Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 – At a glance
- 18.1-million-pixel MOS sensor
- 24-480mm (35mm equivalent) f/3.3-6.4 Leica DC Vario-Elmar lens
- Built-in GPS and Wi-Fi with NFC technology
- 3in, 920,000-dot rear LCD touchscreen
- Continuous high speed shooting up to 10fps
- Street price around £330
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 review – Introduction
The advantages of a travel compact camera are that it offers a wide optical zoom range, numerous features and various shooting modes, all in a body small enough to slip into a trouser pocket. Panasonic’s TZ series has long been at the forefront of this market, so we were keen to get our hands on the company’s latest flagship TZ model, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40.
A cursory glance at the TZ40’s specification reveals a number of new features not present on its predecessor, the TZ30, which was launched last year. This latest travel compact could well be the model, then, to keep Panasonic at the forefront of this market.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 review – Features
New travel compact camera models usually feature improvements in the zoom range or the pixel count with each generation, and in the Lumix DMC-TZ40 it’s the sensor that has changed.
Once again, it’s a 1/2.3in (6.17×4.55mm) CMOS type, but with an increased resolution of 18.1 million pixels instead of the TZ30’s 14.1 million pixels. The new sensor is, therefore, a little crowded, which places it at a greater risk of suffering from high levels of noise.
Panasonic has implemented new algorithms to the Venus processing engine’s noise reduction (NR), called Wavelet NR and Edge Smoothing NR, to create ‘smooth edge detail’ even when the camera is used in low-contrast light. As in the TZ30, the ISO 100-3200 range can be expanded to ISO 6400.
At the heart of a travel compact is its zoom lens, and the TZ40 uses the same 20x, 4.3-86mm (24-480mm equivalent) Leica optic as its predecessor, with zoom control available in both still and movie capture.
Its maximum f/3.3 aperture at the wide end is reduced to f/6.4 when shooting at the tele end, which means less light enters through the lens when zoomed in. Fortunately, more light can be received through the use of slower shutter speeds, as the lens is stabilised to reduce the blur caused by camera shake during capture.
Panasonic’s optical image stabilisation (OIS) has also been updated for use in the TZ40. It is a hybrid OIS for both still and video capture that provides five-axis correction and it is able to compensate for the main types of movement, such as front-to-back and side-to-side tilt.
When shooting handheld at telephoto settings, it is possible to use shutter speeds as slow as 1/15sec yet still achieve a shake-free result, which is impressive.
Image (right): Using the 20x optical zoom to its limits means that distant subjects can fill the frame. Stabilisation works well, too – this picture was recorded at 1/30sec
Perhaps one of the more notable areas of development is that Wi-Fi has been introduced, which allows remote shooting, sharing of images and playback on compatible devices, such as DLNA televisions. This level of control trumps many other wireless camera set-ups.
Panasonic has introduced Near Field Communication (NFC) technology too, which is designed to alleviate the complication of wireless connections. It works by physically placing the two NFC-equipped devices close together to initialise a connection.
GPS remains, with maps supplied on a separate disc to plot the places where photos have been taken. This time, GPS complies with Russian-operated satellite GLONASS, which should provide improved accuracy, especially in built-up areas.
There are numerous shooting modes, most of which are found either in the creative control or scene mode menus, and between them they cover most of life’s events. Noteworthy scene modes include HDR, while creative control offers a neat impressive art mode; panorama shot has its own place on the shooting-mode dial for quick access, alongside the standard PASM exposure controls.
Image: There are 14 creative control picture effects, including the toy, sepia and soft focus featured in this picture
The high-speed shooting modes go as fast as 10fps at full resolution for a short six-frame burst, but for continuous-tracking AF the maximum speed is 5fps, which is still very good.
As in the company’s current compact system camera models, Panasonic describes the TZ40’s AF system as light-speed AF, which is claimed to operate as fast as 0.1secs. It’s an individually selectable, 23-point set-up, and through the rear LCD touchscreen the AF point can be selected by touch, which is a good feature.
As I would expect from a flagship Panasonic compact camera, the video capability is impressive. It is possible to record full 1920×1080-pixel HD videos at 50p or 25p with PASM exposure control.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 is a pocket travel camera that offers a comprehensive feature set.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 review – Build and handling
Like its TZ30 predecessor, the TZ40 is small and lightweight, despite the extensive range of features it offers. The cameras are almost the same size and easily fit into a pocket.
The TZ40 is a fraction lighter (198g with battery and card compared to the TZ30’s 206g), making it convenient enough to carry around at all times.
There have been slight revisions to the TZ40’s body, but on the whole it is very similar to its predecessor. The introduction of Wi-Fi means there is a new button used to access it.
The handgrip remains similar, however, with a rubber finish that provides a comfortable and firm hold whether wet or dry.
