Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4K 8.1MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) | 
 enlarge | Brand: Panasonic
Category: Photography
List Price: $299.95
Buy New: $174.99
You Save: $124.96 (42%)
New (36) Used (5) Refurbished (7) from $149.12
Rating:  66 reviews
Sales Rank: 119
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Optical Zoom: 10
Display Size: 2.5
Maximum Focal Length: 47
Minimum Focal Length: 4.7
Maximum Resolution: 8.1
Has Red Eye Reduction: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 2.3 x 1.4 x 4.1
MPN: DMC-TZ4K
Model: DMC-TZ4K
UPC: 037988987696
EAN: 0037988987696
ASIN: B0011Z6D86
Release Date: March 7, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Features:
| • | 8.1-megapixel resolution captures enough detail for photo-quality 16x 22-inch prints | | • | 10x optical zoom Leica DC lens; Face Detection | | • | New Panasonic Venus Engine IV improves noise reduction, elevates the detection accuracy and corrective effects | | • | 2.5-inch LCD; Mega O.I.S. and Intelligent ISO | | • | Captures images to SD memory cards (not included) |
|
| Accessories:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Now you can fit sweeping landscapes into a single frame with the 28mm wide-angle setting. Pull in subjects from far away to capture even subtle facial expressions with the dynamic 280mm telephoto setting. Ideal for traveling, Panasonic's DMC-TZ4 Lumix 8.1-megapixel digital camera combines a wide-ranging LEICA DC Vario-Elmar lens with a handy, compact body. The Extra Optical Zoom function also extends the zoom to as much as 15.9x, giving you even greater telephoto power. Set the TZ4 to iA mode and let the five Intelligent Auto functions team up to help prevent shooting errors. Intelligent Exposure corrects lighting differences, so images come out just the way you see them; Intelligent Scene Selector chooses the mode that best fits the situation; MEGA Optical Image Stabilization helps prevent blurring from hand-shake; Intelligent ISO Control helps prevent motion blur; and Face Detection helps produce clear portraits by optimizing the focus and exposure settings. The Intelligent big bright 2.5" LCD adjusts brightness automatically as the ambient light level changes, so images are clear, bright and easy to see. f=4.6-46mm (35mm equiv - 28-280mm) Focal Length 2.5 Diagonal Polycrystalline TFT LCD Display (230K dots) Focusing Area Normal - Wide 50cm/Tele 200cm - infinity, Macro/Intelligent AUTO / Clipboard - Wide 5cm / Max 200cm / Tele 100cm - infinity 8 - 1/2,000 sec. Starry Sky Mode - 15, 30, 60sec. Shutter Speed Auto / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 (High Sensitivity Mode - Auto(1600 - 6400) ) ISO 27MB Internal Memory (additional memory recommended to store more photos and video) Built-in Microphone and Speaker SD/SDHC, MultiMedia Card Slot Built-in Flash with Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced Off modes DC Input, AV Output (NTSC/PAL), HD AV Output (Component), USB Connections PictBridge Compatible Approximate Battery Life - 300 Shots (CIPA Standard) Approximate Unit Weight -
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 45 more reviews...
 Great Buy for Novice and Advanced photographers April 22, 2008
G. Dada (Seattle, WA USA)
167 out of 168 found this review helpful
This is a great little camera for both an advanced amateur (like me) looking for a second camera to carry everywhere you can't take your DSLR or for a complete novice (like my wife) who is looking for a camera that is really easy to use yet takes good pictures.
IN SUMMARY
What makes this camera special is that you have a full 10X zoom in a very compact form factor with a real wide-angle lens at 28mm. Most other cameras offer a smaller zoom range (around 4x), provide a semi-wide-angle at about 35mm, or are much bulkier.
PICTURE QUALITY
In reality, most cameras today take pretty decent pictures. Most people really don't need more than 2 megapixels, unless you are planning to either crop your photos or make very large prints. Therefore 8.1 megapixels are more than enough. My DSLR has 5 megapixels and I have never needed more.
The Leica lens is very high quality. The multiple built-in scene modes will make it easier to capture that sunset or use custom settings for that special picture. As with most cameras, it is always to have a photo editing program to adjust contrast (or levels if you are a bit more advanced), do some cropping and adjust sharpening.
As an advanced amateur (take a look at my Nikon DSL photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdada ) I found the quality of the pictures from the Lumix TZ4 to be excellent. AT the same time, my wife was able to use the Intelligent Auto mode to snap some pretty decent pictures. The flash does an especially good job - indoor people pictures had very nice tones and not blown out or underexposed like some other cameras.
VIDEO
With a 1Gb SD card I was able to capture a couple videos of my daughters dancing (to Hannah Montana, of course). The quality and resolution of the video is pretty amazing for a camera in this price range. You may want to use Windows Movie Maker (included with XP and Vista) to do some edits and make the video a smaller size suitable for emailing.
OTHER FEATURES
The camera feels very well built and solid. Face detection technology works incredibly well, ensuring your subjects are always in focus (as opposed to focusing to whatever is at the center of the picture). Image stabilization works . The LCD screen is very large and bright. Controls are easy to understand.
SUMMARY
I spent a long time looking at many cameras and playing with them. If you are an advanced photographer, this is not a camera to replace a DSLR, but a perfect companion to take to those places where you don't want (or can't) bring your big expensive camera. The TZ45 does not provide all the manual controls of other cameras, yet it allows enough settings for me (i.e. exposure compensation, ISO settings, etc.) .
For the average user, you can find a cheaper and a smaller camera for sure. But I doubt you will find a solid, pocket camera with a 10x zoom and a 28mm quality lens that produces such great photos with little effort. Definitely, the TZ4 is highly recommended.
