Panasonic has announced a new digital camera designed for photographers who want it all, and want it in their pocket. The new 12.1-megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 point-and-shoot camera has an 8x wide-angle Leica zoom lens. The new lens is only 3mm thick, allowing them to cram an incredible 25-200mm (35mm equivalent) optical zoom range into a truly pocket-sized camera.
I’m always on the lookout for the ultimate point-and-shoot camera. For me, that has to be a camera that will fit in my pocket. Lately I’ve been noticing a growing number of pocket-sized digital cameras with long zoom lenses. It seems that camera makers have identified the pocket superzoom as a desirable new category. The main limitations for pocket cameras have always been short zoom range and compromised optical quality. You had to either choose a good lens or a pocket-sized body – the only way you got both was if the camera had a really short zoom. But it looks like that might be changing. I believe Panasonic started the pocket superzoom trend with their TZ-Series, which packed a 10x zoom lens in a near pocket-sized package. The first models were a little big for a pants pocket, but they would fit. Panasonic’s latest TZ-Series camera, the Lumix ZS3 / TZ7 is smaller and has even more zoom. It’s still a little bulky to comfortably fit in a pocket, though. That’s where the ZR1 comes in. The new Panasonic Lumix ZR1 looks like it might be just the ticket for photographers who want a pocket-sized camera with a really flexible zoom lens. It’s about a quarter inch thinner and a quarter inch shorter than the ZS3, and the 8x 25-200mm zoom range covers a lot of territory. It’s not as powerful as the ZS3. But the dimension look like you can really carry it in a pants pocket. I’d certainly love to have a camera that size with that much zoom range.
Besides a great size-to-zoom combo, the new Panasonic Lumix ZR1 also has Panasonic’s excellent Intelligent Auto (iA) mode, which accurately chooses the best scene mode for you. I’m a manual photography guy but when I tested the Panasonic ZS3 I was surprised how well the iA mode worked. I found that 90% of the time it did better than I did using the camera’s manual modes. So much for experience. The ZR1 also features a new, improved optical image stabilization system. Panasonic claims the new “Power O.I.S”. system doubles the camera’s ability to correct for camera shake. That’s saying a lot because the previous, Mega O.I.S. system did a great job of ensuring sharp, usable photos in all kinds of lighting conditions. The ZR1 also looks to be pretty quick for a pocket camera. Startup time is a respectable 1.1 seconds, auto focus is claimed to be as fast as 0.27 seconds and it can shoot at 2.3 frames-per-second for up to 5 frames.
One thing the ZR1 doesn’t have is HD video capture. It has a movie mode, but the max 16:9 video resolution is 848 x 480. That falls far short of the ZS3′s 720p video resolution. So if HD video is a priority, the larger ZS3 will still be a better choice.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 will be available in September at a suggested retail price of $279.95. Watch this site for a pro review cause I’m anxious to get my hands on the new ZR1!
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 Press Release
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next page – Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 Photos >>
I’m confused about the statement “One thing the ZR1 doesn’t have is HD video capture”. On Panasonic’s website, the specs show “Motion Image (HD Movie)” as 1280×720, 30fps (Motion JPEG). I see the ZS3 also has 1280×720 for this spec category. The spec category “Motion Image (16:9 Aspect Ratio)” was listed as WVGA: 848 x 480 pixels, 30 fps (Motion JPEG) for both models. The only video capture difference I see was with this spec category…
ZS3 ZR1
Motion Image HD?16:9 Aspect Ratio) 1280×720 pixels 30fps N/A
So, I guess I just don’t understand the differences in these spec categories. Are these specs contradictory? Why are there 3 categories for video capture?
AVCHD is H.264, AVCHDLite is Pana/Sony simplified H.264. MotionJPEG needs much more space to save movie, but frame to frame edit is easier.
ZR1: w/o AVCHDLite, better sntishake, ZS3: AVCHDLite has no segment limit.
Both can record MJPEG, 2GB limit for each segment that is 8’24″ for &20P, but 20′+ for 800×480.
ZS3 firmware has a bug that if you stop/start AVCHDLite movie(no pause available), you need to take a picture before the restart or else the start record time shown are all the same.
Question: I see that the flash has a “forced off” mode. Is it possible to set forced off as the default so that the camera won’t revert to flash on when other settings are changed or the camera is turned off?
The flash may be set to “forced off” mode as a default. The actual menu option is either “Auto” or “Forced flash off” and it does not revert to either until you change it. I have my ZR1 with me right now and just verified this.
I set the clock and I can see date and time on the cammara but when I put the pictures on the computer, the date or time don’tappear on the picture, and I need that information on the picture.
one of cons repeated about DMC- ZR1 is “No AV output cable included “- what does it entail? What’s the best way to get this and overcome this con?
Also how the quality of video and pictures compare to Canon powershot SD980 and SD 970 (both without the zoom feature in video mode?
I” be really grateful for some advice.
Yenia:
“I set the clock and I can see date and time on the cammara but when I put the pictures on the computer, the date or time don’tappear on the picture, and I need that information on the picture.”
Could this be a computer setting? In my WindowsXP Explorer I can right click the row at the top of the right hand explorer pane (with the column headings) and select items to show such as: Created, Last Accessed, Modified, Size etc…
If I have a 2GB card – how any minutes of movie/video will I be able to put on it?
I set the clock and I can see date and time on the cammara but when I put the pictures on the computer, the date or time don’tappear on the picture, and I need that information on the picture.”