Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8 Pro Reviews

It's just great to have a 16x zoom in a compact camera. Especially when that range starts at a 24mm equivalent, a real wide-angle. That's the real value of a camera like the Panasonic ZS8. You can take the Panasonic ZS8 anywhere and it will be equally at home shooting the interior of a dark church or a distant landscape. You need no accessories to enjoy that diversity, either. With the Lumix ZS8, Panasonic has delivered an affordable long zoom in an compact package that even offers enough manual control to teach you something about photography. That makes it a Dave's Pick.

The most obvious signs of cost-cutting on the TZ18 are the LCD screen, with a good 3 inch size but a below-par 230k resolution, and most notably the HD video mode. Whilst the TZ18 does offer a 720p, 1280x720 pixel video mode, it doesn't compare well to the TZ20's full 1080i HD mode. The Motion JPEG files become very large very quickly, there's no dedicated Movie button or stereo sound, and the zoom action is slower than for still images. This all leaves the TZ18 caught a little stranded between the older TZ10, which additionally offers GPS and a better screen, and the more expensive but much better-specced TZ20. Panasonic have commendably dropped the price of the TZ18, which at £80 / $100 less than the TZ20 is something of a bargain, but we'd still opt for the discounted TZ10 or save up for the TZ20.

Ultimately the Lumix TZ18 / ZS8 does exactly what it's supposed to do: it delivers the same core features as the higher-end TZ20 / ZS10 at a cheaper price, and should therefore appeal to no-frills or budget-conscious super-zoom buyers. The CCD sensor also delivers slightly better photo quality than the TZ20 / ZS10. As such, the Lumix TZ18 / ZS8 earns our Recommended rating as a new camera, but we suspect many potential buyers will either be unable to resist the expansive feature-set of the TZ20 / ZS10 or looking for the older TZ10 / ZS7 at a discounted price.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8 is a fine compact megazoom, if not the best value.

The Panasonic Lumix TZ18 continues the tradition of providing an excellent zoom range in a compact camera, this time with a wide angle 16x optical zoom lens, without appearing to compromise on image quality as image quality is good at both wide and telephoto. The image quality is good, however I found the screen on the back showed images slightly brighter than they appeared on the computer, causing me to try and adjust the exposure unnecessarily on the camera. Images showed more noise than I would have liked to see, however the overall image quality and usability of the camera is very good and the solid design of the camera makes it well worth considering.

Builds on its excellent predecessor with more of everything, but the competition has caught up.