Hot Price Panasonic Lumix TZ18 Digital Camera - Black (14.1MP, 16x Optical Zoom) 3.0 inch LCD

For the majority of people looking for a "pocket" camera - they can stop looking. This will honestly do for pretty much everything you really need. It's the newly released little brother to the £100 more expensive TX20. Personally I did have a good look at this and nearly got it but in the end decided that I wouldn't pay the extra money for the Geo-tagging feature on the camera and would make do with just remembering where I was when I took the photo. If you really want to know where you were maybe just take a photo of a road sign nearby ? Works for me anyway :o)Olympus TG-620 , Nikon COOLPIX P7000 , Fujifilm X-E1, Nikon 1 V1, Nikon D300, Fujifilm FinePix XP170, Olympus Tough TG-1, Nikon COOLPIX P500, Olympus E-5 , Panasonic DMC-GX1EB-K , Casio Exilim EX-ZR300, Sony NEX5NKS, Panasonic Lumix FT3 , Sony HX10 , Panasonic DMC-GX1EB-S, Canon EOS 550D, Fujifilm FinePix Z1000EXR , Fujifilm FinePix XP170, Nikon COOLPIX P300, Nikon COOLPIX P310, Fujifilm FinePix F770EXR , Nikon 1 V1 , Nikon COOLPIX S9300, Nikon 1 J2, Panasonic DMC-GF3, Sony NEX5AS, Panasonic DMC-G3, Nikon 1 J1 , Samsung NX200 KIT, Fujifilm FinePix SL240, Olympus SZ-14 , Olympus Pen E-PL3 , Olympus Pen E-PL5, Sony DSLR-A300, Nikon COOLPIX S100, Canon Powershot SX260, Casio Exilim EX-ZR200, Sony DSCWX50, Fujifilm FinePix XP 100, Olympus SZ-30MR, Canon PowerShot G9 , Pentax Optio WG-2, Samsung NX20, Canon Eos 20D , Olympus SZ-14, Nikon Coolpix L810, Fujifilm FinePix SL240, Nikon Coolpix L810, Canon Digital IXUS 120, Nikon D3200, Fujifilm FinePix F600EXR, Canon 200 IS, LOGITECH 960-000867

It is not perfect, of course, but even if you take a "money no object" approach to picking an upper premium compact camera - there is currently nothing on the market that is head and shoulders better than this - although there can always be a case made for different qualities.

Big zoom - check

Good "glass" on the front - yep, Leica

Good quality photos - sure, with the caveat that a "full monty" digital SLR will do better - the photos come out are a nice colour (not too vivid but also not too tame and washed out) and they aren't a funny colour in artificial light (some cameras can struggle and give you a funny tint under striplights or old fashioned tungsten bulbs).

Noise levels - definitely there especially at higher ISO's but you get this problem to and exten even with the bigger sensor SLR's up to a year or two ago - and even the best of the modern breed aren't infallible if you read the reviews
Canon PowerShot SX160IS, Sony A65 24.3 MP , Panasonic DMC-FT4EB-S , Ricoh CX 6, 5 Mega pixel , Drift X170, Canon IXUS 1100 HS , Nikon D100 , Olympus SZ-30MR, Canon EOS 350D , Canon EOS 5D, Olympus TG-820, Olympus E-PL3 , Olympus Pen E-PL5 , Fujifilm FinePix SL260, Panasonic DMCLX3, Sony DSCWX50, Olympus E-450 , Olympus E-420, Fujifilm FinePix F800EXR , Canon PowerShot G10 , Sony Alpha A380L , Olympus TG-620, Sony Cyber-shot HX10 ,, Pentax K-5, Olympus OM-D EM-5 , Canon Digital SLR, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ62, Canon IXUS 240 HS , PANASONIC DMC-FZ48 , Canon IXUS 230 , PANASONIC PT-AE7000, Sony SLTA37 , Panasonic DMC-FX80EB-K , Sony SLTA77V.CEH, Olympus Pen E-PM1, Olympus Pen E-PM2 , Casio Exilim EX-ZR10 , Casio Exilim EX-ZR 20, Fujifilm FinePix SL240, Canon PowerShot S100, Panasonic DMC-GH2KEB, Panasonic 45-150mm, PANASONIC WATERPROOF, Panasonic Hx-Wa20, Nikon COOLPIX S1200pj , Pentax Q Compact, Canon PowerShot SX30, Samsung EX2F , Canon EOS M , Canon EOS 500D, Canon EOS 60D

