Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20/TZ30

Last updated: Friday, December 7th, 2012

Last Updated (07 July’12):
- Review & Sample Photos @ Digitalcamerareview

Panasonic Lumix ZS20 is a 14.1 MP High Sensitivity MOS Digital Camera with 20x Optical Zoom. It features include High Sensitivity MOS Sensor, Full HD Video Recording, Built-in GPS Functionality, iA (Intelligent Auto) Mode, Special Effects, and 3.00-inch LCD touchscreen. The camera measures (W x H x D) 104.9 x 58.9 x 28.2 mm (4.13 x 2.32 x 1.11 inch) and weight 206 g (0.45 lb) with Battery and SD Memory Card.

Overall Rating: | Latest Price Info: only $344.95

Expert Reviews

Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Reviews

Digitalcamerareview reviews the Panasonic Lumix ZS20 and writes;
“Panasonic’s ZS20 is a very attractive compact digital for a variety of reasons,.. Add in good still image and video quality, manual exposure controls, a responsive shutter, quick autofocus acquisition time and a capable stabilization system for shooting at long focal lengths and it’s pretty clear the ZS20 oozes versatility.”
Rating:

Trustedreviews reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20/TZ30 and writes;
“Overall image quality is pretty good – especially when you consider the amount of zoom power the TZ30 manages to pack inside its diminutive little body. Used on the ‘Standard’ My Colour setting in iAuto mode the TZ30 produces pleasingly lifelike images that tread a happy medium, being neither overly muted nor overly saturated. “
Rating:

PCMAG reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20/TZ30 and writes;
“Noise is kept under 1.5 percent through ISO 800, and image detail holds up very well through that setting. At this setting images look a smidge better than those from our Editors’ Choice, the Sony HX30V, although the HX30V has an edge at ISO 1600 and 3200.”
Rating:

Cameralabs reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20/TZ30 and writes;
“I’m pleased to report the miniaturisation has not compromised optical quality and the lens performs similarly to models with shorter ranges. As such there’s an inevitable reduction in contrast coupled with softness in the extreme corners when zoomed-in, but overall the range delivers good results.”
Rating:

Photographyblog reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20/TZ30 and writes;
“There is one key area where the Panasonic DMC-TZ30 thankfully improves on its predecessor, namely the image quality at higher ISO speeds. Noise doesn’t become apparent on the TZ30 until ISO 800, a 1-stop improvement on the TZ20, and even the fastest setting of ISO 3200 is still worth using in a pinch. The TZ30′s new 14.1 megapixel high sensitivity MOS sensor really has made a big difference to the TZ30′s low-light performance.”
Rating:

Digitalcamerainfo reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20/TZ30 and writes;
“the Panasonic DMC-ZS20 is a fine camera, an extended zoom model that doesn’t sacrifice too much in key areas (color accuracy and lens performance) while surpassing our expectations in others (high ISO performance). For a camera that provides a very attractive combination of size and zoom range,”
Rating:

Imaging-resource reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20/TZ30 and writes;
“The Lumix DMC-ZS20 produced fairly good color, though bright reds and blues, and even some greens, are pumped a little high. A few shifts in hue are also present practically all around, including the slight yellow to green shift we’ve come to expect from Panasonics, though purples and deep blues are closest to their accurate hue.”
rating: N/A

CNET reviews the Panasonic Lumix ZS20 and writes;
“The past few top-of-the-line ZS models from Panasonic have been very good, but the Lumix DMC-ZS20 finally makes it over to excellent. The lens is nice, but it’s really the overall combination of features, improved low-light photo and video quality, and fast shooting performance that takes it up a notch. “
Rating:

About.com reviews the Panasonic Lumix ZS20 and writes;
“The overall response times for this camera are really good, and it works especially fast outdoors. It’s a little slower when working in low light conditions indoors”
Rating:

Techradar reviews the Panasonic Lumix ZS20 and writes;
“The Panasonic Lumix TZ30 leaves a good impression. The extensive zoom, excellent optical image stabilisation and spritely autofocus mean it’s a responsive and easy to use camera. “
Rating:

DCresource reviews the Panasonic Lumix ZS20 and writes;
“the ZS20′s photo quality is quite a bit better than on the ZS10 that came before it, there’s still a fair amount of room for improvement. Exposures were generally accurate, though since the camera has the tendency to clip highlights, you might want to bracket in high contrast situations. Colors were nice and saturated, though like its fellow Panasonic cameras, the ZS20 tends to lean in the yellow direction under artificial light.”
rating: N/A

PCWorld reviews the Panasonic Lumix ZS20 and writes;
“In Intelligent Auto mode, the Lumix ZS20 captured understated photos that earned scores of Good in most of the PCWorld Labs’ testing categories. Our panel of judges rated the Lumix ZS20′s images as Good in exposure quality, color accuracy, and sharpness; in image distortion, however, we gave it only a Fair grade.”
Rating:

Ephotozine reviews the Panasonic Lumix ZS20 and writes;
“Image quality is good, with good colour and detail and the high speed shooting and rapid focus certainly help get good shots. Video is impressive with a high speed option as well as the ability to record GPS information with videos.”
Rating:

Video Reviews

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20/TZ30 Reviews

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20/TZ30 Video Review by CNETTV

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20/TZ30 Video Review by CameraHouseAus

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20/TZ30 Video Review by adamtechchannel

