Panasonic Lumix TZ100 ZS100 Review - Performance

Panasonic Lumix TZ100 (ZS100) Performance

The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.

Speed - We took a number of shots to test the camera's responsiveness, from switch on to first photo, shot to shot, focusing speed etc. We take a number of shots and then use the average to ensure accurate and consistent tests, making it easy to compare with other cameras.

Panasonic Lumix TZ100 Sample Photos

Sample Photos - Photos have pleasingly bright and saturated colours on default settings, and exposure is reliable. Dynamic range is good and there are a number of options available to improve this if needed. Portrait photos have good skin tones, and there did not appear to be any signs of red-eye when using the flash. Face / eye detection is particularly useful when taking photos of people, with the camera correctly focusing on the subjects eyes, and it's a shame all cameras don't have this feature. When using the macro mode, it's possible to get pleasing background blur (Bokeh), although as you zoom in you begin to lose the advantage of the f/2.8 aperture at the wide-angle end of the lens, although this is to be expected due to the size of the lens - if you want to maintain the bright aperture whilst you zoom you would need to look at a one of the bridge cameras, such as the FZ1000. 

Panasonic Lumix TZ100 Lens test images

Lens Performance - Detail is good at the wide-angle end of the lens, and the lens performs well but does seem a little bit softer at the telephoto end of the lens. You can focus on subjects that are 5cm away from the front of the lens at the wide angle setting, as well as zooming to 44mm equivalent, whilst still being able to focus on subjects 5cm away from the front of the lens, which gives good macro performance. The closest focus distance is 70cm at the telephoto end of the lens. There is minimal barrel distortion with the camera automatically correcting for this in the camera. There is very nearly no distortion at the telephoto end, and again, the camera corrects for this in camera.

Panasonic Lumix TZ100 ISO test images

ISO Noise Performance - Noise performance and detail are both good up to around ISO1600 and ISO3200. Results may still be usable at ISO6400, but above this is best avoided, depending on your planned use of the images. The camera gives better noise performance than the TZ80 and very similar performance to other cameras with the same size sensor, such as the RX100 III, although there is a slight advantage in noise performance with the RX10 Mark II, which has the latest version of the Sony sensor.

Panasonic Lumix TZ100 White-balance test images

White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance (AWB) performs very well in a variety of lighting conditions, as well as under mixed lighting conditions, so you shouldn't need to use the white balance presets, or manual white balance. 

Panasonic Lumix TZ100 Digital filters

Digital Filters - There are a vast array of creative effects available, and a number of them have additional options, for example you can change the position of the sun when using the sunshine effect. The panoramic mode is automatic, and will stitch the photo as you pan from one side to the other, and results are good with a reasonably high resolution (10mp) image produced. 

Panoramic | 1/320 sec | f/4.0 | 9.1 mm | ISO 125

Video - The TZ100 records 4K (UHD) video, as well as FullHD video. ISO6400 is available whether shooting at 4K or FullHD resolution, and results are good with FullHD video (at 1080p), with more noise noticeable in the 4K video. 5-aixs hybrid optical image stabilisation is extremely effective when using FullHD video resolution, but less so when recording 4K video. 5-axis IS is not available when recording 4K or high-speed video, but standard optical image stabilisation still helps, although for best results a tripod is recommended. An example showing the difference in the performance of image stabilisation can be found in these videos: FullHD video with zoom, and 4K video with zoom.

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