Panasonic Lumix TZ18 Digital Camera Review

Features
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification



The Panasonic Lumix TZ18 (also known as the ZS8 in the US) is an update to the popular Panasonic Travel Zoom (TZ) series and features a new 16x optical zoom lens and 14 megapixel sensor, compared to the previous version's 12x optical zoom and 12 megapixel sensor.

Panasonic Lumix TZ18 Features

The camera has an impressive zoom range, providing 16x optical zoom from extra wide angle 24mm equivalent to 384mm equivalent, along with optical image stabilisation.

In Program (P) mode you can zoom from wide (24mm) to the full 16x optical zoom (at 384mm equivalent), at 14Mp. in intelligent Auto mode you can zoom from wide to 20x "intelligent zoom" at 14Mp, pressing the E.Zoom button again will zoom the camera to an equivalent of 42.2x zoom at 3Mp.

The camera has a large 3 inch screen, a good size mode dial and manual controls. There are very nice feeling on/off switch buttons and an easy to use record and playback switch that I always miss on other cameras as it works so well.

The TZ18 is the "little brother" to the TZ20 (known as the ZS10 in the US) - and offers 720p video compared to full HD on the TZ20. The TZ20 also features a 14Mp Live MOS sensor for high speed shooting at 10fps, upto 60fps at 3.5Mp, 3D photo mode, GPS and a higher resolution screen (460k vs 230k).



Key Features 

• 14 megapixel CCD sensor
• 16x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 24-384mm in 35mm equiv., f/3.3 - f5.9
• Intelligent zoom extends the zoom to 20x at 14Mp
• 3inch screen, with 230k pixels
• 720p video at 30fps with mono sound
• P/S/A/M modes
• POWER O.I.S.(Optical Image Stabilizer)
• Automatic screen brightness adjustment
• ISO100 - ISO1600
• 3cm Macro mode
• Facebook and Youtube sharing

Panasonic Lumix TZ18 Handling

The camera is well built with a solid metal body and a good sized front hand grip, while the back has a raised bumps thumb grip that works well. The design will be very familiar to anyone who's used the TZ series, as it uses a very similar design that's been used ever since the first TZ1 came out 5 years ago with the top mode dial, on/off, shutter and additional function button still located in the same place (although it's changed from an optical image stabilisation mode button to an E. (Electronic) Zoom button).

As the old adage goes: "If it isn't broken, don't fix it" and in this case, Panasonic are doing a good job updating the camera every year with improved features such as increased optical zoom, enhanced video modes and additional scene modes and creative modes such as the useful HDR mode and full manual controls.

Menus: The TZ18's menus are logical and well laid out. The text is easy to read and the options are easy to understand the majority of the time. Occasionally the scene modes can take a little longer to access as they are represented with small images. You also occasionally need to wait for the pop-up text in order to find out what the mode does. 



Battery Life: According to CIPA standard the TZ18 is capable of 340 shots. I was able to take 320 shots before the battery went flat.

Speed: We tested the Panasonic Lumix TZ18 and compared it to the Canon Powershot SX220 and Nikon Coolpix S9100 and we have shown results below:

	Panasonic TZ18	Canon SX220	Nikon S9100
Shutter Reponse	<0.1	<0.1	0.05
Wide - Focus / Shutter Response	0.4	0.35	<0.2
Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response	0.4	0.35	0.6
Switch on Time to Taking a Photo	1.9	1.8	1.9
Shot to Shot (without flash)	1.3	1.9	1.4
Shot to Shot with Flash	2.5	3.0	1.7-2.0
Continuous Shooting (full resolution)	0.9	2.5fps	9.5fps (5 shots)

Results are very similar to the competition, although the TZ18 has the slowest continuous shooting of the three, as the SX220 and S9100 features back lit CMOS sensors that enable high speed shooting at full resolution. 

To access additional high speed shooting modes on the Panasonic Lumix TZ18, you can select high speed shooting in the scene modes. This allows 5.5fps to 10fps shooting at 3Mp, or alternatively you can select high speed shooting with flash, and this allows a shot to be taken every 1.3 seconds at 3Mp.

Panasoninc Lumix TZ18 Performance

The Panasonic Lumix TZ18 produces images that have good colour and good detail. Here are some sample photos you can enlarge:

Giraffe, Chester Zoo	Yellow Flowers

ISO and Noise Performance

ISO speed test: Click on the thumbnails for larger images.
ISO100	ISO200	ISO400
ISO800	ISO1600

Noise is visible in ISO100 shots and increases as the ISO setting increases, with ISO400 shots showing more noise than expected compared to similar cameras. ISO800 shots are quite noisy, while ISO1600 shots are overly noisy making them quite poor even if resized for the web, as the noise is so dominant that it remains when the image is resized. The results at the highest ISO setting of ISO1600 looks very similar to the results you would get from a competitor at ISO3200, even more so if you compare it to cameras using a backlit CMOS sensor. As long as you stick to the lowest ISO settings results are good.

Wide-angle - note the furthest red car.	Full 16x optical zoom
20x Intelligent zoom (14Mp)	42.2x zoom (3Mp)

The optical zoom provides a good zoom range. This is further extended using the "Intelligent Zoom" - this is intended to process the image, sharpening detail, however when viewing the images at full size, it's easy to see that it is using digital zoom and is simply providing an easier way to magnify an area (unfortunately at the expense of image quality).

