Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30 Pro Reviews

If you're looking for a travel zoom with Wi-Fi, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30 is one of the best options available right now. Pixel peepers might find fault with its picture quality, but for me it doesn't have any real deal breakers and it's well suited as a family compact amera that can be used by advanced and casual snapshooters.

Like with the Panasonic TZ35, Panasonic has made some small, but useful, changes to the Panasonic TZ40 that elevate it above its predecessor. Although it's a little more expensive than the Panasonic TZ35, those extras will no doubt appeal to a good number of people. If you're a novice photographer looking for an all-round good performer with a flexible zoom length for your trips away, this is an excellent choice. Equally, it's also good for those a little more experienced, as the fully manual and semi-automatic modes attest to. It's a little bit of a shame that it can't be even more advanced, perhaps with the addition of raw format shooting or a more premium optic, to elevate it even further from the likes of the Panasonic TZ35 - although of course the price would also be elevated further. Overall, this is an excellent camera, which should be one of the highest considerations for those looking for the ideal travel compact that offers more than some of the standard options on the market.

Costing the same as the TZ30 when it was launched, the Panasonic Lumix TZ40 offers more connectivity options and better all-round features. The long zoom, great handling and simple menu system add up to make it a great camera to use, and while we'd like the next TZ model to offer Raw, its JPEGs will satisfy those that it's designed for.

Panasonic invented the concept of a pocket super-zoom camera, but now shares this lucrative market with most of the big names. As such when it comes to the annual update of its best-seller, Panasonic has to dig deeper into the mine of features to come up with a specification which remains in-front of the competition. Last year it boosted the optical range and slimmed down the body, both of which are compelling specifications to upgrade. This year's model inherits the lens and body of its predecessor and instead goes for upgrades in connectivity, the most important being the addition of Wifi and Near Field Communications, or NFC for short. I went into detail earlier on this page, but briefly, Wifi allows you to wirelessly remote control the camera along with browsing and copying images with a compatible smartphone using a free app. You can alternatively upload images to computers or direct from the camera to sharing and social services. Meanwhile NFC sorts out the pesky business of selecting Wifi networks and passwords with a single tap to a compatible device like a Samsung Galaxy S3 or S4, or Google NEXUS 4, 7 or 10.

Add in a touchscreen interface, built-in wi-fi connectivity and GPS, a 5-axis image stabilisation system, a fast burst mode, and high-resolution screen, all in a smaller and lighter package than its predecessor, and it's easy to understand why we like the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 even more than last year's model, and also why we recommend spending a little extra rather than opting for the cheaper TZ35. The Lumix DMC-TZ40 is Panasonic's best ever travel-zoom camera and a worthy winner of our Essential award.

Image quality isn't perfect, but tons of useful features add up to a superb all-rounder

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 has all the features needed to justify its travel zoom tag. It offers ample optical zoom, great for landscapes and distance objects, as well as built-in Wi-Fi and GPS, all in a pocketable body. It's a little on the expensive side, so some of the cheaper options may be more appealing, but the features and image quality certainly make it worth the money.

We've always had a soft spot for the TZ-series, and the TZ40 has just made that a little bit softer. We don't feel that the push to an 18-megapixel resolution was necessary, but that doesn't stop the TZ40's combination of 20x optical zoom, excellent image stabilisation system and Venus processing engine from opening up a world of image potential. We've snapped close-up, from afar, in all manner of conditions and, despite some quibbles when viewed at absolute scale, the overall sense is that pictures are great. Add accurate and super-fast autofocus which is handily controlled via the touchscreen, improved battery life and all manner of other tech and we're left scratching our heads as to which other travel zoom competitor could take on this Lumix and win. We may have our moans about using some of the Wi-Fi options and how slow they can be, but suspect that they'll come in handy at the least expected of moments. Better to have them there rather than not, and a definite nod to where the whole compact camera world is headed. It's not as fluid as the Samsung Galaxy camera by any means, but the TZ40 wins on ease of use, pocketable size and picture sharpness by comparison.