Panasonic DMC-TZ100EBS

4.4 out of 5 stars
Panasonic DMC-TZ100EBS
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Price: £429.99

Brand: Panasonic

 

Description: DMC-TZ100EBS Panasonic LUMIX 10x Digital Travel Camera - Silver.

 

Category: Cameras

Merchant: Panasonic

Product ID: 4668

EAN: 5025232841356

 
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Author: PixelPartner

Rating: 5

Review: The TZ100 combines a 'large' 1 inch type sensor with a 10x zoom in a truly compact package. The larger sensor means potentially higher quality images, particularly in poor light. The premium price reflects there are no immediate competitors to this camera as at April 2016 - Sony's RX100 series provides limited zoom while other 1 inch type cameras with longer zooms are more bulky / styled on DSLRS. Here I'll focus on the essential areas of stills and video quality and consider the addition this year of the '4k photo' modes. There are many other features built into the TZ100 - Please feel free to ask questions and I'll answer them through July 2016. Still Image Quality If you haven't used a compact camera with a 'large' sensor before, you're in for a treat. In normal conditions detail is a step up from an average compact, and when light is fading the increased quality is even more pronounced. Pictures taken in intelligent automatic mode can be relied on for accurate exposure and you'll be happy with the TZ100 as a do-it-all travel camera. If you like to take more control there are individual options for saturation/sharpness/contrast/noise reduction as well as various colour profiles, including the travel-friendly 'vivid' to give your pictures some pop! Images are natively 20 megapixels in 3:2 ratio though smaller sizes and 4:3/16:9/1:1 ratios are also available. The lens is reasonably bright at wide angle (f2.8) but quickly slows to the small apertures as found on (cheaper) super zooms including Panasonic's own TZ80. There is definitely less detail found in images taken at the long end of the zoom but that is expected. Compared with images taken on my Sony RX100 mark 2 the TZ100 holds up very well, though on close inspection images are not quite as sharp and the corners are a little soft. This is only really an issue for pixel peepers and is likely a natural compromise in providing the 10x zoom range. If you already own an RX100 series camera and are considering a direct swap for the TZ100 you'll likely be happy with it in normal lighting conditions but bear in mind it can't match the f1.8 aperture of the Sonys. Video Quality In full HD mode, 1080p50 videos benefit from 5 axis stabilisation and the light-gathering abilities of the larger sensor. You'll also be pleased with the output in low light and for a travel camera you can't ask for more. I'd be happy taking the TZ100 with me on my travels and enjoying its excellent full HD video quality on my return. The TZ100 also offers 4k video at 24fps and 25fps. This is a headline feature with 4k video offering 4x the resolution of full HD. One compromise in this mode is that the TZ100 takes a crop from the centre of the sensor, so be aware you instantly lose the wide angle (approx 26mm equivalent) offered by the other video modes. In 4k the 'wide angle' is 37mm equivalent. In practice I haven't found this as limiting as I expected but its something to be aware of. A second compromise is that 5 axis stabilisation is not available in 4k recording, though normal optical stabilisation is. It's still a decent system but you're likely to notice some wobble at the long end of the zoom. 4k video requires approximately 12.5 megabytes of storage per second (100mbps) so buy a couple of large SDXC cards if you'll be using it a lot. The TZ100 manual suggests the use of cards with UHS speed class 3 for 4k video and 4k photo functions to work as expected. The maximum clip length in 4k mode is 15 minutes and the camera becomes slightly warm. The TZ100 also offers one high-speed video mode which is full HD at 100 frames per second. No stabilisation is available at all in this mode and no audio is recorded. The zoom is also locked as soon as you start recording. This is a fun option for producing slomo video as long as the camera is reasonably still. 4k Photo modes If you really need to 'get that shot' and often photograph moving people / pets / objects, 4k photo is for you! It's essentially a way of taking a very rapid burst of still images (at 30 frames per second) then choosing individual images to save. Panasonic is using the term 4k because these modes use the 4k video abilities of the camera to allow you to save individual frames as 8 megapixel images. This is a very clever feature and being able to select frames using a touchscreen slider makes the whole process very easy. There are various 4k photo modes available and they all boil down to being able to pick the best shots from a sequence to be your 'keepers'. This is a selling point for this camera if you'll benefit from good quality 8 megapixel stills taken from action sequences! Time Lapse It's nice to have a decent time lapse function built into the TZ100. I tested it by setting the mode to take a picture every 15 seconds for 120 frames. This covered a 30 minute sunset. When complete you are asked if you'd like to create a video from the stills. This includes a 4k option at 25fps. It took around 2 minutes for the camera to generate a 5 second video clip. Many of us will rarely 'need' a time lapse option but it's nice to know it's there! RAW processing The TZ100 allows you to shoot RAW images alongside the usual jpegs if you like. Even better, you can select a raw file and apply filter effects etc after the fact in order to save a new jpeg in-camera. This could save you needing to process your pictures on a PC as long as you don't require any technical changes such as geometry correction. As the camera is so new to market it's difficult to know if its jpegs are making the best use of the RAW data being captured - There will doubtless be firmware updates in the coming months and you might like to shoot raw+jpeg at first and run your own comparisons. Usability The TZ100 is chunky for a compact camera. Compared to my other travel zoom, the Sony HX90v which has a 30x zoom, it's significantly larger. Have a look at online comparisons if you're concerned the size will limit its appeal. The 'grip' on the front of the unit is untextured and is of limited use, but at least it's there. The viewfinder is small but works well and I had no issues despite wearing glasses. The touchscreen works as expected and is very well implemented to assist with features such as selecting images in 4k photo mode. I've got used to tilt screens on my other cameras and I miss this on the TZ100 - Something for the 2017 upgrade perhaps? This year Panasonic is finally using standard micro USB charging so there's no need to take yet another cable on holiday - About time! The onboard WiFi works well with the Panasonic image app on my Android phone and allows both image transfer and remote functionality. I would have liked to see NFC on board as I can just tap my other cameras against my phone to establish a connection - The TZ100 is a step backwards in this regard. Battery life seems perfectly acceptable and using 4k video doesn't appear to drain it unduly. Third party compatible batteries should work fine - I purchased an expro compatible from Amazon for under 10 pounds and have had no issues with it so far. Conclusion There's a lot to like about the TZ100. If video is a priority you'll find the 4k quality from such a compact camera compelling. Still images are a step up from smaller-sensor compacts and this is particularly noticeable as light levels fall-Just don't expect the super-sharpness of Sony's RX100 series. The 4k photo modes are brilliant for capturing stills from fast action sequences and there are lots of additional built in features including time lapse and stop motion. If you'll use this mix of cutting edge features and appreciate the benefits of the 'large' sensor I think you'll be very happy with the TZ100 - Otherwise there are plenty of smaller, cheaper travel zooms out there for Summer 2016, including Panasonic's own TZ80. The TZ100 is currently unique in offering a 10x zoom, 1 inch sensor combination in a compact package and is capable of producing very good stills and excellent video. A five star product!