HD Video - check, but in MPEG format. This takes up more space than AVCHD but I would be wary of getting a camera that uses this format if you have an older PC or laptop and especially if netbook - because the hardware may not be able to cope - so I guess that's Windows XP definitely wary - Vista machines more wary esp if you have a laptop as the hardware will be likely slower than the equivalent PC. I have a mixture of laptops and netbooks running Windows 7 through to XP so didn't want to take the chance - especially as other family members and the kids will probably want to view some of the footage (family and my kids have the older machines whilst dad gets the upgrade LOL). I wonder if the AVCHD format on the more expensive TZ20 is going to be a bit of an evolutionary dead end - just as BLU RAY hasn't really taken off even though it's technically better than DVD - most people even if they have a big widescreen TV find that their DVD is fine (probably because the modern DVD players and TV's will upscale the DVD resolution to give a semi-HD picture quality). The TZ20 I think gives you the option to record in both I think I read somewhere but if this a deal breaker you should check for sure.

If you only want a great point and shoot camera this has loads of options - which are really easy to access and the menus pretty much tell you what each option (mode) is going to do for you. Some cameras have menus that were laid out by people from Mars as they are so unintuitive that you have to keep referring to the instruction book to work out what to do even if you're pretty experienced with cameras.
Canon PowerShot S90, Sony HX200, Fujifilm FinePix F600EXR, Pentax K-5 , Olympus OM-D, Fujifilm FinePix F, Canon IXUS 230 , Canon IXUS 240, Olympus SH-25MR , Canon Digital IXUS, Panasonic DMC-GF5XEB-K, Panasonic G10, Panasonic DMC-3D1E-K , OlympusPen E-PM1, Olympus Pen E-PM2, Olympus TG-620, Panasonic Lumix SZ5, Olympus SP-620UZ, Fujifilm Finepix F200EXR, Olympus TG-820, Panasonic Lumix G5, Logitech BCC950, Canon PowerShot S110 , Olympus M.ZUIKO, Sony DSLRA350K , Samsung NX11, Panasonic DMC-SZ7EB, Canon G11 , Panasonic DMC-G3 , Nikon F100, Canon IXUS 125, Panasonic LZ20, Olympus SH-25MR, GoPros HD Surf HERO, GoPro Camera HD, Nikon L120 , Sony DSCTX5B , Sony DSCTX10, Fujifilm Instax Mini, Fujifilm FinePix F660EXR, Canon IXUS 310, Nikon 1 J2, Contour GPS , Fujifilm FinePix F770EXR , Nikon 1 J1, Fujifilm FinePix Z950EXR, Nikon COOLPIX L810 , Bundle Fuji SL300, Panasonic DMC-FT4EB, Canon IXUS 105, Canon IXUS 115, Sony A77, Fujifilm X-E1 , Canon IXUS 500 HS, Canon EOS 1000D , Pentax K-5 II, Nikon COOLPIX S100, Fujifilm FinePix Z1000EXR

This has A LOT of manual control thrown in which is pretty unusual in the compact camera class. The big SLR cameras will all give you this - but until now there haven't really been any cameras that give you a big zoom range and full control like in an SLR. If you are looking for something more suited to your needs in a little bit if you want to be more creative and do more than point and shoot then this camera will do that for you - as it has Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Full Manual modes.

If you are an experienced SLR user looking for a backup camera, I can tell you that the PASM options are pretty nicely implemented. Pretty sensibly placed access buttons (the small round exposure button and Q Menu buttons to the right of the screen do this) and the menus are nicely set up to access the bits you want for Aperture / Shutter priority & full manual control.

The 16x optical zoom is class leading. Only compare optical zoom between cameras and ignore the Panasonic advertising guys (or anybody else )who point to the overall 20x zoom - because if you include the quoted digital zoom - the extra 4x zoom basically just crops your optical zoom photo in camera - and your laptop software will do that - only better - though I guess it might be relevant if you don't want to be doing with all that and just need an "okay" photo).

