Best Rating Panasonic Lumix TZ20 Digital Camera – Silver (14.1MP MOS, 16x Optical Zoom) 3 inch Touchscreen LCD – Review
- Super Zoom Camera TZ20 – Photo / Movie Hybrid Compact Camera with Powerful 16x Optical Zoom
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Panasonic DMCTZ20 3D Camera Silver 14MP 16xZoom 30 Smart LCD FHD 24mm Leica DC DMCTZ20EBS Cameras Digital Cameras
List Price: £369.99
Impressive in both photos and videos,
I bought this as an alternative to my digital SLR when I didn’t want the inconvenience of lugging the SLR and lenses around or my wife had already laid claim to my SLR!I have only had it for 3 weeks but I have carried out a number of tests in various situations.
Having read a number of informed reviews, I chose this camera on the basis that whilst the image quality might be poor at low light levels,this would have little effect on the type of photos I take and would be amply compensated for by the host of features. For me it was the right choice.I am very impressed with the camera.
Now for the detail
First- deivery; delivered 2 days after ordering and 1 day before esimated date and well packaged.
Second-I have read much criticism about the poor image quality at low light levels that thought I would get this out of the way early on.I have deliberately experimented with photos in different lighting conditions, including sunshine,cloudy,very overcast, evening and dusk.Sunshine and cloudy were excellent, even when compared with similar photos from my SLR.The only photo I considered poor was the one taken at dusk, and that was of a dark subject. The sort of picture I would not normally take.These were all viewed on my computer on a 24″ monitor at 100% view.The resolution is very sharp, very good colours and exposure is spot on. In short, for 99% of the pictures I am likely to take the quality will be somewhere between excellent and good.
There is more to a camera than image quality. It should be convenient to use for point and shoot situations, enjoyable to use and reliable. I cannot comment on the last at the moment, but for the first 2 it ticks all the boxes.
I have not had time to check out all the features yet, but a brief mention of those I have
Zoom – fast zoom and the touch-screen zoom is easy to control with fast and slow settings. The excellent image-stabiliser means there is no camera shake even on full zoom-amazing.
Intelligent automatic- takes the automatic setting to a new level and works well
LCD- resolution is good but still difficult to see in bright sunlight despite the special setting to increase brightness; oh for an optical viewfinder!
GPS-not convinced about this
Controls- generally easy to access and the Quick menu is really useful.
Touchscreen-I’m glad that the touch-screen controls are an alternative to traditional controls. I use the touch-screen for zoom and focusing (very useful for this) and zooming on playback but not much else. Maybe I will use them more in time!
Video-quality is excellent and it is easy to switch from photo to video.
To summarise,I feel it is a very impressive camera and at Amazon prices (and the Panasonic cash-back) you get a lot of camera for your money.
In fact, for my next holiday I am seriously contemplating leaving the SLR and camcorder at home and just taking my one small camera.
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|Using the TZ-20,
I bought this item with a certain amount of trepidation in view of some of the reviews online, but I wanted that Leica zoom lens. I need not have worried. The camera is superb in almost every respect. The pictures I get are clear, sharp, colourful and lend themselves easily to printing at A4 (I haven’t tried larger as my printer is limited to A4!)without any sign of problems. The zoom range is fantastic for such a small camera and the wide-angle is wider than on most other cameras. The image stabilizer is really useful in windy conditions when you are trying to do a handheld shot standing still, the images are pinsharp. The exposure control for bracketing is really useful, so is the autofocus tracking. Time from switch on to first picture take is very quick and when you press the shutter button it takes the picture, you don’t have to wait! I have also tried the movie option and that is good in HD mode and has taken some great clips of model railways in darkish halls at the shows. If you want a downside – the GPS facility, whilst useful is a trifle slow; so you need to give it time to find location before taking a shot – no problem with landscapes, but less useful if you need to make a quick snap. In short BUY IT, in my opinion it is fabulous for a compact camera.
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|NO REGRETS,
Having previously owned a TZ7 camera, I was keen to acquire the very latest addition to this range of cameras. My handsome blue TZ20 arrived timeously, and I was soon studying the accompanying booklet and scouring the web for appropriate tutorials. While it’s wonderful to understand just what your camera can do, the honest truth (in my case) is that the camera is set to ‘Auto’ for 99% of the time, and all the accompanying sophistication is largely redundant.
The camera takes excellent photogaphs – which is the number one priority. The ‘movie’ option works really well, and I was very impressed by the quality of the ‘shoots’. The ‘zoom’ on the camera (both for photos and movies) is frighteningly good, and really does make a big difference to certain situations. The old TZ7 had a facility called a ‘Clipboard’, which was really just an option which would take low quality photos of such things as posters, timetables, labels etc. which would serve as an aide memoire. Clipboard information wasn’t naturally deleted with the main photo collection, and would remain until their purpose was no longer required. I found this useful, and while photos can still be taken of any useful information, it was reassuring to have it all contained in it’s own safe haven. There must be a good reason why this was deemed a good idea a couple of years ago, but has now been ditched.
The camera has a touchscreen option which is very impressive. However, this is something else that (once the novelty wears off) I no longer bother with. There is a nifty shortcut facility to the main control adjustments, and now that I can remember how it works, I find this very useful. There is also a 3D facility, but I suspect this will be of little interest to the majority of users. Another goody that appealed to me about the camera, was the GPS facility. It is a useful addition, BUT, it does seem to take an age to activate, AND, it seldom gives a precise location by name – though it does take you close enough to the location to at least remember what you were photographing. So far, I’m also finding it a bit laborious piddling around with maps on the internet to find the location. I’ve no doubt I’ll get the hang of it in due course, but meanwhile I often find it more trouble than it’s worth.
Before committing myself to this camera, I had a good look at all the options in the market place, but decided to stick with Panasonic and a quality ‘pocket’ camera. If I’m honest, the only regret I may have, is that I didn’t settle for purchasing the TZ18 model, which has most of the attributes of this one, but is now considerably cheaper now that it is no longer the ‘latest’. However, it really is a cracking little camera, and perhaps once I get truly intimate with all it has to offer, I’ll appreciate it all the more.
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