Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ35

Zitat: Budget Award Could be better in low light, but it has a sharp lens, nippy performance and attractive videos – not bad for £160

Zitat: Recommended Pro: + Broad 20x optical zoom covers every situation in slim body. + 1080i video with zooming and continuous AF. + Miniature mode can be easily applied to 1080i movies. + Panorama mode can capture 360 degree arcs. Contra: - Modest continuous shooting, only 5fps at max resolution. - No built-in GPS or Wifi. - No touchscreen. - Last year´s TZ30 / ZS20 out-features it, so compare prices. For many years Panasonic has offered two different versions of its travel zoom: a feature-packed flagship model and a simpler version which skips the bells and whistles to come in at a lower price point. It´s a clever approach which allows you to choose which feature-set suits you best, and saving money if you don´t need all the gadgets. On previous generations, the two versions would often sport different optical ranges, but for 2013, Panasonic has equipped both with the same 20x range, along with much the same body, shooting modes and creative effects. In these respects they share the same core capabilities, to which the flagship TZ40 / ZS30 adds Wifi, GPS, a touchscreen, built-in mapping, faster continuous shooting and 1080p video with stereo sound. Both are good, solid options, so the choice boils down to either paying the extra for the feature-packed TZ40 / ZS30, or saving some cash for the simpler TZ35 / ZS25. Well, that´s the choice Panasonic would like you to make anyway as it carefully balances the feature-sets for each generation. But with only one year separating each generation, the previous models may actually offer a compelling alternative. For example in some regions, last year´s flagship may cost roughly the same as this year´s budget model, but with only a year between the older model could deliver a broader feature-set. That´s exactly what´s happened here. The pricing and feature-set of TZ35 / ZS25 makes sense when compared to Panasonic´s 2013 models and comes Recommended if you don´t need the extras of the TZ40 / ZS30, but it´s well worth keeping an eye on the price of last year´s TZ30 / ZS20 while stocks last. At the time of writing, the TZ30 / ZS20 was discounted to a similar point as the new TZ35 / ZS25 in some regions, yet offered a touch-screen, GPS, 1080p video and faster continuous shooting in addition to the same 20x zoom range. Of course stocks of the older TZ30 / ZS20 will run dry, and as they do its price may actually rise and become uncompetitive, but if you can find it for roughly the same as the TZ35 / ZS25, I´d say it represents a better bet.

Zitat: The Lumix DMC-TZ35 / ZS25 is a new travel-zoom camera from Panasonic that offers a slight improvement on on last year´s TZ25 / ZS15 model thanks largely to the bigger zoom, higher-resolution 16 megapixel sensor and improved hand-grip. There is one key area where the Panasonic DMC-TZ35 still doesn´t improve on its rivals or its predecessor, namely poor image quality once you venture above ISO 400. Noise is apparent at ISO 400 but becomes much more obvious at ISO 800 along with excessive smearing of finer details, with the fastest speeds of ISO 1600 and 3200 being something of a last resort. Perhaps the biggest problem for the new Lumix DMC-TZ35, though, comes in the shape of its much better-specced big brother, the TZ45 / ZS35, which additionally offers a touchscreen interface, built-in wi-fi connectivity and GPS, a 5-axis image stabilisation system, more megapixels, a better burst mode, higher-resolution screen, and improved video quality with stereo sound, all for an extra £70 / $100. In summary the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ35 is admittedly cheaper than the more expensive TZ40 model, but it does concede quite a lot of ground to achieve the more aggressive price-tag, and it doesn´t offer that many upgrades over the previous TZ25 model. Therefore, while the DMC-TZ35 is certainly a very competent travel-zoom, it doesn´t offer enough to convince us to save the extra outlay for its big brother, or more seriously for Panasonic one of its main rivals...