking shots

- Need to be careful when holding the camera not to block the flash as there are only a few places to hold the camera steady

+ This is the best camera that i have purchased the value is great,for ease of use and features.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ great camera, easy to use and great battery life, takes pictures well in the dark, well worth the money

- none that ive found

+ Zoom is amazing, great quality images, menus easy to use.

- Nothing so far.

+ Very good build quality, excellent images

- Not enough manual options

+ Fantastic quality and so easy to use.

- None so far.

+ Fantastic Zoom, 9 Mega Pix, vivid colours,wide angle Lens, impressive in low light, portability.

- Not great quality HD video/movie mode having been used to a camcorder. The switch on the rear that switches the camera into record and playback mode appears a little flimsy.

+ Easy to use, excellent pixture quality, the zoom function is excellent. It even works well with an unsteady hand

- Reviewer left no comment

+ excellent zoom, with very sharp focus, fantastic inteligent focus function.

- nothing

+ Solid, compact, easy to use, excellent lens.

- Sometimes slow to take a photo, but I am used to using a DSLR

+ Superbly clear LCD display, even in broad daylight. Fast start-up for a compact. Excellent zoom range. Menues simple to use. Good grip. Excellent all-rounder.

- Focusing can be a bit tricky sometimes using flash with red-eye reduction, particularly when the subject is mobile (my baby grand-daughter in this case!). Some flash images taken indoors appear a bit orange under some types of lighting, so be careful of white balance setting.

+ Easy to use. If you want simple & effective it's ideal, plus there's loads of features for those who like to complicate matters & have a little control. It looks good, feels good & does the job.

- Obviously it's not cheap & a good memory card has to be purchased as an extra. The User's Manual is not as easy to use as the camera. The battery life seems short & needs recharging regularly plus a spare one is also not cheap nor readily available.

+ Simple to use. Love the zoom. Like the large viewer (if that is what it is called!)

- Haven't found any

+ as a point and shoot it is perfect

- pesonally i would have preferred more manual control but that,s the trade off of a point and shoot

+ Excellent all round camera with exceptional zoom for such a compact size.

- Lack of viewfinder

+ Great features with the wide angle lens and 10 x zoom. light and easy to use. can view pics on your HDTV

- None really for the money it's brilliant. Takes a while to get to know the best shutter speed to get best light and resolution but worth playing with and you would have the same on any camera and at least with a digital you can view the result and try it again while you are still there...

+ superb picture quality, great wide angle and zoom, easy to follow menue,lcd screen very good in all conditions

- lens cover a litle flimsy

+ Easy to use, with high quality build and picture images

- None found to date

+ The zoom and picture quality are great in the day time

- The mode setting dial moves too easily around. The night time and image stablising features aren't that good.

+ EASY TO USE AND WELL BUILT. EXCELLENT IMAGES

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Really easy to use really good pictures

- Slightly large, this is because of the large lens but a bit too big for trouser pockets! The lead to connect to a pc is a proprietary connection on the camera not just a standard small usb, thi means you will have to be careful not to lose the lead!

+ Very easy to use product - switching between veiw and picture take - turning flash on and off - really clear veiw finder - face recognition. Excellent camera.

- None

+ Intelligent features make the camera very easy to use in point and shoot mode. Compact and a lot easier to carry around than a DSLR.

- Image quality is ok but there is a compromise to be made when buying a camera like this vs even a low end DSLR. Indoor shots with flash have been a little disappointing.

+ ease of use, fantastic zoom and the stabilization works

- Reviewer left no comment

+ The optical zoom is outstanding for such a compact camera.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Excellent build quality, good photos, high zoom.

- Higher priced than similar cameras with same features.

+ Easy to use, clear menu information, large screen

- None

+ Fantastic image quality and zoom. Very easy to use. Easy to upload photos and videos to computer. Small and not too bulky.

- Could have a few more features. Very expensive.

+ 10 x optical zoom and massive 3" LCD Screen

- Hand book assumes prior knowledge of digital photography

+ Feels robust, easy to use, good features, excellent lens

- Selection knob moves to easily

+ quality video and the zoom capability

- unprotected lcd screen, poor sound quality

+ Overall a great camera, it is easy to use and takes great pictures.

- Only thing I would want different is the batteries. They are special rechargeable batteries so once its dead you have to recharge it, which isn't convinient if your out somewhere.

+ Easy to use
Excellent pictures
Good battery life

- Bigger than pocket size

+ Great Camera. The function to jump straight to full zoom really comes in handy.

- Sometimes slow to focus on AI mode. If one switches to the dedicated modes (Sports) then the camera copes very well.

+ viewing screen good size
easy to hold and view stored pictures
optical enlargement is good

- hopefully none, too early to say.

+ PEasy goingrobably the best camera I've ever had. fabulous!

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Very good zoom for such a small camera!

- None!

+ Fantastic zoom, picture quality is great, easy to use and quick.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ The size is just right,not to small to handle but still fits into pocket.
It's hard to take a bad picture.
The scene modes are realy useful.
Easy to use but enough settings for when you have more time to play.

- position of mic.[easy ot cover with finger]

+ Great little camera. Video is quality to.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Takes very good pictures and has brilliant optical zoom. Very good build although hopefully i wont be dropping it.

- Not found any yet

+ Auto intelligent mode is a great feature really easy to use.The 40 x zoom is fantastic for the size of the camera and not only does it take superb pictures but the video mode is also very good considering its a camera!

- Only 1 bad point i can think of and its the position of the microphone,this can be easily covered by your finger when you are shooting video.

+ image quality,battery life between charges,the amount of zoom,the amount of modes for different situations, for example i bought the camera to take photos of motorcycle racing which it does really well.

- hav'nt come across any yet

+ Ease of use, great optical zoom range, good viewing screen

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Solidly build, excellent point and shoot

- could be better in low light conditions

+ Picture quality, Zoom, wide angle and ease of use.

- Lens cover a bit flimsy, slow shutter reaction in flash mode, proprietary battery means no back up if it runs down on location.