 

Author: Nik Smeltzer

Rating: 3

Review: I'm not a professional photographer, but I do enjoy taking photos. I use a Panasonic TZ70, FZ72, GX800 and have tried the FZ1000, FZ2000 and this, the TZ100. I keep buying new cameras in the hope that it will increase the quality of my pictures, but I have come to the conclusion that composition and being in the right place at the right time play far more of an important role than camera or lens. Therefore, I had decided a while ago that having a travel camera on me all the time was likely to result in much better pictures than having an expensive large camera that I then hadn't bothered to take on a day out. With this in mind, I decided to upgrade my TZ70 to the 1 inch sensor TZ100. When I got it, I immediately set to doing some comparison pictures. Both between the FZ1000 and the TZ100 but more importantly, between the TZ70 and the TZ100. The TZ70 is 12mp, 30x zoom using the tiny 1/2.3 sensor whereas the TZ100 is 20mp and uses a much larger (4x) 1 inch sensor but only has 10x zoom I assumed that at wide angle, the TZ100 would be noticeably better. Also, at 10x zoom, the TZ100 would be noticable better. But at 20x zoom (optical on the TZ70, but digital on the TZ100) which would be better? Well the results surprised me: At 20x zoom, I can safely say that there is not much difference, but the TZ70 actually gave better results. At 10x zoom and at wide, the TZ100 should be a much better image and whilst the files were significantly bigger, there wasn't, to me, a big improvement in quality. I showed some samples to my daughter who has a good eye for these things and she couldn't tell either. When you digitally zoom in on an image, you can see differences in colour depth, but not £300 worth of differences. So to cut a long story short, I returned the TZ100 and just kept the TZ70. It's combination of 12mp (therefore larger pixel size) and 30x zoom are a better fit for me than the £300 dearer, 1 inch sensor and 10x zoom of the TZ100. For info, the TZ80 and TZ90 give you 4k and touch screens, but all the online reviews say that the TZ70 gives better image quality and I can believe it. I'm actually very impressed with the TZ70. I've rated it 3 stars because it costs almost £500. £495. For that price it should be lots better than the cheaper sub-£200 point and shoot cameras. But in my opinion, it isn't. If it cost £300, I would have awarded it 4 stars, but for the price, I can only give it 3. Anyway, hope that helps. 2 sample images are attached, one of my car and one of my garden, taken with both the TZ70 and TZ100. I appreciate Amazon might compress the pictures, but it might give you an idea.