Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ60 ( 18.9 MP,30 x Optical Zoom,3 -inch LCD )

Product Information

So in terms of screen composition, the TZ60 / ZS40 is very similar to its two main rivals, with the same size display and resolution. But there is a very important difference between them when it comes to an alternative means of composition. The Lumix TZ60 / ZS40 is the only one to squeeze in an electronic viewfinder, impressively without resulting in a body that’s noticeably bigger. To put the capabilities to the test I fitted the TZ60 / ZS40 with a freshly formatted SanDisk 16GB UHS-1 SD card and timed various bursts. Starting with the 5fps mode and the quality set to 18 Megapixel Fine JPEG, I fired-off six frames in 1.37 seconds, corresponding to a speed of 4.4fps; after this initial burst the camera slowed to about 2.5fps. Moving up to the 10fps mode, again with 18 Megapixel Fine JPEG quality, I fired-off six shots in 0.44 seconds, corresponding to a speed of 13.6fps; after this burst the camera stopped recording until the buffer cleared. As mentioned arguably the most impressive feature of the TZ60 is the extensive focal range, especially when you consider the compact size in which the optical zoom is houses.

On the conditions of the day I required a shutter speed of 1/800 or 1/400 at a push to reliably handhold a shake-free image at 720mm, but with stabilisation enabled, I managed the same result at 1/100, or at a push 1/50, corresponding to about three stops of compensation in practice. With quite a high pixel density, the sensitivity range of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ60 has been kept to a moderate ISO 100-3200, expandable to ISO 6400. With raw image capture it will be interesting to see just how much the DMC-TZ60 can be pushed to the limits of the range, given that editing the raw files should produce better images than the in-camera JPEGs. At the time of writing, the raw-conversion software for the DMC-TZ60 wasn’t available, so we will look at this in more detail in our full test. There’s three options: Burst (which records video while the shutter button is pressed), Burst S / S (which starts recording with one press and stops with another), and 4K Pre-burst (which keeps a rolling buffer to avoid unwieldy clips to store and go through). Mostly I used the Burst mode, and above you can see an example selected from about a second of burst shooting which gave me a choice of around 30 frames. 4k Photo isn’t only good for action though, if you’re filming a relatively slow or even static subject, it can give you a choice of compositions and poses. There are two options for transferring images; Batch transfer provides a menu from which you can select options to transfer the current day’s images, or you can include the last 3, 7 or 30 days, or if you’re feeling impetuous you can opt to transfer everything. Further options allow you to restrict transferred files to just photos or videos. If you want to browse the images on the card in the camera before deciding which to transfer, then Transfer selection is the option to go for. Some of the images shot at ISO 6400 did look like some significant noise reduction had been applied, and I noticed purple fringing in some shots. However, as I was using a pre-production camera, I would expect the image quality to improve by the time it comes to test a final retail version. That said, at ISO 100 images look full of detail, which bodes well for the final version.The Lumix TZ60 / ZS40 inherits the built-in GPS receiver of its predecessor, which allows it to record location and time details for each image and store them in the standard EXIF header. These can then be cross-referenced by a built-in database of landmarks to display location information; you can of course also use the location details to plot your position on mapping software on your computer later. Once your phone or tablet becomes connected to the TZ60 / ZS40, you can remote control it, browse the images direct from the memory card, copy them onto the handset and if desired send them onto various storage or sharing services. The Canon PowerShot SX700 HS is a major competitor to the Lumix TZ60 / ZS40 and on the surface the two models share a lot of similarities. Both have 30x zoom lenses (with slightly different ranges), and they both have 3 inch screens with similar resolution, neither of which is touch-sensitive, Panasonic having dropped that feature from its latest flagship travel zoom. They are almost identically sized, though the SX700 HS is a little bigger and heavier, and both come with built-in Wifi and NFC. The Lumix TZ60 / ZS40 also has a built-in GPS, though you can use your smartphone to tag images on the SX700 HS with geopositional data. It’s also worth noting that the Panasonic app is more sophisticated than the Canon one and offers better remote shooting and image transfer options.

Despite a bright display and an anti-reflective coating, the 3in, 920,000-dot screen struggled in the extremely bright sunlight of the Mojave Desert, and it was awkward to compose images. In more subdued daylight the screen was fine, with good colours and a pleasing level of contrast. Panasonic Lumix TZ60: Build and handling

Specifications

Like other recent Lumix models with 4k video, the TZ80 / ZS60 also supports Panasonic’s 4k Photo mode – a fun way of exploiting the fact 4k video captures an 8 Megapixel image up to 30 times a second. The TZ80 / ZS60 is equipped with software that lets you easily capture bursts of video before scrolling through the footage and extracting the perfect frame as a JPEG image, all in-camera. You could of course frame grab from video externally (and here’s the clip I filmed), but Panasonic has made it easy to perform the whole process in-camera. As you can see from the 100 percent crops below, with stabilisation enabled I was able to get shake-free shots with the TZ80 / ZS60 at shutter speeds down to 1/25 – nearly five stops slower than conventional wisdom dictates is safe. Numerically the Lumix TZ60 / ZS40 is the successor to last year’s TZ40 / ZS30, although Panasonic has made a number of key changes that make it a significantly different camera. But in the year since it was released, the TZ40 / ZS30 has fallen considerably in price to become a relative bargain, and in some respects a more attractive option than the newer TZ55 / ZS35 depending on which features you rate highest. The TZ60 / ZS40 also inherits the GPS-logging capabilities of its predecessor, along with support for the Russian GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System). GLONASS works in a similar way to the GPS system, but having support for both GPS and GLONASS increases your chance of ‘seeing’ enough satellites for an accurate position. This won’t make much difference in wide open spaces, but definitely helps when there’s obstructions to the sky such as buildings in a city. I used the TZ60 / ZS40 in various cities in the UK and can confirm it definitely acquired a position in situations where the older models like the TZ30 / ZS20 (without GLONASS) could struggle. Before you think it may out-perform your smartphone though, note that many ‘GPS’ chipsets in phones these days also support GLONASS. The remote control feature shows a live image on your phone or tablet’s screen allowing you to take a photo or start or stop a video recording. You can tap anywhere on the live image to set the AF area or directly take the shot. If the camera’s mode dial is set to Aperture or Shutter Priority, you can remotely adjust the aperture or shutter speed respectively, and in Manual you can change both.

