Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 Digital Camera Major Features:

• 1/2.33" CCD imager
• 9 Megapixels
• Up to 6400 ISO
• 10x Zoom lens
• Uses lion Battery
• USB 2.0 interface
• Optical Image Stabilizer
• 1280x720P video mode

My experience:
I bought the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 along with the Canon SX110IS so I could pick the best one. It focuses at a reasonable rate, but the Canon is faster and more accurate. Unfortunately the Canon SX110 IS has horrible battery life so it's out of the picture. (See my Canon SX110IS review here). Shot to shot with flash is 4.5 to 5 seconds. Zoom works great and it takes reasonably good pictures outdoors at low ISO. I took some video at 640x480 - it's pretty good in good lighting. Maybe even better than my DVD camcorder. The sound is poor since I ended up putting my finger over the microphone. Anyway, I took some pics at from ISO 100 to ISO 1600 and looked at %100 views.
ISO 100 - Good image and low noise.
ISO 200 - Good image with lower apparent noise than ISO 100
ISO 400 - Noise has become a factor and the noise reduction is too heavy.
ISO 800 - Noise has increased a little more than 400, but not much.
ISO 1600 - Noise has increased a lot more than 800 and the heavy noise reduction has ruined any detail.
In general the images were not as sharp, less detailed and less accurately focused than the Canon SX110. I believe the flash is weak or the TZ5 has poor exposure metering since the other cameras in my tests show more consistent exposure levels across their ISO levels. It's hard to decide on this one. The feature set and battery life are hard to ignore but in the end I want good quality images and I don't think it delivers. Don't get me wrong, I have taken some really nice shots with it, but if you are a pixel peeper, you may not be happy. I think the simpler Fujifilm F40fd or F100fd is capable of producing better images than both these cameras. If you need a 10x zoom, you are stuck with the TZ5. If you can get by with 5x, try the Fuji F100fd.
View Panasonic DMC-TZ5 ISO image noise comparision

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 Digital Camera Pros:

• Reasonable quality photos at lower ISO
• Nice zoom capability
• Wider angle lens is better for group shots
• Optical Image Stabilization
• Good video mode quality
• Good battery life

• Poor higher ISO performance - use that flash and keep the ISO at 400 and below
• Slower and less accurate focusing than expected
• Flash seems weak
• Images seem to have less detail than expected
• Poor microphone placement causes poor video sound

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 Digital Camera Spot Rating:
This camera can take good photos outdoors and indoors with the flash, but make sure to stay within the flash range or you will be sadly disappointed. It may be an OK choice if you can put up with some focus issues and iffy noise performance. It does have a good feature set that is hard to ignore.

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