Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5S 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) | 
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| Brand: Panasonic
Category: Photography
List Price: $349.95
Buy New: $288.02
You Save: $61.93 (18%)
New (20)
Rating:  127 reviews
Sales Rank: 474
Color: Silver
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Includes Software: Yes
Optical Zoom: 10
Digital Zoom: 4
Connectivity: AV
Display Size: 3
Maximum Focal Length: 47
Minimum Focal Length: 4.7
Maximum Resolution: 9100000
Has Red Eye Reduction: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 2.3 x 1.4 x 4.1
MPN: DMC-TZ5S
Model: DMC-TZ5S
UPC: 037988987658
EAN: 0037988987658
ASIN: B0011Z44UA
Release Date: March 7, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | 9-megapixel resolution captures enough detail for poster-sized prints | | • | 10x optical zoom Leica DC lens; Face Detection | | • | New Panasonic Venus Engine IV improves noise reduction, elevates the detection accuracy and corrective effects | | • | 3.0-inch LCD; Mega O.I.S. and Intelligent ISO | | • | Captures images to SD memory cards (not included) |
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Product Description
Now you can fit sweeping landscapes into a single frame with the 28mm wide-angle setting. Pull in subjects from far away to capture even subtle facial expressions with the dynamic 280mm telephoto setting. Ideal for traveling, the DMC-TZ5 Lumix 9.1-megapixel digital camera combines a wide-ranging LEICA DC Vario-Elmar lens with a handy, compact body. The Extra Optical Zoom function also extends the zoom to as much as 16.9x, giving you even greater telephoto power. Set the TZ5 to iA mode and let the five Intelligent Auto functions team up to help prevent shooting errors. Intelligent Exposure corrects lighting differences, so images come out just the way you see them; Intelligent Scene Selector chooses the mode that best fits the situation; MEGA Optical Image Stabilization helps prevent blurring from hand-shake; Intelligent ISO Control helps prevent motion blur; and Face Detection helps produce clear portraits by optimizing the focus and exposure settings. The TZ5 can record motion images with sensational 1280 x 720 HD resolution at 30 frames per second (fps). f=4.6-46mm (35mm equiv - 28-280mm) Focal Length 3.0 Diagonal Polycrystalline TFT LCD Display (460K dots) Focusing Area Normal - Wide 50cm/Tele 200cm - infinity, Macro/Intelligent AUTO / Clipboard - Wide 5cm / Max 200cm / Tele 100cm - infinity 8 - 1/2,000 sec. Starry Sky Mode - 15, 30, 60sec. Shutter Speed Auto /100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 (High Sensitivity Mode - Auto(1600 - 6400) ) ISO 27MB Internal Memory (additional memory recommended to store more photos and video) Built-in Microphone and Speaker SD/SDHC, MultiMedia Card Slot Built-in Flash with Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced Off modes DC Input, AV Output (NTSC/PAL), HD AV Output (Component), USB Connections PictBridge Compatible Approximate Battery Life - 300 Shots (CIPA Standard) Approximate Unit Weight - 0.507 lbs
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| Customer Reviews: Read 122 more reviews...
 Nice but slow July 25, 2008
I am not a photographer. I was looking for a very reliable point and shoot that was compact(could fit in my pants pocket) and had more than 3x zoom. I spent a month researching the internet sites from CNET to Amazon to Bob's camera and visiting Best Buy. I have an old Minolta DiMage 4x, 4MP. Its bulk precludes taking it with me unnoticeably(geek factor), so I miss out on taking shots. I liked the Sony 150 priced at $249.00(forgot name), and would have kept it if it had more zoom. It was fast, compact and took great pictures. Then, I looked at the compact 7X by Olympus. Nice little camera, but when it came to handling, the Lumix was definitely more convenient. You can hold the Lumix in your right hand and shoot simultaneously, so I bought the Lumix for about $50.00 more than the Sony 150. It has a large LCD screen which is a must without a viewfinder (the viewfinder adds to the bulk of the camera and with a nice sized LCD it is essentially obsolete). The Lumix has lots of options. It takes great pictures, even at night with variable iso settings. I got some great shots of a fair at night with all the neon lites glowing. It has a burst feature which has been present on digital cameras for years. However, when not using the burst mode, Lumix is slow going from picture to picture in a rapid fashion. Other downside - no proprietary camera case to protect the LCD screen(film protectors come off) and beautiful zoom lens. Nonetheless, I bought it and like it and recommend it over the Olympus 7x for handling and the Sony 150 for zooming. You get what you pay for - just don't spend good money after bad. I don't think I did.
