Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS4 Digital Camera Review

Chromatic Aberration

Chromatic aberration is relatively minor, but does occur in the form of purple or yellow fringing along the borders of high contrast areas. Although the effect was easily observable in our test, sample photos are victim to only a small amount, usually in very bright spots. By a hair, this is the best chromatic aberration score of any competing toughcam.

Distortion

Distortion isn't quite as severe in the TS4 as it was in the TS3, but since we know the lens is identical, we can assume this is a software tweak. It's impossible to eliminate distortion in a lens of this size, but since the effect is constant and predictable, many manufacturers use internal software to quickly fix the effect before outputting an image. Panasonic has taken a less aggressive stance with this product line, and so has Sony. Nikon and Pentax do correct for distortion, so their scores are a little bit stronger.

With the TS4, distortion is most severe at the extremes of the focal range. So if distortion is a real concern for you, simply zoom in halfway to diminish the effect.