It has a really good wide angle lens - 24mm - the lower the number the better and 24mm is currently the lowest I am aware of. The lower the number the more you can fit into the photo - so if you are looking at a nice panorama or want to take a photo with the whole table in the shot - you are more likely to get it with this lens when compared to other cameras which start at 27mm, 28mm, 35mm. Be aware if you are thinking of getting a more budget camera or an outgoing model this small difference can be the difference between getting everything and not quite everything into the shot that you want.

Panasonic DMC-TZ30EB-K , Canon EOS 1100D, Canon EOS 600D , Nikon D5100 , Nikon D3200, Sony DSC-HX20V, Nikon D3100, Panasonic Lumix FZ62, Panasonic DMC-FZ48EB-K, Fujifilm FinePix HS30EXR, Canon EOS 650D, Panasonic DMC-TZ25EB-K, Canon SX40 HS, Olympus Tough TG-1, Sony DSC-RX100 , Nikon D7000, Sony WX100, Canon EOS 60D, Nikon D800, Nikon COOLPIX L310, Canon SX260 HS, Panasonic DMC-FZ150, Nikon COOLPIX P510, Canon Powershot SX240, Sony HX200V , Olympus SZ-31MR, Panasonic DMC-TZ30EB-R, Fujifilm FinePix F770EXR , Fujifilm F750Exr, Olympus SP-810UZ, Olympus SP-720UZ, Fujifilm X10, Nikon D5100, Nikon D3200, Nikon D7000, Canon PowerShot G12, Canon IXUS 510 HS, Pentax Optio WG-1, Nikon Coolpix L310, Canon EOS 650D, Olympus SZ-31 , Canon EOS 550D , Fujifilm FinePix SL300, Canon EOS 60D, Panasonic DMC-G3, Nikon COOLPIX P510, Nikon D600, Canon IXUS 125 HS, Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Panasonic DMC-FT4EB, Nikon D5100, Canon EOS 600D, Canon Powershot D20, Samsung NX1000
OVERALL it just feels nice in the hand and has a cool solid feeling metal body - none of which would be of any use if the photos weren't top notch ... but luckily they are in my opinion. Sure you can get a little better photos perhaps but a lot of this is personal preference - like how you like your TV at home to be set up with brighter or more vivid colours or the opposite. In technical terms compact cameras are never going to match SLR cameras but the camera reviewers who do this for a living always seem to get a bit obsessed about this and not emphasising this enough. This gives great photos other compact cameras.

A lot of the websites offering camera reviews are a bit misleading IMHO as they often don't compare like with like.

For instance they will complain about high noise at higher ISO - which most pocket cameras will have as their image sensor is smaller than their digital SLR breathren.

If you want a big zoom compact for day to day use and have a digital SLR for "proper" photos (like I'm lucky enough to have) this will do a great job for you.
Nikon COOLPIX S8200, Nikon D3200, Canon PowerShot SX500, Panasonic DMC-TZ30EB, Panasonic Lumix TZ20, Polaroid Z340 , Sony NEX5NKB, Canon EOS 7D, Sony NEX5NDB, Canon IXUS 230 HS, Samsung WB850F, Nikon D90, Fujifilm FinePix X100, Canon IXUS 1100 HS, Sony HX10, Canon Powershot SX260 , Panasonic DMC-FT4EB, Fujifilm FinePix HS30EXR, Pentax Optio WG-2, Canon EOS 60D, Panasonic Lumix LX7 , Z2300 Built-in, Canon PowerShot S95, Samsung NX100, Nikon COOLPIX S6400, Canon Powershot SX240, Nikon COOLPIX P510, Olympus SZ-14, Fujifilm FinePix Real , Panasonic Lumix FZ45, Canon EOS 7D, Nikon 1 J2 , Nikon 1 J1, Canon 5D Mark II, Panasonic Lumix FZ48 , Panasonic DMC-FT4EB-K, Canon IXUS 115 HS, Nikon COOLPIX P7700, Nikon COOLPIX P7100 , Panasonic Lumix TZ18 , Sony Alpha 57 , Olympus XZ-1 , Canon EOS 60D, Nikon COOLPIX L610,