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| TZ70 Focal Length E135mm. The TZ70 works well for close ups on the run. |
Panasonic has been a player in the ‘travel zoom’/ ‘superzoom’ category for many years with several current offerings.
The FZ70, FZ200 and FZ1000 each have a DSLR-like appearance.
The TZ70 is completely different in shape, size and style being much smaller, scarcely larger than a standard 3x zoom compact.
Panasonic has managed to fit a 30x zoom into a camera only 32mm deep, utilising a triple extension inner barrel system. This seems to me like a remarkable feat of optical and mechanical engineering.
Compact size and light weight are the key features which define the TZ70, making it very convenient to carry in a small pouch or largish pocket. By the way, I never recommend that anybody actually carry a camera in a pocket, a place almost guaranteed to hold dirt, lint and other bits of stuff likely to get inside and damage a camera. In a drawstring pouch in a pocket maybe.
But compact size and low mass are not advantages when one is trying to make pictures at the long end of the zoom. The TZ70 is not as easy to hold steady as larger, heavier models with a full handle.
The TZ70 is well specified with most of the features expected of a modern electronic camera, including a built in EVF, Mode Dial with PASM , Custom, Scene and Panorama Modes, [iA] Mode for snapshooters and a decent set of controls and functions for the enthusiast including RAW capture and Wi-Fi.
Unfortunately the [Photo Style] feature (which allows users to adjust JPG contrast/saturation/noise reduction/color) which appears on many Panasonic cameras is inexplicably and to my mind, inexcusably missing from the TZ70.
This omission seems to me like one of those “what on earth were they thinking” mistakes. It’s just software after all and its absence will alienate enthusiast users while doing nothing for the snapshooters.
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| Focal length E720mm RAW capture |
Image Quality
The TZ70 uses the very small 6.17 x 4.55 mm (diagonal 7.13mm) sensor with 12 Mpx.
This sensor size is at once the main advantage and disadvantage for imaging capability of the TZ70 and other cameras which use the 7.13mm sensor.
The advantage is that the small sensor allows designers to fit a very long zoom, this being the raison d’etre of the superzoom type.
The disadvantage is that the small sensor produces considerable luminance noise which impairs image quality.
Exposure is generally excellent with no problems noted.
Dynamic Range (Highlight and shadow detail) is quite good for a small sensor camera with a slight tendency to blow out highlights when subject brightness range is high.
Colorsare generally accurate in RAW files but JPGs show boosted colors especially greens.
Luminance noise is present at base ISO, becoming increasingly obvious as ISO rises. Image quality is impaired in RAW or JPG files by ISO 400 with loss of detail.
This is a problem indoors at any focal length and outdoors at the long end of the zoom.
Chroma noise appears not to be a problem in the TZ70 and indeed most cameras I have tested in the last two years.
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| Focal length E720mm from RAW capture |
The Lens delivers variable results changing markedly with focal length.
At the wide end, center resolution is good but the edges and corners are noticeably soft. This might be a problem for landscapes but is of less concern for other types of photo.
In the near wide to mid range of the zoom, the lens delivers very good resolution across the frame.
At the long end resolution and contrast decrease noticeably while purple fringing at high contrast edges becomes obvious.
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| Focal length E720mm |
RAW vs JPG capture While testing I shot RAW+JPG on every shot. In every case I was able to make a more pleasing picture from the RAW file with Adobe Camera Raw. High ISO JPGs showed a posterisation effect on faces in addition to the usual issues with smearing due to noise reduction.
Indoor image quality The problem is that you want to use an ISO setting greater than base level in order to keep shutter speeds in a reasonable hand holding range and that impairs picture quality.
The flash can be used but I could find no way to adjust flash output so you get whatever the camera decides. I find this unsubtle to put it mildly but you do get the shot.
The other approach is to set P Mode and allow a low minimum shutter speed (this can be user set) of about 1/15 second. This uses a higher ISO but gives a more natural, albeit grainy looking result. The camera’s OIS seems to manage low shutter speeds quite well at the wide and near wide end of the zoom.
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| Focal length E65mm. Very nice picture quality at this focal length in bright sun. |
Picture quality at the long end of the zoom The issues here are:
* The widest lens aperture is f6.4
* The OIS is less effective (in my hands anyway) at the long end
* The lens suffers reduced sharpness and contrast
* You want to keep the ISO setting at base level if possible.
Strategies for the long end
* You can use a tripod and timer delay. But the whole point of a camera like this is to go lightly with minimum gear and therefore no tripod. If I were planning to go out with a tripod I would take a more substantial camera. By the way, beware the lightweight tripod at full zoom. The slightest breeze will degrade image quality.
* Handhold but make a ‘human tripod’ by holding the camera to the eye, sitting or lying down with elbows resting on knees or other surface and practice mini meditation.
* Practice ways of holding the camera for optimum stability
* Use the ‘two foot zoom’ ---go walk closer to your subject if possible.
These strategies help but at the end of the day I found consistent difficulty getting decent picture quality at the long end of the zoom. I was testing the TZ70 alongside the Canon SX60 which had consistently better IS and picture quality at the long end.
PerformanceThe TZ70 is generally a pleasing performer, responding promptly to user inputs.
Autofocus is prompt, sensitive and accurate, slowing a little at the long end of the zoom and in low light. I tested AF accuracy and found no problems.
The lens zooms from one end to the other in 2 seconds.
Shot to shot time with RAW+ JPG capture, AF and AE on every frame, is 0.8 seconds.
Shutter response is almost instantaneous if the shot is prefocussed by half pressing the shutter button.
OIS works well especially at the wide end of the zoom where I found handholding at 1/15 second possible.
At the long end (E720mm) I found that if I stood unsupported and held the camera to my eye I could get consistently sharp photos from 1/200 second shutter speed. If I used a different holding technique with better support I could use a lower shutter speed.
Next: Ergonomics and summary