User Opinions

Panasonic Lumix ZS20 User Reviews

Just as I expected and hoped for
“I tried the handheld night shot where it takes a couple frames and somehow makes it look better as one picture and that was pretty neat. I also took photos of the full moon the other night and it did a pretty good job. I could even see some awesome details.” – By S. White
Rating:

Extremely fun camera with great zoom, speed, and panorama
“Product is very easy to use but a bit too small for my hand. Very portable due to its size, yet has fantastic reach. Color is a too strong using “Happy” mode. The Panorama and Hand-held Night Shot mode is amazingly fun.” – By TT
Rating:

This Lumix ZS20 is one amazing little point and shoot camera
“The zoom on this new ZS20 is awesome. This camera takes great clear pictures during the day and at night… All of the pictures are clear and beautiful. The videos turned out great too. I highly recommend this camera to everyone. You will love it too.” – By Doug
Rating:

Good things come in small packages
“The camera took a burst of exposures and then internally sifted and merged them, and in a second or two gave me as clear and sharp an image as if I had used a tripod. It made a believer of me. Equally good is the HDR setting for high-contrast and backlit subjects.” – By Martin
Rating:

Very good traveling camera
“Amazing range: from 25mm wide angle to a lens magnification of 20x and a digitally extended magnification of 40x. Photograph a rocky outcropping across a canyon with very good detail. Color rendition is very good.” – By W. Daitchman
Rating:

Amazing camera
“The quality of the pictures is amazing, especially when you take them with low light. The video quality is also another thing that is a huge change.” – By Mark
Rating:

One thing to note – plus update re photo quality
“I also took some photos outside with both bright sunlight and deep shadows in the shot. The photos were excellent, rendering detail in both the sunlit elements (as expected) and in the deep, dark shadows (pleasant surprise).” – By J. Elam
Rating:

Awesome Camera
“I like how they have a button right on top for Manual control and you do no have to go though the menu as much as the other model.Once you play with all the feature and read through the book it is pretty easy to use.” – By Roxie
Rating:

Major improvement from previous model
“Great compact superzoom, small, light and produce great pictures. Does well what its intended to do.” – By Dubi
Rating:

Panasonic Lumix FAN
“This is a GREAT, easy to use, high quality picture, excellent zoom, camera for a novice or intermediate hobbiest.. oh, what am I saying, this is an excellent camera for anyone. Its easy, compact and the photos are sharp.” – By C. Belli “mom of v-twins”
Rating:

the best “Lil” camera ever
“My Husband previewed several cameras and decided on this Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS9 It took me awhile to learn the setting, but once I had them figured out, I came home with some beautiful pictures. Even from a moving car or at a great distance, my camera took clear pictures. The colors were perfect, no red eye effect at all.
Love, Love it.” – By donna
Rating:

Definately 5 stars
“Picture quality is great for a camera in this size range. Additionally the actual 10 fps burst mode blew me away. I’ve tried other pocket cameras that claim 10fps but didn’t deliver. Shots of kids playing, sports and pets in full flight will not be missed.” – By Skipper
Rating:

Excellent
“Video is smooth and high quality. Control and button placement is good and easy to use especially for video with its own button on top. You can take still photos while recording videos. Telephoto works while shooting videos. Single photo 20x and extended 40x telephoto works well and focus stays sharp.” – By Owen West
Rating:

Outstanding Product. Lumix ZS20
“Compare to my previous Panasonic Lumix (ZS3), this ZS20 is outstanding. The images and videos are of better quality (sharper). Had this ZS20 for two days and shot about 200 images with no defects. The inside shots (and videos) are somewhat better than my ZS3.” – By charles larson
Rating:

More User Opinions | Write your opinion

Samples

Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos

- Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos @ Panasonic.net

- Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos @ Photographyblog

- Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos @ Flickr.com

- Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos @ Digitalcamerainfo

- Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos @ Techradar.com

- Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos @ Reviews.cnet.com

- Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos @ Digitalcamerareview.com

- Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos @ Trustedreviews

- Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos @ Cameralabs

- Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos @ Imaging-resource.com

- Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos @ Dcresource.com

- Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos @ Cameralabs.com

- Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos @ Digitalcamerainfo.com

- Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Sample Photos @ Ephotozine.com

Manual

Panasonic Lumix ZS20 User Manual (PDF)

Click to view or right click and select Save Target As..(Firefox) or Save link as.. (IE) to download

- Download Panasonic Lumix ZS20 User Manual (PDF -)

Features

Panasonic Lumix ZS20 Features

With a 14.1-megapixel High Sensitivity MOS sensors which combine with a Venus Engine feature, the camera provides high speed performance to capture stunning images quality even in low light conditions. While the 20x optical zoom increases its power to the equivalent of 40x which powered by Intelligent Zoom function and with the Intelligent Resolution Technology, it is able to reduce the deterioration of image quality.

Additionally, the camera allows users to record amazing videos in 1,920x 1,080 50p Full HD AVCHD video with a stereo microphone. There is High Speed Video mode, which lets you capture super slow-motion videos where you can playback effects. Not only that, Panasonic DMC-ZS20 (TZ30) also comes with GPS (Global Positioning System) function which combined with map data.

There are other interesting features which make taking photos more fun than before such as Creative Control mode which consists of Miniature Effect, Panorama Shot, Creative Retouch and Auto Retouch. Also, iA (Intelligent Auto) mode which allows users capture beautiful images which supported by variety functions like HDR (High Dynamic Range) together with POWER O.I.S. with Active Mode, AF Tracking, Intelligent ISO Control, Face Recognition, Intelligent Scene Selector, and more.