Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ100 Black

The reason for purchasing this camera was that I was looking for a travel camera that has a reasonable zoom range (min. 28-200mm equivalent), is compact enough to fit in a jacket pocket, and image quality better than the Canon SX260HS that I used until then.

My hope was that the relatively large 1" sensor in the Panasonic TZ100 provides a clearly better image quality than the Canon SX260HS (which has a 2x greater zoom range and was 4x as cheap at the time of purchase). Especially in difficult conditions (low light). In good light, the Panasonic TZ100 produces nice pictures but does not clearly distinguish itself from other cameras; nowadays every camera (including Canon SX260HS) can take good pictures in good light. The Panasonic TZ100 does not produce sharp pictures like a DSLR with a quality lens Even in the dark, pictures taken with the Panasonic TZ100 in terms of image quality are marginally better than pictures taken with the Canon SX260HS.

I'm not a fanatic videographer, but as a layman I find that the videos made with this device generally look good, usually also those made in the dark. What strikes me is that in the dark the camera has trouble keeping the subject in focus.

The Panasonic TZ100 has a lot of possibilities, but the operation is, apart from the basic functions, not very intuitive in my opinion. The menu structure is unclear; if a setting is not set correctly, it can be quite a puzzle to set it right again. A manual of no less than 400 pages can be downloaded for this camera, which is an indication of how complex this device is.

The touchscreen is sharp and sufficiently bright in most situations, but not always super intuitive. The electronic viewfinder is small, but in some situations a solution.

Compared to the Canon SX260HS that I used to take with me on trips, the Panasonic TZ100 is relatively large and heavy. The housing feels solid, but the imprint on the 4-way controller soon disappeared, which is difficult if you don't use the camera on a daily basis (was the white balance now the right or the left button?) .

In short, this camera is clearly a compromise in size, zoom range and image quality; it does not excel on any of these points. It is certainly not a bad camera, but personally I find the value-for-money disappointing.

This camera came out on top in the consumer association test and it's easy to see why. This compact camera is not inferior to professional cameras that cost much more

Tried a lot of compact cameras, but this one is absolute top class.