Panasonic Lumix TZ70 Review

Panasonic Lumix TZ70 Review – Performance

The TZ70 utilises a 23-zone contrast detection focusing system with a broad range of focusing modes, while in low light a strong red AF assist beam aids focus acquisition.

In practice the focus system performs well, proving both accurate and prompt in focusing on moving targets such as wildlife. The camera struggles slightly if shooting against a textured background, although this can be avoided by using more area specific focusing modes.

The TZ70’s focusing performance slows noticeably at the telephoto end of the zoom, although at the wide end of the zoom performance is solid.

One of the major areas for improvement on the TZ70 is the camera’s EVF. Although it’s the same physical size as its predecessor, the resolution sees an almost six-fold increase.

As a result, the unit delivers a pleasingly clear view of the scene during image composition. It also benefits from a clear overlay of the shooting settings being used that can be useful if you’re looking to make changes to these on the fly.

Unfortunately owing to its relatively small size and the absence of strong contrast, it can still be a touch difficult to accurately view highlight detail.

The presence of an automatic eye sensor is of benefit here however, as you can now easily and intuitively switch between the EVF and the LCD screen when shooting.

The LCD screen itself now features an AR coating for improving visibility in bright conditions, while the screen also delivers a pleasing level of brightness in general.

Power and stamina

One often overlooked areas of performance that can make a huge difference when spending a day shooting – especially on your travels – is battery life.

Panasonic rates the battery life of the TZ70 at around 300 shots, and on the whole it meets this estimation. During testing and in real terms this equated to five or six hours of fairly constant use of the full range of camera settings and shooting modes.
One of the longstanding areas of appeal for the TZ range is the cameras optical prowess, and the TZ70 is no different. Thanks to an impressive macro shooting mode the model is capable of shooting as close as 3cm to the subject at the wide end of the zoom, making it perfect for close-ups of flowers and the like.

A more disappointing area of the camera’s performance concerns processing speeds in a few of the shooting modes. When shooting in Raw+JPEG file size and in low light, burst or high dynamic range shooting modes the TZ70 takes a significant amount of time to process the resulting images.

This delay is even more noticeable on the continuous shooting setting, with the worst culprit being the highest rate of 10fps. In this mode having captured an extensive burst of images the camera freezes for around 15 seconds before you can shoot normally again.