LetsGoDigital reviewed the Panasonic Lumix DMC LZ5 digital camera. The Panasonic DMC LZ5, incorporates MEGA O.I.S.(Optical Image Stabilizer) and 6x optical zoom (equiv. 37mm to 222mm on 35mm camera) lens, that run on two AA batteries. MEGA O.I.S. is the image stabilization system against handshake. Panasonic is the first company in the industry to have succeeded in incorporating MEGA O.I.S. into a compact digital camera and now its benefit is strongly approved by the users of the world, considered to be the standard of photography. Compared to the previous models, the DMC-LZ2/LZ1, the LZ5 adopts large and bright 2.5 inch LCD and both speeds up its AF time by adopting 1-point high speed AF option while AF assist lamp is newly incorporated.

LetsGoDigital said: "The 6x optical Lumix DC Vario zoom lens performed superbly during the practice tests. The images are sharp, and excellent results are produced over the entire range. Although a certain degree of chromatic aberration and distortion is visible in the wide-angle mode, it is not insurmountable. Upon zooming in lightly, these small wrinkles are quickly evened out, which ensures you will be presented with a decent and attractive end result. The zoom lens is easy and accurate to operate, and the combination with the optical image stabilization (MEGA O.I.S.) enables care-free, effortless photography. Everyone knows nothing is quite as disappointing as coming home with blurry tele images. Rest assured that the Panasonic Lumix LZ5 sees to it that this is pretty much a thing of the past."

Compared to the previous LZ2/LZ1 digital cameras, the Panasonic DMC LZ5 adopts a large and bright 2.5 inch LCD display. Thanks to the new pixel-mixed readout method performed at CCD, the sensitivity is greatly increased to offer brightness on the live image displayed on LCD, allowing the user to shoot in low-lit situations. The High Angle LCD function, which is the first application to the digital camera LCD, makes the display extremely easy to view from bottom angle, for example, when taking photos raising a hand upward to shoot the subject over the crowd. This option can be set instantly by the independent button. The large LCD allows the display of images even in tiny thumbnail size. Playback of 9, 16 and 25 is possible on a multi-split screen in addition to the normal 1 frame playback. This helps you to search for the image you want out of a number of images stored on the SD Memory Card, even if the images are in bulk.

LetsGoDigital concludes: "The Panasonic LZ5 leaves us with a pleasant and particularly positive feeling. For its price-tag, the camera offers the consumer a great deal of ease and functionality. The novice photographer will undoubtedly feel happy as a king with so much user convenience. It is impressive to see how Panasonic manage to integrate the MEGA O.I.S. into all their digital cameras. This feature is a truly valuable asset of the LUMIX digital camera. The Panasonic Lumix DMC LZ5 is a superb digital camera for those who consider themselves novice digital photographers, but do desire that little bit extra from the zoom range. All in all, the Panasonic LZ5 forms an excellent first step to a future advanced camera - and who knows, perhaps even to a future (Panasonic) digital SLR camera?"

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