Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 Review

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 is a compact journey zoom capability capability ability capability image picture photo photographic camera with a quite complex GPS set up. Not only does the ZS20 log your position, it also has a internet directories of a million places and maps of 90 periods countries. The ZS20 also provides a new 20X get in touch with, 14.1 Mega-pixel MOS sign (which Panasonic says has less interference than the CCD used in the ZS10), super-fast auto-focus, 10 frame/second continuous getting, an excellent automated operate, in-camera environment stitching, and Complete HD 1080/60p films.

Compared to ZS10 and ZS15

As with all of Panasonic's recent travel zooms, the ZS20 has a little brother known as the DMC-ZS15. The ZS15 shares much in common with the ZS20, except for its lens (same as the ZS10), sensor (which is the same as the one on the DMC-FZ150 super zoom), and movie mode. It also lacks the touchscreen LCD and GPS functionality found on both the ZS10 and ZS20.

	Lumix DMC-ZS10	Lumix DMC-ZS15	Lumix DMC-ZS20
MSRP	N/A	$279	$349
Sensor resolution / type	14.1 MP (MOS)	12.1 MP (MOS)	14.1 MP (MOS) *
Lens focal range (zoom)	24 - 384 mm (16X)		24 - 480 mm (20X)
Lens max aperture	F3.3 - F5.9		F3.3 - F6.4
AF system	Sonic Speed AF	Light Speed AF
LCD size/resolution	3.0" / 460,000 pixel
Touchscreen LCD	Yes	No	Yes
ISO range (full resolution)	100 - 1600	100 - 3200
Burst rate (full resolution)	15 shots @ 10 fps	4 shots @ 10 fps	10 shots @ 10 fps
GPS receiver	Yes	No	Yes
Built-in maps	No	No	Yes
Intelligent HDR	No	Yes	Yes
In-camera panorama stitch	No	Yes	Yes
Movie resolution	1920 x 1080 / 60i **		1920 x 1080 / 60p
Stereo sound	Yes	No	Yes
High speed movies	Yes	No	Yes
Built-in memory	18 MB	70 MB	12 MB
Battery life (CIPA)	260 shots ***
In-camera battery charging	No	Yes	Yes
Dimensions	4.1 x 2.3 x 1.3 in.	4.1 x 2.3 x 1.3 in.	4.1 x 2.3 x 1.1 in.
Weight (body only, empty)	197 g	185 g	184 g
* Different sensor than the one used on the ZS10 ** Sensor output is 30p *** With GPS disabled (if available)

If you read last year's GPS-equipped Compact Ultra Zoom comparison, you may recall that I was quite disappointed with the DMC-ZS10, mostly due to its image quality. Panasonic says they've taken care of that on the ZS20. Did they? Find out now in our review!

Note that the DMC-ZS20 is known as the DMC-TZ30 in some countries. The DMC-ZS15 is also known as the DMC-TZ25.

What's in the Box?

The DMC-ZS20 has a rather unremarkable bundle. Then again, so do most cameras these days. Inside the box, you'll find:

• The 14.1 effective Megapixel Lumix DMC-ZS20 digital camera
• DMW-BCG10 lithium-ion battery
• AC-to-USB adapter
• Wrist strap
• USB cable
• DVD featuring PhotoFunStudio 8.1 Premium Edition, Map Tool, and LoiLoScope trial
• 34 page basic manual (printed) + full manual (on CD-ROM)

Despite being their major travel zoom capability ability capability camera, Panasonic has built just 18MB of storage area space into the DMC-ZS20. Unnecessary to say, you'll want to buy a storage area space right away, unless you have one placed around already. The ZS20 can handle SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards, and I'd suggest a 4GB cards for most folks, and an 8GB or 16GB cards for movie lovers. You'll want a cards ranked Class 6 or quicker for best performance, especially when it comes to films.

The DMC-ZS20 uses the same DMW-BCG10 lithium-ion power as its forerunner. This power offers just 3.2 Wh of power into its plastic spend, but fortunately Panasonic controls to press very good power out of it, as you can see in this table. Note that power numbers are provided by the maker, and are identified with the GPS turned off.

