The Panasonic Lumix DMC ZX1 is an impressive digital camera. It offers extra zoom over more standard cameras with an 8x zoom lens. The lens has a focal length equivalent to 25 - 200mm in 35mm format. This means it has wide angle capability. This can be a big help if you are trying to squeeze wide scenes into your photographs.

The first thing to strike me about the Lumix DMC ZX1 was how quick it was to turn on and take the first picture. On top of that key features include the ability to shoot High Definition movies, image stabilisation and a travel mode that helps you to organize any photos you take by destination, date and world time.

To increase the versatility of the Lumix DMC ZX1 extra zoom becomes available when shooting at lower resolutions. The maximum zoom available is 15.6x if you decrease the resolution to 3 megapixels. The default resolution is 12 megapixels.

As well as the features mentioned above I like the simple design of the camera. You should also find the Lumix DMC ZX1 easy to use.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
Looking at this picture I would like to have seen a little more colour in the sky. On the day the sky was a darker shade of blue than shows here. Aside from that the camera does well. There is some detail lost from the back boat where the sun strikes it, but the brickwork on the building is in sharp focus.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
Considering the fact that the lens offers such a wide angle the sharpness of this picture is good. Having noted in the first shot that the sky lacked a bit of colour the Lumix DMC ZX1 has more than made up for it here with a very deep shade of blue.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
This photo looks about right. You can see how the extra zoom can get you in that much closer than a more standard sized lens. Sharpness is good once more and the colours look as they did on the day the picture was taken.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
Apart from a slight fall off in focusing on the very left hand side of the photo at the most distant part of the shot, sharpness levels are good. In terms of over all sharpness and definition in my test shots I would award the camera around eight and a half out of ten.

Outdoor Portrait
There is not a great deal to report here. This is a standard looking portrait shot and is inline with what I would expect from this type of digital camera.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
I like the way this test has turned out. Lighting levels are strong enough to light the photo and give an even light. The burst of light is not overpowering though and there is pink in the skin tones and only a small amount of light bouncing back off the face.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
This is a very bright effort. There is a lot less noise than I am used to seeing in this test shot as well. The camera has coped well with conditions.

Colours
On the whole the colours are more vivid than most brands manage. This is something I have noted with previous Panasonic digital cameras I have tested. I am unsure why the sky in the first test lacks depth of colour.

Macro
This is a fair attempt. The shot is sharp, but I would like to have seen the Lumix DMC ZX1 add a touch more brightness in places.

ISO 400 and ISO 1600
As you can see from the indoor portrait the camera is able to work well when light is not perfect. If you push the ISO levels up you will notice noise appearing, especially in darker areas of the photo.

Overall
On the whole the Lumix DMC ZX1 has come through my tests well. It compares well with most snapshot cameras and does a good, all round job.

Panasonic get 10 out of 10 for the improvements made with shutter delay and turn on times. A single shot took 0.2 seconds and five took 10.2 seconds. With flash turned on the times were 0.42 seconds for a single shot and 10.52 seconds for five.

The turn on time was even more impressive. This is the fastest camera I have tested up to October 2009. I was able to turn the camera on and take the first shot in 1.07 seconds.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

I like the look and feel of the Lumix DMC ZX1. It looks neat and tidy and the small grip area on the front adds to the camera in my opinion. A range of colours is available, with versions in black, silver, red, white and blue.

97.8 x 54.6 x 26mm

138g

Lithium ion. Panasonic estimates you should be able to take up to 330 photos in between charges.

Panasonic has built 40mb of storage into the Lumix DMC ZX1. You should be able to take roughly 5 or 6 photos before the memory is full. The camera is compatible with SD and SDHC cards.

Click here to save money on SD cards..

Very good. The control dial on top of the camera places key settings at your fingertips. I also find the Panasonic menu system easy to work through.

Picture quality - simple design - value for money - turn on time - shutter delay time

There is nothing that springs to mind as a serious weakness

Alternative cameras include the Olympus MJU 9000. This camera has slightly more zoom at 10x. It also has 12 megapixels and a wide angle lens.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC ZX1 does the job it sets out to do very well. The turn on and shutter lag times are very impressive. The camera takes a good picture in most situations and there are one or two extra features thrown in such as High Definition movies.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menu

Description:	12 megapixels and an 8x optical zoom lens
Ease of Use:	9
Features:	8
Colour:	8
Macro:	8
Indoors:	9
Value for Money:	8
Style:	8
Movie Mode:	9
Image Quality:	8
Build Quality:	8
Total:	83
Verdict:	This is a good all round snapshot digital camera. It produces good photos in most situations and the extra zoom should come in handy. Shutter lag and turn on times are extremely impressive.
Review Date:	October 2009
Related Pages:	Panasonic DMC ZX1 Specification Panasonic DMC ZX1 Sample Images Panasonic DMC ZX1 Features
Comparisons:	Canon IXUS 990 IS vs Panasonic Lumix DMC ZX1

	GBP 192.00
	GBP 194
	GBP 205.5
	GBP 208
	GBP 213.85
	GBP 213.99
	GBP 219
Click a flag for prices from other countries:

Camera	Rating
Panasonic DMC ZX1	83
Panasonic DMC FX550	83
Nikon Coolpix S630	81
Fuji Finepix F200exr	81
Olympus MJU 7000	81
Olympus MJU 7010	80
Olympus MJU 5000	80
Sony DSC W270	77

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Panasonic DMC ZX1