Upon finding out that I can acquire Panasonic DMC-LZ1 for less than $200, I decided to give it a try. After all, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1 promises 6x optical zoom and optical image stabilization in a compact body for not much money.

Pictures

The pictures of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1 as well as sample photos I took using it are available at the address below:

Click here to see the sample photos I took with this Panasonic LZ1 camera and photos of the camera

What Is Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1?

The Panasonic LZ1 is a compact 4-megapixel digital camera that features a 6x optical (37-222 mm equivalent focal length) f/2.8-4.5 zoom lens, optical image stabilization, 2-inch LCD screen and records images on Secure Digital cards (SD cards). The camera has 14 MB of built-in memory to get you started and is powered by AA batteries (rechargeable Alkaline or NiMH or disposable). It can record QuickTime movies at 320x240 resolution without sound with movie length limited by capacity of the memory card only.

Handling and Ergonomics

Once I received the camera, I was surprised at how small it is for its impressive optical zoom and image stabilization features. The camera feels solid in your hand and is convenient to hold.

The camera has a convenient hand grip and its zoom control as well the shutter release button are conveniently located. Other controls are within easy reach. The rotating mode dial has the right feel to it. It is not too flimsy and not too stiff.

The camera has menus that are easy to use. I like Panasonic menus more than Canon's or Sony's.

Speed

The camera is pretty fast. Once you slide the switch on the top deck to power it on, the lens extends and the lens lid opens automatically within about one second and you are ready to shoot. If you turn the camera on in the review mode, it powers on even faster and does not extend the lens.

Powering the camera off makes it retract the lens and close the lid in under two seconds.

The shutter lag is almost absent when pre-focused (the camera takes the picture as soon as you press the shutter release button). The focusing time is pretty good (under a second at either wide angle or telephoto), even in the dimly-lit environments.

LCD Screen

The camera has a large 2-inch LCD screen, but no viewfinder. It is difficult to make a compact optical viewfinder for a camera that has 6x optical zoom. That is why many cameras that have high-powered optical zooms use electronic viewfinders (EVF) or have no viewfinders at all. An EVF would add to the price and size of the LZ1, so it doesn't have one.

The large 2-inch LCD screen has good resolution and accurate 100% coverage. The problem arises in the sun/bright light, where you have to cover the LCD screen with your hand or anything else to be able to see anything. It does not always work.

Power

The camera uses two AA-sized batteries. You can use disposable ones or rechargeable Alkaline or NiMH. You can select in the menu what kind of batteries you are using (rechargeable or Oxyride) and the camera will show you battery status information based on your selection. This is the first camera I see that does that.

No rechargeable batteries or charger are supplied, but I was able to use my old 1600 mAh NiMH rechargeable Panasonic batteries and take more than 100 pictures with no sign of batteries being even partially discharged. I estimate that you will be able to take more than 300 pictures on one set of high-capacity (2100+ mAh) rechargeable NiMH batteries.

Storage

The camera has 14 MB of built-in memory to get you started. I used my memory cards with it: SanDisk 512MB SECURE DIGITAL CARD and Kingston Elite Pro 512 MB 65x Secure Digital (SD) Card (SD/512-S).

Features

Among cool features offered by the LZ1 are two modes of optical image stabilization (Mode 1 stabilizes the image when you pre-focus, Mode 2 does so only when the shutter is released, giving you better battery life and sharper pictures). The camera came pre-set to Mode 1, which I immediately changed to Mode 2.

The camera has no real manual control, which is not a problem for me since it offers exposure compensation and bracketing and uses (as many other digital cameras) a two-step aperture. The camera selects between f/2.8 or f/5.6 at wide angle, between f/4.5 or f/9.0 at telephoto. It works pretty well.

You can select the full auto/easy mode, in which you only have to point and shoot. You can also select a scene mode from several provided (portrait, landscape, etc.) Or you can select a program mode and use exposure compensation and exposure bracketing.

The camera also has several burst modes, in which I was able to take several photos a second.

You can select the resolution (full 4 Megapixel and lower), ISO sensitivity (Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400), white balance, compression (low or high), color mode (standard, natural or vivid) and effects (B&W, Sepia, etc.)

The built-in flash has red-eye reduction mode and also can be disabled. You can enable and disable the 4x digital zoom that brings total zoom to 24x (at the expense of quality). You can also enable the long shutter mode.

