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| TZ80 wide angle, hand held |
The Paradox of the Panasonic TZ80 (ZS60)
Paradox: A thing that combines contradictory features or qualities.
The TZ80is the latest and arguably best iteration of Panasonic’s pocket superzoom/travel zoom genre which began with the TZ1 in 2006.
The camera is aimed at buyers wanting to record family events, holidays and travel.
My own family experience is that most of these people are snapshooters who set the Mode Dial on [iA] and leave it there.
The problem is that the camera does not give its best results when used this way.
The paradox is that the person who canget the best from the camera is the expert/enthusiast/experienced user who is unlikely to buy it.
This series of posts is for that small and possibly eccentric group of expert/enthusiast users who like me decide to use the TZ80 and enjoy the challenge of coaxing the best possible results from it.
There is an old aphorism which holds that perfect is the enemy of good.
The quest for perfection is a prominent feature of camera reviews and user forums which host endless discussions, comparisons and debates about the relative merits of various models.
I have seen a well known photo magazine declare camera A which scored 4320 lines per image height ‘better’ than camera B which ‘only’ scored 3950 lines.
My own experience is that in the real world, 95% of the apparent sharpness variation between cameras is probably determined by the user’s ability to hold the device still and to ensure that the subject is in focus.
Preoccupation with the finer details of technical image quality appears to me more like obsession than meaningful evaluation of the real world merits of various camera models.
Which brings me to reconsideration of the Panasonic TZ80 (ZS60) compact superzoom.
Some time ago I bought a Panasonic TZ110 and a TZ80 when they became available in Australia.
After testing each I sold the TZ110 and was about to sell the TZ80 but my wife asked me to keep it as she found it to be an appealing little camera and thought she might like to use it from time to time.
As the camera was in the house, I picked it up again and re-acquainted myself with its capabilities which turned out to be substantial and its challenges which require thoughtful management strategies.
I doubt that any prospective camera buyer seeking some kind of perfection would give the TZ80 a moment’s attention.
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| TZ80 Long end of the zoom, hand held. The colourful workshop facades are one kilometer from the camera. |
But consider what this camera offers:
* A 30x zoom spanning from really wide (FLE24mm) to super long (FLE720mm) with Optical Image Stabiliser.
* RAW or JPG output or both.
* Sophisticated autofocus with many features including Panasonic DFD which enables follow focus on moving subjects. Rapid control of AF area position and size.
* Useful manual focus with peaking and PIP display for speed and accuracy.
* 4K video and 4K photo.
* 18 Mpx sensor.
* Touch screen operation.
* Accurate exposure with decent highlight and shadow detail (dynamic range).
* Zebras and easily accessed exposure compensation for control of highlight exposure.
* A built in, always ready EVF of decent quality.
* Built in flash.
* Auto Panorama capability.
* Twin Dial control layout.
* Several buttons with user assignable function.
* Q Menu with quick access to 13 functions.
* An extensive Menu system enabling access to a multitude of user selected functions and features.
* No need for accessories such as a filter or external flash (and no way to fit them anyway).
* All this comes in a truly pocketable size, which I prefer to carry in a LowePro Portland 20 waist pouch. The camera with battery, card and wrist strap weighs only 280 grams.
You can see from the list above that this is a proper photographer’s camera.
The extensive list of specifications, features and controls put the TZ80 well beyond the realm of ‘happy snaps’ compact.
So why are enthusiast photographers not flocking to buy one and are not singing its praises on user forums ?
I think the answer to this question contains two elements:
1. The first and the one which I think will be most obvious to reviewers and new users is image quality. This in turn devolves to two factors, lens and sensor.
1.1. While the lens is a marvel of compact superzoom technology utilising multiple aspheric surfaces, it does have limitations. Specifically the edges and corners are soft towards the wide end of the focal length range and resolution over the whole frame progressively declines from mid zoom towards the long end of the range.
In the middle section of the zoom range the lens is actually quite decently sharp right across the frame.
1.2. The sensor has 18 Mpx on the so-called ‘1/2.3 inch’ size with actual dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm. This is about the same size as one of the buttons on the back of the camera. How they (‘they’ being presumably Sony but neither Panasonic nor Sony are saying so I don’t really know) cram 18 million pixels onto this smartphone size sensor is a micro-engineering achievement way beyond my comprehension.
Anyway somehow they do it but the result is abundant luminance noise at all ISO sensitivity settings including base ISO 80.
So the result of the ‘image quality’ factors is that when files from a TZ80 are viewed on screen at 100% the appearance tends to range from ‘acceptable’ at low ISO settings to ‘hideous’ at high ISO settings.
2. Which brings me to the second element which is a bit more complex so please bear with me…..
I have found that by using strategies involving RAW capture and judicious use of the A and S Modes, followed by adjustments in Adobe Camera Raw specifically tailored to the output from this camera, I can produce files which print decently well up to A2 size (420 x 594 mm) which is about as large as I want to print from any image source.
