Panasonic 14.1MP Lumix DMC-ZS20 20x SuperZoom Review by ImagingResource

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 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-on. Overall fair results, just a little more hue inaccuracy than average. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20's Manual white balance handled our incandescent lighting much better than the Incandescent and Auto settings, which both produced noticeable color shifts. Auto was a little closer to accurate, but with an overriding magenta tint. Incandescent mode resulted in a very warm cast. Detail already appears slightly smudged at ISO 100, with a small amount of visible noise. Noise grain patterns continue to become more visible as ISO increases, as does the camera's efforts at noise suppression, which interfere with detail. That said, a fair amount of fine detail is still discernible at ISO 800, and even at ISO 1,600. By 3,200, chroma noise, noise suppression, and grain pattern effectively eliminate finer details. See Printed section below for more on how this affects printed images.

The Panasonic ZS20 looks so much like any other pocket camera that you might walk right by it as it sits on the digicam shelf at your nearest Big Store. You'd never know it packs a 20x zoom with GPS and touch screen control. Last year we recommended skipping the ZS10 in favor of the next model. And here we are. The touch screen still leaves us flat, the GPS feature is not among the better implementations, but sufficient for recording location. I did like the 20x zoom in the rather nicely-designed body, but I was mystified by the rush to ISO 800 even on flash shots. The Panasonic ZS20 is an improvement over the ZS10, and the ZS30 will no doubt deliver improvements over the ZS20. Meanwhile, though, there are other small megazoom options that do more useful things with GPS mapping and have better image quality. We really had high hopes to return with an enthusiastic recommendation once again for Panasonic's formerly excellent travel zoom line, but regret that we have to add the caveat that the ZS20 is fine so long as you don't plan to enlarge beyond 11x14 inches. There are a great many folks who fit that description, but more picky shooters will want to look elsewhere."