Camera Labs

@Tonic23

The video quality is better for sure.
The sound did get messed up I think then importing the original files (PAL) into PowerDirector8 and exporting as wmv. I am in the US to the vid was converted to NTSC.

Seconded. Thanks again for a great review, now I'm even more tempted to chop my TZ7 in and upgrade. But I also learned more about my current camera (despite several trips through the manual) in this instance re: burst shooting. I knew it was user error!!

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EOS500 (gathering dust) S45 (gathering dust) TZ7

Gordon thanks for an excellent review of the TZ10 / ZS7. It appears to be a great compact. If only they had included RAW, I would be seriously considering it.

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Frank

Two questions for everyone!

1: What do you think of having GPS in a camera, and in particular, Panasonic's implementation? I'm going to update the review with some comments on GPS accuracy once I've fully tested the Sony HX5.

2: There's been a lot of talk about zoom noise on the older models - now you've sampled my clips, do you feel it's any better or the same on the TZ10 / ZS7?

As for Q1: I think that at the moment GPS is still regarded as a bit of a
novelty, but that in time the perception will change and it will become a
"Must have" as camera users see the benefit and advantages.
Privacy could become problematic, and posting images to the web will
require editing to remove GPS detail that could provide too much
information about you and where you live etc.
For now, I am far more concerned about battery life, and would rather turn
this feature off than have a battery that is drained too quickly! In time I'm
sure that this will be resolved though.
Regards

I don't see why GPS couldn't become a standard feature sooner than later. The incremental cost isn't significant, and would be invaluable for those out and about. I don't see the privacy side as being a problem, as it should be easy to turn on and off, or strip out later. Battery consumption should also be insignificant.

As a possible alternative option to the balance of being always on/ready or operating slowly as needed, there's the method used by my satnav. You can download in advance data on satellite positioning for several days in advance. Having that means acquisition can take seconds even from having been switched off. The downside is that you have to get the camera online regularly to get updates.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

1) As I contemplate manually geotagging 7 years of digital images, I'd say it's a neat implementation, providing it doesn't drain the battery too much. Disappointing that altitude isn't stored, although I note that there can be a lot of difference between GPS altitudes: my standalone GPS tracker seems to be much more accurate in altitude than my HTC phone - not sure how accurate the Panasonic implementation would be.

2) I think the zoom noise in your clips is slightly better than the original implementation on the TZ7, which was very noisy. However, updating my TZ7 to firmware 1.2 seemed to eliminate zoom noise almost completely - and it takes about 10s to zoom out --> in, with quite pronounced slow acceleration/deceleration at either end.

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EOS500 (gathering dust) S45 (gathering dust) TZ7

Hello for all !

Sounds interesting GPS but I dont think I will use. For sure, is not accurate option, this is more marketing stuf.
For one super-compact camera I like.

Cheers,

Carlos

Does anyone know if you can manual select someplace other than the center to auto focus on. ie if I compose a shot and then want it to focus on the upper left intersection of the rule of thirds, can I tell it to do that, or do I have to hope that it pics that out of the 11 point system.

I hate having to point, half shutter, compose, full shutter.

Hi Gordon

Many thanks for all the effort you put in to producing such comprehensive reviews. They are much appreciated.

I was wondering if you have had Panasonic's response to your enquiry about whether they've done something to improve the TZ10's autofocus/zoom operation during video mode compared to the TZ7. You got better results with the TZ10 in your test but I was leaning towards the TZ7 as it would suit me better. But if they've done something specific with the TZ10 to remove (or at least reduce) the focus hunting problem that would definitely swing me to that camera instead.

Many thanks.

Gordon, am I the only one who noticed how terrible jerky the video is?
it starts with a terrible wobble (I guess that was when you hit the movie button to start) and then there is a horizontal jerking left and right of the video until you zoom out in the middle of it.
I looked at it in opera and firefox to verify but the same in both.
I played the clip in and external viewer and the same.
any explanation?
joe

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http://hx9v.blogspot.com/

Well I'm very pleased to announce that I ordered a third party compatible battery for around £15 and it works on the TZ10. The battery is one of the newly chipped clones and has an impressive 1250mAH which should provide good portability even with the GPS turned on.

I don't know if this is the right topic to ask this question, but can anyone tell me how the tz10 is compared to the fz38?

It's easy to see the obvious differences (size, zoom, GPS), but those don't matter too much to me. More important to me is which camera makes the best pictures (I'm especially interested in how they perform in outdoor conditions).