The camera has an orientation sensor and automatically rotates pictures taken with the camera in vertical position.

It also can show you a histogram during picture taking and while reviewing images.

The camera has a USB and A/V outs.

Image Quality

I have used the camera extensively over several days in different lighting conditions and different modes. Overall, my experience was positive, but with some exceptions.

The camera produces sharp and richly-saturated photos. You can adjust the sharpness and saturation by selecting among the Standard, Natural or Vivid picture modes. I usually use Natural mode in Panasonic cameras and then adjust everything in Photoshop, but for printing with no adjustments, Standard mode works better.

Unlike some other Panasonic cameras, the LZ1 does not bear the Leica name on its lens. Is it because the optics is inferior to something we come to expect from Leica? Let's find out.

The sample pictures I took are available by clicking at the link below:

Sample photos from Panasonic LZ1 (opens in a new window).

You can click on the images to see the picture in full resolution (4 Megapixels, files are about 800 K in size).

The sample photos were made in standard mode with higher compression (smaller file size) of the two compression levels available and represent the worst-case scenario of 4-Megapixel resolution. Meaning, you can do better with the level of less compression, but even pictures at higher compression are good.

Now let's look at some samples. Feel free to use them as your own. You can download the files, look at EXIF information, print them, etc.

The first two samples are made in the morning. The first one is at wide angle, the second is full 6x optical zoom (telephoto) from the same position to show you how powerful the zoom is. Both photos are taken handheld. Below are the images (click for full-size view):

You can see that there is a small amount of chromatic aberration (purple fringing) in the first shot (in the upper-right corner). Aside from that, the image is sharp and the colors are pleasing and well-saturated.

The second shot is sharp, despite being shot handheld at 222-mm equivalent length and only has small amount of blur in corners.

The next two shots were taken with negative exposure compensation at Redondo Beach, CA. The first one is at wide angle, the second is full 6x optical zoom (telephoto) from the same position to show you how powerful the zoom is. Both photos are taken handheld. Below are the images (click for full-size view):

The first shot has some vignetting (corners are darker than the rest of the image). Aside from that, the image is sharp and the colors are pleasing and well-saturated. I used negative exposure compensation, so if the image seems too dark to you, it is my fault.

The second shot is sharp, despite being shot handheld at 222-mm equivalent length and only has small amount of blur in corners.

The last shot was also taken with negative exposure compensation at Redondo Beach, CA. Below is the image (click for full-size view):

The shot has some vignetting (corners are darker than the rest of the image). Aside from that, the image is sharp and the colors are pleasing and well-saturated. I used negative exposure compensation, so if the image seems too dark to you, it is my fault.

Conclusion: the compact 6x optical zoom requires sacrifices. In this case, the corners of the image suffer slightly. There is some chromatic aberration and vignetting (mostly at wide angle) and some corner softness (mostly at telephoto). Perhaps this is the reason we are not seeing the Leica name on this lens.

Will it matter for you? Probably not. The corners of the image usually do not make it to the final print. Since the aspect ratio of the prints is different than the ratio of this (and most) camera, the two edges (and corners) of the picture are usually cut-off.

Aside from that, you get excellent versatility, sharpness and pleasing colors, along with fast operation.

Noise

The image noise was virtually absent at ISO 64, appears in shadows at ISO 100, grows at ISO 200 and becomes objectionable at ISO 400. Still, ISO 400 prints look OK at 6x4-inch size. And ISO 64 pictures should enlarge well up to 8x10.

Computer Connectivity

I used the USB connection in order to download the pictures from this camera and was able to download 92 Megabyte in about 150 seconds, which amounts to about 600 KB/sec. Since the images were about 800 K in size, I could download about 3 images every 4 second. Not earth-shattering result, but not bad at all.

No driver installation was required on my Windows 2000 SP4 computer and I could even use my cable that I am using with my Panasonic DMC-FZ5 camera.

Bottom Line

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1 is an inexpensive, yet very versatile 4-Megapixel optically stabilized camera with 6x optical zoom. Aside from slight issues with corners of the frame and LCD visibility, I highly recommend it. With its long battery life, fast operation and powerful zoom in such a compact body, it is a great camera.

Recommended
Yes

Product Rating
(Excellent)

This review is also available at Epinions.com: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1 Digital Camera Review on Epinions.com

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