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For a pocketable camera, the 14-megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 is about as loaded as they come. The trait that will jump out atyou literally, if you re facing the camera is the Lumix ZS20 s20X-optical-zoom lens (24mm to 480mm). Like that zoom lens, theLumix ZS20 s laundry list of features keeps on going and going. It s a good pocket megazoom option for manual-minded shooters,thanks to aperture-priority, shutter-priority, and full manualexposure controls. It has excellent video options, as it shootsfull 1080p video at a clip of 60 frames per second. It s atouchscreen camera, but it also provides traditional buttons anddials for accessing some in-camera features more efficiently. In addition, the ZS20 comes equipped with futuristic extras, suchas 3D still shooting, in-camera GPS with mapping features, ahigh-speed video mode, and continuous-shooting speeds that reach upto 10 fps at full 14-megapixel resolution and 60 fps at2.5-megapixel resolution. All of that adds up to a camera that does a whole lot, though theZS20 stumbles a bit in image quality and battery life. In the end,this camera s many benefits significantly outnumber itsshortcomings. It s one of the most versatile pocket megazooms youcan buy right now. Performance, image quality, and video quality Traditionally, Panasonic s cameras have met the challenge in ourlab s subjective tests for image quality. The Lumix line usuallyerrs on the side of underexposure and muted colors in IntelligentAuto mode, which is rare for today s cameras; everything from asmartphone camera to a DSLR tends to oversaturate and punch upcolors these days, as the masses gravitate toward vibrant imageswith bright colors. If you d prefer the punchy colors of othercameras, the Lumix ZS20 can do that, too; you ll just need to usethe camera s exposure compensation controls or set it to theExpressive Color option in its Creative Control menu. In Intelligent Auto mode, the Lumix ZS20 captured understatedphotos that earned scores of Good in most of the test categories.Our panel of judges rated the Lumix ZS20 s images as Good inexposure quality, color accuracy, and sharpness; in imagedistortion, however, we gave it only a Fair grade. In our subjective tests for video quality, the Lumix ZS20 postedscores of Good for both video and audio capture. The camera svideo performance in low light isn t much to write home about, butthe 1080p AVCHD clips it shot at 60 fps in our well-lit testsetting looked remarkably smooth, if a little dull and gray interms of white balance. In battery life, the camera kept up its run of Good scores, with aCIPA rating of 260 shots per charge of its lithium ion cell withthe GPS functions turned off. Keep in mind that that shot countshould dip significantly if you leave the camera s geotaggingfeatures turned on. Shooting modes and features Intelligent Auto mode Expressive Color filter Like many of today s best pocket megazooms, the Lumix ZS20 has noshortage of shooting options. In addition to aperture-priority(with maximum settings of F3.3 wide-angle and F6.4 at telephoto),shutter-priority (1/2000 second to 8 seconds), and full manualmodes, the camera focuses very quickly, and it has a range ofoptions that make the most of its CMOS sensor and autofocus speeds. For example, you can use the camera s touchscreen to select amoving object to focus on in motion-tracking AF mode, and you canchange focus points on the fly while shooting video (although thecamera does produce a bit of lag and searching when jumping betweenfocus points, especially in less-than-ideal lighting conditions). 60 fps burst at 2.5 megapixels Creative shooting modes include a motion-controlled panorama mode;a 3D mode that creates an .MPO-format still image when you pan thecamera from side to side; several high-speed options for recordingstills and video; and a menu of Creative Control options that addtilt-shift, vignette, and monochrome filters to your shots as yousnap them. You can apply the Creative Control filters to yourphotos after you shoot them, too; using them in this way creates acopy of your original shot rather than overwriting it. Using the camera s Quick Menu button, you can set the resolutionand continuous-shooting speed, and one setting has a tremendouseffect on the other. If you set the megapixel count to 2.5, you canramp up the camera s burst speed to 60 shots per second. In thecamera s scene menu, you can also select High Speed Video, whichallows you to capture a 320-by-240-pixel video at 220 frames persecond. The high-speed burst modes work well if you can deal withlower-resolution output and slow post-shot processing times. Youhave to wait about 10 seconds after shooting a batch of burstimages for the camera to write the photos to the memory card. Iexperienced those wait times with a Class 10 card about as fast acard as you can get so you ll likely need to wait even longer ifyou re using a Class 4 or Class 6 card. The rapid-fire images arelargely worth the wait if shooting fast action is important to you,but you may be able to capture only every other pitch or everyother swing at a baseball game due to that image-processing lag. In addition to those shot-to-shot speeds, the Lumix ZS20 makes useof its sensor and processor speed with a couple ofexposure-bracketing and image-stacking modes for high-dynamic-rangephotos and handheld low-light scenes. Both modes are accessible viathe scene menus. The HDR selection snaps three shots in rapidsuccession and then stacks them, while the Handheld Night Shot modesnaps as many as six shots to create a single, well-exposed photoin low-light environments without a flash. Hardware and design The well-built Lumix ZS20 is bulkier than