Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1

Design & Appearance

The TS1 is certainly a chunky camera. While not overly large, its design is definitely cubist, and it's covered with beveled edges. The buttons are all large, and project more than normal, which makes them tougher and a bit easier to use if you're gloved. The layout of the camera is nothing to write home about, and is like most of the other point-and-shoots on the market.

Size & Handling

The Panasonic is a good size to hold, and all the buttons are large and clearly defined, so you won't be likely to press the wrong one. The placement of the zoom slider in front of the shutter control felt a little odd, but is something that would be easy to get used to. With the lack of a dedicated grip, one hopes the camera doesn't get too slippery when wet, as you'd hate to lose it in the briny depth of the ocean.

The TS1 fits well in the hand

Menu

The menus are exceedingly bright, due in part to their black icons and text on a white background. If you find the font a little hard on the eyes, there's an option to bump up the size, a factor often forgotten by manufacturers. The menus are laid out logically in various tabs, but each tab can involve scrolling through as many as five pages of options. For the options that are frequently altered, there's a quick menu, where you can change burst mode, focus mode, white balance, ISO, and the like.

The main menu system

Ease of Use

The familiarity of design of the TS1 makes it quite easy to use. If you've encountered many point-and-shoot cameras, you shouldn't have much trouble with this one. There's also an intelligent auto mode, which removes the majority of controls for those who don't want to be bothered with such things.