Product Description

Featuring a 28mm Wide Angle lens & 10x Optical Zoom, the Panasonic Lumix TZ5 is the ideal travelling companion. Fit wide landscapes into the palm of your hand - with up to 32GB SDHC compatibility, that's thousands of landscapes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10848 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Panasonic
• Model: DMC-TZ5EB-K
• Released on: 2008-04-27
• Dimensions: 1.98 pounds
• Display size: 3

Manufacturer's Description
Panasonic is pleased to introduce Lumix digital camera, 9.1-megapixel DMC-TZ5, featuring a 28mm wide-angle 10x optical zoom Leica DC lens (equivalent to 28-280mm on a 35mm film camera). The 28mm wide angle lens captures the subject and the scene wider at the same standpoint than normal 35mm camera does and you can zoom in or out to magnify a distant subject when desired with the 10x optical zoom.The Intelligent Auto mode, which comprises various shooting-assist functions, has been advanced for the DMC-TZ5 by newly adding the Intelligent Exposure feature and Digital Red-eye. The high-performance image-processing LSI has newly entered its fourth generation, to be reborn as Venus Engine IV to assure higher-quality pictures with an advanced signal processing system.The DMC-TZ5 is renowned for packaging a remarkable 28mm wide angle 10x optical zoom lens in a compact body. Notably, the DMC-TZ5 newly integrates the capability of recording 720pHD (high-definition) motion pictures together with its direct output function allowing users to enjoy watching both still and motion pictures in impressive HD quality on a large-screen HDTV via an optional component cable.The DMC-TZ5 boasts Intelligent LCD function, which detects the lighting condition and controls the brightness level of the LCD in 11 fine steps, to offer a display with most appropriate clarity in any situations with newly developed 460,000-dot high resolution in 3.0-inch. Black Model: DMC-TZ4EB-K, Silver Model: DMC-TZ4EB-S

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

My review of the Panasonic Lumix TZ5
This was my 'upgrade' to a now very low spec 3.1 mp Pentax Optio. To say it bluntly I was impresssed from the moment I switched it on. The TZ5, the supersceded model to the TZ3 carries a 'winning formula' from its predesessor. The TZ5 is difficult to flaw, the camera is very easy to use. I was whizzing around the options within minutes and the settings are very clear and understandable. One of my favourite features has to be the e.zoom button by the shot button. From the 1st press of this button the camera goes straight to a 10x optical zoom without having to do it using the manual control along the ring of the shoot button. This e.zoom button allows you to capture somthing in the distances with ease and speed, whether a passing celebrity or wildlife. Press the button again and it will go to a 17x digital zoom also very impressive given the overall distance you are trying to achieve taking these shots with 3 mp. The stability on this camera is also very impressive, it makes you think why ever need a tripod for a digital?

With regards to the picture quality, the 9 mega pixels along with the auto 'iso' sensitivity produces images which will give some SLRs a run for thier money. This is in my opinion the ideal travel camera, when you are abroad its ideal when compared to an SLR or semi-SLRs in terms of its 'carryibility' and ease of use. What is also equally impressive is the qaulity of the screen, very clear and vibrant, this will play back your images and video clips in good qaulity for you to admire. For a novice photographer this is definately a good starting platform, this camera will in my opinion inspire the user to take creative shots that will fail to dissapoint.

The battery life is equally impressive, capable of taking up to around 300 shots on one charge the camera is truly flawless for a compact it simply has to be one of the best out there. Despite the size being larger than some of the slimmer competitors on the market, a majority do not in my opinion pack as much of a punch as this will.

I have not used the video but with this being the only compact on the market so far with recording and play back facilities at 720p, I consider this to be more than sufficient to capture your movies where ever you are. The Lumix series are overall very impressive and this has to be one of its front runners.

Overall I rate the TZ5 5 *****

Excellent all rounder - with latest firmware
We bought this a couple of weeks ago to provide a smaller alternative to our Nikon D40X DLSR. Our criteria were fast response time, SDHC and small size. Looking around, we found the DMC-TZ5 and the 10x zoom and HD video sealed it for us.

We took it home and the pictures were OK, but the auto zoom didn't lock at times. A quick google search later and we found v1.2 of the firmware from Panasonic, after a quick flash the camera is transformed.

It records decent video (With sound being recorded at 5m away!) and will suffice for 85-90% of your needs. My main gripe is the tendency to switch red-eye on and/or change the picture setting in iA mode which sometimes means that you will sometimes miss pictures of the kids running. This can be resolved by switching to Normal mode and having a play (I recommend setting ISO Max400 and auto flash without redeye for best results) but this is a great camera which will do most of what you will want/need for family pics and outside.

In short, there are better cameras for image better, but few better for having everything in one package - the Nikon is not the normal camera we use anymore and that should say something! :)

Great all round camera
I bought this after owning/using several other cameras. I wanted something smallish I could carry around that would give me enough versatility to allow the SLR to stay at home.

In the shop it was up against the Canon G9. I took some pictures with both and the one that required the least effort to get a good shot was the TZ5.

The winning factors were:

Very good image stabilization
Excellent lens and zoom range
Great screen
Good build quality
Easy to use

What's not so good is:

Sound in movie mode is poor, but useable. Just use a camcorder. Most digital cameras record at 30FPS, UK TV is 25 FPS. So they give slighly jerky playback anyway. But they do look good on a PC. TZ5 looks as good as any I've seen, but as far as I know of all the cameras I've ever used only the Fuji F50 played back at the correct frames per second.
No RAW mode. It wasn't important to me.
No manual control (apart from exposure compensation). However, that wasn't important to me either.

For people who view images at 100%, it can be a bit too noisy above ISO400. But that could apply to almost any non-SLR. I've taken a lot of pictures with it and I've had far more keepers than with my 350D. But if I were to compare the best 350D photos with the best TZ5 at 100%, the 350D would win.

Somebody else compared it to the Fuji F30. The Fuji F30 was fantastic, but they don't make them anymore. The Fuji F50 is also very good, go with it if you want something smaller and cheaper (only in price, build is very similar), but you lose out in terms of wide angle (starts at 36mm) and zoom (only 3x).

Don't bother looking at megapixels. Once you get above 6 it doesn't really matter.

Finally, a note on the zoom. What sold it to me was 28mm, but now I've used it for a while, the 200mm plus range is a real bonus. The picture seems to be good right through the range too.

I feel like I made the right choice.