Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5

Front (8.0)
The Panasonic DMC-LZ5 is a compact camera with Panasonic's typical understated styling. It's available in black or metallic-flake finishes. The model we tested is black, which goes nicely with the brushed metal accents. The lens assembly is brushed metal in a couple of different tones. The optics peek out of a rectangular window in the telescoping assembly. The widest ring of the assembly is labeled "MEGA O.I.S." in red, and the smallest ring reads, "LUMIX DC VARIO 1:2.8-4.5 / 6.1-38.6 ASPH," indicating the lens's specs. A small autofocus light sits along the right edge of the front, just below the narrow flash window. The handgrip on the left is a smooth, curving bulge that's decorated with a horizontal stripe of metal. Along the top edge, to the right of the grip, there is a "Lumix" logo. At the lower right, there's a script "L" on a gold badge. At the lower left, between the lens and the grip, the Lumix LZ5 is labeled "6x Optical Zoom."

Back (6.0)
The Lumix LZ5 has a 2.5-inch, 85,000 pixel LCD that takes up most of the back of the camera. To the right of the LCD is the Lumix LZ5's four-way controller, which is made up of four directional buttons arranged in a ring and a "Set" button in the middle. A status lamp that shows memory writes is above and to the right of them. Two buttons with dual functions, display/high angle and burst mode/deletion, are below the four-way. There's a small ridge at the top right that forms a thumb rest. It's a neat, functional layout.

Left Side (7.5)
The Lumix LZ5's left side features a spring-loaded plastic door, which covers a terminal for USB connectivity and analog video out and a jack for an external power supply, which is not included with the camera. The door is flimsy. It's more likely to break than anything else on the camera. We would rather see a rubber flap, which would seal against dirt and be more durable.

Right Side (7.5)
The right side of the Lumix LZ5 forms part of the grip, so it's very good that the features on the side are set flush. They don't get in the way, no matter how the user holds the camera. The features are a wrist strap lug and the SD memory card door. The strap lug is high and toward the back, which is a convenient spot for it. The card slot door slides toward the back before swinging open, so it is more secure than the port door on the left side. We still prefer latched doors. The decorative metal strip on the front wraps halfway around the side, and doesn't do any harm.

Top (8.0)
The top of the Lumix LZ5 features a small, flat mode dial, just right of center and hanging slightly off the back edge. The 8-position dial rotates easily. The shutter release to the right is a large chrome button surrounded by a black zoom ring, which also controls image magnification in playback. The image stabilization button is at the far right of the top. The power switch is a small slider toward the back. Sliding switches are better than push buttons – it's less likely that the Lumix LZ5 will be accidentally turned on with a switch than a push button.

A small hole near the mode dial is apparently the microphone, which doesn't bode well for the Lumix LZ5's sound quality.

Bottom (4.5)
The Lumix LZ5 has a battery compartment in the handgrip. The access door is on the bottom of the camera, and opens via a firm press and slide motion. We'd still rather see a latch, which is more durable, but the Lumix LZ5's door seems pretty tough. There is a tripod socket at the far left. It's made of a very hard plastic that may compare well to metal in terms of durability. It would be more effective to line up the camera on a tripod if the socket were centered under the lens.