Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ5 review

The idea behind the TZ5 is simple and brilliant: it's barely bigger than most compact cameras, and slim enough to slip into a pocket, yet its lens has a 10x zoom that starts at a wide angle 28mm focal length.

This is perfect for anyone who wants to compose shots with a flair but doesn't want to carry a brick.

Panasonic isn't the only manufacturer to put a 10x zoom lens in a compact - Canon's SX100 IS and Sony's DSC-H10 are obvious competitors - but the TZ5 is the smallest of the three, and its aluminium shell is stylish and robust. The mode dial has a slight tendency to switch accidentally.

The LCD screen is fantastic, matching the Sony H10's three inches but doubling its resolution. The 460,000 pixel image is bursting with detail, bright and vibrant. The TZ5 also offers outstanding video capture, with up to 1280x720 pixels per frame to produce incredibly sharp and detailed footage. The optical zoom and automatic exposure work smoothly during video capture, and it's only the basic sound quality that lets it down a little.

The lack of manual exposure and focus controls is disappointing, as the kinds of users who appreciate big zooms will often want manual controls too. Still, its automatic mode is better than most at making the best of tricky lighting conditions. We found the flash a little erratic in auto mode, but otherwise the TZ5 produced excellent photos. Focus was sharp throughout the zoom range and into the corners. Noise (graininess) was higher than we'd like - a typical Panasonic trait - but the company's much improved noise reduction system helped produce usable photos even in low light.

Overall, the TZ5's image quality is good but not outstanding, and the same goes for its performance. It's perhaps better in concept than execution. But the compact aluminium body, big zoom, outstanding screen and HD video mode add up to a great camera.