Review Of The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 Camera

Digicam — By Ricky on September 4, 2009 at 1:30 pm

Sum ‘n’ Substance:

Thumbs up: Smooth in design; good performance; superb photo and video quality; HD movie capture, a wide-angle lens, and a long battery life.

Thumbs down: Photos are not sharp, prices are a bit steep.

Inside the trunk: Digital camera type: Ultracompact ; Resolution: 12.1 megapixels ; Optical zoom: 4.6 x; 28mm wide-angle LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens; a 2.7-inch, 230,000-dot Intelligent LCD; image sensor size: 1/2.3-inch CCD; File format (still/video) JPEG/AVCHD Lite; Highest resolution size (still/video) 4,000×3,000 pixels / 1,280×720 at 30fps; image stabilization type Optical and digital ; battery type: Lithium ion rechargeable, 340 shots; waterproof, shockproof and dustproof.

The whiz-kid speaks: Panasonic is a new-comer to the world of rugged cameras and so one would expect it to have plenty of teething problems, but Panasonic have definitely done extremely well in proving them wrong. The Lumix DMC-TS1 is one sleek piece of engineering and is impervious to shock from falls up to 5 feet, waterproof up to a depth of 10 feet, , and is dustproof. Although cameras in its range maybe slightly better than it in terms on ruggedness it most certainly outperforms them in functionality.

Razzle-dazzle: The TS1has a very sleek design, with its four exposed screws, no other traces would give a casual observer a hint that this is a waterproof, dustproof and shockproof camera. Its surfaces are covered in nice-looking brushed metal; the available colors are dark green, orange, or dark silver. The 28mm-equivalent wide-angle lens is shielded by an easily cleaned piece of glass or plastic. At the top we have a power button, a spring-loaded slider for the 4.6x optical zoom, and a textured shutter release. The controls at the back are large and well- arranged, making it easy to use.

Review Of The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 Camera

A Mode dial sits at the top making it very ergonomic to slip between shooting options. Below the dial are standalone buttons for playback and movie recording. A general Menu button sits at the center of the four navigational buttons that double as exposure, flash, macro, and timer controls. The main menu system features three tabs: one each for setup, photo settings, and movie settings. A Q.Menu button at the lower back brings up a vertical bar of shooting-mode-sensitive options. The menus are self-explanatory and very easy to understand.

Inside dope:
The TS1’s feature set is very similar to the company’s non-rugged FP8. It has two operating modes; the AE mode called Normal Picture gets you the most control over results with settings for focus, light metering, color effects, white balance, ISO, and exposure while the intelligent Auto (iA)–that determines the most suitable Scene mode and helps correct any blurring, focus, and brightness issues. The TS1 has a total of 27 scene modes with three of them on the Mode dial–Beach & Surf, Snow, Sports. The wide-angle lens can be made more useful by using it for taking pictures of bus/train timetables and maps, recommends Panasonic. The TS1 is capable of 720p HD-quality video capture using the AVCHD Lite format plus you get full use of the optical zoom while recording, too. The TS1 was also very quick when it came to shutter speed but there was a slight lag when adjustment to the different lighting was required but that can be forgiven because it’s a rugged camera. Its burst speed–limited to three shots at the camera’s finest quality–is quick 1.9 frames per second.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 Camera

Pictures clicked were not sharp enough but that may be mainly due to the extra glass cover over the lens. Overall, color and exposure were very good. When not using the auto white balance, colours were pretty accurate and natural looking.

Nitty-gritty: The TS1 qualifies for both a rugged as well as an everyday pocket camera. It may be priced at $399.99, but the TS1 is something that you cannot judge by looking at the price tag. Panasonic have really pulled a rabbit out of the hat here with the TS1. With loads of features and good ruggedness, the TS1 is hard to miss.