Panasonic Câmera Digital Lumix DMC-TZ4 (Prata)

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Digital Camera (Silver):

This is a recent purchase so I am unable to say much about all its features. I am a casual user but am expecting the Lumix DMC-TZ4 to fulfill all my needs on my next wildlife safaris. To replace a camera which was "left behind' in Costa Rica, this was recommended to me (within my budget!) by a professional photographer AND I had already remarked on how well it was operating for a fellow tour visitor at the U.N. Thus far, I have no negative comments......

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Digital Camera (Silver):

Overall, this camera takes clear, precise photos. I like the macro lense feature. It also has a long battery life.

I found the flash to not be very powerful, and it shows when shooting indoors at parties. The automatic focus does not work as well in dark lighting.

Outdoor, natural light shots are fabulous. I've just had some issues indoors.

Overall, it is a great camera for the price.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Digital Camera (Silver):

Leica-lenses! 28-280mm optical zoom!
Display is smaller than TZ3, but ok.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Digital Camera (Silver):

Leica-lenses! 28-280mm optical zoom!
The display is smaller than TZ5, but cheaper

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Digital Camera (Silver):

I use this camera for snapshots, but I'm trying to learn more about photography.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TZ4 AND TZ5 (probably not complete, but I thought I'd list the ones I noticed)

1/2 inch smaller screen on TZ4. I hear this leads to increased battery life, which the specifications indicate as well, and I was just fine with the 2.5" screen. Operative word, *was*. I am super happy with my TZ4 but nevertheless have come to wish that I'd gotten the TZ5.

TZ5 does high definition movies. TZ4 does 16:9, but not in high def.

The max resolution is a little less for the TZ4, of course.

The TZ5 can take still shots out of movies, but not at very good resolution. If you don't mind doing that in the computer instead of the camera, a freeware program called Irfanview will do the same thing with *any* QuickTime movie.

TZ5 will take three formats (4:3, 3:2, 16:9) at the same time.

You can view two pictures at a time with the TZ5.

Some parts of the manual are a pain to read for the TZ4, as you have to follow all the footnotes (which mostly deal with differences in maximum resolution).

Oh, heck, having read my own list of differences, I've changed my mind. I'm fine with the TZ4, especially for a lot less money! (That 3" LCD is just *so* pretty....!)


GOOD THINGS

Takes a lot of pictures on a charge. I got about 150 with a *lot* of flash and zoom, plus admiring the pictures extensively and fiddling with the controls a lot. (I was playing with it....)

The LCD mode for holding the camera above your eyes and still being able to see images on the LCD works great. I don't *how* it works, but it does.

Very intuitive controls. You can do the most common operations without even reading the manual.

Very nice controls to use. I love the decisions that were made about what was a switch and what was a button, what was on the quick-access buttons, etc.

Very nice to hold. That was one of the main reasons I chose it - I can't stand the almost credit card sized cameras, but I wanted something I could carry around in my purse. (Or, as it turns out, hanging off my purse.)

I dearly love the DMW-CHTZ3 case that I ordered for it. It's Panasonic's own case, and it is *very* protective and hangs nicely from my purse strap. Some caveats, though. It holds the camera and a memory card and that's *it*. No spare battery will fit, even though the instructions imply that one will. When you open the case it looks like there are three pockets, but it's really just a protective arrangement. Put the camera in the middle pocket. Don't put anything in the outside pockets because either it won't close or you'll damage the camera.

Both zoom and wide angle! Love it! Extended optical zoom (with reduced, but not too reduced for my needs, picture quality) is amazing. The manual recommends a tripod for the highest zoom, but apparently the stabilization works great, because I'm getting good zoom pictures by hand.

Love the charger - no cords, just fold-out prongs. It *does* come with the camera. (I remember one reviewer saying he almost bought one, not realizing it was included.)

The high-speed burst really works - I took a bunch of pictures of one of my dogs that look like a movie when you flip through them.


NOT SO GOOD THINGS

Not a lot of manual control. I can't find any aperture control at all. Shutter control is limited to selecting the slowest speed you'll accept. You *can* control the ISO. On the other hand, it generally does just fine on its own. It is a glorified snapshot camera, but *what* a snapshot camera!

Terrible hiss on the audio. The sound quality is OK otherwise. I noticed this with one I tried in a store, didn't know if it was just a bad unit or what, but bought it anyway as I was willing to live with it in any case. I'm thinking you could probably do something about it if you had the right audio editing software - it's just a high, constant noise, much like the cymbal sound in early Beatles records.

