Panasonic compact cams get 12X zoom, GPS, rugged shells
updated 07:55 am EST, Tue January 26, 2010
Panasonic ZS7, TS2 and ZR3 appear
Panasonic provided a look into its PMA lineup on Tuesday with a trio of Lumix compacts, each of which claims a special advantage of its own. Heading these up is the 12-megapixel ZS7: it touts "superzoom" shooting in a compact with a 12X, 25-300mm equivalent lens but is more noteworthy as the company's first GPS-aware camera. Shots taken can optionally be geotagged so that iPhoto '09 and similarly ready apps can map out photos.
The point-and-shoot is also skewed more towards hobbyists and semi-pros with manual control over aperture, exposure and shutter speed. Autofocusing is relatively quick, even at the far end of the zoom (a maximum 0.4 seconds), and the optical image stabilization is Panasonic's most advanced at roughly twice the correction of its usual IS system. Those looking for slightly longer reach also have an optional Intelligent Resolution feature that uses digital zoom but corrects for softness and the pixelated look at a maximum 16X zoom.
Video is captured at 720p in the AVCHD Lite (H.264) format and now has a dedicated recording button. The usual complement of full-auto and face dtection features are available on the camera, which also supports SDXC for storage beyond 32GB.
A more frugal alternative, the Lumix ZR3, has a simpler 8X 25-200mm lens (10X with Intelligent Resolution) and drops GPS but is considerably smaller and focuses faster, at about 0.3 seconds at its outer limits. It too shoots AVCHD Lite video and has yet to receive concrete launch information.
The TS2 rounds out the line and is a significant upgrade to its predecessor in its rugged capability: the hardened, rubber-sealed shell is now waterproof to 33 feet and also meets US military standards for being dustproof, shockproof to 10 feet, and freezeproof to 14F. It can also get a silicone jacket that guards against cosmetic scratches. In performance, it shoots at 14 megapixels with a 4.6X 28-128mm lens but has the same optical IS, AVCHD Lite video and other software features of its less durable counterparts.
ZR3
TS2
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2008
No optical viewfinder
Nice engineering to get a 12X zoom on a compact camera, but no sale on the 12X ZS7. Any serious camera has to have an optical viewfinder. There are too many situations where the surrounding light level makes it difficult to get a good image. On the high light level end, it is a matter of the LCD screen washing out. On the low light level end, it is the inability to stabilize the camera against your eyebrow so that one has to take a picture with arms extended.