UPDATE ---
I uploaded a few photos fromt he Lumix to this Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/LumixTZ4/ My other Flickr page has mostly photos taken with my Nikon D50.
Most photos I uploaded are straight from the camera. I found a simple sharpen command from any photo editing software will increase the quality of the pictures.
I have enjoyed the camera and am suprised for its great flash performance. It does an incredible job at balancing the background with a just-right flash.
Battery charge lasted for a couple hundred photos. Highly recommended.
Powerhouse performance April 10, 2008
New Englander (Massachusetts)
131 out of 133 found this review helpful
I have a DSLR that I really, really like, but there are times when I want to travel with a minimum of gear. And then, of course, it's absolutely true that the best camera is the one you actually have with you when you see that once-in-a-lifetime shot.
I've not been a Panasonic user before this and was actually quite leery of the brand based on professional reviews that complained about other Panasonic models suffering from a watercolor effect and heavy handed noise reduction artifacts. So I went with Fuji first and then Canon, but couldn't "get happy" with any of their offerings.
So far, neither noise reduction artifacting nor watercolor effects are apparent in this iteration, the TZ-4. It is a gorgeous metal camera that is easy to hold by a guy with even fairly large hands, despite the fact that it's very compact. The menu system is quite straightforward and there are plenty of scene modes that at least approximate what a manual control camera might offer you. ISO, AF area, metering area, exposure compensation and bracketing, and white balance can all be manually set. There is no shutter or aperture priority, although you can specify the absolute minimum shutter speed the camera will choose, down to a full second.
The custom white balance set feature is very well implemented, and I had no problem getting beautifully lit, correctly exposed existing light shots indoors using the image stabilization feature and low ISO.
The LCD monitor is not as sharp as the TZ5's but plenty good for checking pictures, and the battery lasts longer in this camera than the TZ5 if that matters to you.
The AF assist light is very, very helpful and focus lock is almost always very quick and on the money. The macro feature is astounding. The controls are well placed and give good feedback.
I have three gripes: the power switch and the scene wheel can both be inadvertently activated; there need to be way firmer detents or they both have to be recesed. AF seems to struggle a bit with the movie mode, but being able to zoom during the actual video shooting is a godsend. And finally, the USB out port is irritating. It pops open very easily. I may use a piece of black electrical tape to cover it.
All in all a superb little performer for what you get for your money; chock full of features and of course the lovely 28 - 280 zoom. WOW. I highly recommend this camera as an ideal all around travel camera you might actually take with you !!
Excellent camera April 22, 2008
Lee (Kansas City, MO)
42 out of 45 found this review helpful
Excellent camera! Easy to use. Takes good photos and videos. I bought this camera to take pictures of my kids playing sports. The camera took excellent shots of the kids playing soccer and running track. You can use the zoom manually or the automatic feature. Video playback was clear. You have playback options by calendar or with added music built into the memory. It also uses the new high performance SD cards which allows you to purchase either a 8gb or 16gb card allowing you to record one hour video. Amazon sales an 8gb for around $30. Don't forget to by a reader for the high performance card which I also purchased through amazon for $8.
Simply Awesome April 21, 2008
Binoj
29 out of 30 found this review helpful
This being a new product i was little apprehensive about buying it. But after getting this i just found that its too good. All round winner and would be a very good competitior for Canon SX-100 with 10X optical zoom. Its predecessor didn't have the zoom active while taking videos, but with this new model its taken care of that. More or less the remaining review will be same its predecessor except for some improvements. Looks are good and also small and will easily fit in a loose jeans pocket as well.
Absolutely worth the money and a complete all-round camera.
Great, versatile camera. June 1, 2008
M. Johnson (Pennsylvania, USA)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
I bought this camera, after quite a bit of research, to replace my Canon SD400 that was going on three years of use (and I always have a camera on me, so that's a lot of use). I wanted something relatively small but more capable than my Canon, which took great pictures of still objects in great lighting and decent video, but was slow and limited by its 3X zoom and insensitive flash.
Out of the box, the TZ4K looks nice, albeit a little clunky next to the sleek Elphs and other more compact cameras on the market. However, it powers up quickly and adapts readily to just about anything I've tested so far (the first week I had it consisted of nothing but rain, so for a while I was just doing poorly-lit indoor shots of my cats and random furniture. That said, that my cats actually looked like cats and not blurry blobs or white glowing things is a major improvement over my old camera).
I took it to the zoo, where it had a little trouble deciding what to focus on if using the long end of the zoom (especially if the subject was moving), but I suspect this could be helped by turning off the continuous auto-focus. I got a few interesting action shots of my three-year-old nephew running around. I took it to the bar with a few friends and had a shoot-off with a friend who owns a Nikon. Today I took it on a hike and tried out the scenery and macro modes, the latter of which can be a little tricky sometimes. It can't always decide whether it should be focusing on the background or the foreground, even when macro mode is selected (though it does tell you when you're too close for it to focus).
I did notice some of the focus changes during video mode that some people have complained about in reviews of this and the TZ3/TZ5, but to be honest it was minimal and can be avoided by turning off the AF. Sound quality is comparable to my Canon -- not the highest quality, but clear and audible.
Battery life is good and it has a battery meter on-screen, so you don't have to hunt through any menus to find out how long you've got.
I bought it bundled with the 4GB SDHC and reader and they arrived on the same day. Also got a Lowepro Rezo 30 case for it, which isn't too bulky but has a soft lining and lots of padding.
Overall, I really love this camera and would recommend it to anyone interested in purchasing it. Definitely worth it.
|
|
|