This is more important than one might think on a small camera like this, because using the touchscreen can make for added pressure on your hand during operation, and the grip offers a good support. The overall form of the camera has also been tweaked, with its edges now more ‘squared off’.
The camera’s controls can be accessed using the buttons and rear control pad, or via the responsive rear 3in LCD touchscreen. I am a fan of Panasonic’s touchscreens because they enhance the handling of the cameras.
The screen is not used just to navigate menus as it is in some other systems, but it can also fire the shutter, select the AF and metering point, and even operate the optical zoom.
It is actually easier to use the screen than it is the lever next to the camera’s shutter button to zoom in and out, and selecting the AF point by a single touch beats slowly navigating to the correct point via the control pad.
The TZ40’s new battery has an improved 1,250mAh capacity, which increases the battery life from 260 shots in the TZ30 to 300 in the TZ40.
Any improvements in this area are very welcome, because batteries can go flat very quickly, especially with functions such as GPS activated. Having taken the camera out on a number of occasions, I found it was able to last a day of general use, but with GPS activated it was limited to half a day.
At the time of testing, a firmware upgrade was needed for Wi-Fi to work, so we are unable to comment on its handling.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 review – Performance
In most situations, the TZ40 is a responsive camera. Its start-up time is rapid at around 2secs, and shutter lag is minimal, especially when using the touchscreen. However, there is a short delay after capture while the camera processes the image. In single-frame drive mode, I occasionally missed out on another shot shortly after taking the first because the camera was still processing the data.
For a travel compact, the autofocus set-up is comprehensive and fairly snappy. With a choice of 23-point multi-segment AF, face detection, subject tracking (which works in a high-speed burst) and centre-point and spot AF, the camera caters for most situations.
Certainly in good-contrast light, such as outdoors on a sunny day, the 0.1sec AF response seems to be a reasonable claim. An assist light is a great help to the AF speed in low-contrast light where the response slows down.
For a high-speed action sequence, subject tracking does a reasonable job of keeping up with the subject. The touchscreen works particularly well for spot AF (as it does for spot metering). A touch of the screen provides a very quick method to ensure a static subject is correctly metered and focused for.
Image: Touch spot metering gives a better, but not perfect exposure outside the tunnel, but brightening the exposure by +3EV reveals plenty of detail in shadow areas
The camera records still images in JPEG format only, so getting the right exposure in-camera is important. To a degree, exposures produced by the iAuto shooting mode are good, although taking manual control over the exposure is advisable for those who are particularly fussy.
When using AWB or iAuto, colours are on the whole a little cool, apart from during bright sunny conditions when the setting is accurate. The TZ40 can be fooled into an inaccurate colour rendition with scenes lit by tungsten and fluorescent light, or when a scene has a single dominant colour, such as green in a landscape.
Three custom white balance readings can be stored, which is a better option for such situations, while the overall vibrance is perfectly acceptable in the standard colour mode.
Image: Fluorescent lighting has tricked AWB into a cool colour cast, but the custom reading has brought back the correct colour temperature
The TZ40’s increased resolution has improved its ability to resolve detail at ISO 100, which is up to the 23 marker on our resolution charts. However, maintaining this performance in dull conditions using higher ISO settings is more testing given the sensor’s higher pixel density.
Beyond ISO 100, the TZ40 matches its predecessor’s performance, despite having more pixels. This means that the quality and sharpness of detail are still average rather than class-leading.
It is unsurprising that a compact camera such as the TZ40 has a more limited dynamic range than a current DSLR, with highlight clipping in the compact a notable example. As such, I often employed the HDR mode, which is hidden away in the scene mode menu.
Given the popularity of this shooting mode and the genuine positive effect it has on single-frame capture, a quicker way to access it would have been appreciated.
Image: Shooting towards the sun, HDR adds some welcome detail to this scene in highlight and shadow areas
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 review – Resolution and noise control
These images below show 72ppi (100% on a computer screen) sections of images of a resolution chart, captured with the lens set to 100mm and f/5.6.
We show the section of the resolution chart where the camera starts to fail to reproduce the lines separately. The higher the number visible in these images, the better the camera’s detail resolution at the specified sensitivity setting.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 review – Our verdict
Panasonic has been wise with its improvements to its flagship travel compact camera. The Lumix DMC-TZ40 offers as good a feature set as any in its class, not least of which is a versatile and effectively stabilised lens, excellent touchscreen operation, Wi-Fi and GPS connectivity, a variety of shooting modes and a lightweight build.
As for image quality, it is good for its class but by no means outstanding, being equal to many more run-of-the-mill compacts. That said, the TZ40 has an increased resolution with no detrimental effect on its image quality across a variety of lighting conditions and ISO settings. As travel compacts go, the TZ40 is about as good as it gets.
