... As tiny as some digital cameras out there… the Panasonic Lumix TZ1. Price tag there: about £400. That calmed me down straight away… Although, it never left my mind…
So once back in London, I browse the net for reviews about that camera, and prices, and I found it for about £250! Therefore, ... Read review
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requirements. Secure Digital Cards are used in a wide variety of portable electronic devices like internet music players, smart phones and digital camcorders. In order to support this wide range of applications, the Secure Digital Card interface protocol is designed for maximum scalability and configurability. All device and interface configuration data (e.g. maximum frequency, supported modes of operation, memory size, card ID, etc.) will be stored on the Secure Digital Card card. A high performance 9 pin serial interface (SPI) allows for easy integration into any design, regardless of microprocessor utilized.
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Advantages: Huge lens for small camera Disadvantages: haven't found many
...digital cameras out there… the Panasonic Lumix TZ1. Price tag there: about £400. That calmed me down straight away… Although, it never left my mind…
So once back in London, I browse the net for reviews about that camera, and prices, and I found it for about £250! Therefore, the Panasonic went up in my list of (unneeded but wanted) list.
WHERE DID I BUY IT?
***************************
I bought it on shopping4cameras.com, ... ...technical data I found on Panasonic website.
BATTERY LIFE
********************
Well, I was just astonished. I just charged the battery once fully since I have it! It lasts ages, and you have many options to tweak to save even more power (time your LCD screen stays on etc). It also recharges super quickly, in about 2-3 hours!!!
SOUNDS
*************
The camera has some sound effects, ... more
BACKGROUND ******************** I haven't thought about digital cameras for a long time (after I got my Konica Minolta dimage Z1 reviewed at this URL: http://www.ciao.co.uk/Minolta_DiMAGE_Z1__Review_5433573/SortOrder/5). I was so happy with the quality of the pictures I took with this camera, that getting a new one was out of my mind; I've always been told that big lenses = great quality pictures, which was confirmed by my Minolta… Although, big lenses = big camera, which is a pain in itself… I am an avid fan of concerts, and "sneak" a camera in is always a tough job with the Minolta.
Then, a few months back, as I was walking in an airport duty-free, I saw a digital camera, big lens, but compact. As tiny as some digital cameras out there… the Panasonic Lumix TZ1. Price tag there: about £400. That calmed me down straight away… Although, it never left my mind… So once back in London, I browse the net for reviews about that camera, and prices, and I found it for about £250! Therefore, the Panasonic went up in my list of (unneeded but wanted) list.
WHERE DID I BUY IT? *************************** I bought it on shopping4cameras.com, because it was the cheaper I found. I paid £250 for it (including a 3-year extended warrantee) in August 2006. Today, on the 11/10/06 it costs £129.66 (bastards!) with the 3 year extension warrantee, £199 without.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? ********************************** A camera. Yes, a camera. It comes in 2 colours, silver (which I got) and black (for a tenner more). Although I heard it get scratched easily, and it is silver below. Don't expect women to throw their bras or knickers at you when you show the camera. For me they did, but that's normal, it's me.
To come back to the camera, it is fairly small, and could fit in a jeans pocket (however, expect some genital area discomfort). But compared to the Dimage, it is super small (trying to fit the dimage in jeans' pocket might be used as a castrating tool in some countries that still use the technique). I have been told that when choosing a camera, you need to consider the lens' size, and the Lumix TZ1 is the the smallest camera with that sort of lens in the world.. The size is 112 x 58.1 x 40.2 mm (4.4 x 2.3 x 1.6 inches) , and the weight approximately 262g.without batteries or recording media.
FIRST CONTACT WITH THE CAMERA ******************************************** Well, open your hand and grab it dammit! The camera is fairly ergonomic. It fits nicely in every hand, and it is fairly easy to use. The controls and dials are laid out for clear, intuitive operation. The screen is very clear (2.5" with angle mode). It hasn't got too many buttons, so it is easy to take your first pictures without reading the instructions (and I am a muppet in digital photography, so…). However, if you want to use the full potential of the camera, I advice to read the instruction manual, which is clear and complete.