 Panasonic Lumix Digital Camera July 24, 2008
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5A 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Blue)
This camera is everything I expected and hoped it would be. I'm very satisfied with this product.
 LUMIX July 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
You really need to know the settings and use them for different shots, or else the pictures tend to really wash out in certain areas. Also, I'm having a hard time with not having the pictures look grainy. I had a Canon before this, and I wish I stuck with that brand. What's great about the Lumix though is that it has burst mode and a great zoom. It responds very fast as well. I just wish that I could get a little bit more of a crisp look to my pictures.
A joy to use! July 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Compact camera with a good sized LED viewer. Lots of bells & whistles but I haven't had it long enough to learn to use all of them. For the simple task of taking a quick photo, it's a breeze to use. We have also used it to take short video clips and are highly impressed with the quality. I think I'm going to love this thing.
Great point & shoot camera, best for the money July 24, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have had this camera for two days now and will update with my more formal review once I've had more time to absorb it all. I will make a few comments right away though because I have discovered a few things about it that I didn't see mentioned in other reviews and might be helpful to those making a decision.
Just the significant details for now:
1. Since image quality drops off quickly at ISO settings over 200 I was glad to find that it had a way to specify a max ISO in the auto ISO mode, but unfortunately the lowest option is 400, which it chooses for nearly all indoor shots. Also, some modes ignore this setting so even though you may think you'll always be under 400, you won't in certain scene modes.
2. I can not understand why they do this in the first place, and it's even more frustrating to not be able to turn it off or choose some options in this 'feature': This camera subdivides your photos into separate folders of pictures and as far as I can tell there's no way around it. After shooting about 300 pics, the memory card has several separate folders of pictures: 100_PANA (containing pics 1-100 which are titled 100001 through 100100), 101_PANA (containing pics 101-200, but now they're renamed with 101000 through 101100, etc so that you don't even end up with sequential picture numbers. Even worse, after the first 100 pics these numbers do not correspond to the numbers used to identify them on the camera screen in play mode. Therefore, if you are keeping notes on your photographs as you take them, the numbering that the files have on the SD card will be difficult to match up to the numbers you've been tracking off the camera screen. I can not imagine why they think everyone would want this (or anyone for that matter). I could almost understand if they separated them by date or some other criterion, but by arbitrary lots of 100 pics? And changing the numbering sequence? That's just dumb. With other cameras I have always just had them all in the same folder, that way I don't have to go switching around looking for the photos, they're all in the same place ready to go, and sequentially numbered withoput gaps. I really hate having them all split up in different places.
3. Battery life seems to be quite good on my initial encounter. I have shot over 300 pics and the battery indicator still reads full. Perhaps that means that it will suddenly decline leaving me with little warning, but 300 pics is pretty good anyway. One note, the battery does not come charged, so be prepared to spend two hours reading the manual while your battery charges before you can use the camera. Sorry folks, you can't bring it home from the store and start using it right away. The best thing about the battery though is the tiny little travel charger that comes with it, no clumsy cords just a very compact block with flip-out prongs that plugs into the wall with the battery snapped in.
4. Amazon's price on this camera fluctuates on a daily basis, both up and down. Since I started looking last week the price started at $270, went up to $296, and is now back to $284. I have no idea why, but if today's price is closer to $300 you might consider waiting a day or two to see if it gets better.
That's the four main points I wanted to share at the moment. I will be back with a more comprehensive review after a few thousand shots.
A brief background on my purchase... I initially started this quest to find the most compact camera with the most SLR-style features I could get. The natural choice for that pursuit is the Canon G9 which was the front runner until I played with this TZ5. It handled simple point & shoot operations so much better than the canon while inside the store that I was swayed to consider this Panasonic more seriously. The downside is that it offers virtually no SLR-like features. My first constraint was a portable, pocketable camera which both of these models fit, but the panasonic moreso. I wanted point and shoot performance with the option to get more creative when I want. Since embracing the digital revolutoin eight years ago I haven't even touched my film SLR again, not once. But I miss the manual control so much. In the end the point and shoot won me over, I think the Canon is not quite there yet to be what I want for manual control. It's a little clumsier in terms of user interface, and it's gone after way too many megapixels at the cost of low light capability.
As I mentioned earlier, more to come after more experience with this camera.
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