Digital Photography With The Panasonic Lumix Dmc-Tz5

The Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ5 is the latest evolution in Panasonic’s TZ series of digital super zoom cameras. A direct descendant of the TZ3, the model has several improvements over the older model. Most of these improvements are to enhance the resolution of the pictures and increase the memory capacity of the camera.

It comes equipped with a 10x zoom lens that operates in the effective range of 28mm to 280mm. The resolution of pictures it can take has been increased to 9.1 mega pixels from 7.2 mp. The resolution of the LCD screen has been doubled to 460 k pixels. But the most intriguing feature is the addition of the capacity to produce HD videos. Video resolution of 1280 x 720 p is now possible at a speed of 30 fps.

All of the camera’s menus are basically identical to the TZ3 with only some minor tweaking where ‘twas needed the most. With automatic focus and the ability to set the ISO speed to auto or manual mode, this is one of the easiest digital cameras to use.

The one drawback that you have to watch out for is the possibility of placing your fingers over the flash, effectively blocking it from lighting your subject when taking photos. Care must be exercised when holding the camera to keep the flash clear.

In general, this is a logical progression in the ever-changing field of digital photography. The Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ5 shows improvement over its predecessor in areas that needed improvement without messing with what worked well already.