Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 review

The feature-packed, long-zoom compact with one major flaw

The Panasonic DMC-TZ10 is the latest high-zoom model in its compact range. Equipped with a 12x optical zoom and a 12MP maximum resolution, this camera packs plenty of punch within its neat frame.

This model is the older brother to the extremely popular Panasonic TZ7, which has proved a winner among consumers looking for a long zoom in a small package. The TZ10 shares a lot with its predecessor, including its rugged good looks and tough metal exterior. This time around however, this model sports a chunkier handgrip to really give you something to grab hold of, plus a few alterations to the button layout.

The TZ10 includes an individual button for the newly appointed Manual exposure mode. This fantastic feature offers Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and full manual exposure controls, great for those wanting more control over things like depth of field and long exposures. You have the ability to experiment with shutter speeds between 60 and 1/2000sec, which means you can achieve some creative effects such as light trails.

Perhaps the most innovative feature to grace the TZ10 is the inclusion of a GPS receiver to automatically track your position across the world. This system works alongside an in-camera database loaded with over 500,000 destinations and landmarks. The GPS system is quick to react to changes in location. We tested this vigorously in Tenerife and even up a mountain, the GPS was able to plot us. While this is a great feature for travel photographers, unfortunately it is flawed. First, the database of locations uses up internal memory, leaving a meagre 15MB. Second, the database cannot be added to, so if a location is not logged already then it will not appear. Finally, and most devastating to the camera’s overall performance, is the fact the GPS places a massive drain on the battery life. From full charge we only managed to get 70 shots, which is pretty appalling. The reason for this is that the GPS remains on even when the camera is switched off. Thankfully when you switch off the GPS in the main menu, the battery life is increased to around four times the amount.

The rest of the TZ10’s performance is very impressive. It features Power OIS, Panasonic’s version of image stabilisation. This proves handy at the telephoto end of the 12x zoom and lets you use slower shutter speeds when shooting handheld. Other notable attributes include a great autofocus system, which reacts quickly. At night a powerful three-meter range AF assist lamp helps to focus on subjects with ease. The flash range also offers a decent 5.3-meter wide-angle range, helping to prevent centralised bleaching from flash.

Start up time is just 1.8 seconds and shot-to-shot performance comes in at 1.5 seconds. There is a three-shot Burst mode, which also comes in at 1.5 seconds between shots, but there is no Continuous mode that extends beyond that.

Image quality is very commendable too – sharpness is great, although this trails off a little in the corners. It stumbles a little at ISO 400 and higher, where noise reduction starts becoming a touch overzealous.