The menus are very understandable and easy to explore.
WHAT DO I GET WHEN I BUY IT? *************************************** You get: - The Lumix TZ1 - Battery charger and battery (very good life span) - Lens Cap - AV Cable - USB Connection cable - AC Cable - CD-ROM - Strap
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO BUY EXTRA ********************************************* Well, the case. I got one for £10 in a Currys
You also should buy an extra battery, as it is always annoying when your battery run out in the middle of a concert or just before you want to take a pic..
And finally I you should invest in a SD card.
OK OK, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CAMERA??? **************************************************** Well, I am fully satisfied. It is easy to use, the pictures are great…
The LUMIX TZ1 is a super-compact, 5.0 megapixel with a massive 10x optical zoom. Other features include a large 2.5" LCD monitor and Optical Image Stabilizer. The lens is a LEICA which are meant to be the best around.
10x Optical Zoom The DMC-TZ1 is equipped with a 10x optical zoom (equivalent to a 35mm-350mm zoom on a 35mm film camera) lens in a compact, easy-to-carry body. This powerful zoom lets you easily capture and magnify subjects in distant locations, and also produces impressive photos with soft-focused backgrounds. The zoom lens crystallizes Panasonic's optics technology, using 3 aspherical lenses to achieve compactness and boost optical performance.
The 10x zoom ratio can be extended up to 12.5x in 3-Megapixel image recording mode with minimal deterioration, by intentionally using the central part of the CCD. This powerful zooming function allows you not only to easily capture and magnify subjects in distant locations, but also to take impressionable photos with soft-focused backgrounds.
There is also a 4x digital zoom, which can extend your zooming to 40x (optical + digital)MEGA O.I.S. Blurred images have two main causes. One is hand-shake, and the other is subject movement. Since the majority of blurry images are due to hand-shake, MEGA O.I.S. is effective in most shooting situations, such as zoom shots, dimly lit indoor shots, nighttime shots, or macro shots. However, when taking indoor shots of moving subjects, like children or pets, the movement of the subject tends to cause blurring. Here, you can use high sensitivity shooting to prevent hazy motion effects and get great photos every time. The anti handshake feature is great and works well. And the high sensivity too. I took some really nice pics in concert (dark venues), even when zooming!High Sensitivity TZ1 allows shooting at a manually adjustable sensitivity setting of up to ISO 800 in full resolution, thanks to the greatly improved noise reduction levels which are achieved by the separate detection of both chromatic and luminance noise by the newly developed high performance image processor, the Venus Engine III.2.5" LCD with High Angle Mode The large 2.5" LCD monitor has a total of 207,000 pixels, which gives it high resolution. The difference is easy to see, with much greater clarity, both when shooting and during playback. The High Angle Mode makes the display extremely easy to view from bottom angle, for example, when taking photos raising a hand upward to shoot the subject over the crowd (YAY for concerts. I have used this feature, and it works a treat!). This option can be set instantly by the independent button. Mode Dial/Scene Mode The mode dial makes it easy to take great shots in almost any situation. Or choose Simple Mode and just point and shoot. A variety of scene modes settings optimize baby portraits, food picture, landscapes, night scenes and many more; you have a preset for almost any situation (almost too much if you ask me), but you get 2 spaces on the little wheel on top of the camera to store your 2 favourite scene mode. For example, I set the "landscape" on one, and "portrait" on the other. I was not too interested in taking pics of food or underwater (as I don't dive)… Of course, this is tweakable, so you can assign whatever you want. I think they could have afforded to add a few more spaces to store a few more scene modes… For the people who want more technical info about this camera, I attached the technical data I found on Panasonic website.
BATTERY LIFE ******************** Well, I was just astonished. I just charged the battery once fully since I have it! It lasts ages, and you have many options to tweak to save even more power (time your LCD screen stays on etc). It also recharges super quickly, in about 2-3 hours!!!
