back to article Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ6

Panasonic’s DMC-TZ6 could be considered the little brother or, if you want to be a little less charitable, a stripped-down version of the DMC-TZ7 we looked at in August. Both models are super-zoom compacts or Travel-cams, designed for the person who wants a big optical zoom in a pocket-sized camera. The DMC-TZ6 is around £60 …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. RichyS
    Joke

    Fake Sample Photos

    I call fake on the sample photos. An actual Royal Mail train in action. I don't think so...

  2. Nicholas Wright
    Thumb Up

    Huh?

    This camera is one of the smallest, if not smallest, super zooms you can get. The lens is Leica and is of a very good quality. Other review sites rate this camera very highly.

    The mode dial thing - I've never had a problem with it. When you turn it, you know instantly if it's in place or not. It doesn't wobble or give you any impression it'll change if you sneeze at it.

    There are other cameras which are cheaper, but they are either squat versions of a DSLR - therefore not pocketable, or offer a smaller zoom. I think only one in this range had an optical viewfinder, but there was something else wrong with it - maybe quality or something.

    The only difference between this camera and the TZ7 is the HD movies. The TZ6 manual lists both TZ6 and TZ7 functionality, and only features pertinent to HD movies are extra.

    It was a big thing me paying ~£200 for this camera, and I've been very pleased with it. Zooming into the distance for a spot on the ocean horizon, to then zoom into on the camera to see it's actually an oil refinery.

    The range of predefined scenaries are impressive, while still allowing you to practice tweaking all the individual settings yourself. An Auto mode does it all for you if you haven't the time or energy.

    I've not had a problem with start up time, and if you don't want to focus on a subject, just click through.

  3. A 20

    AF speed

    Actually your findings on the AF speed aren't totally unexpected. Most compact cameras use their image processing chip to calculate the focus, so a slower/older processor could well have a detrimental impact on AF speed/performance.

  4. John Sturdy

    But it's Panasonic... so...

    Last time I heard anything about Panasonic it was that they were changing their firmware to prevent use with third-party batteries, so regardless of the other characteristics of their cameras, I'll be steering clear of them.

  5. SynnerCal
    Unhappy

    Re: But it's Panasonic... so...

    Actually good point there - anyone know if you can use 3rd party batteries in the TZ6/7? I've got an original and a Hahnel one for my Lumux and the latter lasts noticeably longer than the OEM part (and yes they are pretty much the same age)

    (Personally I think it's a piece of nonsense that Panasonic _are_ forcing you to buy their batteries - surely this is something the EU Competition Commission etc should be looking at?)

  6. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Eh?

    How can firmware prevent the use of third party batteries?

  7. Ed
    Thumb Up

    I bought a TZ7

    I bought a TZ7 in the summer and was very happy with it. Battery seemed to last well enough. The zoom is great - it's nice to be able to actually zoom further than you can see with your naked eye - something that I've not really seen on a compact camera I've owned before. I'm somewhat disapointed it lacks the more advanced options for controlling appeture and shutter speed, but everything else it does is great. The photos do seem much better than my previous camera - a Canon A10. Intelligent Auto seems to fairly reliably produce good photos, though oddly prevents you using it and changing even the most basic option such as image size or shape (you can chose 16:9 photos).

    I'd really recommend the TZ7 (or the TZ6) for anyone who wants a easily pocketable camera with a great zoom that takes good photos and great videos without any messing around. If you want to tweak the settings, this isn't the camera for you.

    My only problem is finding the disk space to store the all the video on - I filled a 16GB card on a 10 day holiday!

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Alert

    @RichyS

    I was going to say looking at the carrages thats a preservation line (possibly Nene Valley?)

    but then I thought better of it! That Royal Mail wagon must be the new standard passanger car they just haven't got around to putting the final coat of paint on it yet!

This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like