Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1 (TZ6): 25-300mm zoom, to have one's cake and eat it

The main asset of the TZ6 is the same that brought success to Panasonic’s TZ3 or TZ5: a zoom gifted with a very high range which combines wide angle and telephoto lens in a compact body. This time, Panasonic, willing to keep its lead in this field, pushes the concept a little further with a zoom which goes down to the very wide-angle position of 25mm, and increases even more the range of the Leica Vario-Elmar 12x zoom to eventually offer a stunning 25-300mm!

All this being stabilized by the Mega O.I.S. system. To achieve this optical feat, engineers from Leica and Panasonic have integrated in the optics formula 10 elements in 8 groups, 2 nonspherical lenses and 2 ED glass lenses.

 

The screen of the TZ6 measures 2.7" for a resolution of 230 000 points and offers automatic adjustment of its brightness according to the surrounding light. A continuous shooting mode allows to take 2.5 frames per second in full 10-megapixel resolution, or 10 fps when setting the resolution down to 3 megapixels. As usual with Panasonic, the TZ6 allows to choose between 3 formats: 4/3, 3/2 or 16/9.

 

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1 (TZ6) will come in with its new generation Lithium battery that should allow a battery life of 320 pics, and will be sold 329 Euros VAT incl.