SOUNDS ************* The camera has some sound effects, which can be turned off if wished. There is little sounds when you move in the menus, take a picture of switch on / off the camera. There is no use, just to show off (or annoy other people). I personally turned them off.
MEMORY CARD ******************** This camera uses the SD cards (secure digital). They are fairly cheap nowadays, you can get a 2GB for under £20 (7dayshop.com, see my review!). With a 1GB, you can store about 450 pictures in high quality, and about 12 minutes of video in high quality (I use the lower quality for videos, and it is good enough for me, and I can shoot 30 min), You can double the amounts of pictures in lower quality.
CONS ********* So far one thing I noticed is that sometimes the video feature behaves funny. Some videos are cut just after starting once downloaded onto the PC... This might be caused by me, but I am not sure... I'll have to look into that more. Although, this happened only twice, the rest of the videos were fine. I'll try to update that.CONCLUSION ******************* I would definitely recommend this camera for the people with low budget, willing to get good quality stuff. I personally enjoy using this camera, and I am fully pleased with it. The pictures I've taken are fantastic. I will attach some in the next few days.
MORALE ************ Apparently, if you wear rubber soled shoes when stroke by lightening, the electricity will go out through your rectum, leaving you with severe burns in the anal area.
Thanks for reading...
J
For the techno geeks, here are the specs:
Dimensions (W x H x D) Approx. 112 x 58.1 x 40.2 mm (4.41 x 2.29 x 1.58 inch) Weight Approx.262g with Battery and SD Memory Card (0.58lb) Camera Effective Pixels 5.0 Megapixels Image Sensor 1/2.5inch, 6.37 Mega Total Pixels CCD Optical Zoom 10x Focal Distance f=5.2-52mm (35mm Equiv.: 35-350mm) Lens LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT Optical Image Stabilizer MEGA O.I.S. (Mode1 / Mode2) Focusing Area Normal: Wide 40cm/ Tele 200cm - infinity, Macro/Simple/Motion image :wide 5cm/Tele 100cm - infinity AF Metering 1point/1point high speed/3 point high speed/9 point/Spot Focus Auto Focus System, Normal/Macro (Dial), Continuous AF On/Off AF Assist Lamp Yes ISO Sensitivity Auto/80/100/200/400/800 (High Sensitvity Mode : 800 / 1600) White Balance Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Halogen / White Set White Balance Adjustment ( 150K step, -1500 - +1500 K) (Except for Auto set) Exposure Program AE Exposure Compensation 1/3 EV step, -2 - +2 EV Backlight Compensation Yes (at Simple mode) Auto (AE) Bracketing +/- 1/3 EV -1EV step, 3 frames Light Metering Intelligent Multiple/ Center Weighted/ Spot Scene Mode Dial: Simple, Normal image, Macro, SCN1, SCN2 (Portrait, Soft Skin, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Self-portrait, Food, Party, Candle, Fireworks, Starry Sky, Beach, Aerial photo, Snow, High Sensitivity, Baby1, Baby2, Underwater) motion image, Playback Shutter Speed 8-1/2000 sec (Starry Sky Mode : 15, 30, 60sec) Self Timer 10 sec / 2sec Auto Review 1sec / 3sec / Zoom Review 1x / 4x / 8x Colour Effect Mode Cool, Warm, Black #38; White, Sepia Recording Format Still Image: JPEG (Design rule for Camera File system, based on Exif 2.2 standard), DPOF corresponding image with audio: JPEG (Design rule for Camera File system, based on Exif2.2 standard) and QuickTime, Motion image: QuickTime Motion JPEG Recording Image Size Still Image: 4:3 Aspect Ratio: 2560 x 1920 pixels, 2048 x 1536 pixels, 1600 x 1200 pixels, 1280 x960 pixels, 640 x 480 pixels, 3:2 Aspect Ratio: 2560 x 1712 pixels, 2048 x 1360 pixels, 16:9 Aspect Ratio: 2560 x 1440 pixels, 1920 x 1080 pixels, Motion Image: 4:3 Aspect Ratio: 640 x 320 pixels, 320 x 240 pixels, 16:9 Aspect