Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 Summary

Panasonic DMC-ZS100

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 is the first premium travel-zoom. It elevates the travel-zoom concept which packs a long optical zoom into a compact camera body to premium level with dual control-dials, highly efficient controls and a built EVF with Eye-Start sensor. Panasonic pushed the ZS100 one more notch by fitting it with a large 1" sensor.

Its 20 megapixels 1" CMOS (2.7X Crop) sensor has a broad sensitivity range, to cover ISO 80-25600, a 50 FPS drive at full-resolution, plus 4K Ultra-HD video capture. The stabilized lens it equivalent to a 25-250mm zoom with F/2.8-5.9 maximum aperture.

The compact ZS100 provides an impressive amount of controls for its size. A lens ring and top dial serve as dual control-dials which can control exposure, focus and other settings. Plus, there are 4 customizable Function buttons and a mode-dial. There is a 3" touchscreen LCD and a 0.2" EVF with 116K pixels. The former is excellent while the latter suffers from its small size yet remains quite helpful.

Output quality is very good. Image noise is low with a slow increase at each ISO, delivering a nice ISO 80-1600 range of usability for common print sizes. Its dynamic-range is good with images showing good contrast and being well-metered. Colors and WB could be improved but are quite reasonable. Lens sharpness is the weak link which is to be expected considering the compactness needed to provide 10X of zoom over a 1" sensor. Edges are notably softer even and images require more processing than usual to look sharp.

Ergonomics of the ZS100 are good. The camera rarely slows down the photographer by its design or responsiveness. Videographers though may feel let down by a lag when starting and stopping video capture. There is really not much to complain about the ZS100 which is not due to its size. There are ultra-zooms for those who are unwilling to settle for less but travel-zooms are a proposal of their own.

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