Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5S 6MP Digital Camera with 6x Image Stabilized Zoom
by Panasonic
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: PanasonicModel: DMC-LZ5S
Product features:
- 6.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 14 x 19-inch prints
- 6x image-stabilized optical zoom; 2.5-inch LCD display
- Playback of 9, 16, and 25 images is possible on a multi-split screen
- Consecutive shooting feature lets you take up to five shots per second
- Powered by 2 AA-size batteries; stores images on SD memory cards (includes 14 MB of internal memory)
- Adobe Photoshop CS5 Upgrade [Old Version]
- AmazonBasics SDHC Class 4 32GB Secure Digital Card
- Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 (Win/Mac) [OLD VERSION]
- Targus Digital TGT-58TR 58 -Inch Tripod with 3-way Pan Head
- AmazonBasics USB 2.0 A-Male to B-Male Cable (6 Feet / 1.8 Meters)
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5S 6MP Digital Camera with 6x Image Stabilized Zoom
Customer Review: Great camera, excellent value, fantastic results
Summary: 5 Stars
My "other" camera is Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 with 12x optical. It's a full size camera and not always convenient to carry around. The quality of the photos, the 12x optical, and the feature rich menus are superb. So, when I went looking for that put-in-your-pocket or purse or hang-on-your-belt camera I looked at this newer and smaller version of the Lumix.
No major disappointments. I originally purchased the version one step down from this (the LZ3) and discovered that the video had no audio. That seems strange to me and I returned it and bought this one. While this isn't advertised as a video camera it does take some great video with sound. The video is in the Quicktime format and the file will be fairly large, depending on on long you "film." And to share the video on the Internet or in e-mail you'll need to convert the file to a smaller size and/or format. That's probably going to require another $30 or so to update your version of Quicktime to get the editing features, but I digress.
The photos this camera takes are superb. Excellent color and clarity and the 6x optical (ignore anything about "digital zoom" on any camera) is a vast improvement over the standard 3x found on many smaller cameras. If you love menus, here they are and you can manipulate your photo session in a number of ways. Play with the different settings for a variety of effects. If you like simple "point and shoot" and want to avoid menus, that's available as well. The lens quality of this camera contributes to the excellent quality of the photos. The lens cap snaps shut when the camera is turned off - a nice feature.
I was espcially impressed with the flash photography of this camera. Sufficient, well distributed light with a reasonably quick shutter speed for minimal or no blurring of your perhaps moving target. Still shots always turn out well with flash (nothing moving in the picture). I've had very good results up to 20 feet on the flash.
The Optical Image Stabilization, for those of us with the occasional badly timed hand movement, helps to ensure nearly all of your shots turn out well. Imagine a camera with "gyrosensors" that detect movement and then compensates. That's a nice feature for a camera at this price. There are also a few options for rapid fire photography so you can press the shutter button and fire away to catch an action sequence.
If you like close up photography the macro setting is easy to use and delivers perfect pictures. Don't get stung sneaking up on that bee on the flower - you'll be closer than you realize!
I've also had good results with the battery life to photos taken ratio. All the photos I take are at the full 6mb resolution and I can get a couple hundred photos on a pair of batteries. Obviously, use of the flash or video mode is going to affect this. (I use either the harder to find Oxyride non-rechargeable batteries or my favorite, the 2500 mAh rechargeable batteries. Energizer has a 15 minute charger for these.) Plain alkaline batteries go pretty quick. Be sure to set the battery type in the appropriate menu.
The 1gb SD memory card (not included) serves me well. The prices for these have come down considerably and I get 326 full resolution photos on each card. Add some short videos and the photo rate goes down of coure, but on an average vacation, I think the 1gb card will hold up. I do carry an extra one nonetheless. I haven't tried the 2gb SD card yet ... the reviews I read on these weren't favorable at the time.
I do have an issue with the absence of a viewfinder. The other cameras I've used over the years have always had that little viewfinder and I find I still take this camera and slam it into my forehead looking for that little image. The relatively large LCD image on this camera is excellent in normal to dim light, but in bright sunlight or in very dark conditions, I have no clue what I'm looking at and take a guess at the point and shoot. I found a high quality, small profile, spring loaded folding shade at Ritz camera that attaches to the LCD that helps some, but if the sun is over or behind you, that LCD image is hard to see and the image is difficult to frame. Practice with the point and shoot to see what you end up with on those hard to see shots. Unlike a film camera, if the picture doesn't turn out, delete it.