Ratio: 848 x 480 pixels Image Quality Fine / Standard Motion Image :3 Aspect Ratio] 640 x 480 pixels, 320x240 pixels 30 fps, 10 fps, 16:9 Aspect Ratio] 848 x 480 pixels 30 fps, 10 fps,Max. recording time depends on the memory card capacity Burst Shooting Mode Full-Resolution Image, 3 frames/sec or 2 frames/sec Full-resolution: Max. 5 images (Standard mode), Max. 3 images (Fine Mode) Unlimited consecutive shooting Yes Still Image Rec. with Audio 5 sec Audio Dubbing Max. 10sec Real-time Histogram Yes Guide Line Yes Flip Animation Yes Economy Mode Yes Built-in-Flash Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced On/Off LCD Monitor 2.5 inch Polycrystalline TFT LCD Display (207K Pixels) Power LCD mode, High angle mode Playback mode 25-thumbnail display, 9-thumbnail display, Calendar Display, zoomed playback (16x max.) Image Rotation, Slide show (duration is adjustable, also manual controllable), Playback of favorite pictures, Resizing (selectable number of pixels), trimming, protection, DPOF print setting OSD Language English,German,French,Italian,Spanish,Polish,Czech,Hungarian,Japanese Recording Media Built-in Memory, SD Memory Card, MultiMediaCard Microphone Yes Speaker Yes Interface DC Input, AV Output (NTSC/PAL), USB Direct Print PictBridge Power Li-ion Battery Pack (3.7V, 1000mAh) (Included) AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC) (Optional) Battery life (approx.) 250 pictures (CIPA Standard) Included Software LUMIX Simple Viewer, PhotofunStudio -viewer-, ArcSoft PhotoBase, ArcSoft PhotoImpression, ArcSoft Panorama Maker, USB Driver Standard Accessories Battery Charger, Battery Pack, Lens Cap, AV Cable, USB Connection Cable, AC Cable, Strap, CD-ROM
Advantages: Attractive design, clean layout. Conforms to hand well. Disadvantages: Weak audio recording (8 bit, 8 Khz, Mono).
...digital cameras was slowing down, Panasonic keeps driving forward. Well i do not own this camera .my Sister owns it and i tried using it and found it very interesting .With a volume of 16 cu. inches, it surpasses the Coolpix S4 (16.6) as the smallest ultra zoom camera. Held before by the Olympus C-770 (26.6) which I also own. Even at full zoom the lens extends out only 0.55" (14 mm). I'd recommend visiting the Panasonic product website as they have ... ...would have been nice if Panasonic had built-in a better video codec, like MPEG4 to keep the file size down. If you're inclined, save the video to your computer and run it through an encoder such as Windows Media Encoder or QuickTime 7. You can shrink down the 20 minute video to ~150 MB without much loss in video quality. Granted this does require a CPU with some horsepower. The tradeoff with the lens design is that it does not have a wide range of ...
shashidhar_l1234 01.05.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1
Advantages: 10x optical zoom, OIS Disadvantages: large file size when taking video
...this Camera I owned the Panasonic LZ3 so when I accidentally dropped that camera breaking the lens, I knew that I would purchase another Panasonic as I had been in love with my old camera.
I know the Panasonics are not all that small and don't fit easily into a woman's pants pocket, but you can't expect such a small size with a 10x optical zoom.
I based my decision to buy this camera on the following functions:
*10x optical Zoom
*Optical Image ... ...a challenge as they rarely hold still, but thanks to O.I.S. I haven't had many blurred photos)
*movie recording mode with sound
*ability to zoom in and out while filming
I use it mostly as a 'point and shoot' and rarely change the settings. But I go to lots of concerts and love the fact that this camera takes quite good pictures in low light situations(with the flash turned off and in 'high sensitivity' mode
There are a few things that might ...
