Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 review

Image quality
Images from the Lumix DMC-TZ1 showed accurate, natural colours, with plenty of saturation. Plus, exposures were generally accurate, though it had a tendency to clip detail from the brightest portions of our field test images. Unfortunately, we also saw moiré in the finer details of our test images, which were noticeably soft and suffered from JPEG artefacts and fringing.

More troubling, though, was that like a lot of Panasonic cameras, the DMC-TZ1 had a tough time keeping noise in check. Even at ISO 80, there were noticeable multicoloured speckles throughout our test images, and ISO 100 looked very similar. At ISO 200, the noise grew worse with significant mottling in darker colours, and by ISO 400, noise obscured significant amounts of detail, though images may still be useful as 100x150mm (4x6-inch) prints. By ISO 800, noise was so rampant that images were not fit to print.

Panasonic's Lumix DMC-TZ1 might have a big lens, an ergonomically pleasing design and some cool features, but its image-quality issues should make you pause if you plan to make A4 prints or larger. Casual shooters who want only 100x150mm (4x6-inch) prints should be satisfied with this camera, but they should also take a look at the competition, such as Kodak's EasyShare V610, or even a superzoom, such as Canon's PowerShot S3 IS.

Shooting speed
Seconds (smaller is better)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Time to first shot

Shutter lag (typical)

Kodak EasyShare V610

1.8 

1.3 

0.2 

Canon Digital IXUS 800 IS

1.6 

1.5 

0.5 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1

1.8 

1.6 

0.5 

Fujifilm FinePix V10

2 

1.5 

0.5 

Casio Exilim EX-Z850

2.7 

2.1 

0.5 

Canon PowerShot A530

2.8 

2.1 

0.5 

Typical continuous-shooting speed
Frames per second (larger is better)

Typical continuous-shooting speed

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1

2.5 

Kodak EasyShare V610

2.2 

Canon Digital IXUS 800 IS

2.1 

Canon PowerShot A530

1.8 

Fujifilm FinePix V10

1.1 

Casio Exilim EX-Z850

1