Any reason to buy TZ7/ZS3 over TZ6/ZS1

if you aren't really interested in the HD video capabilities?

The only one I can find so far is the sexy red colour. Finding it hard to justify an extra €40 though...

suiko said:

if you aren't really interested in the HD video capabilities?

The only one I can find so far is the sexy red colour. Finding it hard to justify an extra €40 though...

Click to expand...

.

There are several other differences, some of then allegedly major . The first ones that come to mind:

• The TZ7 has a larger, much better screen, with twice as many dots (460.000 versus 230.000). As it's already difficult to see the screen in bright environments and as the screen is the only way you have to compose your shot (no viewfinder), then having the best possible screen is essential , IMHO, and will greatly affect the quality of your pics.

• Apart from not being HD, the TZ6 only records Motion JPEG video and does not have the option to record AVCDH Lite format as the TZ7 does. Thus you'll only get half as many minutes of recording time per Gb as the TZ7 would allow you to.

• Videos are recorded with mono sound whereas the TZ7 records in Stereo Dolby sound at CD quality. The difference in practice is immense , so there's really no comparison here, the TZ7 makes videos come alive with quality spatial sound instead of a center, muffled audio source.

There are others but those should make you ponder your decision.

-
See my Lumix ZS3 (TZ7) pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirepapa/

ZS1 and ZS3 actually use different sensors. The ZS1's is 10.3 million total pixels, while the ZS3's has 12.7 million.

"The Lumix TZ7 / ZS3 is equipped with a 12.7 Megapixel CCD sensor measuring 1 2.33in, although captures images with a maximum effective resolution of 10.1 Megapixels. Like the TZ5 before it, the extra pixels around the edges of the frame are used to maintain the angle of view and avoid cropping at different aspect ratios. So with the camera zoomed-out, you’ll enjoy 25mm coverage whether you’re shooting in 4:3, 3:2 or 16:9 aspect ratios. Shoot the same scene with each aspect ratio and you’ll see the wider modes may capture less vertically, but more horizontally. This is in contrast to the lower-end TZ6 / ZS1 (and indeed most compacts) which simply crop strips from the top and bottom at wider aspect ratios, thereby losing resolution and coverage"

cameralabs/reviews

There Is also the Dolby Digital Stereo Creator microphones allow for rich video sound that you won't get with the Z1

I wonder about this, too.

Just yesterday I was at a store looking at the pair of them, and it seemed to me that perhaps a TZ6+spare battery might be a smarter buy than a TZ7 for the same money.

But I do wonder about the sensor differences.

I actually don't care at all about Videos & sound stuff - IMHO, it's a Camera not a movie studio.

From the comparison posts in the past day or so, this first ZS series seems destined to become a classic - a high point in compact camera design.

Still wondering -Erik
--
DP Review Supporter.



'He who hesitates is not only lost - he's miles from the next Exit.'
http://www.flickr.com/ohlsonmh/

Question you have to ask yourself, when the Kodak moment presents itself, are you going to be poised to short change your money shot because of your inability to maintain the angle of view when shooting at different aspect ratios?

You can get a generic battery for $10 if you shop around Ebay. I got a Power 2000; you can pick it up for $25 @ B&H, it is much better than the battery in the box.

Furthermore if the occasion ever did call for it, with the ZS3 you could be assured in knowing that the "Video performance is quite possibly the best you'll find on a still camera... " I learned this in a review on digitalcamerareview.com

suiko said:

if you aren't really interested in the HD video capabilities?

The only one I can find so far is the sexy red colour. Finding it hard to justify an extra €40 though...

Click to expand...

Look REAL close at all the specs and you'll see meaningful things other than color...

1. The TZ7 has a multi-aspect sensor while the TZ6 does not. This to me is the biggest difference between the two models. As you go from 4:3 to 3:2 to 16:9 capture, the camera gradually takes in a wider view. The TZ6 does not do this, it simply crops the image. The easiest way to see the difference is to simply look at the pixels on the long side of each image for both cameras. The TZ7 has a resolution of 3648 in 4:3 capture, raising to 3776 in 3:2 and 3968 in 16:9. The TZ6's long side remains 3648 at all 3 aspect ratios.

2. I did not upgrade my TZ5 to the TZ7, but one feature, if you are a flash user, is the higher-spec model has a redeye correction feature that will fix redeye in flash shots where you never have to fiddle with it in post processing. The lower-spec model does not have that feature. You have to enable it when shooting...it will not fix the image after-the-fact, but I have taken flash shots zoomed to 280mm and within just a few feet of people and it really does work unlike redeye reduction, which rarely ever works.

3. The TZ7, like the TZ5, has a beautiful 460,000 pixel LCD, twice the resolution of the 230,000 pixel LCD of the TZ6.

Jagsbch said:

Question you have to ask yourself, when the Kodak moment presents itself, are you going to be poised to short change your money shot because of your inability to maintain the angle of view when shooting at different aspect ratios?

You can get a generic battery for $10 if you shop around Ebay. I got a Power 2000; you can pick it up for $25 @ B&H, it is much better than the battery in the box.

Furthermore if the occasion ever did call for it, with the ZS3 you could be assured in knowing that the "Video performance is quite possibly the best you'll find on a still camera... " I learned this in a review on digitalcamerareview.com

Click to expand...

You have put your finger on the Exact reason I walked out of the store without either camera, cash still in pocket.

Well stated!

Oh, and I do know about alternative batteries - I got into the Radio Shack sell-off of TZ1,3,5 batteries for 99¢, and got several, as did my family, who all have TZ 4s & 5s.

Check my post, and other recent ones, here:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1033&thread=34630201&page=2

-Erik

--
DP Review Supporter.



