Our Rating ****~ (4/5)

Panasonic’s new DMC-TZ8 with an optically stabilised 25-300mm lens in a compact body offers 12.1 megapixels of resolution and manual exposure control.

25mm wide-angle LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens with 12x optical zoom
The TZ8 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.

Good: image capturing good texture of ojects
Bad: under daylight, only ISO 100 & 200 are usuable

Intelligent Auto (iA)
Just set the camera to iA mode, aim and shoot. The camera does the rest, automatically activating six detection and correction functions. These include:

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MEGA O.I.S.
helps prevent blurring due to shaky hands

Intelligent ISO Control
helps prevent blurring caused by subject motion.

Intelligent Scene Selector
selects the optimal scene mode for the situation.

Intelligent Exposure
adjusts the brightness of dark areas in the image.

Key Features:

• Versatile Shooting – LEICA DC VARIO ELMAR Lens offering

• 25mm Ultra Wide Angle

• 12x Optical Zoom (25-300mm)

• Easy & Fuss Free Shooting – Intelligent Auto Technology (Mega O.I.S., Intelligent ISO, Face Detection & Automatic Scene Selection) PLUS Face Recognition, Intelligent Exposure, AF Tracking,& Digital Red Eye Correction for ultimate ease of use.

• Don’t Miss the Action – Sonic Speed AF with lightening fast 0.35 sec Auto Focus to capture quick action.

• More Creative Control – Newly Incorporated Manual Mode offers greater shooting flexibility.
• Share Your Images in Your Living Room – VIErA Image Viewer lets you view your JPEGs using the SD card slot for immediate playback.

Face Detection AF/AE
helps deliver clear portraits.

AF Tracking
locks the focus onto your moving subject.

25mm Wide Angle Lens
The expressiveness of a wide-angle lens lies in its ability to capture spatial expanse and depth. When you want to shoot a sweeping landscape or fit all your friends in a photo when there isn’t much room, there’s nothing like a wide-angle lens.

2.7″ LCD Screen
The DMC-TZ8 incorporate an easy-to-see, large, 2.7-inch 230,000-dot high-resolution LCD for comfortable viewing while both monitoring shots and playing back the results. The Intelligent LCD function detects the light condition and automatically boosts the LCD backlighting by max. 40% when shooting outdoors in bright sunshine, and adjusts the frame rate when shooting in low-lit situations.

Optical Zoom in Movie
The TZ8 allows you to zoom in and out while shooting motion images.

Panorama Assist
A Panorama Assist mode makes it easy to take a series of images to combine into a panorama shot, while checking the degree of overlap between adjacent shots. This is great for shooting landscapes that are too wide to capture in a single shot.

Macro Zoom
Using the digital zoom function, you can pull subjects even closer than the closest point possible with the wide-angle setting, and capture dramatic close-ups.

Photo Frame Mode
In Photo Frame mode, you can compose your shot while displaying one of the frames registered in the camera. This is a quick, easy way to produce photos with attractive borders.

PhotographyBlog reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5/TZ8 and writes:
“Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ8 produces noise-free images at ISO 100 and 200, with ISO 400 also looking good. ISO 800 shows some quite obvious noise and softening of fine detail, and ISO 16000 is even noisier, although still OK for small prints and web images.”
Rating: ★★★★☆

Pocket-Lint reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5/TZ8 and writes:
“Panasonic pitch the Lumix DMC-TZ8 as an ideal travel companion and for many it will be. The combination of creative control through the manual settings, the wide zoom range and HD video capture make it a good all-rounder. The performance and image quality impress too.”
Rating: ★★★★☆

ImagingResource reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5/TZ8 and writes:
“ISO 80 and 100 printed results look good at 16×20 with good color and detail. ISO 200 shots are quite good at 13×19, and ISO 400 shots look good at 11×14, though there’s a little more softening in detail, especially among the reds. That’s also true at ISO 800, and while this setting makes a good letter size print, it’s really better printed at 8×10 or 5×7. ISO 1,600 shots are better at 5×7 or 4×6″
Rating: N/A

InfoSyncWorld reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5/TZ8 and writes:
“Basically, in Auto and Scene modes, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5 will pump up the ISO and use the flash whenever necessary, and the results were mediocre. It wasn’t until we shot in full manual mode or Program AE that things started looking good.“

TechRadar reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5/TZ8 and writes:
“The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ8 is a very like able and stylish compact that bends over backwards to help you get good shots. The lens is a real winner. It’s also very easy to record high quality HD movies. SLR users seeking a back-up compact might find its restrictions and usability quirks frustrating, though.”
Rating: ★★★★☆

TrustedReviews reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5/TZ8 and writes:
“The Panasonic TZ8 isn’t a pleasant surprise, as its predecessor the TZ7 has similar pedigree, but an impressive continuation of previous form. The only criticisms are slight and infrequent, making the end performance of this compact some of the most balanced available on a compact currently on the market. “
Rating: ★★★★½

PCWorld reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5/TZ8 and writes:
“The Lumix DMC-ZS5 brushes aside most fancy extras and gets down to brass tacks. Its manual controls and fast-focusing 12X-optical-zoom lens make it a big step up from 2009’s Lumix DMC-ZS3.”
Rating: ★★★★½

Specifications:

General
Dimensions:
103.3 x 59.6 x 32.6 mm

Weight:
191 g

Inside The Camera
Optical sensor:
CCD

Resolution:
12 megapixels

Zoom range:
12

Focal length:
25mm to 300mm

Light sensitivity:
ISO 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, Auto, High Sensitivity

Focusing:
Normal, macro and quick AF

Shutter speed:
60 to 1/2000 seconds

Creative controls:
Yes

Other useful features:
intelligent Auto, scene modes, multi aspect ratio sensor, manual exposure control

Outside The Camera
Viewfinder type:
None

Type of flash:
Built-in

Tripod mount:
Yes

Video out:
Yes

Battery charger:
Included

Storage type(s):
Secure Digital, Secure Digital HC, SDXC

Hotshoe:
No

Image Capture
Digital video capture:
Yes

Max video resolution (new):
1280 x 720 @ 30 fps

Audio capture:
Yes