Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2 Review

For beginners or anyone that just wants to "point-n-shoot" there's the Simple exposure mode (the red heart icon on mode dial.) The camera sets almost everything for you, the Simple menu options are shown in the next frame.

Simple menu options:

Pict. Mode - Enlarge, 4x6", E-mail (no image resolutions to confuse the user, just 3 choices: Enlarge for big prints, 4x6" for standard prints or E-mail for 640x480 images)

Battery Type - Select Alkaline/NiMH or Oxyride

Beep - Camera makes "beep" sounds, Off, Low, High

Clock Set - Set the time and date

Normal mode (the red camera icon on the mode dial) is also an automatic exposure mode but the user has a wide array of menu settings available (see below.) The screen here shows the flash is on auto, image size is 2560x1920, image quality is Fine, the battery level is at 1/2, there's room on the SD card for another 189 shots, the image stabilizer is set to Mode 1 (shaking hand icon) and we have the real time histogram enabled.

When the shutter is half-pressed and the auto focus is achieved, the AF target brackets in the center turn green (red if AF fails) and a focus confirmation "green dot" is displayed. The shutter speed and aperture will also be displayed.

Normal menu options:

White Balance - Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Halogen or Manual set
Sensitivity - Auto, 80, 100, 200 or 400 ISO equivalent
Pict. Size - 2560x1920, 1920x1080 (HDTV 16:9 format), 2048x1536, 1600x1200, 1280x960, 640x480
Quality - JPEG Fine or Standard
Audio Rec. - Record 5 sec audio note with still image, On or Off
AF Mode - Select the desired AF-area sensor combination (5-area, 3-area, 1-area or Spot)
Slow Shutter - 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 or 1 second shutter speed (use of a tripod at these speeds is highly recommended)
D. Zoom - Digital zoom option, On or Off
Color Effect - Off, Cool (bluer), Warm (redder), B/W (monochrome), Sepia
Picture Adjust - Natural (softer), Standard, Vivid (sharper)

Turn the mode dial to the SCN position to access the scene mode presets. This 3-page menu is displayed, chose from: Portrait, Sports, Scenery, Night Scenery, Night Portrait, Fireworks, Party, or Snow. An explanation of each Scene mode is displayed by depressing the left button of the 4-way controller.

Press the 4-way controller "Down" to enable the Quick Review function to view or delete the last image taken.

Macro (close up) focus mode lets you get as close as 1.9 inches (5cm) in wide angle / 1.64 feet (50cm) in telephoto to your subject.

Movie mode captures motion JPEG at 320 x 240 pixels at 30 or 10 frames per second with audio. The length of capture is limited only by the amount of available memory.

Movie Capture Capacities

Movie mode recording options:

White Balance - Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent, Flash or Manual set
Motion Rate - 30fps or 10fps
AF Mode - Select the desired AF-area sensor combination desired
Digital Zoom - Digital zoom option, On or Off
Color effect - Off, Cool, Warm, B/W, Sepia