On her most recent trip to Costco, mrs. floporama picked up a new digital camera, the Panasonic TZ1. At first, I was very skeptical since we already have a digital camera. At first I was skeptical since looking at the very base specs, the camera is fairly similar to our current model. However, after playing around with the camera a little, I've discovered that I really like the new one--or at least my initial impressions are very favorable.
Here's what I like:
Image quality: if you compare the average picture from this camera to our other current 5 megapixel camera, the difference is astounding. The Panasonic has a Leica lens and I think between the better quality lens and digital sensor, it really makes for a much higher quality image. It also has a 10x optical zoom, allowing you to get ridiculously close in on your subject.
Has a little heft to it: The size is a little larger than most new cameras in the same megapixel/price range, but there is nothing wrong with that. It does make it a little heavier and harder to carry around, but this is about the same size as most film point-and-shoot cameras from the early 1990's.
Customization: There are two different scene settings on the dial. You can set each of these to whatever settings you'd like and then shoot away to your hearts content. Each setting comes with recommended usage and techniques, but these can then be further refined through menus. In all honesty, I probably will never personalize the settings much, but with so many options for each scene mode, I'm not sure a casual user like me would really have much need to.
Speed: On our other camera, you would press the button and wait up to a second while it decided how badly it wanted to take your picture for you. Then, you would wait another 2-3 seconds for it to save to the memory card. When you press the button on the Panasonic, it quickly focuses and takes the picture. I have no desire to actually time the difference, but it is very noticeable. Then, the Panasonic quickly saves the image to the memory card and you are ready to go again. I would say that using the same memory card, the panasonic can save the picture in less than a second.
Optical Image Stabilization: This could be my very favorite feature of the camera. At full zoom (10x optical), the OIS system makes it hard to take a shaky picture. As you can see from the duck picture, between the autofocus and the OIS, it's very easy to make things look nice.
My only real beefs with the camera? It takes a proprietary rechargeable battery rather than AA's and because of its huge lens, it requires a lens cap.
We have Sam's working on doing some actual prints in various sizes to see how good the images look once you get them on paper, but my initial reaction on this camera is "Wow!"
