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Panasonic Point and Shoot and Non-DSLR
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5 Digital Camera Review
by Patrick Singleton
Published on April 14, 2006
Manual Control Options
The Lumix LZ5 is an automatic camera. It has several controls that can influence the shot, but they modify the automated settings, rather than allow the user to directly input settings manually.
Focus
Auto Focus (6.5)
The LZ5's autofocus system operates continuously. Like most compact camera autofocus systems, it's quick. In part, that's because the lens is small – at 6 to 38.6 mm, its parts don't have to move very far to focus. We found that the Lumix LZ5 performed better than much of its competition in low light and low contrast situations, reaching sharp focus when others got confused. Tracking focus (keeping a moving subject in focus), particularly in low light, is not something it's up to, but compacts don't generally handle that well.
The Lumix LZ5 offers several focusing area patterns. The 5-point mode looks for focus in the central half of the view, checking in 5 areas. A 3-point mode checks a row of areas across the middle of the frame. There are two 1-area modes, high-speed and regular, but we couldn't notice a difference in speed. There is also a spot mode, which measures a narrow area at the center of the frame.
Manual Focus (0.0)
The Lumix LZ5 does not offer manual focus.
Metering (6.0)
The Lumix LZ5 has an evaluative metering pattern, which takes readings from several areas of the image and compares them to arrive at an exposure value. Evaluative patterns are usually the best for automatic exposure, so it's an appropriate choice for the Lumix LZ5. Cameras with more manual features than the Lumix LZ5 offer more modes – usually spot and averaging – which aid manual exposure control. Other modes like these aren't usefully in a fully automated camera such as the Lumix LZ5, but it's a measure of how limited the manual provisions are.
Exposure (6.0)
The LZ5 offers exposure compensation in 1/3 EV steps from 2 EV below the metered exposure to 2 EV above. That's as close as it comes to manual exposure – there is no aperture priority or shutter priority mode. The Lumix LZ5 will bracket exposures in the same range of adjustment as the exposure compensation control.
 White Balance (7.5)
The Lumix LZ5's white balance can be set to daylight, cloudy or halogen. Most compact cameras offer more presets than that. Shade is a common one that's useful, and some fluorescent settings give pretty good results, so the Lumix LZ5 would probably be better off with more presets. The auto setting did better than the presets on the Lumix LZ5, and creating a custom white balance, which is a simple thing to do, did better still. Panasonic also includes a white balance fine tune on the Lumix LZ5, which is not a universal feature even on DSLRs. Though it requires judging color on the LCD, it will be a useful feature for snapshooters who are picky about color. It's accessible via the exposure compensation button. Pressing the button three times brings it up.
ISO (6.25)
The LZ5 has manual ISO settings of 80, 100, 200 and 400. In the high-sensitivity scene mode, the camera accesses settings of 800 and 1600, but they are only available in that mode. Auto mode keeps the ISO as low as possible, which is a good thing on this camera, because its noise performance is poor and deteriorates even further at higher ISOs.
Shutter Speed (0.0)
The LZ5 has shutter speeds from 1 second through 1/2000, in 1/3 EV increments, in most of its shooting modes. The Fireworks scene mode sets a fixed exposure of about 3 seconds, and Starry Sky scene mode offers 15-, 30- and 60-second exposures. The camera can also be set to lock out speeds under 1/8, 1/4 or 1/2 of a second.
Aperture (0.0)
The Lumix DC Vario 1:2.8-4.5 / 6.1-38.6 has a maximum aperture of f/2.8 at wide angle and f/4.5 at telephoto. The minimum aperture is 2 stops smaller than the maximum at any given focal length. There isn't any manual aperture setting, but Panasonic reports that the aperture is set in two steps – it's either all the way open or set to the minimum.
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