It used to be that if you wanted a digital camera with a long zoom you had to spend around £500 for an overcomplicated device that looked and felt like a brick. Not any more.

The latest digital point-and-shooter to amaze us by shoehorning a 10x optical zoom into pocket sized dimensions, the five megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 squares up against the slender Kodak V610, which divided its identical capability between two lenses.

Here, Panasonic has done it in one, making for a more fluid operation and traditional build.

While it may lack a certain style, the DMC-TZ1 packs a lot into its compact body – including a proper optical image stabiliser to counteract possible image blur when using the full extent of the zoom, its lens supplied by renowned photo firm Leica.

There’s also the chance to extend the zoom range – to 12.5x – if you don’t mind a compensating drop in resolution from five to three megapixels, or up to 50x when using the digital zoom.

However we wouldn’t recommend the resultant quality loss as all you’re doing is enlarging a portion of the image. For backroom Spielbergs, there’s the ability to zoom when filming widescreen movie clips.

Though its £299 price tag is competitive it’s meant that the product finish, while reasonably solid, isn’t as high as could be.

For example, it would have been nice to see a built-in sliding lens cover instead of a clip-on plastic cap. That said, thumbs up for the 64Mb SD card, which made up for the meagre 13.4Mb internal memory.

That makes it usable out of the box, but it will only store a handful of photos at best resolution, so you'll still need to buy a bigger capacity card.  

The DMC-TZ1’s 2.5in screen blinks into life in a second, the lens remaining at maximum wide-angle setting.

With a control lever handily encircling the main shutter button, the zoom is slightly slow to respond and sluggish when it does, though on the plus side there’s no noticeable shutter delay, making it perfect for spur-of-the-moment shots, not to mention candid people snaps.

Allowing indoor photography without flash, a light sensitivity setting of ISO800 is manually selectable – extended to ISO1600 if you switch to High Sensitivity mode – but not at maximum resolution.

When viewed on a proper monitor, the TZ1’s five megapixel images are impressively sharp in the main, while the built-in stabiliser seems to do some good, delivering notably less camera shake at maximum zoom than some of its rivals.

Colours are also realistically rendered, though typically there is occasional purple-fringing present under close inspection.

It suggests the DMC-TZ1 is an ideal product for those who need a big zoom but don’t want to lug around a bulkier or more expensive camera, don’t need a huge resolution and aren’t desperate to have a product that conforms to the latest slim line fashion.

Related reviews:
Kodak EasyShare V610