Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 Review

Photoxels have reviewed the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5, a 9 megapixel update of Panasonic’s best-selling camera ever, the TZ3.

“The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 is the one camera you won’t want to leave home without. Relatively light and compact for a 10x ultra zoom, you’ll never need to miss a picture opportunity again with this easy-to-use point-and-shoot digital camera. Set to Intelligent Auto (iA) shooting mode, it is perfect as a hassle-free travel camera (and perfect if you are headed to the Summer Olympics).”

Website: Photoxels - Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 Review

Website: Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 Review

Published: Monday, April 21, 2008

Reader Comments

1. From readers comments on the web and sample videos, the TZ5 seems to have awful focus hunting problems when using the movie mode - even on a stationary subject - rendering this camera useless to me and anyone else interested in using it for video memories as well as photographs.
   
   I would love people to prove me wrong as I am now going for the CANON TX1 which has similar specs and quality and is, no matter what it looks like, described as a camera - making it Panasonic's only direct competitor which reviewers ignore for some reason.

   Paul at 04:25pm on Monday, April 21, 2008

2. I love the TZ5 - videos especially. I haven't had any focus problems with videos, and my only video cameras have been other small digicams from Casio, Minolta, Nikon, etc. The TZ5 is the best yet.

   dalethorn at 09:17pm on Monday, April 21, 2008

3. If the guy above doesn't work for Panasonic then maybe he could upload some footage to the web for us hangers on? Would be much appreciated as I have heard only bad things about the video. I am mainly interested in 640x480 as I hate widescreen. Perhaps this makes a difference to focusing?
   Rgds,
   Ken.

   Ken at 07:49am on Tuesday, April 22, 2008

4. I don't work for Pana. and they won't like my panning their decision to change the lens from 35-350 to 28-280, which is very dumb, since why would you want a fat (36mm thick) camera to get "wide angle" anyway? Even worse is the placement of the mic - right where my finger covers it up. I haven't been able to upload anywhere, but my email is and I can send compressed video samples in MP4 Quicktime format.

   dalethorn at 10:21am on Tuesday, April 22, 2008

5. I purchased the TZ5 a week ago and exchanged it for another TZ5 hoping I had a bad unit with a focus hunting problem while taking video. No luck. Had the same problem with the second one. Unacceptable for me. I have purchased 4 other Panasonic cameras in the last 2 years and their performance convinced me this would also be a good purchase. "Workarounds" for the problem have been posted, but in my opinion, the firmware/hardware needs to be fixed in the TZ5. "Turning off" the auto focus while taking video is unacceptble.

   Kurt at 05:33am on Saturday, May 10, 2008

6. You don't turn off autofocus, you turn off "continuous autofocus", and then normal autofocus continues to work. Trust me, it works. I have videos with subjects moving away and moving closer and they stay in focus.

   dalethorn at 12:02pm on Saturday, May 10, 2008

7. Turning off the "continuous autofocus" does indeed solve the focus hunting. Although the Depth of Field is very good, objects will still be out of focus if you zoom or pan to an object out of the depth of field range once the initial focus is set when the record button has been pushed. I think this is a great camera for stills, but people need to know its limitations for movie mode.

   Kurt at 09:32pm on Saturday, May 10, 2008

8. I could write a book on the limitations of the TZ5, but until a better overall pocket camera comes along, the limitations are pretty much academic to me. I have several hundred excellent HD video clips now, so if I get some blur once in a while, it's still a better average than the still pics. What I really need now is more zoom and more pixels in the same size box.

   dalethorn at 10:15pm on Saturday, May 10, 2008

9. I purchased a TZ5 and was especially looking forward to the HD Video option. Focusing is a big problem. In the movie mode the picture goes in and out of focus every 2-3 seconds, even when the subject is slightly moving, and without using the zoom. This makes the movie mode useless. I tried every AF setting, with continuous focus on and nothing worked. None of the reviews mentioned this problem. I'm wondering if its defective.

   Mark at 11:59pm on Saturday, May 17, 2008

10. Two things you *must* do with the TZ5: 1) Turn *off* the continuous auto-focus. 2) Keep your left finger *off* of the microphone. After that, videos will work OK most of the time, but to get best results, you will have to practice a lot. If you expect near-100 percent results, you will need near-100 percent perfect lighting.

    dalethorn at 03:01am on Sunday, May 18, 2008

11. I'll experiment with the Continuous AF off and take lighting into account. Has anyone kept continuous AF On, and had good results? Has anyone contacted Panasonic support with the issue? I still may exchange it to see if this problem is fairly isolated. It shoots great pictures and the features for the price can't be beat.

    Mark at 08:22am on Sunday, May 18, 2008

12. Hi there. Could anybody tell me if the camera comes with manual? And if it does, does it come in different languages? Because I asked in a store, and the assistant told me that it only comes with a quick guide in English, and the full manual is in the CD-ROM. Thanks

    Luis at 07:12pm on Wednesday, June 25, 2008

13. Luis, the UK camera that we tested had a full printed manual in English.

    Mark Goldstein at 08:19am on Thursday, June 26, 2008

14. Thanks so much. I was looking to buy it for my mum, but she only speaks spanish. So not good. Thanks

    Luis at 06:45pm on Thursday, June 26, 2008

15. There is a firmware update for this camera which is supposed to fix the Continuous AF issue. Here's the link
    http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/download/TZ4_5/index.html

    Zac at 06:17am on Friday, June 27, 2008