Customer Reviews: Read 91 more reviews...
 The Best Compact Digital Camera I Have Seen So Far July 4, 2008
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5K 9.1 Megapixel digital camera is truly in a class by itself. It is the best compact digital camera I have seen so far, and strongly recommended it to a relative. My relative is enjoying hers now, and I have been quite impressed with the results. This camera performs superbly under both bright and low light conditions without a flash, certainly an impressive result for a camera as small and compact as this. Pictures have ample contrast and resolution, though tending slightly to the warm side. While she hasn't tried the HD video application yet, I wouldn't be surprised if the contrast and resolution is identical with still pictures. Without question, the Leica zoom lens is a fine performer and is a primary reason why you ought to buy this camera. Without indulging too much in hype, I can say with utmost certainty that Panasonic and Leica have hit a home run with this splendid little camera.
Best Camera I've Seen. Pretty awesome. July 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I won't bore you with lists of features and whatnot since many other reviewers have gone through this. I am by no means a camera person... in fact I know very little about photography. I just wanted a nice camera to shoot pictures next year in college. My camera arrived in the mail yesterday, and I immediately went out to play with it and shoot some pictures. It was VERY impressive. All of my pictures were very crisp and clear, and they looked like they were taken by a professional or something. They really looked THAT good, and this is coming from someone that knows jack squat about taking pictures.. ive always just been point and shoot kind of person. This camera just has a lot of things normal cameras don't have.. 10x zoom, HD VIDEO, wide lens, intelligent auto system. I think it is the ultimate point and shoot camera. My family has owned 4 digital cameras over the last 4 years or so, and this one by far is the best.
Also the HD VIDEO is incredible! I saw that its gotten a lot of negative reviews, but I was actually impressed by it. Maybe its because my camcorder at home is a little old I am more biased. But honestly, I will have no need for that camcorder anymore with the Lumix. I found the quality of the HD VIDEO to be pretty amazing and it looks really nice when watching it on the computer or camera. However, you will need to take contious focusing off because it constantly makes the video blurry then not blurry and back and forth.
OVERALL.. very pleased!!!!
The best July 2, 2008
After reading lots of reviews (including here) for a number of cameras in this price range, I decided to buy this camera. Though I haven't tried all its features yet, I know I made the right choice. It is perfect for casual photography, since this particular Lumix gives accurate colors and offers lots of simple ways to adjust light, color, focus, shutter speed, and more. The 10x zoom is also a big plus, along with the large, bright viewing screen, which provides all the technical information you could need to take decent photos. In addition to all this, it takes pretty decent movies, including HD, widescreen format. Be aware, though, that those who plan to shoot lots of HD movies will need to buy an 8GB or 16GB SDHC card (preferably class 6). For those content with normal movie setting, a 4GB card will be sufficient. If you are considering the less-expensive Lumix DMC-TZ4K, the small additional cost (on Amazon, at least) for the TZ5K is money well spent, considering the differences in the two cameras. For my money, the larger LCD screen alone seals the deal.... A note to the few who have complained about audio quality in movies: First, Panasonic placed the microphone on the top left, which is less than ideal; one has to be careful not to cover it with the left index finger. Second, a high-quality, professional microphone is more than one should expect, as it would significantly increase the price of the camera, as well as its size. In short, this camera is highly recommended
Love it!!!! July 2, 2008
Just got my camera and I've been playing with it for a couple of hours now and I just have to say I love it!!! It has a large variety of options that comes in handy if you want to take different types of pictures. It's really fast as well, start up time is super quick, before I can even turn the camera over to look at the screen it's already on. The LCD screen is gorgeous, super clear and vibrant. Video capture is great, but the mic. could be placed better, to allow for better sound, but it's still very nice. I have to say I thought the camera was thinner, but it's still quite thin. All in all I love it, I've done digital photography in the past and I have to say I've finally found a camera that is good enough to do what I want to do, without breaking the bank.
 Horrible quality - not a good choice July 1, 2008
0 out of 10 found this review helpful
This camera has really bad audio quality when shooting videos. The sound in a quiet room has a hiss and any voices really muddy. I did a direct comparison to the Canon SD870IS and the Canon blows this Panasonic away completely both in terms of videos and pictures.
The image out of the Panasonic camera are just so-so, look sorta muddy and dull. I was willing to deal with that and fix them in Photoshop, but the audio issue is a total deal killer. You cannot even use this camera to shoot videos unless you want to shoot a silent one. It's that bad.
The Canon SD870 IS would be a much better choice both for image quality and audio for videos by a surprising long shot. I'd much rather have a camera that does everything well than a camera that purports to have HD video capabilities that you cannot even use to shoot videos because quality is so bad. The standard definition videos out of the Canon look and sound better than the HD videos out of the Panasonic believe it or not. The Panasonic is just not a quality camera in any way. Take a look at the popular positive review of the Panasonic TZ5 and note even that person states the videos out of the Panasonic are horrible.
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