PANASONIC LUMIX TZ18 CAMERA JACKS REVIEW

PANASONIC LUMIX TZ18 CAMERA JACKS REVIEW
What a cracking little camera this is, I have been putting it through my normal test shots and it has performed extremely well. In full IA (intelligent auto), it has returned some very nice images, very vivid colours without looking ‘overcooked’ they are very sharp and metering  is spot on, the camera has recorded the scene as I am looking at it with the naked eye. This for me is all you can want from a camera. The leica lens has returned some stunning shots that I have printed to A4 size and they look fantastic. The 16x optical zoom looks very sharp at full zoom (384mm) and the image stabilizer works very well to help remove camera shake. I have tested the intelligent digital zoom, which, although not as sharp as the optical zoom, has still produced some perfectly acceptable images at 20x and 32x digital zoom. In fact, I am struggling to see any difference at all looking at the 16x and 20x prints.

The camera feels really well built and is comfortable in the hand,  even the door for the USB connection feels sturdy and is not the rubber version you often find on modern cameras.
Starting at the top of the camera, you have a nicely positioned shutter button with the zoom control in front of it. Next to this there is the main control dial which includes the following menus, IA intelligent auto, Program, Aperture priority, shutter priority, manual, scene mode, 2 x manual scene modes, where you can save your favourite modes, custom mode, here you can save frequently used settings and video mode. There is also a very handy quick zoom button, that allows you to zoom almost instantly on a distant subject. On the back of the camera you have a shooting mode switch, exposure button, flat ‘joy stick’ that includes an exposure-bracketing button, flash settings, self-timer and macro mode,  the main camera menu button, a quick menu button and a display selection button. The camera has a very simple user-friendly feel about it.

Although you can take control and experiment with your photography, you can also set the camera to IA Intelligent auto and let it set everything for you, including the selection of the appropriate scene mode. A lovely camera for general photography, which also has a very useable zoom lens for more distant subjects.
Jack
PANASONIC LINK
EXMOOR PHOTOGRAPHY

Features,

·         Megapixels 14.1

·         Sensor type CCD

·         Optical zoom (x) 16

·         Focal length (tele) 384

·         Focal length (wide) 24

·         Image stabilisation Yes

·         Minimum focus distance 3 cm

·         Exposure modes 30 Scene Modes

·         Viewfinder type TFT Screen LCD Display

·         Screen size (inches) 3.0”

·         Flash type In Built

·         Movie mode 720p HD

·         Face detection Technology Yes

·         PictBridge Yes