Lens cover *very* flimsy. I touched it lightly just to test and almost had a heart attack. Treat it like you would a hollow eggshell!

When my hand is placed the way it wants to go, I have a tendency to accidentally press controls with the base of my right thumb and cover the microphone with my left forefinger. I wish they'd move the controls down just a little and swap the locations of the microphone and the speaker.

It looks like it is a pain to put a date stamp on a picture in the camera. (Not so much if you're printing.) I don't do that much anyway, but I think I'm glad I don't.

The LCD is pretty washed out in bright sunlight, even when set on "power." It's still usable, though. You might want to consider buying a shade of some sort for it if you are going to use it outside a lot.

Some of the software supplied (ARCSoft) is of the sort that tries to connect to the internet without asking whenever you open a connection. (And that's why we have firewalls..... ;-> ) Installation of the software tied up a lot of memory even after the installations were done - I'm sure a reboot will fix it, but it does not speak well of the software (QuickTime, ARCSoft, PHOTOfunSTUDIO). Except for QuickTime, it's probably not stuff you'd really use anyway, but I thought I'd try it. Did not install the Acrobat reader that came with it, as I've had updated versions of that program break stuff - I stick with my current version, no matter how old, as long as I can. PHOTOfunSTUDIO put an icon in the righthand side of the taskbar (whatever that area is called) without asking. QuickTime did the same in the lefthand area.

Regarding the software that wants to phone home, I suggest Googling "startup manager" or "start up manager" to get a program to stop it. Only one thing that I installed actually started by using the startup menu - the others had to be dug out.

The version of QuickTime you get has a lot of functions disabled. Most of them can be gotten around fairly easily, such as the lack of a "save as" function.


RANDOM COMMENTS

Don't order a 2.5" LCD pop-up sun screen. The housing for the LCD is the same size as for the 3" screen on the TZ5.

Order an extra battery, but shop around. The prices vary wildly for the OEM battery (which is what I got).

I notice people have mentioned not liking that the battery and memory card are in the same compartment. That didn't bother me at all. A lever holds the battery in even when the outer door is open.

Be sure and get a high-speed (category 6) memory card. I had some very occasional tiny glitches in movies with a category 4 that I had lying around.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Digital Camera (Silver):

you cannot find another small camera with 10x zoom. I strongly recommend

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Digital Camera (Silver):

This is a very good digital camera.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Digital Camera (Silver):

Easy to use and the quality of the photos is amazing!
Details of photos, even after enlarging, is excellent.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Digital Camera (Silver):

This is perfect for taking indoor and outdoor pictures. Easy to use.
Not sure that I needed the extra screen options, but as I learn more about them I will probably use them more. Highly recommend.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Digital Camera (Silver):

Purchased as a pocket camera when I don't want to lug my digital slr. Despite what I've read about high iso noise, I find iso 800 and 1600 very useful to keep shutter speeds hand holdable in low light. The results are not shabby either. If you zoom way in it looks a bit processed, but normal viewing and prints look great.

Movies are very good, but get a high speed card for the faux HD mode. Its not actual HD resolution, but it is the same proportion and bigger than vga. It stalls out on a slow card. A bit of focus hunting in low light, but read the manual on the focus modes, that helps.

Controls are easy. Not miniature, but small enough. It's got a 10x zoom for goodness sake! I.S. is pretty good.

It's metal and feels solid.

The Leica lens is sharp. And macro mode is outstanding.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Digital Camera (Silver):

I have finally made the switch to digital from film, and this camera is working out quite well for me. I'm still in something of a learning curve, whereas film photography is sort of intuitive for me. I use it for general photography - family and travel. I wanted something compact and that had at least 10X optical zoom. Its small size and big zoom make it a lot easier to just grab and take with you than it would be with a standard SLR. Sharpness and color saturation are both great. My only complaint is that the autofocus sometimes gets confused and can't decide what to focus on.

I would suggest that the camera package include a case, one memory card, and a spare battery, rather than 2 memory cards and no extra battery.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Digital Camera (Silver):

I purchased this camera as a gift for my girlfriend and she couldn't of been happier. The 10x optical zoom is quite amazing.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Digital Camera (Silver):

This camera is the BEST when you are looking for a high definition/compact/powerful zoom/quality lens.[...]

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Digital Camera (Silver):

This camera fits anywhere, so I can always have it with me. It takes great pictures, and I really love the high speed burst.