Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ70EB-K 30x70 Super Zoom Camera - Black

This is not a detailed review but just some initial observations.POSITIVES1) It has has a viewfinder as well as the rear LCD screen. I find myself using the viewfinder quite a lot.2) A sensor detects when you are using the viewfinder and switches off the LCD, presumably to save battery.3) Image stabilisation seems to be very good. Hand held zoom shots are surprisingly sharp.4) I am very impressed with the quality of the images. I take quite a lot of photos. This camera replaced a Nikon S8200 which is not a bad pocket zoom camera. I also use Pentax DSLRs. When I saw the first images from this camera on the PC there was just something about them. Very clear, very sharp and very true to colour. Almost as if you could step into them. I have read that fewer but larger pixels can give a better image than more smaller pixels crammed onto the same sized sensort. Based on my photos so far my impression is that this could well be true.5) I am used to a more basic WiFi feature on one of my Pentax DSLRs but the WiFi on this camera is much slicker to use. I have connected it to my mobile and to a tablet to review and transfer images. I haven't yet managed to get it to connect to my phone using NFC so I don't know how well that works.6) The Panoramic photo function works really well and the photos are processed almost as quickly as an ordinary photo.7) The price at around £200 is very good for such a capable pocket/travel superzoom. I know there are later models from Panasonic, the TZ80 and TZ90 and I had been pondering whether to pay more for one of those more recent models, but I'm now glad I didn't.8) Movies seem OK. but I've only taken one so far, so it's too early to comment.NEGATIVES1. My only negative is that it was hard to find a case for it. In the end I bought a simple 'US Gear' neoprene case but then discovered that the old leather case from my Nikon S8200 is an almost perfect fit so I'm now using that.===================This is an early review from just a few point and shoot outings. I haven't familiarised myself with the controls yet to try doing anything more sophisticated than 'landscape' mode. When I do, I'll come back and update the review. One feature I'm perticularly keen to try is the low-light function where it takes several shots and overlays them, as an alternative to simply using a long exposure to compensate for low light.

I have taken around 4000 photographs on this camera since I made the purchase; mainly for wildlife photography, although it is an excellent all rounder. Photography has certainly come a long way when you can have a compact camera which incorporates many of the facilities/options that come with bulky SLR cameras (although the small sensor size of compact cameras cannot compete with the larger sized sensors in the full frame format SLR cameras). Even though there is a price for convenience and compactness, the Lumix TZ70 offers an excellent trade off for every day photographs for the ordinary photographer/person. Given these accepted limitations, I have been very pleased with the quality of images that I have been able to capture on this camera and they have exceeded my expectations.The 30x zoom is roughly equivalent to an 800 mm telephoto zoom on a full frame SLR camera and the Lumix TZ70 also incorporates continuous tracking of moving objects, although this choice seems to be limited to the Intelligent Auto programme, as far as I have been able to work out. However without any doubt, one of the best strengths is the incorporation of the electronic view finder choice that allows you to see your subject clearly in bright sunny situations. One of the biggest steps backwards in the world of photography with the introduction of the digital compact camera was the elimination of the traditional viewfinder. The large standard screen design is fine on cloudy days but as we have all probably learned, on sunny days it can be difficult sometimes to see what you are actually trying to take a picture of when looking at your subject on the screen! And the screen way of taking photographs is absolutely useless when it comes to taking photographs of fast moving objects such as aircraft, sports activities and wildlife. So the electronic view finder is a much welcome development in the digital compact camera after its absence over the past fifteen years or so. Sadly, there are not many models currently around that can give you this much needed choice.I do have some criticisms with the way camera technology has developed over the past 40 years, particularly with the elaboration and complications of programme choices etc. The first camera I purchased was an Asahi Pentax Spotmatic 1000 in 1976, which came with a modest instruction manual 32 pages in length (very manageable). It was a fine camera in its day and it taught me the basics of photography. However the cost of progress is that the Panasonic Lumix TZ70 has an instruction manual that is 305 pages long that you have to download from a CD or the internet! Yes 305 pages and somewhat unmanageable! We have more choice now but it has come at one hell of a price, and that is our precious time. There are certainly a lot of useful options but it is a two sided coin. At the end of the day - despite the vast choice - I continue to take the majority of my photographs in the Aperture Priority Programme and use the Auto Exposure lock (AEL) to over-ride auto exposure, gaining some manual control over exposures when desired or by using the exposure compensation dial option. Unless you are a tech wizard with lots of time on your hands and have a photographic memory, it pays to keep your photography simple, which has been my philosophy ever since the Asahi Pentax Spotmatic 1000 taught me the basic skills of photography.In conclusion, a great compact camera that offers lots of choices but perhaps too many? This view may differ across the generations.