Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5.5Mb.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 produced images of very good quality during the review period. The 1/2.33 inch, 12.1 megapixel sensor used in the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 produces noise-free images at ISO 100 and 200, with ISO 400 also looking good. ISO 800 shows some quite obvious noise and softening of fine detail, and ISO 16000 is even noisier, although still OK for small prints and web images. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 dealt extremely well with chromatic aberrations, with limited purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and adequate exposure. The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 60 seconds allowing you to capture plenty of light. Anti-shake is a feature that works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range. Macro performance is good, allowing you to focus as close as 3cms away from the subject. The images were a little soft straight out of the DMC-TZ10 at the default sharpening setting and ideally require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can change the in-camera setting. The new Intelligent Resolution feature either makes a standard image look sharper, albeit with some unwanted artefacts appearing, or it digitally increases the 12x optical zoom to 16x, again with a slight loss in quality.

Noise

There are 6 ISO settings available on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.

ISO 80 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

Sharpening

Here are two 100% Crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft at the default sharpening setting and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can change the in-camera sharpening level via the Picture Adjust menu option.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10's 12x zoom lens provides a versatile focal length of 25-300mm in 35mm terms, as demonstrated below.

25mm	300mm

File Quality

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 has 2 different image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

12M Fine (4.9Mb) (100% Crop)	12M Normal (2.8Mb) (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 handled chromatic aberrations excellently during the review, with very limited purple fringing present around the edges of objects in certain high-contrast situations, as shown in the example below.

Example 1 (100% Crop)

Macro

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 offers a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 3cms away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro Shot	100% Crop

Flash

The flash settings on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 are Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Forced Off - Wide Angle (25mm)	Forced On - Wide Angle (25mm)
Forced Off - Telephoto (300mm)	Forced On - Telephoto (300mm)

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Flash On or the Auto/Red-eye Reduction settings caused any red-eye.

Forced On	Forced On (100% Crop)
Auto/Red-eye Reduction	Auto/Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10's maximum shutter speed is 60 seconds, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 20 seconds at ISO 80. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like. The camera takes the same amount of time again to apply noise reduction, so for example at the 15 second setting the actual exposure takes 30 seconds.

Night Shot	Night Shot (100% Crop)

Anti Shake

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 has an anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here are some 100% crops of the images to show the results. As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper than with anti shake turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length	Anti Shake Off (100% Crop)	Anti Shake On (100% Crop)
1/5 sec / 25mm
1/4 sec / 150mm

Intelligent Resolution

The Intelligent Resolution feature either makes a standard image look like a higher resolution one by processing the contour areas, texture areas and smooth areas individually, or it digitally boosts the zoom magnification from 12x to 16x.

Off	On
i.Zoom
Off	i.Zoom

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

As of February 2025, we are no longer providing full size sample images or videos for download.

Please contact us if you have any feedback on our new policy.

Product Images

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera / Lens Extended

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

Rear of the Camera / Travel Menu

Top of the Camera

Bottom of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 is an excellent travel-zoom camera, with the notable additions of manual shooting modes and GPS tracking sure to continue the TZ success story, albeit at the real expense of a higher price-tag than the previous TZ7 model.

The welcome addition of A, S and M shooting modes is by far the biggest reason to upgrade to this new model, bringing the TZ10 up to speed with several key rivals. Creative photographers will love the extra flexibility, although sadly there's no RAW mode to really sweeten the deal. Beginners shouldn't be scared off the TZ10, as Panasonic's excellent hand-holding Intelligent Auto mode is present and correct. In comparison with its substantially cheaper sibling, the DMC-TZ8, this camera additionally offers GPS tracking, a better LCD screen and AVCHD movies with stereo sound and a HDMI port, all of which are worth paying the extra for.

Thankfully the GPS feature, which has been a little hit-and-miss on previous cameras that we've reviewed, works largely as advertised on the TZ10. It's quick to start-up, stays turned-on even when the camera is turned-off, and even works reliably in built-up areas. The main issues are the need to sometimes manually update the satellite lock and quite a big drain on the battery life, unsurprising given that the GPS is always on by default.

The inevitable marketing-led increase from 10 to 12 megapixels doesn't make too much real-world difference and thankfully hasn't come at the expense of image quality, with the TZ10 maintaining similar noise performance as the TZ7 at comparable ISO speeds. I'd be happy to use ISO 100-400 for most photos, with ISO 800 reserved for low-light situations, on a par with most of its main competitors in this category. As with all the recent TZ-series cameras, the 12x zoom lens in particular is a real attraction, providing both an ultra-wide 25mm angle of view and a 300mm telephoto setting that really will cover virtually every photographic situation that you'll encounter.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 is one of the newest and one of the best travel-zoom cameras available, although it is slightly more expensive on launch and slightly more complicated to use than its popular predecessor. There aren't too many compact cameras that offer such a compelling combination of size, features, image quality and handling, easily making the TZ10 deserving of our Highly Recommended award.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	5
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	4
Value for money	4

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 from around the web.

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