To me it's also very interesting to know which of these camera's is the fastest to power up and focus. This is probably mentioned somewhere, but I haven't found it so far.

I ordered the TZ10, and I'm hoping the zoom/autofocus noise is not as noticable on this as it was with the TZ7. See my earlier post on my experience with it in a quite, office environment.

I did manage to get my hands on a PowerShot SX20 IS, in lieu of my interested in a bridge camera and in my quest as to which one to chose from vs. the Z35. I went with the SX20 because of the flip out view finder. However, I was very unimpressed and quite dissapointed with the photo quality and performance. Especially at the macro/close up level.

For instance, I typically take pictures of electronics I workon, or of serial numbers on my systems, for product reference an inventory purposes. I've been using my trusty TZ1 (yes, this oldie but goldie - it actually allows both zoom and focus during video - go figure, while this feature was absent in subsequent models and especially in competing brands).

What I did notice, again was that the SX20 was unable to zoom lets say from about 3 feet from an item - perhaps a laptop or so, to take a picture of its model information on the backside. The SX20 refused to focus at minimal zoom levels, requiring me to physically move closer to the item to "help" the focus out. But wait, the flash would then wash out the detail.

Weaving my thread back on topic, I'm hoping the TZ10 will provide the same performance as my trusty TZ1 - that is, provide a nice focus response with practicle partial zooms - so I don't have to have the camera right on top of the - close focus situations - as I usually do - during product inventory situations ( back of an LCD screen on the wall, etc. - do I need to get the ladder, or will the partial zoom/with macro do the trick - again, where the Lumix TZ1 did quite outstandingly well.

So, next week when I get the TZ10, I'll hope to see the same focus/zoom under macro situation performance.

Of course, I'll look forward to the Video/photo aspects of the camera.

Why not the Z35 vs. the TZ10? Form factor? Yes, the Z35 appears to be just like the SX10, in size, and that is a non-hip pouch carrying form factor.

I wear a uniform on my job, and am just able to carry the old TZ1 in a pouch on my belt without creating too much of a distraction.

I also led towards the TZ10 because it chose to use the higher resolution screen, whereas the Z35 maintained the lower resolution screen.

I will add that if the TZ10 did not have the Power OIS, I would have been back into deliberation as to which model to choose.

I am still concerned about the zoom/autofocus noise issues (in a quite room, remember, it become part of the permanent recording - can't extract it unless you use another soundtrack) - So as a videographer, this seemed to be too much to bear with, especially in the TZ7. Where, most of my impromptu shots may be around the house.

But I've balanced my anticipational expectations on the TZ10 more around my familiarity with its 1) form factor (like the TZ1), 2) its performance under partial zoom/focus factors (how close do I need the camera to the subject to get it to zoom).

Notice, I didn't even mention the GPS feature - I think this is a definite standard to be in cameras in the near future (just like video is now/or is to be).

One concern about GPS, there may be issues regarding military personnel maintaining equipment which records position information in their devices. This is called Operational Security (OpSec), and well, these cameras may not be permitted in the field for fear of them falling in the wrong hands. That's all I'll say about that.

Along the same lines, you should also see Garmin (GPS guys) start offering photo/video capabilities in their products in the future as well. My thinking is - if its got an LCD screen, you better be able to take pictures/video with it as well.

Thank's Gordon - I project we will see future hard copy magazine publications " CameraLabs Magazine" in the future from you/your organization. I agree, your reviews are a standard, unmatched by other reviews I've seen. Where other reviews are self promotional, selling based, yours approaches the item with a critical objective, fun, and interesting style.

As a suggestion, maybe you can delve a little into the "accessories" which may or may not be part of the cameras. For instance, the Z35 vs. SX20 - one will permit filters the other does not? Also talk about the lens hoods, whats in the box, benefits of ordering the mini HDMI cable, vs. not doing so, etc.

I know you got your hands full, but hey, that did cross my mind.

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MikesMultiMedia
"Photo-videograph Everything"

Mike, did you download any of my sample clips with zoom? You should be able to check them for motor noise...

culver84, sadly no official word from Panasonic, but it was certainly better on my sample footaage as you can see.

Hi Joe, yes, the initial wobble was due to pressing the button on the back. The jerking at high magnification was due to the IS system. I found the new Power OIS system to be more effective for stills, but it seemed to produce more jerking when panning for video - on my clips anyway. Do make sure you're downloading the original clip before judging though!