Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5 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 6M, image quality is Fine, the battery level is at full, there's room on the SD card for another 56 shots, and the image stabilizer is set to Mode 1 (shaking hand icon.)

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
Aspect Ratio - Choose 4:3, 3:2, or 16:9
Pict. Size - 6M, 3M, 2M, 1M, 03.M
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
AF Assist Lamp - On/Off
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 either the SCN1 or SCN2 position to access the scene mode presets. This 5-page menu is displayed, chose from: Portrait, Soft Skin, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Food, Party, Candle Light, Fireworks, Starry Sky, Baby 1 & 2, Snow, and High Sensitivity. An explanation of each Scene mode is displayed by depressing the left button of the 4-way controller. There are two SCN positions on the dial to allow you to quickly switch between frequently used modes without having to search through the menu.

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 QucikTime video at either VGA (640x480) or QVGA (320 x 240) resolution with audio. You can also choose a frame rate of 30 or 10 frames per second. The length of capture is limited only by the amount of available memory. Because the LZ5 records sound during movies, the optical zoom may not be used while recording. It can however, be preset before hand.

Movie Capture Capacities

Movie mode recording options:

White Balance - Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent, or Manual set
Pict. Mode - VGA (640x480), QVGA (320x240) 30fps or 10fps
AF Mode - Select the desired AF-area sensor combination desired
AF Assist Lamp - On/Off
Digital Zoom - Digital zoom option, On or Off
Color effect - Off, Cool, Warm, B/W, Sepia