By Damian Koh
31/03/2006
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/digitalcameras/0,39005881,39098162p,00.htm

If the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 sounds unfamiliar to you--it probably is. First in the series, the TZ1 is marketed as a "perfect travel companion" targeted at users who want to have a compact camera with megazoom (10x optical) capabilities. But before you dismiss it as another shooter that adds weight to your luggage, this unit is, in fact, small enough to be packed into your hand carry bag. Find out if the TZ1 performed in our tests.

Design
Like siblings in the same family, the TZ1 bears a close resemblance to the recent Lumix models--including a familiar menu design layout and configuration of the camera's buttons. In additional, the TZ1 achieves a more spartan look due to a larger chassis but without additional keys on the rear estate of the unit.

	The TZ1 provides a decent handgrip.

However, we had mixed feelings about the TZ1. On the one hand, we liked how the unit gives a firm and sturdy feel with a larger body and decent handgrip. Yet on the other, we didn't care for the removable lens cap that has to be attached to the strap eyelet in case the cover goes missing. That said, this saves on battery life since the camera need not waste energy powering up the lens.

The mode dial and zoom lever along the top edge of the camera are easily reached with the thumb and index fingers, respectively, but we cannot say the same for the rest of the controls on the back of the unit. We recommend using both hands when changing settings on the rear of the shooter.

Pressing up on the directional keys brings you to the exposure compensation and auto bracketing option; down reviews the last picture taken. Hitting right alternates between the various flash settings and left allows you to set a 2- or 10-second timer.

The bottom right edge of the camera houses a compartment for the Lithium-ion battery and memory card. A tripod receptacle can be found on the left end just under the Leica lens.

To satisfy the palates of the fashion-conscious, the TZ1 is available in black, blue and silver. Not all colors will be available, though, depending on the country the unit is purchased in.

Features
Panasonic claims that the 5-megapixel TZ1 is the world's smallest digicam (for 1-megapixel digital still cameras or higher, as of February 14, 2006) with a 10x (35-to-350mm, 35mm equivalent) optical zoom. When taking 3-megapixel pictures, the 10x zoom can be extended to 12.5x--much like what most users would do to a high-megapixel image and crop out the unnecessary background to achieve a zooming effect.

Editors' note: The TZ1 was erroneously reported as having a 35-to-105mm lens. The correct focal distance should be 35-to-350mm.

	The calendar display shows which days you have taken pictures.

The TZ1 features a retractable lens system with folded optics aided by the inclusion of a prism. In addition, the company includes three aspherical lenses to achieve a 10x optical zoom. Whether the inclusion of folded optics technology will affect image quality will be revealed later in the review.

If one's not enough, two should do the trick. Panasonic has incorporated a two-fold system for battling both hand shake and subject movement. Traditional to previous Lumixes, the TZ1 features the MEGA O.I.S. and a new high-sensitivity setting (up to ISO 1,600) that allows users to shoot at a faster shutter speed. For more information on the dual-image stabilization system, see our previous review on the Lumix DMC-FX01. Unlike the FX01 which offers user-selectable sensitivity levels of up to ISO 400, the TZ1 goes the extra mile at ISO 800.

However, for both the TZ1 and FX01, the High Sensitivity scene mode pushes the limits of the ISO setting up to a maximum of ISO 1,600. The catch is that image resolution suffers as a result. The TZ1 uses the pixel-mixed readout method which combines several neighboring pixels to form a single unit with much higher sensitivity. This method effectively reduces the resolution of the image, but since we were still able to take ISO 1,600 pictures at 5 megapixels, it must mean that some form of interpolation has taken place during the processing. As with all kinds of digital manipulation, there will be a loss of details.

The TZ1 offers two additional scene modes--Beach and Aerial--over the FX01's High Sensitivity and Underwater settings. The Beach mode favors shooting under strong sunlight and the Aerial mode should delight travelers who love to snap through the airplane window. However, we would advise users to comply with safety precautions onboard the plane by turning off all electronic devices during takeoff and landing.

	A graphical world map shows 74 destinations around the world.

Marketed as a companion for the traveler, the TZ1 allows a user to select the local time of their destination (a total of 74 cities around the world) via a graphical world map interface--quite a comprehensive compilation we have to say. In addition, you can set the departure date during a trip. What this means is you can view your pictures according to which day it was taken in that particular journey. For faster picture browsing, there's also a calendar display which shows which days you have taken photos and which days you haven't.

You can select from two aspect ratios when shooting movies: VGA (640 x 480 pixels) and wide-aspect (848 x 480 pixels)--both offering a 30fps rate. When in the video mode, the optical image stabilization is set to Mode 1 (always on) by default. You can also zoom when shooting motion images, a feature which is not readily available in most compact digicams.

Other features include the High Angle LCD option which allows viewing/framing of pictures at difficult overhead angles--good if you have a preference for shooting top-down images. In addition, there's also a Power LCD function where the brightness of the screen will increase to facilitate taking and framing of pictures in ambient surroundings.

What was missing on this model which we would really liked to have seen are manual (aperture- and shutter-priority) functions. It may not be an apple-to-apple comparison, but the major differences between the TZ1 and the FX01, other than size, are the 10x optical zoom and some extra handy functions for traveling.

Performance
Not the fastest compact camera we've seen to date, the TZ1 powered up within 1.5 seconds. Shutting down the camera until all activity ceases took slightly faster at 1.2 seconds. Time to first shot (without flash) averaged 2 seconds. And you can shoot every 1.9 seconds (without flash) thereafter. With forced flash, it took longer at 3.5 seconds. Expect to wait even more (4 seconds) between pictures if you enable the red-eye reduction.

We felt the burst mode on the TZ1 was somewhat choked up because we could capture only three frames in Fine quality for both high-speed (1.3 seconds) and low-speed (1.7 seconds) settings. Decreasing the quality to Standard will allow you to snap an additional two frames. Alternatively, you can shoot continuously at 1.65fps until your finger cramps or your memory card runs out of capacity. For our tests, we used Imation's ultra high-speed Secure Digital card.

It was agonizing to watch the zoom bar on the camera's LCD move from 1x to 2x, which we timed at 1.4 seconds. That might seem like a short time, but it's ages if you consider that it took only 2.6 seconds to move from wide to telephoto (10x optical zoom). At a 3-megapixel resolution, the camera needed approximately 3 seconds to achieve the maximum 12.5x optical zoom.

Image Quality
Overall, image quality from the Lumix TZ1 was acceptable though colors turned out to be slightly muted in some of our pictures. We didn't have significant problems with purple fringing, though blooming could be noticed in some heavy backlit images.

	Noise was an issue at ISO 800.

The Auto White Balance setting worked fine most of the time, though there's an option for users to custom set the white balance in more challenging environments. We didn't have any issue with the flash but we won't recommend shooting at close proximity to your subject with it because chances are your images will get blown out.

Noise, however, was an issue especially beyond the ISO 800 range. Though it was still relatively contained between the selectable ISO 80 and ISO 400, we've seen other compact cameras performing better.

Editors' note: We will be conducting further tests on the issue below with another unit and will update this review once we have the results.

It could be an issue only with our review unit, but even with the Rotate Display on, our portrait images always turned out upside down. Either we had to switch off the function, or review our pictures with the camera upside down as well.