Some of the creative modes and photographic features are shown below:

Toy Camera	High Contrast Black and White Film Grain
HDR	HDR Art

The creative modes can make some otherwise boring shots more memorable. The many scene and creative modes available are: Portrait, Soft Skin, Transform, Self-Portrait, Scenery, Panorama Assist, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Food, Party, Candle Light, Baby1, Baby2, / Pet, Sunset, High sensitivity, Hi-Speed Burst (image priority/speed priority), Flash Burst, Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Aerial, Pinhole, Film Grain, High Dynamic (standard/ art/ B&W), Photoframe, Under Water. The camera also has a number of colour modes, including, interestingly a "Happy" mode: Standard, Natural, Vivid, Black & White, Sepia, Cool, Warm, Happy.

Some other shots here show good colour, however there is some noise when viewed at 100%:

Normal shot	HP Scooter

White Balance

AWB - Tungsten	Tungsten preset - Tungsten	AWB - Fluorescent

Auto white balance does not feature a preset for Fluorescent - as you can see above it doesn't seem to be needed as the results using auto white balance under fluorescent lighting are excellent. In fact you get better results using the auto white balance under incandescent / tungsten lighting rather than using the Tungsten preset.

Macro Performance: The camera allows you to be 3cm away from your subject, this produces good macro results with lots of detail.

Macro Watch	Portrait with flash

The portrait shot came out well, red-eye was reduced by using the portrait scene mode. 

Video Mode
The video quality is good recording 720p HD Video up to 15min with mono sound, and the optical zoom can be used while recording.

Value for Money
The Panasonic Lumix TZ18 costs £229 and is up against competitors like the Canon Powershot SX220 HS priced at £230 with high speed shooting, 12 megapixel sensor and 14x optical zoom lens. The Nikon Coolpix S9100 is another to consider priced at £249 with high speed shooting, 12 megapixel sensor and 18x optical zoom lens and the new Olympus SZ-10 priced at £199, with high speed shooting, 16 megapixel sensor and 18x optical zoom lens. 

Panasonic Lumix TZ18 Verdict

The Panasonic Lumix TZ18 continues the tradition of providing an excellent zoom range in a compact camera, this time with a wide angle 16x optical zoom lens, without appearing to compromise on image quality as image quality is good at both wide and telephoto. The image quality is good, however I found the screen on the back showed images slightly brighter than they appeared on the computer, causing me to try and adjust the exposure unnecessarily on the camera. Images showed more noise than I would have liked to see, however the overall image quality and usability of the camera is very good and the solid design of the camera makes it well worth considering.

The Panasonic Lumix TZ18 improves on the predecessors and brings more zoom and delivers good image quality.

Panasonic Lumix TZ18 Pros:
16x optical zoom lens starting at 24mm wide
Good design and build quality
Easy to use menus
High quality video with optical zoom
Built in optical image stabilisation
Good macro performance
Excellent auto white balance

Panasonic Lumix TZ18 Cons:
"Intelligent zoom" is just another name for digital zoom
Continuous shooting not as quick as the competition
Screen appeared overly bright at times
Noise noticeable in shots, higher than expected

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE
OVERALL

Panasonic Lumix TZ18 Specification

Price	£229
Contact	www.panasonic.co.uk
Lens	16x optical zoom (24-384mm equivalent, f/3.3 - f/5.9)
Resolution	14.1 Megapixels
Sensor size	1/2.3 inch
Sensor type	CCD Sensor
Max. Image size	14mp 4320x3240
Aspect ratio	4:3, 3:2, 1:1, 16:9
Monitor	3.0in TFT LCD monitor, 230000 pixels
Shutter speed	Still: 60 - 1/4000 sec / Starry Sky Mode : 15, 30, 60sec
Focusing system	Contrast detection AF
Focusing modes	Normal/ AF Macro, Zoom Macro, Quick AF, AF Tracking / Continuous AF (only for motion picture)
Focus distance	Normal: Wide 50 cm - infinity / Tele 200 cm - infinity / Macro / Intelligent AUTO/ movie recording: Wide 3 cm - infinity / Tele 100cm - infinity
File types	Still Image: JPEG(DCF/Exif2.3) / Motion picture: QuickTime Motion JPEG
ISO sensitivity	Auto / i.ISO / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / High Sensitivity mode (ISO 1600-6400)
Metering modes	Intelligent Multiple / Center Weighted / Spot
Exposure compensation	1/3 EV step, +/-2 EV, Auto (AE) Bracketing: 1/3 ~1EV step, Max +/-1, 3 frames
Continuous	High-speed Burst Mode: approx. 5.5 frames/sec (image priority) / approx. 10 frames/sec (speed priority) / (recorded in 3M for 4:3, 2.5M for 3:2, 2M for 16:9, 2.5M for 1:1)
Image stabilisation	Yes - optical image stabilizer
Movie mode	1,280x720 pixels at 30 fps in Motion JPEG format
Media type	Built-in Memory, SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card
Interface	Hi-Speed USB 2.0
Power	ID-Security Li-ion Battery Pack (3.6V, Minimum: 895mAh) (Included) / AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC) (Optional)
Box Contents	Panasonic Lumix TZ18 Camera, Battery Charger, Battery Pack, AC Cable, AV Cable, USB Cable, AC Cable, Hand Strap, CD-ROM
Size	104.9 x 57.6 x 33.4 mm
Weight	188 g (excluding battery and SD memory card)

The Panasonic Lumix TZ18 costs £229 and is available from Warehouse Express here: Panasonic Lumix TZ18