Here’s a camera for the serious tourist that is incredibly easy to use. The Panasonic Lumix ZS1 has a 12x magnification zoom lens that offers extreme wide angle for landscapes and long telephoto making objects far away seem close. This camera takes great still pictures but also lets you shoot movies. Blurry images from normal hand movements? Panasonic’s Mega Optical Image Stabilizer helps keep images in focus. Multiple auto focus and exposure modes make use of this camera really easy. Leica optics make the images seem as if you’re a professional. The Panasonic DMCZS1K Lumix 10.1 Megapixel Digital Camera packs a LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens with 12x optical zoom into a compact body. This versatile photographic tool lets you shoot everything from sweeping vistas at the 25mm wide-angle setting to dynamic 300mm telephoto shots. And the lens system’s exquisite rendering ability lets you capture even the subtle nuances of the sights and scenes in your travels. Just set the camera to iA mode, aim and shoot. The camera does all the rest. It automatically determines the most suitable Scene mode and helps correct blurring, focus, and brightness problems. With iA mode, it’s easy to get beautiful, clear results. File Format - JPEG (Exif 2.21), Quicktime Motion JPEG 25mm Ultra Wide-angle 12x Optical Zoom LEICA DC (25-300mm in 35mm equiv.) 2.7 High-resolution Intelligent LCD with Wide-viewing Angle ISO Sensitivity - Auto / 80 / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 Optical Image Stabilizer - MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) Shooting Mode - Intelligent AUTO, Normal Picture, My Scene Mode,Scene Mode, Motion Picture, Clipboard iA (Intelligent Auto) Mode with AF Tracking Power - Rechargeable Battery Dimensions (H x W x D) - 2.35” x 4.07” x 1.29” Weight - Approx. 7.2 oz
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars 10X OPticAL ZoOM
It is a good camera if you need good optical zoom in a compact size
5 Stars Excellent for travel
I’ve bought this camera for a 3 month excursion through europe. 10 days in and I love the camera. It is easy to use and the wide angle is great. Also, the battery life is fantastic. I can get through a good 300 pictures before having to recharge.
4 Stars Glorified snapshooter
The ZS1 is a wonderfully light compact camera with a big 12x zoom (the ZR1 has only 8x). The optical zoom can be pushed to 21x, at the cost of resolution. Everything is pretty much automatic. Lots of fun. It has many setting choices (parameters like file size, aspect ratios, metering–accessible on Quick Menu during shooting) and numerous Scene modes (including panorama sequence, for stitching in software supplied on CD). The “Food” Scene even made my cooking look like real food! Still more fun. Records 5 sec audio with still pictures. Numerous playback modes. It takes about 160 highest resolution pictures per battery charge. I carry it in a little protective bag, and it still fits in my (pants) pocket!
I had trouble seeing the LCD image, camera focus, and tiny icons in raking sunlight, either because the screen washed out, or reflected my sunny face. What do I do, look through a funnel instead, or drape a black cloth over the camera and my head (like the original glass plate view cameras a century ago!)? There’s no viewfinder, so we can’t hold the camera to our face and avoid the whole problem. (Note that these can be problems for most recent compact cameras, with their fixed LCD screens.) Awkward placement of shutter button on mid line and inboard of mode dial and zoom knob.
PC and AV cables, as well as one battery and charger, are included (no memory card, although 40MB is built in). Other acessories are expensive, if not a gouge. Buying the optional AC adaptor to power picture transfers will set you back $130 altogether, due to the additional required cable-connector purchase. The AC adaptor does not recharge the battery. All these are proprietary ($$$) rather than standard cables. Note also that Panasonic firmware 1.2 does not allow the use of non-Pansasonic ($$$) aftermarket ($) batteries as spares.
The ZS1 does only 848×640 max motion-JPEG monaural movie (while ZS3 adds AVCHD 720HD in stereo). If the camera won’t automatically take a picture I like (for example, depth of field, right amount of motion blur), it is hard to alter settings to something I liked better. The camera has no aperture- or shutter speed-priority modes, let alone full manual control. What a shame! That’s why I say it is a snapshot camera, rather than THE gloriously pocketable substitute for an SLR. If you demand such creative controls in a faux-SLR, consider the Canon Powershot SX200 IS (whose feature set in the same form factor is better compared to the Lumix DMC-ZS3, both with added HD video, a bigger LCD, and higher price).
5 Stars Great “travel” camera
On another camera review website, this was listed as one of the new class of “travel” cameras, and I can see why. I recently used this camera on a 2 week trip to Spain. As I have an interest in photography, I do take a large DSLR with lenses; however I like a “point and shoot” for wandering around at night and situations where I am trying to “relax,” such as being in a park. On the trip, I took about 500 shots with the Lumix. The lens range, from wide angle to mid telephoto was great. Picture quality was good, as was focus speed, start up speed and zoom speed. The camera performed well for a “point and shoot” in low light. One issue was that the LCD did “wash out” a couple of times, but that is typical of a camera without an optical viewfinder. Also, it is probably a good idea to charge the battery daily. This camera is slightly larger than the average “point and shoot” but it still fit well into a pants pocket. It was a bit too bulky for a shirt pocket. It seems a very good travel camera for those who want snapshots on a trip and a very good travel camera for those who want to supplement their large DSLR. I’m glad I bought it.
4 Stars Great point-and-shoot gives snapshots a little something extra
I’m a big fan of the Leica lenses on the Panasonic cameras. They’ve got a bit of work to do yet on making the camera’s processor keep up with such a magnificent lens, as sometimes the camera is slow to respond, and I think the super lens is also what makes the battery life a bit mediocre, hence I am knocking off a star. Also, proprietary battery and download cables are slightly annoying.
But what beautiful pictures this little thing creates, with fairly easy handling. Great camera if you are looking for a superzoom with image stabilization. I compared it against the Canon superzooms, and quite frankly the Panasonic turns out a higher caliber - the Leica lens makes all the difference. I am willing to put up with the minor issues for those great close-up shots.
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