Panasonic quotes both the AVCHD and MP4 modes as being restricted to clips with a maximum length of 29 minutes and 59 seconds. Finally, Panasonic recommends using an SD card rated at Class 4 or faster for recording movies. Panasonic has made a significant improvement upon the 20x optical zoom range offered by the TZ60’s predecessor, the TZ40. The TZ60 features a Leica DC Vario-Elmar 4.3-129mm f/3.3-6.4 Asph zoom lens offering an impressive 30x optical zoom – equivalent to a massive 24-720mm focal range. Camera shake is tamed by a redesigned five-axis hybrid optical image stabilisation system. Panasonic claims a 0.5EV increase in performance over the OIS in the TZ40 predecessor, allowing users to shoot handheld with a shutter speed up to 3EV slower than before. Inside the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ60 is a 1/2.3in-type (6.17×4.55mm) Live MOS sensor with a resolution of 18.1 million pixels. One feature that will no doubt widen the appeal of the TZ60, particularly among enthusiast photographers, is the fact that the camera now supports both raw and JPEG image capture. Thanks to Panasonic’s own Venus Engine processor, writing both full-resolution raw and JPEG images simultaneously isn’t too sluggish and a speed of 10fps is possible for a total of six frames in burst mode. Transferring from your memory is a much easier and probably a widely more preferred method, if you're computer has the capability. Most, if not all Lumix cameras will take an SD card and similarly most modern day laptops and Macs – again with the exception of a few Macbook Air's and newer Macbook Pro's, will have an SD card slot within the body of them, so connecting and accessing images, or even files, documents, anything contained on an SD card is incredibly easy.There’s four continuous shooting modes on the Lumix TZ80 / ZS60: Low (2fps with Live View), Medium (5fps with Live View), High (10fps without Live View) and Super High (40fps for a burst of 60 frames and at a reduced resolution of 4.5 Megapixels using the electronic shutter). With Continuous autofocus, the top speed reduces slightly to 5fps reagrdless of whether you’re set to Medium or High, so you may as well go for the former and enjoy Live View.

At the other end the 24mm focal length provides a very wide angle of view that's perfect for land- and city-scapes. The 30x zoom lens makes this one of the most versatile compacts in terms of focal range, especially as it is coupled with Panasonic's excellent POWER O.I.S system, which helps to ensure that the majority of photos taken in good light are sharp. The TZ60's lens isn't particularly fast at either the wide-angle setting, with a maximum aperture of f/3.3, or the telephoto setting, with a maximum aperture of f/6.4, but given the focal range on offer, we feel this is a compromise worth making. The maximum image size is 8000×1080 pixels in landscape mode or 1440×8000 in portrait mode, so the total resolutions of around 8 and 11.5 Megapixels aren’t going to win any detail contests. Depending on how much you wobble, the camera may need to crop some of that down to an even smaller image. For example in my tests I typically captured images measuring 6000×864 in landscape and 1104×4440 in portrait. So you won’t even come close to matching the same resolution as a single frame shot in one of the normal modes, but the Panorama preset will give you massive coverage which may be preferred depending on the subject. Like other recent Lumix compacts, it’s possible to preview and apply some, but not all, Creative Filter effects to panoramas. Here’s a couple of examples. The battery used by the TZ60 is rated to 300 shots. However, there is no standalone battery charger included, so the camera is frustratingly out of use while the battery is charging. Spare batteries are advisable. Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ60 review – MeteringTrying to choose between the TZ60 and TZ70? Read the What Digital Camera Panasonic Lumix TZ70 vs Panasonic Lumix TZ60 comparison On top of all this, the TZ60 / ZS40 inherits the unique GPS-driven landmark database of its predecessors, while also sporting the best smartphone remote control of the group. Sure the built-in mapping of the earlier TZ40 / ZS30 is gone, but in an age of Google Maps on large and detailed smartphone screens, I suspect no-one will miss it. This is the same touch-sensitive screen that’s used on the TZ100 / ZS100 and, as on the flagship Lumix travel zoom, can be used to place the AF area for focussing, meter exposure, shoot and select soft function buttons, it also allows menu selection and entering of details when making network connections. I’m very pleased to see the touch-screen return to the TZ / ZS series and it’s one of the big advantages the TZ80 / ZS60 holds over Canon’s SX720 has which has neither a touch-screen nor a viewfinder. Okay so let’s start with establishing a connection between the camera and a smartphone or tablet. NFC or not, the first thing you’ll need to do is install the free Lumix Image app, available for iOS or Android devices. Next you’ll need to enable Wifi on your phone or tablet and if you’re intending to use NFC, you’ll also need to enable this on your phone / tablet.