Cons: Slight corner softness, chromatic aberration and vignetting in corners
The Bottom Line: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2 is an inexpensive, yet very versatile 5-Megapixel optically stabilized camera with 6x optical zoom. Aside from...
dkozin's Full Review: Panasonic Lumix® DMC-LZ2 Digital Camera
After having a generally positive experience with the 4-Megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1, I decided to try the, otherwise similar, 5-Megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2. After all, it is difficult to find a combination of 5-Megapixel resolution, 6x optical zoom and optical image stabilization in a compact body for a rather low price. I paid $218.
What is Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2
The Panasonic DMC-LZ2 is a compact 5-megapixel digital camera that features a 6x optical (37-222 mm equivalent focal length) f/2.8-4.5 zoom lens, optical image stabilization, 2-inch LCD screen and records images on Secure Digital cards (SD cards).
The camera has 14 MB of built-in memory to get you started and is powered by AA batteries (rechargeable Alkaline or NiMH or disposable). It can record QuickTime movies at 320x240 resolution with sound, with movie length limited by capacity of the memory card only.
There are two distinct differences with the slightly cheaper Panasonic DMC-LZ1 model. The LZ1 has slightly lower resolution (4 MP) and no sound recording.
Handling and Ergonomics
Once I received the camera, I was surprised at how small it is for its impressive optical zoom and features (e.g. optical image stabilization). The camera feels solid in your hand and is convenient to hold. It is not too light and not too heavy at the same time. It is also compact enough to be placed in the knee pocket of the pants or shorts (this is where I carried it).
The camera has a convenient hand grip and its zoom control as well the shutter release button are located within easy reach. Other controls are conveniently located as well. The camera features a rotating mode dial, which has the right feel to it. It is not too flimsy and not too stiff. I also like the fact that the camera uses a mechanical rather than virtual mode wheel.
The LZ2 has menus that are easy to use. I like Panasonic menus more than Canon or Sony menus, let alone Fuji menus.
Speed
Just as the LZ1, the LZ2 is fast. Once you slide the switch on the top deck to power it on, the lens extends and the lens lid opens automatically within about one second and you are ready to shoot. If you turn the camera on in the review mode, it powers on even faster as it does not need to extend the lens.
Powering the camera off makes it retract the lens and close the lid in under two seconds.
The shutter lag is almost absent when pre-focused (the camera takes the picture as soon as you press the shutter release button). The focusing time is very good (under a second at either wide angle or telephoto), even in the dimly-lit environments. This is much better than some Sony cameras, for example.
LCD Screen
The camera features a large 2-inch LCD screen, but no viewfinder. It is difficult to make a compact optical viewfinder for a camera that has 6x optical zoom. That is why many cameras that have high-powered optical zooms use electronic viewfinders (EVF) or have no viewfinders at all. An EVF would add to the price and size of the LZ2, so it doesn't have one.
The large 2-inch LCD screen has good resolution and accurate 100% coverage. The problem arises in the sun/bright light, where you have to cover the LCD screen with your hand or anything else to be able to see anything. It does not always work. The viewfinder of any kind would help in such situations, but the camera does not have one.
Power
The camera uses two AA-sized batteries. You can use disposable ones or rechargeable Alkaline or NiMH. You can select in the menu what kind of batteries you are using (rechargeable or Oxyride) and the camera will show you battery status information based on your selection. This is the first camera (after the Panasonic LZ1) I see that does that.
The camera came with two 1.7V Oxyride batteries. No rechargeable batteries or charger are supplied, but I was able to use my old 1600 mAh NiMH rechargeable Panasonic batteries and take more than 110 pictures with no sign of batteries being even partially discharged. I estimate that you will be able to take more than 200 pictures on one set of high-capacity (2100+ mAh) rechargeable NiMH batteries.
The camera can take pictures at several resolutions with 5-Megapixel photos sized about 2.5 MB in fine mode or 1.3 MB in normal mode. You can fit about 5 5MP fine photos or 11 5MP normal photos on the supplied 14MB of memory. If you use a 512MB memory card, you should be able to store about 200 5MP fine photos or 390 5MP standard photos.
