Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5

21st September 2011

Written by Gordon Laing

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 versus Fujifilm FinePix F30

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 results : Outdoor resolution / Studio resolution / Real life Noise

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 results continued…

Outdoor resolution / Studio resolution / Real life Noise

outdoor scene

To compare real-life performance we shot the same scene with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 and the Fujifilm FinePix F30 within a few moments of each other using their Auto modes, best quality JPEG and lowest ISO settings. The lenses on each camera were adjusted to deliver the same field of view.

The image left was taken with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 at 6 mm f3.7 and with a sensitivity of 100 ISO; the original JPEG measured 4.16 MB. The crops are taken from the upper left, center, lower right and lower left portions of the originals and presented here at 100%.

As an older model, it may seem strange to use the Fujifilm FinePix F30 for a comparison here, but it remains a benchmark in compact performance. The Panasonic TZ5 may sport 50% more effective Megapixels – hence the smaller area in the crops – but there’s little if any extra detail recorded in this example. The TZ5’s image is also softer overall, especially in the corners such as the crop of the mountain ridge.

So once again this goes to prove that an increase in resolution doesn’t necessarily translate into perceptibly greater real-life detail. That said, the TZ5’s results below compare fairly well against other modern compacts, especially considering its longer 10x optical zoom range. Now to see how the TZ5 performs in a controlled studio environment, check out our TZ5 resolution page.