Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 Review

For beginners or anyone that just wants to "point-n-shoot" there's the IA (Intelligent Auto) exposure mode. The camera sets almost everything for you.

IA Quick Menu options:

O.I.S. - Mode 1, Mode 2
Burst Shooting - Off, On, Unlimited
Image Size - 8M, 5M, 3M, 0.3M
LCD - Off, Auto Power LCD, Power LCD, High Angle

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 off, image size is 8M, image quality is Fine, the battery level is full, there's room on the SD card for another 197 shots and the image stabilizer is set to Mode 2 (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.

Program Quick Menu options:

Stabilizer - Off, Mode 1, Mode 2
Burst - Off, Burst, Unlimited
AF Mode - Face Detection, 9-Area, 3-Area High Speed, 1-Area High Speed, 1 Area,
Spot
White Balance - Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen, White Set
ISO - Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Intelligent Exposure - On or Off
Picture Size - 8M, 5M, 3M, 0.3M
LCD - Off, Auto Power LCD, Power LCD, High Angle

Normal Menu options:

Picture Size - 8M, 5M EZ, 3M EZ, 0.3M EZ
Quality - JPEG Fine or Standard
Aspect Ratio - 4:3, 3:2, 16:9
Intelligent ISO - Off, Max 400, Max 800, Max 1600
ISO - Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
White Balance - Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen, White Set
Metering Mode - Evaluative, Center, Spot
AF Mode - Face Detection, 9-Area, 3-Area High Speed, 1-Area High Speed, 1 Area,
Spot
Continuous AF - On or Off
Burst - Off, Burst, Unlimited
Intelligent Exposure - On or Off
Digital Zoom - On or Off
Color Mode - Standard, Natural, Vivid, B/W, Sepia, Cool, Warm
Stabilizer - Off, Mode 1, Mode 2
Min. Shtr Speed - 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250
Audio Red. - On or Off
AF Assist Lamp - On or Off
Clock Set - Set the time and Date

Selecting one of the two Scene modes gives access to 22 scene specific modes that are optimized for a variety of shooting environments. You can choose from Portrait, Soft Skin, Scenery, Sports, Night Scenery, Night Portrait, Soft Skin, Self Portrait, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Food, Party, Candle Light, Baby 1, Baby 2, Pet, Sunset, High Sensitivity, Hi-Speed Burst, Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Aerial Photo and Underwater.

Pressing the 4-way controller "Up" gives you access to to the exposure menu. Pressing it again takes you to the Auto Bracket menu.

Pressing it "Right" brings up your flash options.

Pressing it "Down" enables macro mode. In macro mode the camera will focus as close as 5cm.

Pressing it "Left" will give you the self timer options.

Movie mode captures QuickTime video at either 4:3 (640x480 or 320 x 240) or 16:9 (848x480) aspects with audio (the built-in microphone and speaker is located on the top on the camera.) 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.

Movie mode recording options:

Stabilizer - Off, Mode 1
AF Mode - 9-Area, 3-Area High, 1-Area High, 1-Area, Spot
White Balance - Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen, White Set
Picture Mode - VGA 30fps, VGA 10fps, QVGA 30fps, QVGA 10fps
LCD Mode - Off, Auto Power LCD, Power LCD, High Angle