Camera	Battery life (CIPA standard)	Battery used
Canon PowerShot SX260 HS *	230 shots	NB-6L
Fuji FinePix F770EXR *	300 shots	NP-50A (1)
Nikon Coolpix S9300 *	200 shots	EN-EL12
Olympus SZ-31MR iHS	200 shots	LI-50B
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 *	260 shots	DMW-BCG10
Pentax Optio VS20	200 shots	D-LI122
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V *	320 shots	NP-BG1
* Camera features built-in GPS

The ZS20's power stock up power energy power energy is a bit above the group frequent. That said, you might want to select up a extra power stock up power energy power energy, as that GPS is power-hungry, especially if it's on all a lot of your power and power (more on that later). An extra power stock up power energy power energy will set you coming back around $32.

Panasonic has customized the way in which power stock up power energy power energy are charged on their 2012 styles. Power are now charged inner via the USB connect, which can be linked with the places or your PC. The objective why manufacturers are using this strategy more and more is quite obvious to me: it costs a lot less to contain a little AC-to-USB adaptor than a finish external battery power charger. The bad details is that inner asking for is a lot more gradually -- it needs a large 260 minutes to definitely price the ZS20's power stock up power energy power energy. Luckily, Panasonic still provides the external battery power charger (model DE-A65BA), which can be yours for about $25. It's more authentic than inner asking for, allows you to price a extra, and it's 100 minutes faster, too.

Something else about the engaged charger: while it's an AC adaptor, you cannot use it to power the picture image picture image picture picture photo photographic camera -- it's for asking for only. If you want to use the ZS20 on "shore power", then you'll need to buy the hard-to-find AC adaptor particular below.

Optional Accessories

Accessory	Model #	Price*	Description
Underwater housing	DMW-MCTZ30	$299	Take the ZS20 up to 40 meters underwater.
External battery charger	DE-A65BA	$24	An old-fashioned external charger, which is considerably faster than in-camera charging. Also allows for charging of a spare battery.
AC adapter	DMW-AC5 DMW-DCC5	$60 $13	While not an official ZS20 accessory, the combination of these parts will let you power the camera without draining the battery. These can be very hard to find.
A/V cable	DMW-AVC1	$9	Composite audio/video cable for connecting to a standard television.
Leather case	DMW-CT3-K DMW-CT3-T	$49	A leather case which comes in black and tan. Includes a battery case.
*Prices accurate at time of publication

A quite narrow your search, yes, but then again, the ZS20 is a lightweight picture photo photographic camera. As I've suggested at several periods, Panasonic components can be very nearly hard to find - I don't even have costs for 50 % of the stuff!

Panasonic contains PhotoFunStudio 8.1 Expert Version program with the Lumix DMC-ZS20. This Windows-only program manages main projects quite well, though the whole "wizard" program gets used out easily. On the main display you'll see the regular thumbnail perspective, and you can perspective images by details information files, time period, or by things as particular as landscapes function. The program can comprehend to identify actions (much like the picture photo photographic camera itself), which provides you another way to look through through your images. Available modifying functions give you the capability to plants, move, or change the aspect amount of your images, as well as modifying color, lighting, vividness, and more. You can implement pc style to images, overlay launched published written text, or eliminate redeye. Something else that's awesome is that the program preserves a record of the changes you've made to images, so you can go back in its record if you don't like something you've done.

Another involved program is Lumix Map System (for Mac and Windows), which allows you decide which charts of the world you want to finish onto your storage area room. The North/Central The usa of the united states map is 1.88 GB, so maybe getting that 8 GB SDHC cards isn't such a bad idea, after all. Another important program, known as GPSASIST, is actually designed into the picture photo photographic camera itself. When you connect it to your Mac or PC via USB, choose "GPS Information Data" on the picture photo photographic camera, and you'll look for the program on the exclusive hard drive produce set up by the picture photo photographic camera. Handling the GPS Information Information can decrease satellite tv tv tv buy periods.

As with other latest Camera components, the ZS20's guides are divided into two locations. In the box is a flyer that will get you launched and identified, but not much further. For more details regarding the picture photo photographic camera, you'll have to stock up the finish details, which is in PDF structure on the DVD that comes with the picture photo photographic camera. The finish details certainly won't win any prizes for user-friendliness, but it should response most problems you'll have about the ZS20. Suggestions for using the involved program is set up onto your PC.

This review was first published at www.dpreview.com, and is presented here with minimal changes, notably the inclusion of a full set of product images, our usual studio comparisons and an expanded samples gallery, plus the addition of a standard dpreview score.

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