Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1

Overview

Panasonic's DMC-TS1 is obviously designed for strength, with substantial plating for protection and dust protection. The overall beveled aesthetic makes it look chunky, but not in a bad way. The buttons are all large and robust, which is fantastic, as they're all easy to identify by feel, if a little stiff at times. The camera will be available silver, green, or orange (seen here).

The TS1, in orange

Front

The front of the camera is relatively barren. The flash is near the center, at the top, and to its right is a small LED for additional illumination. The permanently retracted lens is tucked away in the upper right corner. Interestingly, there is no sliding cover for the lens, rather it's protected by a layer of transparent plastic, which hopefully won't get scratched.

The lens is never fully covered

Back

The top right of the back has the small mode dial tucked in the corner. Beneath that is the four-way pad, which is raised noticeably more than most others we've seen. Above and below this d-pad are two buttons in each direction. The top right is the small round control that starts videos recording.The vast majority of this side of the camera is taken up by the 2.7-inch, 230,000 pixel LCD.

The buttons are large and easy to use

Sides

The left side is functionally entirely blank, if not aesthetically.

The left side

The right side houses the ports, which are well protected, as well as a loop to hook on a lanyard.

The right side holds the ports

Top

On the top of the camera are a number of important controls. The small round power button, a large and textured shutter button, and a slider for zoom control. This zoom slider is placed unusually in its proximity to the shutter, and takes a little getting used to. The speaker can be seen beneath the smattering of holes to the left of the power button.

The slider in front of the shutter is used for zooming

Bottom

Tucked away beneath the camera are the usual culprits: a rather solid feeling tripod mount, and the very tough portal to the memory card and battery.

The tripod mount feels surprisingly high quality