The DMC-TZ1, announced in February 2006, takes the successful big zoom formula established with the FZ series of cameras and squeezes it into a much more compact body. The result is the world's smallest optically stabilized 10x zoom camera (on a technical note this was also the world's first use of a retractable lens system with folded optics). Whilst not what you'd call 'pocketable' (unless you have very large pockets), the TZ1 is considerably less bulky than its 'SLR-like' siblings (and their competitors), and, though it offers little in the way of truly manual control, it is packed with features. So does the TZ1 prove that smaller can be better, or is it a case of diminishing returns? Let's find out, starting as usual with the headline features:
5.0 million effective pixels
10x (35-350mm equiv.) Leica DC Vario-Elmarit optical zoom
MEGA OIS image stabilization
Venus III Engine processor
Fast Linear autofocus system
High Resolution (270,000 pixel) 2.5-inch LCD
Movies up to 840 x 480 pixels (WVGA) @ 30 fps
18 scene modes... [read more]