Panasonic DMC-ZS20 14.1 Megapixel Extended Zoom Reviews Roundup

On January 31 2012, Panasonic announced two ZS-series SuperZoom compact cameras - the DMC-ZS20 (aka DMC-TZ30) and DMC-ZS15 (aka DMC-TZ25). At only 1.3 inches thick, the ZS20 is the world's slimmest digital camera with a 20x optical zoom 24mm ultra wide-angle LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens. The ZS15 has a 16x optical zoom instead. The ZS20 features a newly developed 14.1 Megapixels High Sensitivity MOS sensor. When coupled with the advanced image processor Venus Engine, the LUMIX ZS20 features high speed, high sensitivity image recording. High speed burst shooting at 10 fps in full resolution and Light Speed AF. The ZS15 sensor is 12.1 Megpaixels.

The ZS20 can record full-HD 1,920 x 1,080 60p videos in AVCHD Progressive (MPEG-4) format (or 30p in MP4). The 20x optical zoom with 2-step Zoom function is available in video recording. The Auto Wind Cut function helps to block out wind background noise and mechanical noise caused by zooming. In addition, the ZS20 has manual control options, allowing the user to adjust shutter speed and aperture, and 3D Photo Mode. The ZS20 is listed for $349.99 in black, red, white, and silver options.

Panasonic DMC-ZS20 Sample Photos on Flickr



Panasonic DMC-ZS20 Camera Reviews Roundup


Imaging Resource: "The Lumix DMC-ZS20 produced fairly good color, though bright reds and blues, and even some greens, are pumped a little high. A few shifts in hue are also present practically all around, including the slight yellow to green shift we've come to expect from Panasonics, though purples and deep blues are closest to their accurate hue. Dark skintones show a big push toward orange, while lighter skin tones are almost dead-..." - Jul 15 2012 More »
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MacWorld: "Traditionally, Panasonic's cameras have met the challenge in our lab's subjective tests for image quality. The Lumix line usually errs on the side of underexposure and muted colors in Intelligent Auto mode, which is rare for today's cameras; everything from a smartphone camera to a DSLR tends to oversaturate and punch up colors these days, as the masses gravitate toward vibrant images with bright colors. If you'd pr..." - Jun 02 2012 More »
ePhotoZine: "Detail is good in the centre and to the edges and the camera copes well with lens flare. There is some purple fringing in the shot of the trees above, but little in other shots. There is some distortion with barrel distortion at the wide end and pincushion at the telephoto end of the zoom. Vignetting was not noticed. Macro performance is very good letting you position the subject roughly 3cm from front of lens, it's..." - May 06 2012 More »
Trusted Reviews: "Overall image quality is pretty good - especially when you consider the amount of zoom power the TZ30 manages to pack inside its diminutive little body. Used on the 'Standard' My Colour setting in iAuto mode the TZ30 produces pleasingly lifelike images that tread a happy medium, being neither overly muted nor overly saturated. Of course, should you want to boost vibrancy you can opt for the 'Vivid' setting, or indee..." - May 03 2012 More »
dpreview: "Camera performance is very good in most respects, with only two areas in which the camera lags a bit. The first area is startup time which, at 2 seconds, is a bit slower than average. Focusing times, on the other hand, are very responsive, and are among the best you'll find on a compact camera. Shutter lag wasn't an issue, and shot-to-shot delays were minimal, even with the flash. The ZS20 has a number of burst mode..." - Apr 28 2012 More »
Pocket-lint: "When the we reviewed the TZ20 we noted that its 14.1MP sensor didn't produce particularly astounding images. By that we mean they're decent point-and-shoot snaps, but won't compete with higher-spec, larger-sensor cameras such as Panasonic's own LX5. The TZ30 doesn't add any resolution, but it does have a brand new sensor that Panasonic claims has improved performance. It's a good thing to see no more pixels squeezed..." - Apr 13 2012 More »
digitalcameraHQ: "If you absolutely need a long zoom range in a small package, the ZS20 camera is a great choice. The compositional choices opened up by such a pocketable zoom range are really liberating and are unmatch ed for travel. Image quality is among the best you'll find from a 1/2.3-inch sensor, with photos looking sharp and colorful even when the light gets low. Noise smudging rears its ugly head even at IS0 100 and perfecti..." - Apr 05 2012 More »
Camera Labs: "Panasonic originally invented the concept of a pocket super-zoom camera, but now shares this lucrative market with all the big names. As such when it comes to the annual update of its best-seller, the company is increasingly pulling-out all the stops to make improvements and stay a step-ahead of rivals. So now the latest ZS20 / TZ30 boasts a longer 20x optical range squeezed into a slimmer body, full 1080p video, a..." - Apr 05 2012 More »
PhotoReview Australia: "Subjective assessments of both still photos and video clips from the review camera showed them to be similar to those from the TZ20. Image files straight from the camera were slightly soft and low in contrast and benefited from unsharp masking post-capture. Most colours were accurately recorded and saturation was restrained for a small-sensor digicam. Exposure metering was generally accurate and the review camera wa..." - Apr 03 2012 More »
What Digital Camera: "The TZ30's exposures are balanced, though the presence of bright highlight areas can overexpose in some scenes. Where subjects are backlit this can work to the camera's advantage: midtones still see sufficient exposure, despite an overexposed sky, which is important for a consumer camera - silhouetted shots wouldn't be of much use. So from this perspective the TZ30 will deliver considered exposures each and every ti..." - Mar 11 2012 More »
CNET US: "Depending on what your plans are for its photos, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20's shots are either very good to excellent or unusable. If you're looking to use its 14-megapixel resolution to enlarge pictures to full size and heavily crop in, don't buy this camera (or most other point-and-shoots). Things just don't look great when viewed at 100 percent. However, those viewing onscreen at less than 100 percent or making..." - Mar 09 2012 More »
Digital Camera Info: "The Panasonic DMC-ZS20 (or TZ30, outside of North America) is a travel zoom model that manages to fit just about everything you might ask for into a compact camera that can fit easily into a jacket pocket or purse. It has a 20x optical zoom lens, new 14-megapixel image sensor, 3-inch touchscreen LCD, optical stabilization, and built-in GPS. If you're skeptical, we don't blame you. That sounds an awful lot like..." - Feb 27 2012 More »
Digital Camera Resource Page: "The ZS20 is also capable of recording very high quality Full HD video. While the ZS10 topped out at 1080/60i (with 30p sensor output), the ZS20 records at true 1080/60p. The camera uses the AVCHD codec and Dolby Digital Stereo sound, and can record for up to 30 continuous minutes. You have full use of the optical zoom and image stabilization, and the camera can continuously autofocus, as well. That said, the video r..." - Feb 27 2012 More »
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Digital Camera Review: "Panasonic's ZS20 is a very attractive compact digital for a variety of reasons, first of which is that big zoom lens that can telescope all the way from 24mm up to 480mm yet travel around in a shirt pocket (power off, of course). Add in good still image and video quality, manual exposure controls, a responsive shutter, quick autofocus acquisition time and a capable stabilization system for shooting at long focal len..." - Feb 27 2012 More »
Trusted Reviews: "We were able to secure some hands-on time with the camera and the first thing we noticed is how fast it was to focus. Shutter lag is a main gripe among users of travel camera, but the TZ30 achieved some very impressive results in our test. The manufacturer claims the Light Speed Auto Focus can focus on an image in just 0.1 seconds, and it outperformed its predecessor, the Panasonic Lumix TZ20 in a test involvin..." - Feb 21 2012 More »
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