sevenich

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Better than CNET's Editors Choice for this category

Mar 10, 2009

Rating: 9 out of 10 (Spectacular)
Pros: Powerful zoom, superb image quality, no-frills interface, good battery life, good HD video
Cons: A bit heavy due made of metal and made in JAPAN (not a con)
Opinion:
This is my second Lumix cameera, the first one being FZ7. Photography experts of DPReview rated this camera highly recommended so I thought - gee, I better go take a look.

The build is solid, metal all around. The lens barrel and structure feels solid and larger than most point-and-shoot cameras. The LCD screen is fantastic, providing good detail under any lighting condition.

Image quality is clean and crisp. I alternate from iA mode and the semi-automatic mode where I can adjust ISO, exposure, etc. All the time I get pleasing photos. Noise is usually low without totally sacrificing details. HD video is also very good, allowing me to zoom in and out during video recording.

Image stabilizer handles the lens very well even at maximum 10x zoom. This has probably one of the best stabilizing technology in the market today. I use Mode 1 for video and Mode 2 for still, the manual explains the difference between the two in case you want to know more.

Flash power proves adequate even in dark surroundings, for as long as subjects are not too far out of course. Battery life is very decent - I half-filled up a 4gb SDHC on single charge doing night photography.

Panasonic is setting the bar so high in this category that even camera leaders like Canon and Nikon are playing catch up. Don't get me wrong, I own a Canon DSLR and it's a great camera. But for p&s digicams, Lumix today is king of the hill. The TZ5 and its younger cousin LX3 are category killers indeed!