Bang for the Buck? Very good on this camera. It's even less now than when I originally bought it a few months back. Hate it when that happens. Lots of interesting features not mentioned here for you to explore. Enter the camera in an Internet search with the word "review" attached and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the favorable in-depth reviews of this camera.
Description of Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5S 6MP Digital Camera with 6x Image Stabilized Zoom
Your son takes his first step, or your daughter takes her encore bow at her first recital. Luckily, you were ready with your digital camera and caught this historic moment. But wait! The photo you took is blurry. In your excitement, you accidentally shook the camera just as you snapped the shutter. If this has ever happened to you--and you are by no means alone!--then you'll want to take a close look at the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5 6-megapixel digital camera with 6x image-stabilized optical zoom.The Lumix DMC-LZ5 was designed specifically to address the universal problem of "hand-shake"--the culprit of the majority of blurred digital images. At the heart of the Lumix DMC-LZ5 is Panasonic's Mega Optical Image Stabilizing System, or Mega O.I.S. A built-in gyrosensor detects any hand movement and relays a signal to a tiny microcomputer inside the camera, which instantly calculates the compensation needed. A linear motor then shifts the O.I.S. lens as necessary to guide incoming light from the image straight to the CCD. All this happens seamlessly and behind the scenes. All you'll notice will be the camera's outstanding results.
Mega O.I.S. is effective in most shooting situations, such as dimly lit indoor shots, nighttime shots, or macro shots. However, when taking indoor shots of moving subjects, such as children or pets, the movement of the subject tends also to contribute to the blurring. For this, the Lumix DMC-LZ5 features a high sensitivity mode to prevent hazy motion effects, further expanding your range of crisp, clear photo expression.
Another outstanding feature is the Lumix DMC-LZ5's 6x optical zoom. This powerful zoom--the equivalent to a 37mm to 222mm zoom on a 35mm film camera--lets you easily capture and magnify subjects in distant locations, and also produces impressive photos with soft-focused backgrounds. The zoom lens crystallizes Panasonic's optics technology, using two aspherical lenses to achieve compactness and boost optical performance. Together with the camera's 4x digital zoom, you can enjoy up to 24x zoom power--an amazing 888mm zoom equivalent on a 35mm camera.
With the consecutive shooting feature of Lumix DMC-LZ5, nothing will sneak past your photographic gaze. In one second, you can take up to five consecutive images in standard mode, and three images in fine mode with full resolution. In addition, the Unlimited Consecutive Shooting function lets you continue shooting until the memory card or built-in memory is full. All this is made possible by Panasonic's Venus Engine Plus, which reduces power consumption by about 50 percent compared with earlier Venus Engine-equipped models.
A bright 2.5-inch LCD monitor is easy to see when taking photos. The pixel-mixed readout method is used to automatically increase the brightness level of live images according to the level of ambient darkness. This allows bright, easy framing of scenes that would normally be too dark to see. The large LCD also allows the display of images even in tiny thumbnail size. Playback of 9, 16, and 25 images is possible on a multi-split screen in addition to the normal single frame playback. This helps you to search for the image you want out of a number of images stored on your SD memory card.
With the DMC-LZ5 you can also record beautiful full-sized movie at 30 frames per second. The camera's CCD enhances the picture quality not only in the resolution but also in the brightness level of the image as it gains much luminous signals. On the sound front, a built-in microphone lets you enjoy playing back movies with audio on TV or with PC.
The DMC-LZ5 is PictBridge compatible, which lets you print directly on a compatible digital printer. Print size, layout, date, and other settings can be made with the camera. The camera is powered by either two AA alkaline or two rechargeable nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries. Alkaline batteries let you take about 175 photos and nickel-metal hydride batteries allow up to 390 photos. When you don't have an SD memory card on hand, the camera's built-in memory holds up to 14 megabytes of image data, which you can later upload to an SD card or PC. You can also download images from a memory card or PC to the built-in memory, and view them on the LCD anytime you like.
What's in the Box
Lumix DMC-LZ5 digital camera, two oxyride AA batteries, and software CD-ROM.
Digital Cameras