The past few months have seen a host of manufacturers making some pretty bold statements with regards to compact camera production in the wake of pressures from the smartphone camera market.

First of all Olympus announced that it would be cutting down on its entry level compact camera production in order to focus on more advanced models, an announcement which was followed shortly by Fujifilm and then later by Canon.

This doesn’t mean that compact cameras are dead, and in fact certain areas are continuing to grow.

One such area is the travel compact market – one that offers an appealing combination of advanced features and an extensive zoom, all in a compact and pocketable body.

The Panasonic Lumix TZ60 is the latest in one of the most established travel compact line-ups, and it looks like the manufacturer could well be on to another winner…

Panasonic Lumix TZ60 Review – Features

As mentioned arguably the most impressive feature of the TZ60 is the extensive focal range, especially when you consider the compact size in which the optical zoom is houses.

While the TZ60’s predecessor – the TZ40 – featured a reasonable 20x optical zoom, the new model increases the zoom by some 50% and now sports a 30x optic. The lens is a Leica DC Vario-Elmar unit and covers a focal range of 24-720mm in 35mm equivalent terms.

Camera shake is a natural result of such a large zoom being housed in a compact body, although any fears are allayed by the presence of Panasonic’s 5 axis optical image stabilisation – a set-up Panasonic claims will allow photographers to shoot up to three stops slower than previously.

In terms of the sensor, the TZ60 features a 1/2.3in Live MOS sensor that features a resolution of 18.1MP. This is around standard for a camera in the travel compact market, although Panasonic has added one new feature that the TZ range has been crying out for for some time – namely the ability to capture both JPEG and Raw files.

The Venus Engine Processor handles all operational matters, and that include a top continuous shooting speed of some 10fps – albeit for only 6 frame – while the TZ60 can also shoot at 5fps with continuous AF enabled.

Completing the full specification are a host of connectivity features that are sure to appeal to those in the market for a travel compact. These include built-in GPS capture and both Wi-fi and NFC functionality that allows for the wireless transfer of images as well as the remote control of the camera through the Panasonic Image App.