Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 Review

The new Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 has a very hard act to follow - its predecessor, the TZ3, was one of the most popular digital cameras of 2007. The DMC-TZ5 retains the same core features - 28-280mm lens in a pocket-sized package - and adds more megapixels, 720p HD video, a higher-res LCD screen and Venus IV Engine processing engine into the mix. Can the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 improve on a winning formula, or does it just deliver more of the same? Read our 240th product review to find out…

Website: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 Review

Published: Monday, May 12, 2008

Reader Comments

1. Nice review on this camera. I've had my TZ5 for over a month now and I can't disagree with your comments. It's the best compact I've owned and a keeper. People have been moaning that it doesn't fit in a jeans pocket but it fits in mine OK. What jeans are they all wearing?
   
   Features I like most are: AI mode, reliable face-detection and plentiful scene modes.

   Craig at 05:49pm on Monday, May 12, 2008

2. My cousin got this Camera, we take pics all the time and it take some really good quality pics.

   mark23 at 12:54am on Tuesday, May 13, 2008

3. spot on review!
   I couldn't wait any longer and bought one 2 days before the review. Glad the review didn't find any bad faults.
   It's a little bit of a mindless camera - but with the superb snaps it takes it will more than do as my belt/pocket camera.

   snedger at 09:34pm on Tuesday, May 13, 2008

4. Super simple to use, even easier than the tz3.
   
   Only one problem, I get purple vertical lines on the view finder displayed when I take pictures into sunlight. This does not disturb the actual picture which comes out crystal clear and clean but is disturbing when composing the picture. Any ideas?

   David at 04:12pm on Wednesday, May 28, 2008

5. Hello
   Took it to a wedding in Yorkshire (England) last week and got some fantastic outdoor shots in less than brilliant light.
   I tried being unobtrusive at the end of the hotel gardens and got some great full zoomed in natural unsuspecting group close ups. Sun came out at about 8pm for about 15 minutes and I was just about sober enough to get some nice contrasty snaps of the stone built Jacobean ex-mansion hotel.
   Cheers

   snedger at 05:49pm on Tuesday, June 03, 2008

6. i am looking to up-grade from my olympus C-310 ZOOM & have found your reviews very straightforward & enlightening. You have made it clear to me which camera to choose, having considered olympus sp-570uz, fujifilm s8100fd,nikon p5100, canon s5is & last but not least the panasonic dmc tz5. Keep up these great reviews

   Tony Berry at 03:51am on Saturday, July 05, 2008

7. In France, the price is about 290 euros. Is it better to order it from States?

   TZ5 at 11:04am on Tuesday, July 08, 2008

8. Great review, have now bought the camera, only not to sure if I can use a 4gb SD card with it or do I have to use 4gb SDHC. Thanks Alan

   alan prestidge at 06:38pm on Monday, July 14, 2008

9. Alan, you should be able to use either card.

   Mark Goldstein at 12:40pm on Tuesday, July 15, 2008

10. Alan,
    Just to add to Mark's comment...
    I have both a standard 4GB SD and a 16GB SDHC.
    The TZ5 uses both happily.
    
    Mike

    Mike Paterson at 04:36pm on Tuesday, July 15, 2008

11. Hi. Thanks for your help with the 4GB card. I now have another problem with this camera. I cannot get me Empsom PHOTO R340 printer to print DPOF or TEXT STAMP on the photos.Do I need a new printer?. Alan

    Alan at 06:46pm on Tuesday, July 15, 2008

12. I have just purchased A TZ5 to replace my old FX3 I value your review and look forward to trying out my new purchase.
    Many thanks.

    David Langridge at 08:26pm on Sunday, July 20, 2008

13. Great camera! easy to use, great pictures, great wide angle, great zoom, simple, and well built. I read some reviews about the noise but that is very over rated, unless you are a camera nut and blowing pictures over 8x10 most users will not even see the noise.
    
    Beware of online bait and switch companies advertising ultra cheap prices then trying to say it is a grey market non English camera or selling you batteries for over $100 bucks when you can buy factory online batteries for $20-30 and China batteries for 5-10 dollars. Also I got sdhc 8gig san disk extreme at Amazon for $70 for two with a CF converter.

    Alan at 09:22pm on Monday, July 28, 2008

14. On page 6 of the TZ5 review, you state:
    

    
    ISO 100-400 isn't a particularly versatile range, but the usual excellent optical image stabilisation system means that the DMC-TZ5 is still an adaptable camera, as you can take a photo at a faster ISO speed and therefore a slower shutter speed, and still get sharp results, without adversely affecting the battery life too much. The High Sensitivity mode provides a fastest ISO speed of 6400, but the image resolution is automatically reduced to 3 megapixels and there's far too much noise and blurring of detail at that speed.
    

    
    This piece of boilerplate (I have no objection with boilerplate per se--I'm glad you can get more reviews done faster) also appears on the last page of the LX3 review. Unfortunately, low ISO = slow and high ISO = fast. Your point is about the effectiveness of the OIS at lower ISO settings. Hence, the shutter is open longer and blurring becomes a problem without OIS (and sometimes even with OIS). The other non-tripod solution to avoid blurring is to use higher ISO settings (= faster) so the shutter speed can be increased to reduce the risk of excessive blur.
    
    I don't mean to be a nitpicker. I greatly appreciate the time and effort put into your reviews, and look forward to reading and learning from many more.

    lucigrapher at 05:28pm on Wednesday, August 13, 2008