Review posted for Panasonic DMC-LZ5
By
Mike Tomkins
(Monday, May 15, 2006 - 17:33 EDT)
The Panasonic DMC-LZ5 is a nice little camera at a very affordable price, particularly considering that it sports a 6x, optically stabilized zoom lens.
Panasonic is very justifiably proud that they've managed to bring optical image stabilization to their entire product line, from top to bottom. The Panasonic LZ5 did quite well overall in our testing, delivering good bright color, good resolution, and only moderate lens distortion.
The huge 2.5-inch LCD screen is great for sharing your photos with friends, and makes the menus easier to see, but the difficulty of seeing the screen clearly under bright lighting often left us wishing for an optical viewfinder as well. Shutter response was also on the slow side of what passes for average these days, and high-ISO shots were only usable up to a print size of 5x7 inches.
All that said though, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5 delivers very good value and good picture quality at a surprisingly low price. (Especially so in light of its image stabilization, remarkable at this price point.) While not a first choice for sports or other fast-paced action, the Panasonic LZ5 is a great little "all-around" camera with a nice long zoom lens, all in a compact, inexpensive package.
Read our Panasonic LZ5 review for all the details!
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