'He who hesitates is not only lost - he's miles from the next Exit.'
http://www.flickr.com/ohlsonmh/

Gregm61 said:

1. The TZ7 has a multi-aspect sensor while the TZ6 does not. This to me is the biggest difference between the two models. As you go from 4:3 to 3:2 to 16:9 capture, the camera gradually takes in a wider view. The TZ6 does not do this, it simply crops the image. The easiest way to see the difference is to simply look at the pixels on the long side of each image for both cameras. The TZ7 has a resolution of 3648 in 4:3 capture, raising to 3776 in 3:2 and 3968 in 16:9. The TZ6's long side remains 3648 at all 3 aspect ratios.

Click to expand...

I commented on this here, for wide-angle shots it makes a significant difference:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1033&message=34507199

sherwoodpete said:

Gregm61 said:

1. The TZ7 has a multi-aspect sensor while the TZ6 does not. This to me is the biggest difference between the two models. As you go from 4:3 to 3:2 to 16:9 capture, the camera gradually takes in a wider view. The TZ6 does not do this, it simply crops the image. The easiest way to see the difference is to simply look at the pixels on the long side of each image for both cameras. The TZ7 has a resolution of 3648 in 4:3 capture, raising to 3776 in 3:2 and 3968 in 16:9. The TZ6's long side remains 3648 at all 3 aspect ratios.

Click to expand...

I commented on this here, for wide-angle shots it makes a significant difference:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1033&message=34507199

Click to expand...

Yep, in doing what they do with the TZ7, 25mm really IS 25mm at all of the aspect ratios. 16:9 is a wider aspect than 4:3, so the lens has to take in a wider view at 16:9 or it is not really 25mm, meaning when it comes to the TZ6, the only aspect ratio where the lens truly takes in a 25mm field of view is 4:3. At 3:2 or 16:9 it's something less.

With this newest line that replaces the TZ7/TZ6, both models use the multi-aspect sensor. It seems the newest major difference-maker is the geo-tagging.

The still image quality is equal with -possibly- a slight edge to the tz6 but everything mentioned and focus speed makes the tz7 a better camera. The tz6 is very slow to focus.
--
Aaron W.

Thanks for all this input - very useful!

Wait, how about the most important reason. I don't know about the ZS1, but in previous years, lesser models like ZS1 lacked the most important feature (at least for me) on a TZ series: Minimum shutter speed (a pseudo-shutter-speed priority). I don't know if ZS1 has the feature, but ZS3 sure does and it is the key feature if you ever want to sneak your camera to any concert of any sort or shoot any sort of moving objects in low light without employing High Sensitivity Mode.

--
Nikon D300- Nikon D40- Canon 20D-Panny ZS3- Fuji
F72EXR- Canon SD870IS

http://brodsky.smugmug.com/Photography/Favorite-
Pictures-of-2009/20091226-cruise-299-of-
709/759788536_xJyhJ-Th.jpg

The TZ65 is another option, at least in the UK (dont know about elsewhere)

I wanted a good compact to go with my DSLR & found the Panasonic TZ65 when doing searches on this forum.

I'm completely new to using Panasonic and don't claim any knowledge about the TZ6/7 series cams, but so far as I can see it seems to be a TZ6 (specs/controls etc) that comes with the big high res TZ7 screen. No other clear or obvious variations I can spot.

Its only available (so far as I can tell) from the Dixons/Currys/PC World Group. Beyond putting it on their websites neither they or Panasonic seen to promote it.

It costs £199. Red I dont know about, my local store only had black.

I have only taken test shots so far but it looks good. Controls are intuitive, menus easy & the big screen is a definite bonus

Do a search on TZ65's here, there's not a lot but enough to get more information.

Sean

Oh well... just a few minutes late - I bought a red TZ7 for £208.

Best spend those pounds while they're still worth more than the peso :-(

suiko said:

Oh well... just a few minutes late - I bought a red TZ7 for £208.

Best spend those pounds while they're still worth more than the peso :-(

Click to expand...

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Congratulations on your new acquisition .

I'm sure you'll be delighted with it and further you'll be glad you finally opted for the TZ7 instead of the TZ6 . The current price difference is really irrelevant as compared to the significant improvements that difference does buy.

And even if you don't care much for video, you should really try it, the quality is awesome and it might be the case that you come to appreciate it even if you previously thought you wouldn't.

If you want to see some quality examples of the kind of pictures your new TZ7 can deliver, you might want to have a look at the 200+ pics I've shot with my TZ7 at all focal lengths and all light conditions, including night, day, landscapes, city, candids, macro, starry skies, flash, no flash, the works, just follow this link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirepapa/

As for tips on how to produce in-camera images like mine, I have included extensive comments detailing the settings and techniques I used to produce a number of the best of them, in response to people directly asking me about some particular image that interested them.

Just for instance, you can find both the image as well as my detailed technical description (both in the "Description" proper and in greater detail in the "Comments" section) for the following images:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirepapa/4012209771/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirepapa/4124808395/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirepapa/4317517572/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirepapa/4293459217/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirepapa/4212602092/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirepapa/4208203958/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirepapa/4081876067/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirepapa/4212870766/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirepapa/4304159503/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirepapa/3951566912/

So I suggest you follow the above links, read the "Description" and my extensive "Comments", and you'll have all the tips you need in order to produce a similar image on your own.

There are many other technically-commented pics at my Flickr site so you may want to explore the images you'd like to know about, to see if they already have such comments by me, and in case they don't, just leave a comment asking how I did it and I'll reply in kind with the details and any caveats that might apply.

Hope that helps. Have a nice photographic weekend.

-
See my Lumix ZS3 (TZ7) pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirepapa/

Thanks for all that! Will get studying when I get the camera.

Let's hope I don't leave it on a Guatemalan bus like the TZ3 or drop it in the Philippines sea like the TZ4...