A Look at Panasonic's latest Travel Zoom flagship Camera
Panasonic is the first company
which invented the travel zoom camera category, the travel zoom range of
cameras combines high zoom into the compact body. For the year 2012 Panasonic
has come up with the Lumix DMC TZ30 (known as ZS20 in USA). The TZ-30 boasts a
20x optical zoom lens measuring 24-480mm. fitting a lens of 20x in such a compact
body is no easy task and requires some real effort of precise
engineering. It comes equipped with a high sensitivity MOS sensor. The LCD
screen is a touch screen hence touch focus is supported. This model comes equipped
with full manual controls such as P, A, S and M. it offers best in class 23-point
multi-area autofocus system which is real quick. The TZ30 can also click 3D
still images, HDR photos and a great panorama shot which is a copy of Sony’s panoramic
sweep feature. With an upgraded Venus engine VI processor and the excellent POWER
O.I.S. anti-shake system produces pictures which are blur free.
With an aperture of f3.3 this
lens is comparatively slower. Although it employs a 15.1 megapixel sensor,
it actually uses only 14.1 megapixels in 4:3, 16:9 and 3:2 formats. Since this
camera offers full manual option the option dial represents similarity with
DSLR camera. There is no RAW capturing mode so those who intend to post process
images will be disappointed. GPS is onboard so seamless geo tagging is available.
It comes with a dedicated movie record button so there will be no hassle while
recording movies. Movies can be recorded at 1080p as well as 720p. The frame
rate is 50/60 fps for AVCHD format. The advantage of the touch screen LCD is
that with a simple tap on the screen you can focus on your subject which is a great feature. Burst
mode is also available with which you can capture 10 images per second. The touch screen is one of the best features
of this camera since you have to not keep on pressing the real buttons. with the travel zoom range known for its high zoom this camera handles 20x of zoom very well and focusing is not a problem at the telephoto end.
We all know the previous model
was known for the pathetic image quality with noise visible in the base ISO, thankfully
Panasonic has worked hard on it has reduced the noise by w huge margin which is
great compared to the TZ20. Yet there is some noise in the images due to which the
TZ30 lags behind the competition in image quality. When used at the full 14.1
megapixel average file size is 5.5 MB. The most visible improvement is that in
the range of ISO 100-400 where the pictures are almost noise free, but as you enter
the ISO 800 and higher horizon noise is very high. The maximum shutter speed is
15 seconds which is great news for folks who are serious into night
photography. There is an HDR mode where the camera takes 3 consecutive images
at different exposure to create an HDR photo. Overall the Panasonic LUMIX DMC TZ30
is a very versatile travel zoom camera with huge capabilities such as full manual option, HDR
and panorama modes. Image quality has definitely improved over last year’s
model but yet has some noise. with GPS turned on this camera has power only for 150 shots so better keep it off when not in use which shall yield you 260 shots. 
Pro's : 20X optical zoom, touch screen LCD, 50 fps video.
Cons : noisy Image quality, focusing in low light, battery draining due to GPS.
Cost: $289.
Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ30 Specifications
Recording |
|
|---|---|
| File Format | Still Image: JPEG(DCF/Exif2.3) / 3D Image: MPO / Motion picture: AVCHD, MP4, QuickTime Motion JPEG (only for High Speed Video) |
| Mode Dial / Mode Button | Intelligent Auto, P, A, S, M, C1, C2, 3D Photo, SCN, Creative Control |
| Creative Control mode | Expressive, Retro, High Key, Low Key, Sepia, Dynamic Monochrome, High Dynamic, Toy Effect, Miniature, Soft Focus |
| Still Image Scene Mode | Portrait, Soft Skin, Scenery, Panorama Shot, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Hand Held Night Shot, HDR, Food, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Sunset, High Sensitivity, Glass Through, Underwater, High Speed Video |
| Continuous Shooting Mode | Full- Resolution Image: 10 frames/sec Max. 10 images / with AF Tracking: 5 frames/sec, 2 frames/sec Max.100 images / Intelligent Burst Shooting / High- speed Burst: approx. 40 frames/sec (recorded in 5M) / approx. 60 frames/sec (recorded in 2.5M) |
| Motion Picture Recording (*2) | [HD Video] 1920 x 1080 pixels, 50p (GPH: 28Mbps, PSH: 28Mbps / AVCHD) / 1920 x 1080 pixels, 50i (GFS: 17Mbps, FSH: 17Mbps / AVCHD) / 1280 x 720 pixels, 50p(GS: 17Mbps, SH: 17Mbps / AVCHD) / 1920 x 1080 pixels, 25 fps (FHD: 20Mbps / MP4) / 1280 x 720 pixels, 25 fps (HD: 10Mbps / MP4) / [STD Video] 640 x 480 pixels, 25 fps (VGA: 4Mbps / MP4) / [High Speed Video] 320 x 240 pixels, 220 fps (Motion JPEG) |
| AVCHD (Continuous recordable time [motion pictures]) | approx. 55 min (GPH, PSH), 65 min (GFS, FSH) |
| MP4 (Continuous recordable time [motion pictures]) | approx. 70 min (FHD) |
| AVCHD (Actual recordable time [motion pictures]) | approx. 55 min (GPH, PSH), 65 min (GFS, FSH) |
| MP4 (Actual recordable time [motion pictures]) | approx. 40 min (FHD) |
| Exposure | Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual |
| Exposure Compensation | 1/3 EV step, +/-2 EV |
| Auto (AE) Bracketing | 1/3 -1EV step, Max +/-1EV, 3 frames |
| Light Metering | Intelligent Multiple / Center Weighted / Spot |
| ISO Sensitivity | Auto / i.ISO / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 / High Sensitivity mode (ISO 1600-6400) |
| Still Picture Recording | [1:1] 3232x3232 (10.5M) / 2736x2736 (7.5M EZ) / 2304x2304 (5.5M EZ)/ 1920x1920 (3.5M EZ) / 1536x1536 (2.5M EZ) / 480x480 (0.2M EZ) / [4:3] 4320x3240 (14M) / 3648x2736 (10M EZ) / 3072x2304 (7M EZ)/ 2560X1920 (5M EZ) / 2048X1536 (3M EZ) / 640x480 (0.3M EZ) / [3:2] 4320x2880 (12.5M) / 3648x2432 (9M EZ) / 3072x2048 (6M EZ)/ 2560x1712 (4.5M EZ) / 2048x1360 (2.5M EZ) / 640x424 (0.3M EZ) / [16:9] 4320x2432 (10.5M) / 3648x2056 (7.5M EZ) / 3072x1728 (5.5M EZ)2560x1440 (3.5M EZ) / 1920x1080 (2M EZ) / 640x360 (0.2M EZ) |
| Zoom in Motion Picture | Yes |
| Image Quality | Fine / Standard (3D mode: MPO Fine / MPO Standard ) |
| White Balance | Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Incandescent / White Set / White Balance Adjustment |
| Color Mode / Color Effect / My color | Color Mode : Standard, Black&White, Sepia, Vivid (in P / A / S / M mode), Happy (only in iA mode) |
| Digital Red Eye Correction (Red-Eye Removal) | Yes |
| GPS | Yes |
| Self Timer | 2sec / 10sec |
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