Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS15 12.1 MP High Sensitivity MOS Digital Camera with 16x Optical Zoom (Black)
- High Sensitivity MOS Sensor
- Full 1920x1080p HD video
- 3″ LCD
The LUMIX DMC-ZS15 features a versatile 24mm ultra-wide angle and powerful 16x optical zoom LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens (24-383mm on 35mm camera equivalent) with 32x Intelligent Zoom
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An absolute winner and quality product!,
I loved this camera right out of the box! I own mid-size digital SLR’s and previous Panasonic pocket cameras. For my purposes, the Lumix DMC-ZS15 is the best of both worlds.
This P&S sports a distortion-free 24mm wide angle with an amazingly sharp 383mm zoom. The auto-focus is very responsive and works as one would hope. Image stabilization is accomplished through the lens and works well when shooting video, especially at long focal lengths. The Intelligent Auto Mode is a wonderful feature when you just want to shoot and move on. And yet, the manual controls offer excellent control when you need it. Low-light shooting is terrific.
Like with any new camera, you get use to the menu layout as you gain experience using it. Of course, reading the manual front-to-back serves as a necessary overview, plus there are neat features you would not otherwise know exist.
The video performance is excellent. As a professional filmmaker, I particularly appreciate the true 29.97 frame rate. Previous Panasonic models were 30 fps, which played havoc with DVD’s and BRD’s. The dynamic range of the MOS sensor is much better than previous CCD’s I have owned. Also, the audio is clean and quiet at 48,000 kHz.
I could go on and on about my sheer delight with this camera. My only suggestion is that they include an external battery charger rather than requiring users to charge in the camera. For that reason, I bought a Panasonic DE-A65BA Battery Charger and Panasonic DMW-BCG10PP ID Secured Battery. Charging time is much faster and the extra battery is a must if you plan on doing a lot of shooting.
The Lumix DMC-ZS15 is highly recommended!
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|Review: Panasonic Lumix ZS15 12.1 MP 16x Digital Camera Vs. Canon SX230 HS,
Review: Panasonic Lumix ZS15 12.1 MP 16x Digital Camera Vs. Canon SX230 HS
(Please note: embedded images are not possible, so I’ve uploaded a few of the referenced images here on Amazon separately, along with several other representative images.)
From left, the Panasonic ZS-15, Canon SX230, Sony HX5V, and a Panasonic ZR-3. There isn’t a huge difference in envelope dimensions. Only the older ZR-3 is significantly slimmer.
From the back, the thin profile of the ZR-3 is easily discernible. Between the two primary subject cameras discussed here, the new ZS-15 and the SX230, there isn’t enough difference to worry about.
Recently, I reviewed a battery of compact point and shoot genre digital cameras suitable for hunting and the outdoors. The losers were the Nikon S9100 for poor build quality, very poor video, and sounding like a tractor when you operate the zoom. Not a healthy tractor at that. The Sony HX7V exhibited truly sea-slug slow shooting performance. The middle of the road was taken up by a previous Sony model, the Sony HX5V, while connecting to a PC with a truly wacky proprietary Sony adapter, often took very good pictures, is well-built, but is still noticeably slow compared to several Canon and Panasonic models. The winners were the Canon SX230 overall (easily) with an honorable mention to the older Panasonic DMC-ZR3 for its slimness, responsiveness, very low price, and excellent battery life . . . noting that the more current, but similarly performing Panasonic DMC-FH25K model was quite a bargain at its $140 street price or even a tad less.
The Canon Powershot SX230, with its 14x optical zoom range, has produced some very good images for me. There are situations where the 14x zoom just isn’t enough, like the above image of turkeys shot from the far side of a clover field. For extended zoom range without additional bulk or great cost, the new Panasonic ZS-15 has the potential to fill the bill.
Now, most of the 2012 models are out and as usual, there is a mix of hits and disappointments in what is called the travel zoom category, generally compact point and shoot cameras with 10x or better zoom ranges, often including a GPS. Already, a few of the newer models can be safely deemed a step backward. Inexplicably, the Nikon 9300 adds a GPS to last year’s 9100 and along with that dubious feature adds an even more dubious 16 megapixel sensor. Currently, it is way overpriced at its $345 street price and wouldn’t be competitive even if it was a hundred dollars or so less as far as I’m concerned. As a sad bonus, the image quality from the Nikon 9300 has taken a nosedive, even at base ISO.
Last year’s Sony DSC-HX9V has been replaced by the DSC-HX10V, cramming 18 megapixels onto its tiny sensor resulting in a loss in image quality along the way. Still selling near its retail price of $329.99, it doesn’t compare favorably to Canon and Panasonic product. The new Canon SX260 stretches the optical zoom of the SX230 from 14x out to 20x, it runs $300 as of this writing, and it also adds a plethora of new scene modes. It is easy to recommend the SX260 as it yields essentially the same performance as the SX230 with the same sensor. It is an incremental improvement, though, and if the 14x zoom of the SX230 is enough for you the remaining SX230’s are a bargain at about $199 street price. 100% crops give a slight image quality benefit to the SX230 as well: something subtle enough to go unnoticed in a full image.
You might be wondering when I’m going to get to the Panasonic ZS15, so am I, but I’ll get there. Though Panasonic has generally been credited with pioneering this branch of digital camera, their 2011 offerings fell flat. The DMC-ZS10 was described as ‘doing everything right except take good pictures’ by one reviewer, Jeff Keller, which about sums it up. The 2012 flagship Panasonic super-zoom, the DMC-ZS20, gets Panasonic back in the game with a 20x zoom, a comparatively full-featured GPS, currently offered at the equally full-featured price of $325 or so. While I debated, I decided it wasn’t worth reviewing the ZS-20 compared to this Lumix ZS15, a comparative screaming deal at $230 street, or less.
What you give up in saving a hundred dollars is what I find of little value: the GPS, the longer zoom (16x is generous enough), and stereo video recording. If anything, the ZS15 nets you slightly better image quality, better battery life (no GPS or touch screen) and you lose little else. There is no particular reason to avoid the 20x ZS20, but the more fiscally conservative folks will say that the so-called “downgraded” ZS15 is no downgrade at all for hunting and outdoor use.
The ZS15 uses the new sensor from the Panasonic FZ-150 (a very, *very* good thing) coupled with the lens and body from the ZS-10 (not a bad thing). The sensor obviously boosts image quality, the precise area where the ZS-10 stumbled.
It…
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