TRAVEL FURTHER WITH PANASONIC’S LATEST TZ COMPACT

PANASONIC HAS popularised the concept of a highly-capable compact camera specifically targeted at travellers, and its nextgeneration TZ series model (the initials for ‘Travel Zoom’) combines a one-inch BSI-type CMOS sensor with a 15x optical zoom.

As before, the 24-360mm equivalent zoom lens get the Leica nod of approval, and in macro mode it can focus all the way down to just three centimetres. The new Lumix TZ220’s sensor has a resolution of 20.9 megapixels (total) and a sensitivity range equivalent to ISO 125 to 12,800 (extendable to ISO 80 and 25,600). The fastest continuous shooting speed is 10.0 fps and there’s the choice of both RAW and JPEG capture

The TZ220 has an electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 2.33 megadots and a magnification of 0.53x (equivalent to 1.45x). The 7.62 cm LCD monitor screen is fixed and has a resolution of 1.24 megadots with full touch controls. Image stabilisation for stills is via an optical system in the lens which combined with sensor-based electronic stabilisation when shooting video to give five-axis correction.

The TZ220 borrows quite a number of higher-end features from its Lumix G mirrorless cousins, including the high-speed ‘DFD’ contrast-detection autofocusing (using 49 measuring point in this case), the ‘4K Photo’ high-speed capture modes for stills (including the new Sequence Composition and Auto Marking), focus bracketing (up to 999 shots), in-camera RAWto-JPEG processing, a sensor-based shutter which gives a top speed of 1/16,000 second, and a huge selection of ‘Creative Control’ special effects. As with the GX9, it has the new ‘Photo Style’ picture preset called L.Monochrome D which gives a more dynamic tonal range with increased contrast.

The TZ220 records 4K video footage in the Ultra HD resolution of 3840x2160 pixels at 25 fps (PAL standard) and with a bit rate of 100 Mbps. There’s also a 24 fps recording speed for 4K. Full HD video can be recorded at either 50 or 25 fps. Also as on the GX9, the built-in WiFi is now supplemented with Bluetooth LE connectivity to provide the convenience of an ‘always on’ connection and functions such as geotagging.

The new Lumix DC-TZ220 is available in either black or dark silver finishes and is priced at $1199. Australian availability will be from April. For more information visit www.panasonic.com.au