Performance
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2B uses the company's older Venus image processor rather than the Venus II processor implemented in the company's high-end cameras, so its performance was a mixed bag. It racked up the best scores in continuous shooting, where it was able to grab three shots in about 1.4 seconds at full resolution and five shots at a clip of nearly 3fps in VGA resolution. In Megaburst mode it could capture four full-resolution shots very quickly, then slowed down to roughly 1.5fps for as long as we held down the shutter release. Momentary LCD blanking and freezing made this optical-viewfinderless camera less than ideal for sequence shots, however.
We clocked a minimal shutter lag under contrasty illumination, at 0.6 seconds, and a decent 0.9 seconds under low-contrast lighting, even though this camera lacks the focus-assist lamp found on its higher-priced stablemates. This Lumix was a bit lethargic in powering up to its first shot, taking 4.5 seconds. After that, we were able to snap off photos every 2.2 seconds, but we had to wait 5.4 seconds between flash shots.
Panasonic's penny-pinching on the LCD took its toll. Although clear and bright in typical indoor lighting, it didn't gain up electronically under low light, making dimly lit scenes difficult to view. We also noticed some ghosting when the camera or subject moved. Outdoors, the LCD was usable under all but direct lighting, as long as we weren't using the power-saving Economy mode.
Image quality
Although the Lumix DC Vario lens doesn't have the cachet of the Leica optics found on the company's more expensive 5-megapixel point-and-shoot model, Panasonic's Lumix DMC-LZ2 produced pleasing pictures. Most images were well exposed, with lots of detail in both highlights and shadows, and significantly sharper than the results from some competing 5-megapixel compacts. Visual noise was low at ISO 80 and still not overpowering when we bumped the sensitivity level up to ISO 400. We did notice a bit of cyan fringing around backlit subjects.
Colours in our test photos looked good but not highly saturated, and we had some white-balance problems indoors, experiencing warm colour casts under incandescent lighting whether we set white balance manually or let the autobalancing feature do its thing. Flesh tones tended toward yellow, but the red-eye prevention preflash did a good job of reducing reddish glows in the pupils.
Edited by Aimee Baldridge
Additional editing by Nick Hide
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