Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5

Viewfinder
The LZ5 and LZ3 do not have optical or electronic viewfinders; the LCD is the sole means for composing pictures.

LCD
LZ5 - The LZ5's 2.5-inch LCD is large enough, but it's not sharp. We couldn't judge focus on it. According to Panasonic press materials, it has only 87,000 pixels, which is not enough to judge sharpness at the 6 megapixel level.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5

LZ3 - The LZ3 has a 2-inch, 87,000-pixel LCD, according to Panasonic, which is both small and low-resolution by today’s standards. We found it difficult to judge images on it.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3

Both LCDs are bright, and show dark scenes well. Panasonic press materials say the displays are brighter than their previous LCDs, so they should do well outdoors and in low light conditions. We found the LCDs too contrasty to accurately judge exposure or color on them, although obviously sufficient for composition. They also had fairly narrow angles of view vertically, an issue that Panasonic addresses creatively: the LZ5 and LZ3 offer a "high angle" view mode, which increases the brightness of the displays, allowing the user to make out the screen display even when holding the cameras overhead.

Flash
The flashes on the LZ5 and LZ3 are small, narrow, and set to the upper right of the cameras' lenses. Small flashes cast harsh, ugly shadows that many users will object to. The fact that the flashes are set to one side of the lenses compounds the problem, because the shadows will be cast to the side, rather than just behind the subjects. On the other hand, building the flash into the camera body is a much more durable approach than the flashes that flip up from the tops of competing cameras.

The flash is close to the lens, making it likely that subjects will show "red-eye." The LZ5 and LZ3 use a pre-flash to limit red-eye, which is usually effective, but adds a significant delay between pressing the shutter release and actually taking the picture.

We found that the flashes produced usable results out to about 15 feet in wide angle and 12 feet in telephoto. Those results are better than average for compact cameras. The flash light covered the wide angle view evenly.

The flash on the LZ5 and LZ3 can be set to automatic, forced on, forced off, automatic with red-eye reduction, on with long exposure, and on with long exposure and red-eye reduction. Fortunately, these options cover all the options needed for snapshots, as the cameras do not support external flashes.

Lens
The LZ5 and LZ3 have the Lumix DC Vario 6.1 – 36.6mm zoom, which equates to a 37 – 222mm lens on a 35mm camera, for a slight wide angle to a pretty strong telephoto. It might be tough to squeeze everyone in to a group picture in a small room with the 37mm equivalent, but the 222mm-like end is good enough for recording a Little League game from the sideline. Mechanically, the zoom control was pretty accurate – it didn't zoom further than we wanted.

Panasonic's MEGA O.I.S. image stabilization system works effectively, settling camera shake even in low light. O.I.S. has two modes – a continuous mode stabilizes constantly, to help the user compose the image, and a shot-only mode that works only when the picture is taken. The shot-only mode works better, but sometimes the continuous mode is necessary to frame the picture accurately.

The 6.1—36.6mm zoom on the LZ5 and LZ3 provide consistent sharpness over its zoom range, but we noticed color fringing – a defect which causes discoloration along the edges of objects in the cameras' images. Wide angle shots showed barrel distortion – straight lines bulge out along the edges of the frame – but not enough to be distracting in snapshots.