Lumix ZS80

I've been eyeballing the Panasonic Lumix ZS80 (or maybe the ZS70), and was about to purchase,
when I looked at reviews on Amazon. There was only one review for the ZS80 (they lump ZS60,
ZS70, and ZS80 together in the reviews), but for this grouping I noticed 15% of the 261 reviews
were one star (!).

My Lumix ZS3 is going south, so I'm casting about for another backpacking camera.

I'm soliciting for comments on the somewhat high number of 1-star reviews for this series.

--
croy

On Fri, 16 Aug 2019 15:39:45 -0700, croy wrote:

I've been eyeballing the Panasonic Lumix ZS80 (or maybe the ZS70), and
was about to purchase, when I looked at reviews on Amazon. There was
only one review for the ZS80 (they lump ZS60, ZS70, and ZS80 together in
the reviews), but for this grouping I noticed 15% of the 261 reviews
were one star (!).

My Lumix ZS3 is going south, so I'm casting about for another
backpacking camera.

I'm soliciting for comments on the somewhat high number of 1-star
reviews for this series.

Did you bother to see what some of them said?

On 17 Aug 2019 00:33:26 GMT, ray carter wrote:

Did you bother to see what some of them said?

Yup. Several claimed the lens assy failed to extend at power up. Other claimed various
nebulous comments like the camera "quit working". A few spoke of lousy images. And of those
that had asked for assistance from Panasonic, it seems unanimous that Panisonic's support is
not good. One person complained to support that the WiFi didn't work, and Panasonic's reply
was something like, "yeah, we know--tough".

--
croy

On 16/08/2019 23:39, croy wrote:
I've been eyeballing the Panasonic Lumix ZS80 (or maybe the ZS70), and was about to purchase,
when I looked at reviews on Amazon. There was only one review for the ZS80 (they lump ZS60,
ZS70, and ZS80 together in the reviews), but for this grouping I noticed 15% of the 261 reviews
were one star (!).

My Lumix ZS3 is going south, so I'm casting about for another backpacking camera.

I'm soliciting for comments on the somewhat high number of 1-star reviews for this series.

I've been pleased with my TZ90, its wide zoom range being the main
attraction. I've not had the issues reported in Amazon, and perhaps
it's more likely that those who have something to complain about will
bother to write reviews! Maybe?

Perhaps people expect too much from such a compact camera? Yes, the
lens is a little soft at the extreme wide and tele ends of the zoom
range, and the images are not as good quality as those from a MFT
camera. I've recently changed to a TZ200 which has a "one inch" sensor
coupled with a 15:1 zoom. Of course, it's not as good at the telephoto
end, and having the bigger sensor doesn't compensate for the lack of
zoom, but it should do better in lower-light conditions.

What has surprised me, to be honest, is how good the pictures from the
Pixel 3 phone are. The built-in HDR, and the default colour, contrast
and sharpness settings are such that the images from the camera are
excellent, at least on a 1920 x 1080 2 MP display, or A4 size prints.
Even in low light the camera can successfully take multiple images and
combine them, much less work to do in post-processing.

If your phone camera alone doesn't have the range you need, I think you
will be delighted in either the TZ90 or the TZ200 as a compact travel
camera.
--
Cheers,
David
Web: http://www.satsignal.eu

On Sat, 17 Aug 2019 05:48:02 +0100, David Taylor wrote:

I've been pleased with my TZ90, its wide zoom range being the main
attraction. I've not had the issues reported in Amazon, and perhaps
it's more likely that those who have something to complain about will
bother to write reviews! Maybe?

Perhaps people expect too much from such a compact camera? Yes, the
lens is a little soft at the extreme wide and tele ends of the zoom
range, and the images are not as good quality as those from a MFT
camera. I've recently changed to a TZ200 which has a "one inch" sensor
coupled with a 15:1 zoom. Of course, it's not as good at the telephoto
end, and having the bigger sensor doesn't compensate for the lack of
zoom, but it should do better in lower-light conditions.

What has surprised me, to be honest, is how good the pictures from the
Pixel 3 phone are. The built-in HDR, and the default colour, contrast
and sharpness settings are such that the images from the camera are
excellent, at least on a 1920 x 1080 2 MP display, or A4 size prints.
Even in low light the camera can successfully take multiple images and
combine them, much less work to do in post-processing.

If your phone camera alone doesn't have the range you need, I think you
will be delighted in either the TZ90 or the TZ200 as a compact travel
camera.

Thanks David! Just the kind of report I was hoping for.

--
croy

On Sat, 17 Aug 2019 05:48:02 +0100, David Taylor wrote:

I've been pleased with my TZ90, its wide zoom range being the main
attraction. I've not had the issues reported in Amazon, and perhaps
it's more likely that those who have something to complain about will
bother to write reviews! Maybe?

Sure, that's always the case, but still thought the 15% 1-star reviews was a little unsettling,
compared to many other point-and-shoots, which had lower (some as low as 4%) 1-star ratings.

If your phone camera alone doesn't have the range you need, I think you
will be delighted in either the TZ90 or the TZ200 as a compact travel
camera.

What do you think of the EVF? Would you want it to be better?

Thanks for your reply.

--
croy

On 17/08/2019 14:57, croy wrote:
On Sat, 17 Aug 2019 05:48:02 +0100, David Taylor wrote:

I've been pleased with my TZ90, its wide zoom range being the main
attraction. I've not had the issues reported in Amazon, and perhaps
it's more likely that those who have something to complain about will
bother to write reviews! Maybe?

Sure, that's always the case, but still thought the 15% 1-star reviews was a little unsettling,
compared to many other point-and-shoots, which had lower (some as low as 4%) 1-star ratings.

If your phone camera alone doesn't have the range you need, I think you
will be delighted in either the TZ90 or the TZ200 as a compact travel
camera.

What do you think of the EVF? Would you want it to be better?

Thanks for your reply.

Maybe they had a bad batch, but it might be wise to order from a store
which also has a bricks & mortar presence, just in case you need to
return the item. There are a few like that in the UK - Currys, Jessops.

The EVF is a significant advance on earlier ones, but different folks
eyes differ. For me, it is fine, but perhaps you can get to try one out
for yourself?

--
Cheers,
David
Web: http://www.satsignal.eu

In article , Incubus
wrote:

The EVF is a significant advance on earlier ones, but different folks
eyes differ. For me, it is fine, but perhaps you can get to try one out
for yourself?

Being able to adjust the dioptre is essential. What do people do if their
eyes
are beyond the range of corrections supported? I find it uncomfortable wearing
glasses while taking photos.

they use a corrective lens on the viewfinder.

On Mon, 19 Aug 2019 07:48:23 -0400, nospam wrote:

they use a corrective lens on the viewfinder.

"they" being the mfr? The user?

--
croy

In article , croy
wrote:


they use a corrective lens on the viewfinder.

"they" being the mfr? The user?

the user, since not everyone needs a corrective lens beyond what the
camera offers.