I am guessing that most reviewers and users do not make full use of these strategies resulting in a lower standard of output than is possible with this camera.
Aperture limitations
The widest lens aperture ranges from f3.3 at focal length equivalent (FLE) 24mm to f6.4 at FLE 720mm. The smallest aperture at all focal lengths is f8.
Now here is the problem:
a) At FLEs from 24 to about 50mm the edges and corners are soft at the widest aperture. This is most noticeable if fine foliage is present at the edges and corners. Best sharpness across the frame is at about f4.5-f5.
b) Sharpness degradation due to diffraction at the aperture diaphragm starts at about f4. On my tests center sharpness is detectably worse at f5.6 than f4. So you don’t want to stop down any further than about f5.
But at the longer focal lengths you don’t gots no choice because the lens only gives you f6.4.
Therefore it is impossible to get really sharp pictures at the long end of the zoom. This is where the post capture strategies come in to produce results which are quite presentable.
Aperture strategies
1. For landscape and similar subjects in bright light I set A Mode and f4.5-f5.
2. Indoors and in low light I set a low shutter speed in S Mode and let the camera use f3.3 at FLE 24mm. A large central area of the frame is decently sharp. Fine details at the corners don’t fare so well.
3. At the long end of the zoom I always use the widest available aperture.
Shutter speed limitations
With the TZ80 hand held and a reasonably static subject I always want to use the slowest possible shutter speed in order to keep the ISO sensitivity as low as possible in order to minimise luminance noise.
I recommend each user experiment to find the slowest shutter speed they can manage at each focal length range and still produce a majority of shake free frames. This can vary considerably between individuals and with exercise level, heart rate, breathing, hand tremor, technique and so forth.
I find that 1/15 sec at the wide end and 1/200 sec at the long end produce a reasonably high percentage of sharp enough frames if I am calm, still and use good technique.
Shutter speed strategies
Indoors at any focal length and outdoors whenever the long end of the zoom is used, I recommend setting S on the Mode dial. I do not use the long end of the zoom indoors.
I then set a low shutter speed appropriate to the focal length in use as determined by previous testing.
Firing solution strategies
The following discourse is based on hand held camera use. Settings and strategies are different when the camera is on a tripod, but the whole point of a camera like this is to operate without the need for a tripod or other accessories.
I call the combination of Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO and Exposure Compensation used for any exposure the ‘firing solution’.
In the Custom Menu I set the LVF and Monitor Disp. Style to ‘viewfinder’ type with key camera data beneath the preview image. In this configuration the Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO setting and Exposure Compensation status are most easily seen.
In Capture Phase of use I constantly monitor this data and switch between A Mode and S Mode to give me the best possible combination of Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO sensitivity for the conditions and focal length in use.
Occasionally I use P Mode but only if the camera gives me key exposure parameters in line with my predetermined optimums for each focal length and subject condition.
I also sometimes use M Mode if none of the auto exposure modes gives the exposure parameters I want.
I never use iA Mode.
I do shoot RAW + JPG to compare the results of my post processing with that of the camera.
Other strategies
When using slow shutter speeds with static subjects at the long end of the zoom range I quite often find frames with camera shake induced blur, sometimes with side-to-side double imaging. One strategy to manage this is obviously to increase the shutter speed but that runs up the ISO setting which increases luminance noise.
Another strategy is to use Burst M and fire off about 6 shots. I generally find one or two of these will be sharper than the others.
Another issue common in the TZ80 and other small sensor compacts is loss of highlight detail when subject brightness range is high. I watch the zebras and apply negative exposure compensation if they are prominent.
I allocate Exposure Compensation to the rear dial to make this quick and easy and use Zebra 1 set at 105%.
There is one little glitch caused by allocating exposure compensation to the rear dial, namely that the dial does nothing when M Mode is set. This is a firmware programming mistake by the boffins at Panasonic. What should happen is that the rear dial reverts to changing shutter speed when M Mode is set.
There are two workarounds for this.
One is to set S Mode on the Mode Dial then select the shutter speed required. When the Mode Dial is turned to M that shutter speed will be carried over. You can adjust Aperture with the lens ring as usual.
The other is to access shutter Speed via the Q Menu.
Neither is elegant. Fortunately M Mode is infrequently required.
Holding the camera still
I have found that the most important requirement for obtaining decently sharp pictures with the TZ80 is holding the camera still at the point of exposure.
This involves
* Relaxed posture, preferably aided by resting one’s arms on a horizontal or vertical support.
* Calm demeanour aided by mini meditation for breathing and body control.
* Optimum camera holding strategy which I have described here.
* Viewing through the EVF enables greater stability than monitor viewing.
Good camera holding technique is especially important at the long end of the zoom. The camera is very light with very little inertia. I have found a very big difference between the results of good versus not-so-good holding technique.
Next: Post capture strategies in Adobe Camera Raw
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