Rienchen 15.07.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1
Advantages: Zoom, lens quality, OIS, very robust Disadvantages: Not a lot.
I've been using this camera for over a year and I love it. I don't have a great track record with cameras - I'm clumsy, I drop them, bash them around. This camera has withstood a LOT of abuse - the robust metal body just takes it.
Photo quality is very good, colours come out pretty accurately and the optical image stabiliser works well, although at full zoom image quality is less good (as I would expect, really)
Macro photos are again very good, ... ...again, not a problem because with this number of pixels and the lens quality, you can crop in quite successfully.
It's not the most petite compact camera in the world, but then again most compacts don't do what this camera will do - it fits in a jeans/jacket pocket easily enough though, and as a result I tend to carry this camera with me at all times.
The preset 'programs' on the camera work well and you can usually find one to use for any eventuality. ...
fuzzyfelt 28.12.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1
Advantages: Compact, durable, high quality images, good size, easy to navigate Disadvantages: images may appear pixilated when taken in high sensitivity mode
...then i would recommend the panasonic lumix range. I purchased this camera at Christmas 2006 and I've found it does everything I wanted it to and more. The screen is a good size, though with the high sensitive images mode on pictures appear sharper than they may actually be, and it's a pocketable, or at least baggable, size itself. The battery life is very good and the charger is compact, lightweight and easily replaceable online (unfortunately i ...
slinky_crazy 21.05.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1
Picture Quality
Range & Quality of Feat...
Ease of Use
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The PanasonicLumixDMC-TZ5 was announced in January 2008, THE earlier model LumixDMC-TZ3 was also really successful. The earlier TZ3 was no doubt the perfect travel camera,a pocketable compact camera.which had 10x optical zoom lens complete with image stabilisation and a 3inch wide screen. It was one of the hit 2007.
the new PANASONICLUMIXDMC-TZ5EB-K is no different,with its 9.1-megapixel having 28mm wide angle 10 optical zoom.the product offes immence clearity of image with amazing resolution .in comparison to other cameras of its range this one surely wins the race.its really easy to operate it .its surely value for money.
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Product Information for "Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1" »
Connections
Connector Type
1 x USB
1 x composite video/audio output
1 x DC power input, 1 x USB
1 x DC power input
1 x composite video/audio output
Expansion Slot(s)
1 x SD Memory Card
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Listed on Ciao since
15/07/2006
Manufacturer's product description
The world's first integration of retractive lens with folded optics technology allows the zooming to occur horizontally within the camera. This makes it possible to pack a powerful 10x optical zoom (equivalent to a big 35 to 350mm lens on a 35mm camera) into a compact camera. The Extended Optical Zoom function, which magnifies the image with minimal deterioration by using the center part of the high-resolution CCD, boosts the zoom power to a maximum 12.5x2. The Venus Engine III provides a high sensitivity ISO 800 setting that captures images with minimal noise at full resolution. The higher ISO setting lets you use higher shutter speeds to minimize the motion blur that can occur when you're shooting a moving subject, particularly in dim lighting. Even indoors, you can get crisp, clear, beautiful shots of children, pets and other subjects that won't hold still. Choose from several auto focus modes - spot, 1-point (normal or high-speed), 3-point high-speed, and 9-point - to suit the scene you're shooting. The DMC-TZ1 also introduces a new Linear AF system, which has resulted in the achievement of an industry-leading fast auto focusing time. Not only the speed but also the noise of the motor is reduced and even the zooming while recording motion image is possible. Combined with a startup time of merely 0.95 seconds, this fast focusing lets you catch every shooting opportunity. Plus, the AF Assist Lamp helps when focusing in dimly lit places. Thanks to the Venus Engine III, the DMC-TZ1 has a release time lag as low as 0.006 seconds. The DMC-TZ1 can also fire off consecutive shots at a swift 3 frames per second, and offers Unlimited Consecutive Shooting, so you can keep shooting until the SD Memory Card or built-in memory is full.
Size, weight, ease of use, zoom capabilities. 
