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Panasonic TZ1 Digital Camera
Purchased for $300 Sept 2006 - available at Best Buy, Wal-Mart, etc.
5MPixel, 10X zoom, optical image stabilization, 1/2 lb, fits in pants pocket
Very fast response time - no delay noticeable between clicking the button and
taking the picture (0.006 sec)
Starts up in less than 1 second and apparently the focus system is fastest in
the industry
Display is easily made brighter when using in direct sunlight
Must charge battery before 1st use: Battery powers camera about 250 high
definition photos - change zoom between each
Battery re-charges in less than 3 hours
Real time histogram is nice
Highlight feature shows which portions of a picture which just taken were too
white (overly exposed)
Cannot record audio-only like our previous camera (Minolta)
Need to push button down ½ way to focus – unless set autofocus to continuous -
which consumes more battery power
Can have two sets of favorite modes – of 18 possible -
Baby mode reduces flash intensity
Action mode (Sports) shortens aperture time - essential for taking
landscape photos while moving
• Portrait, • Soft Skin, • Scenery, • Night Portrait, • Night Scenery, •
Self-Portrait, • Food
• Party, • Candle, • Fireworks, • Starry sky, • Beach, • Aerial Photo
(fuzzy clouds), •
Snow, • High Sensitivity
Has a light for focusing in low-light conditions - can even take up to 60
second exposures
Macro mode is necessary for anything closer than about 1 meter
Does appear to have USB2 connection – not USB1 as was reported. We just put the
SD card into the laptop
Slideshow mode,
Can playback images to TV too
Lens cap including - we are ordering for $10 clear cover to prevent display from
scratching
Image stabilization works great - even when driving in our truck
apparently O.I.S. will not work if camera is held vertically
however.
10X zoom normal – 12.5 zoom if 3MB or less image
Autobracket – maximum of +-1EV - essential for high dynamic range photos (HDR)
newer version of camera- TZ1-A - has autobracket range of +-2EV -
much better for HDR
Self time mode 10 sec – and just 2 second to reduce camera movement - again
essential for HDR
Immediate picture view mode: 1 sec regular and 1 sec of 4X zoom - how could we
live without this feature?
different specification of where to focus and where to measure the light
should turn-off antishake when in macro zoom - otherwise too blurry
Burst picture mode: 3/sec normally but 6 second between photos with internal memory - great for time-lapse
photography
Flip photo: photographer clicks camera each time he wants the photo and camera
makes the sequence into a small movie
One camera reviewer thought that Fine did not provide that much more detail than
Standard
Panoramas easily made with Photoshop Element - be use to turn off auto-ISO -
otherwise the result will look patchy
What really sold us:
One digital camera reviewer, who has seen hundreds and
hundreds of cameras, bought the TZ1 for his father
The TZ1 is the most popular selling digital camera at at
least one Asian web site.
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