About to buy a Panasonic DMC-TZ1 - should I?

mutamist · 08-02-2007, 4:05 PM

As the title says - I like the optical zoom, relatively small size and good battery life - plus at £133 it seems like a good deal. I'm going on reviews not personal experience.

I'm just interested to know if people think this is a good buy or if there is something better within a similar price range that is better in the fields I have mentioned that I should be considering?

many thanks for any help

Pirate!! · 08-02-2007, 4:32 PM

At that price I would expect to see the arm socket! As far as I know (I could be wrong), there's no other point and shooter with image stabilisation and the long optical zoom to touch it.

Go get it cowboy . . Yee hah!

UPDATE: I assume the price you quoted is including the dreaded VAT and delivery? If not, I had a look on 'pay me the money, and I'll have a nice holiday without sending you the item bay', and there's a few choice deals on there.

In addition, Panasonic's do have a 'noise' issue . . they all suffer with it due to the sensor size. If you are happy to do a little post processing, then there's nothing to be concerned about. I have an antique DMC-FZ3 in my armoury, so I know what needs to be done. My best advice is that if you do get one, make sure you set the image stabilisation to MODE 2, use the highest quality setting JPEG MODE (no TIFF or RAW options), and the largest image size it offers.

Any other tips are available by sending your request on the back of £50 note to . . . .

I am of course assuming that you want a pocket sized point and shooter as opposed to a PROSUMER type camera?

bodoman · 08-02-2007, 5:08 PM

Just bought this camera to carry around with me as i dont take as many photos as i would like with my digilux 2 because of its size.

The pana fits in my pocket and its a cracking cameras, it has a real solid feel to it with its metal body, the 10 times zoom with image stabilisation works great.
It has a li on battery that seems to last for ages, i have only had it a week and my wife has collared it, yes its wife friendly as well.
i paid £169.00 from purely gadgets

I think its a bargain for the money

mutamist · 08-02-2007, 5:19 PM

When yopu say 'noise', what is that in simple terms and what would have to do to the photos? For simple purposes like adding them to a website at say 400 - 500 pixels wide, would I need to do any post processing and what is that?

Sorry, I'm a bit of a novice with cameras.

Pirate!! · 08-02-2007, 7:02 PM

Just run it through software like Neat Image or Noise Ninja to 'clean up' the photo. If you have PaintShop Pro 10 or similar, they ought to have the facility built-in.

Don't worry yourself, NI and NN are free to download. If there are specific camera filters on their websites for your specific camera, download them as well.

Other forum members will offer advice in this department.

'Noise' is essentially interferrance on the photo from compression and low-light (speckles). Software will essentially 'clean' them from the image to make the photo look cleaner and sharper.

mutamist · 08-02-2007, 7:17 PM

Thanks for that, I've seen it mentioned all over the place and never known what it meant!

Thanks also to bodoman - always nice to hear a recommendation from an owner.

mutamist · 10-02-2007, 10:03 AM

I bought it in the end and at a great price. The eBay seller had a 'make offer' option enabled so I made an offer of £99.99 and it was accepted. Add in the £12.99 P&P and I paid £112.98 which was way cheaper than I found anywhere else. The seller is selling a number of these plus other Panasonic cameras. Anyway, it arrived in less than 36 hours, it is brand new as described and I have charged the battery and taken a couple of shots - seems to be a great camera from the little I have used it so far. plus it fits in my pocket!

Stompa · 13-02-2007, 9:49 PM

I have a TZ1, and for the price it's pretty impressive.

They're being sold off cheaply right now because Panasonic has just announced the replacement TZ2 & TZ3:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0701/07...onictz2tz3.asp

Stompa

beachy · 13-02-2007, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mutamist

The seller is selling a number of these plus other Panasonic cameras.

do you have a link to the seller please

bstonehouse · 15-02-2007, 6:32 PM

Panasonic have announced a TZ2 and TZ3 (March 2007, I believe) that has the 10 times zoom but with wide angle (28-280mm), it may be worth waiting. I am also looking for a P&S with a good zoom range and after considering the Ricoh R5, I am now inclined to wait for the Panasonic TZ2 or TZ3.