Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 / ZS7 Real-life sharpness when zoomed-in (Aperture Priority)
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To compare real-life performance when zoomed-in, we shot this scene with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 / ZS7 in Aperture Priority mode at all f-numbers.
As before, the Lumix TZ10 / ZS7 was set to its lowest sensitivity and best-quality JPEG settings. The crops below are taken from the areas marked with the red rectangles and presented here at 100%. Note this image was shot on a different day to our first results page. |
Below you'll see crops taken from the corner and centre portions of images shot with the lens fully zoomed-in at a variety of aperture settings. On the previous page we saw how the aperture setting made a big impact on the overall contrast and sharpness of the images when the camera was fully zoomed-out, but here at the maximum focal length, there's much less difference between them.
Indeed while the last row at the smallest aperture setting of f6.3 is arguably a tad worse than the ones above it, the three rows look essentially the same. The reason for this is the lens on the TZ10 / ZS7, along with most other super-zooms, becomes softer and less contrasty at its longer focal lengths. This reduction in contrast and sharpness when fully zoomed-in has effectively overshadowed any effect of diffraction at smaller apertures. You can really see this by glancing back at our previous two pages where the photos were taken at the wide-end of the focal range.
In one respect, this is good news, since you won't need to worry about manually selecting larger apertures when zoomed-in for the best results, unless of course you want to minimise the depth-of-field for an out-of-focus effect. But it does sadly illustrate the noticeable softening of images from super-zooms at their longest focal lengths – this is one of the prices you pay for having such a long zoom-range, especially in a compact body.
Now it's time to see how the camera performs throughout its sensitivity range in our Panasonic Lumix TZ10 / ZS7 High ISO Noise results. Alternatively if you've already seen enough, head straight to our Verdict!
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 / ZS7
Corner sharpness at 300mm equivalent
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 / ZS7
Centre sharpness at 300mm equivalent |
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f4.9, 80 ISO |
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f4.9, 80 ISO |
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f5.6, 80 ISO |
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f5.6, 80 ISO |
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f6.3, 80 ISO |
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f6.3, 80 ISO |
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