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| TZ70 Very small for a 30x zoom |
This ergonomic evaluation follows my usual schedule which you can read about here.
Setup
Menus are well designed with a good graphical user interface and easy navigation.
Function buttons allow user assigned function, but the Q Menu does not.
Menu resume is not available on the main menus but does work on the Q menu.
JPG settings are not user adjustable (No ‘Photo Style’ feature).
Flash output settings are not user adjustable.
Setup Score 10/15
Prepare
The Main Mode Dial, 4 Way Controller, Fn buttons and Q Menu all work well and give access to most of the adjustments (apart from those noted to be missing above) which the enthusiast user might reasonably require of a camera of this type.
These include Capture Mode, Focus mode, Autofocus Mode, Drive Mode, Quality and others.
Prepare Score 12/15
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| Unorthodox left hand holding style in Landscape orientation, explained in the text. |
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| And in Portrait orientation |
Holding
This is a slimline compact with mini handle so holding is never going to be as comfortable or stable as a full sized model with full handle.
The right hand does however get a decent purchase on the camera. The mini handle and thumb support are well positioned. The shutter button is well positioned for this style of camera.
At no time did I accidentally bump a button with my right hand.
However the normal holding position with the right hand sees the flash completely blocked by the third finger. So if the flash is used a completely different and awkward right hand hold is required.
The flash is simply in the wrong place.
The left hand is more problematic. The issues are:
* There is not much of substance which the left hand can hold onto.
* The fingers of left hand have to avoid pressing on the inner lens barrels. I have found in the past with other cameras that doing so can cause decentering of lens elements.
* The lens ring is easily moved while holding the camera, changing whatever setting was assigned to it.
* I find that I need to hold my (right) eye a little back from the EVF eyepiece for sharp viewing and if I do so stray light enters, obscuring vision. In addition this ‘eye back a bit’ position prevents me pressing the camera to my head for stability.
So I hold my left index finger around the left side and top of the EVF eyepiece. This blocks stray light and allows me to press my head against my finger for stability.
This is all fine but it produces an unorthodox holding style seen in the photos.
Very careful technique is required to hold the camera steady at full zoom.
Holding Score 8/20
Viewing
The EVF is clear and sharp with good color and highlight/shadow detail.
However it is small and lacks an eyecup so I have developed a special holding technique to manage this, described above.
The monitor is also clear and sharp with good color and highlight/shadow detail.
However it is fixed and is difficult to see in bright light.
Both the monitor and EVF are adjustable for brightness, contrast/saturation, red tint and blue tint.
I have both at default levels which works just fine for me.
Neither monitor nor EVF can be configured to ‘viewfinder style’ with camera data beneath the preview image.
Viewing Score 10/20
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| Button haptics. Although this camera has a small control panel, shown here, the buttons and 4 Way pad are well designed. The 4 Way pad has a slightly raised milled edge (which forms the rear dial) which is easy to find and operate by touch. The Fn1 and Disp buttons which are used in Capture Phase of use have a slightly raised and sharpish edge (the edge is actually bevelled but the edges of the bevel are sharp) which makes them easy to find and operate by touch. The Playback button which is not used in Capture Phase is recessed so it will not be bumped accidentally but is stil easy to use while looking at the control panel. I have never accidentally bumped any of the control modules shown here. Compare this example of good design with the Canon SX60 reviewed in a previous post. |
Operating
It is possible to adjust primary and secondary exposure and focussing parameters while maintaining hold with the left hand. The right hand and fingers are required to change position however.
On a heavier camera this would be a problem but as the TZ70 is so light it can be held securely with the left hand while the fingers of the right hand adjust settings.
Overall camera operation is pleasant and efficient. The controls are well shaped so they can be located and operated by feel.
Operating score 20/25
Review
I could find no way to scroll from one enlarged image to the next at the same level of enlargement. I found it necessary to zoom back to full frame before being able to move on to the next image.
Neither the lens control ring nor the rear control dial appear to have any function in image playback with the review image enlarged, unless I missed something in the menu labrynth.
The TZ70 also has one of Panasonic’s more irritating quirks, present in several other cameras.
Several seconds after pressing the Playback button to enter image review the lens auto retracts. So if you had a shot set up you have to set it up all over again.
Review Score 2/5
Total Ergonomic Score 62/100
This is quite a good score for a slimline compact style camera.
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| Triple extension zoom with built in leaf type auto lens cap |
Summary
This camera’s most appealing feature is its compact size. Unfortunately that is also the source of one of its less appealing features namely the problem with holding steadily at the long end of the zoom.
This is made more challenging by an image stabiliser which is less effective than that found in some of the competition.
The TZ70 works best outdoors in bright light in the near wide to mid range of the zoom but there are plenty of cameras which can do that, many with larger sensors and better image quality.
A superzoom camera needs to work really well at the long end of the zoom or the point of its existence is unclear.
Unfortunately the TZ70 is weak at the long end which is exactly where it needs to be strong.
My original purpose in buying the TZ70 and Canon SX60 (reviewed recently on this blog) was to discover whether either might be a suitable backup to my FZ1000, in the event of failure by the FZ1000 on a trip far from photographic services.
I decided that another FZ1000 might be better than the SX60.
However the TZ70 is so small I would hardly notice it in my kit. So it's a maybe. Maybe.
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