Lumix DMC-TZ1

Ponster

I'm getting a digital camera for my wife before we head out to San Fran for a few weeks this summer.
She's always been a 35mm user until she met me and off hand I can't remember her taking a photo with her camera in over a year now. (used to take and process about 50 per month).

I've been looking at the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 beceuse :

1) She really is just a point and shoot girl with the option of having some preset settings.

2) She's used my Konica Minolta Z5 for over 12 months and finds it 'weird' using a digital camera taht only has a 3x optical zoom. The Z5 has a 12x (420mm) optical and the TZ1 has a 10x which should be just fine.

3) It's a small, slip into your purse camera and not something that needs to have a bag (she has enough of those around her shoulder without needing another ) The lens is fully retractable (unlike my Z5).

4) Optical Image Stabiliser


The only problem is that it doesn't have a viewfinder, of any sort, and while she loves my digital camera, she has always used the electronic viewfinder to frame her shots. She told me that she could get used to living without one but I get the feeling that she'd prefer to haver one after all the years of 35mm. And Panasonic assure it's clients that the LCD is better than good enough to frame and boosts-up in high light situtions.


So the question is....Will she get used to the Lumix and it's large LCD display or should I get another camera that would have everything required but would be that much bigger and bulkier?

311

I like the look of panasonic point and shoot cameras because of the lenses.
Looks like a handy camera to have while walking about on holiday ,great for getting shots at funny angles,without having your face against the camera.
Ideal for a lady who likes her bit of make-up now and again.

( Back again ) Just had a look around on a few sites ,there seems to be issues with that camera and the way it's used in low light shots.
It doesn't seem to be consistant in low light
Brian.

Borderfox

I think most compacts will have issues with low light

311

Borderfox ,check out this photo of the camera
http://www.dcresource.com/images/news/panasonic_021406/TZ_OIS.jpg

The image sensor is in the grip ,this is how the camera is so small ,by the time the light gets there it must be dark.
it gets good results for everything except in low light ,

Brian.

Ponster

Borderfox wrote:

I think most compacts will have issues with low light

Err, yeah but what's your point? That I don't buy a compact for someone who doesn't want an SLR?

311

I think border means ,it's down to whatever camera you like the look of.
I would have gone for that camera myself ,but in reviews it's been pointed out that the battery life is not great either. Probably due to the fact that the screen is big and on all the time.

Personally I don't like the idea of the sensor been so far away from the light.

The only real benefit of a big screen is in low light ,so whats the point.

Brian.

Ponster

It's true that a couple of reviews stated that the battery life wasn't as good as other models in the same range. But in saying that both reviews stated that you could take up to 250 shots, using the LCD, before you needed to change the battery.

It may not be as good as some others but 250 between charges is fine for her

311

It looks like a great camera to use ,sorry for doing an assault on it.
The camera has a macro facility on it aswell i've seen ,for flower shots etc.

Brian.

Ponster

_Brian_ wrote:

It looks like a great camera to use ,sorry for doing an assault on it.

Haha, naa, don't worry.

My wife has used cameras that cost €100 and trid one that cost €700 and found it hard to tell the difference between them. And seeing as it'll be her first she won't be comparing it to much besides my Z5 which, as stated, is'nt great in low light conditions anyhow.

311

best of luck with it ,the zoom looks brilliant for its size.
Let us know how you get on with it,I need to get myself a little PS camera myself soon.

Brian.

Fajitas!

The new Fuji Finepix compact has a top of 3200iso...If she wanted to shoot in low light. Looks like a grand little camera too!

One compact camera that's really being catching my eye lately is the Ricoh GR Digital... Wide angle (28mm) lens and 8.13 megapixels...Might be of interest to someone! (Plus it looks the sh*t!!!)

Ponster

Fajitas! wrote:

The new Fuji Finepix compact has a top of 3200iso...If she wanted to shoot in low light. Looks like a grand little camera too!

One compact camera that's really being catching my eye lately is the Ricoh GR Digital... Wide angle (28mm) lens and 8.13 megapixels...Might be of interest to someone! (Plus it looks the sh*t!!!)

Well the TZ1 has a top ISO of 1600 but tests prove that anything above 400 is too noisy even for the smallest photos.
My camera has an ISO of only 320 yet compared to other digitals it's more like 600.

Isn't ISO a standard that all camaras can be compared against?

Fajitas!

ISO stands for Internation Standards Organisation iirc.

Technically, all ISO's should be the same, but the quality of the sensors are what's making it harder for people to judge.