Features
The most important and unique feature of the LZ2 are two modes of optical image stabilization (Mode 1 stabilizes the image when you pre-focus, Mode 2 does so only when the shutter is released, giving you better battery life and sharper pictures). The camera came pre-set to Mode 1, which I immediately changed to Mode 2.
The camera has no real manual control, which is not a problem for me since it offers exposure compensation and bracketing and uses (as many other digital cameras) a two-step aperture. The camera selects between f/2.8 or f/5.6 at wide angle, between f/4.5 or f/9.0 at telephoto. It works pretty well.
You can select the full auto/easy mode, in which you only have to point and shoot. You can also select a scene mode from several provided (portrait, landscape, etc.) Or you can select a program mode and use exposure compensation and exposure bracketing.
The camera also has several burst modes, in which I was able to take several photos a second.
You can select the resolution (full 5 Megapixel and lower), ISO sensitivity (Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400), white balance, compression (low or high), color mode (standard, natural or vivid) and effects (B&W, Sepia, etc.)
The built-in flash has red-eye reduction mode and also can be disabled. You can enable and disable the 4x digital zoom that brings total zoom to 24x (at the expense of resolution). You can also enable the long shutter mode.
The camera has an orientation sensor and automatically rotates pictures taken with the camera in vertical position.
It also can show you a histogram during picture taking and while reviewing images.
The camera has a USB and A/V outs.
Image Quality
I have used the camera over several days in different lighting conditions and different modes. Overall, my experience was positive, but with some exceptions. And the exceptions are pretty similar to the LZ1.
The camera produces sharp and richly-saturated photos. You can adjust the sharpness and saturation by selecting among the Standard, Natural or Vivid picture modes. I usually use Natural mode in Panasonic cameras and then adjust everything in Photoshop, but for printing with no adjustments, Standard mode works better.
Unlike some other Panasonic cameras, the LZ2 does not bear the Leica name on its lens. Is it because the optics is inferior to something we come to expect from Leica?
Long story short, at wide angle, I could see small amounts of chromatic aberration (purple fringing), mostly in the corners. There is also some vignetting (corners are darker than the rest of the image) at wide angle.
At telephoto, there is a small amount of corner softening. Aside from that, the image is sharp and the colors are pleasing and well-saturated.
Conclusion: the compact 6x optical zoom requires sacrifices. In this case, the corners of the image suffer slightly. There is some chromatic aberration and vignetting (mostly at wide angle) and some corner softness (mostly at telephoto). Perhaps this is the reason we are not seeing the Leica name on this lens.
Will it matter for you? Probably not. The corners of the image usually do not make it to the final print. Since the aspect ratio of the prints is different than the ratio of this (and most) camera, the two edges (and corners) of the picture are usually cut-off.
Aside from that, you get excellent versatility, sharpness and pleasing colors, along with fast operation.
Noise
The image noise was virtually absent at ISO 80, appears in shadows at ISO 100, grows at ISO 200 and becomes rather bad at ISO 400. Still, ISO 400 prints look OK at 7x5 and 6x4-inch size. And ISO 80 pictures should enlarge well up to 11x14.
Computer Connectivity
I used the USB connection in order to download the pictures from this camera and was able to download 88 Megabyte in about 140 seconds, which amounts to about 600 KB/sec. Not a bad result, but many cameras go faster these days.
No driver installation was required on my Windows 2000 SP4 computer and I could even use my cable that I am using with my Panasonic DMC-FZ5 camera.
You can also use a memory card reader if you have one and get much faster downloads. And conserve the battery power.
Bottom Line
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2 is an inexpensive, yet very versatile 5-Megapixel optically stabilized camera with 6x optical zoom. Aside from slight issues with corners of the frame and LCD visibility, I highly recommend it. With its long battery life, fast operation and powerful zoom in such a compact body, it is a great camera. And for its performance and features, it is rather cheap too.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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