a basic point-and-shoot,but not by much. At 1.1 inches deep and 4.1 inches wide, it willfit in some people s pockets. The camera is bulky enough to host ahandgrip, which is rubberized and comfortable; it does the job whenyou re shooting with one hand. The control scheme on this camera is fairly standard-issue, but itgives you a choice between using the 3-inch touchscreen andpressing the physical buttons for triggering the shutter release,adjusting the zoom controls, swiping through photos duringplayback, selecting a focus point, and accessing other in-camerafeatures. One nit to pick is that it s not always clear when thetouchscreen is enabled for menu selections; you can touch on-screenicons at the top levels of each menu, but once you drill downdeeper into the menus, you ll need to use the directional pad. In many ways the Lumix ZS20 is better suited for manual-mindedphotographers than the latest touchscreen-heavyinterchangeable-lens cameras in Panasonic s GF series are. It sgreat to have the ZS20 s touchscreen controls for focusing andmotion-tracking AF in the mix, but it s even better that thecamera doesn t ditch the traditional mode dial and physicalbuttons entirely. In a lot of cases, using the physical buttons andknobs gives you faster access to some settings than navigating aseries of touchscreen menus does. The physical controls consist of a mode dial, a shutter release, azoom control, a video-record button, and an on/off toggle, all onthe top of the camera. You ll also find a stereo mic on the top ofthe camera, as well as an indicator light that lets you know whenthe camera s GPS functions are running. In addition to manualcontrols, scene modes, a 3D-shooting mode, and other entries on themode dial, two custom entries provide quick access to your own mixof exposure settings; such a feature is rare on anything other thana DSLR. On the back, to the left of the 3-inch touchscreen, are adual-purpose button for accessing exposure settings and the mapinterface; a round directional pad that also gives you one-touchaccess to exposure compensation, flash controls, macro mode, andthe self timer; and two buttons below that adjust display settingsand jump to an abbreviated Quick Menu of settings such as imageresolution, ISO, white balance, and burst modes. The ZS20 also hasa capture/playback toggle switch, which is one of my few gripesabout the camera: Because you re locked into either shooting orplayback mode, you can t just half-press the shutter button toforce the camera into capture mode when you re viewing images. On the side of the camera is a well-built door that covers a MiniHDMI port and an A/V-out port. As usual, the bottom of the camerahas a tripod mount and a door that covers the battery port andSD/SDHC/SDXC card slot. GPS features I tested the camera s GPS features in San Francisco, so thissection should be an indicator of how well the geotagging works ina big U.S. city. The Lumix ZS20 goes beyond most GPS-enabledcameras out today by including in-camera mapping features andtagging photos with real-world location names. You ll need to waita few minutes (and remain outside with a clear view of the sky)when establishing an initial GPS connection; once you do, however,you ll have the ability to view your location on a map duringplayback, as well as to see the locations of your photos whileyou re viewing them on the camera. Flickr integration is excellent. It works, as long as you have fresh GPS data. When I failed to keepa constant GPS connection or to reconnect once I got to a newlocation the camera remembered the last place I had been, andtagged all photos with that location. I was able to edit mistaggedphotos manually, but the on-screen instructions aren t exactlyclear on how to do so. You have to use the directional pad to fillout the location name manually; an on-screen touch keyboard wouldhave sped things up a bit. The tagged photos integrated perfectly with Flickr when I offloadedthem to a computer. Clicking Add this photo to your map inFlickr put the photo in the right spot it even pinpointed thesection I took the photos from in AT&T Park, which wasimpressive. Viewing the photos on the in-camera map interface was a little morefrustrating, as I couldn t get the maps to zoom in far enough. Iwasn t able to see a block-by-block map of my location in thecamera; the closest I was able to zoom in was aseveral-hundred-mile bird s-eye view of the California coastline.It did properly identify my location in San Francisco, but LosAngeles and San Diego were both visible on the map at its tightestzoom. Although you can swipe the screen to move around in the mapinterface, pinching to zoom in on a more-granular map view doesn tzoom in close enough. The ZS20 has more far-reaching in-camera GPS features than mostother current cameras, but the usability issues I encountered withits in-camera mapping features were significant. It s best tothink of those in-camera maps as a nice to have extra, as thegeotagging features really shine only after you ve offloaded theimages to a computer. Macworld s buying advice The Lumix DMC-ZS20 certainly doesn t skimp on features, and it sdesigned with the demanding traveler in mind. You ll find betteroverall image quality in other cameras, but the ZS20 s range ofshooting options is second to none in its class. If you buy thiscamera, you may want to delve into its scene modes, white balancesettings, and creative controls outside of Intelligent Auto modefor the best results. [ Tim Moynihan is a PCWorld senior editor. ]. I am an expert from architectural-scalemodel.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Architectural Model Furniture , Model Lamppost, Sculpture 3D Model,and more.
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