Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 Waterproof Camera Review
It’s not the most rugged, waterproof or compact of its kind. And its photos aren’t the best. But for some reason I really like this camera. Maybe I’m wrong.
The Price
$US400
The Toughness
It’s rated to about three metres and for drops of 1.5 metres, which places it at the lower end of the spectrum of waterproofing. Well, it’s not the lower end, but given the shock and dust proofing and the lens reinforcement system, I’d expect the makers of the Toughbook to best cameras like the fluffy Fuji z33 and the slimmer Pentax w80 waterproofs for depth. Again, I wouldn’t call this a weakness, but if the DMC-TS1 had one, this would be it.
The Visuals
The photos were among the best in low light, high ISO and daylight. There was a simple beach/surf macro mode which worked well enough. Colours were accurate, and I only noticed a slight distortion around the edges while zoomed out. (Many periscoping internal zoom cameras have this issue.) The lens went pretty wide at a 28mm equivalent and the zoom was almost top of the class at 128mm (only the Pentax did better). Images, overall, were second best to the Canon with its traditional lens system, but this camera doesn’t have that problem of a protruding snout which makes it a lot more pocketable. The camera has optical stabilisation, which is pretty kick arse. The uncovered lens caused some photos to look smudged, which is perhaps the rule, not the exception in these cameras. Shots are at 12.1MP, but you can get variations of that in 16:9 mode. (My favourite!) As usual, water photos are generally limited in quality by water clarity and colour, so, well, above the sea shots work fine.
The TS1’s video recording happens at a high res of 720p, stabilised and recordable in motion jpg or AVCHD lite, giving you more recording time and quality. It looks better than good.
The Design
I’m into the spartan, square design. And the camera’s responsive shooting, burst modes and menus made it the easiest to use without being overly simple like the Canon D10.
Yeah, I don’t know yet
The Lumix is a fantastic all-around camera that is somewhat tough and waterproof. I’d originally gone into this review thinking it would be king, but given the shallow depth rating, I may have to wait ’til I see the new Olympus in action before I give a stronger rating. Especially at $US400. At that price, the smaller Pentax w80 rated to 4.8 metres with decent shots and shitty video looks like a lot better of a deal. And the super cheap and small Fuji z33 does, too. I don’t know. I’m not giving up on this camera yet. Strong video playback is an important thing these days. I guess it’s my camera of choice and should be yours too (for now) if you don’t go beyond three metres down and image quality and relative pocketability is a priority. Until I check out that Olympus Stylus tough 8000 which has some really solid stats all around and cost a bit less.
Great images
Great case design and menus
Great video at 720p
Despite the all-around toughness of the device, only waterproof to a middling (not poor) 10 feet
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
I was really looking forward to this review as a part of comparing the other waterproof cameras on offer, and was then sadly let down by the lack of editing, checking and integrity of the overall article.
The second sentence: “And its photos aren’t the best.”
First line of ‘The Visuals’ section: “The photos were among the best in low light, high ISO and daylight.”
Pick one, or the other, but dont throw out the integrity of the entire article by completely contradicting yourself Brian…
you mention in the opening paragraph that its photo’s arent the best YET you tag it with having great images?
i’ve read many revues on underwater digital cameras and overall, this does seem to have the superior images compared to competition in its class.
thought that would be worth a mention.
others all greatly decrease the quality as the ISO is raised. some arent even good quality in the first place, yet this is quiet good.
Rugged is great but there’s no rugged camera that will allow a cable release so 1 press will wake the camera, focus and fire.
Been looking for a solution to mounting a camera on a motorbike on an extended trip and taking shots without taking your eyes off the road or hands off the grips.
chdk isn’t giving me reliable results on a Canon s5IS with a Ricoh release (4.5V).
Anyone know of any other options which might suit this problem?
Yeah, about the review. I’m not convinced that the picture quality is great.
After extensive research on this camera, DMC-FT1 (Aus model), i realised the picture quality is slightly disappointing because it’s quite noisy even in broad day light.
The user interface is relatively slow in comparison with other Point and shoot cameras out there.
I’ll wait until the next iteration when they fix its flaws. Afterall it’s Panasonic’s first rugged camera… i’ll give them a break.
This is hands down the best waterproof camera with HD video on the market at present. Unless you intend to go scuba diving there are no issues that aren’t common to other cameras of this form factor.
Oh and this would have to be the worst “review” I’ve seen in a long time. Shoot the author.
Go and have a look at http://www.lumixlife.com.au to see what this camera is capable of (filter on rugged bottom left).
Thank you for a great post. Plenty of information and clear details will sure help with the decision whether to purchase or not. Thank you for sharing. Would like to see the price come down just a little.
Kim
Thanks for the useful information. This waterproof camera has average features, design is good. But I always prefer Canon. You get fantastic design and features. Though a little pricey, they are worth buying because of the amazing features.
My Lumix died as soon as it got wet under a hose. Panasonic have not been helpful in this matter and i am extremelly dissapointed that my $600 has gone to waste.
Happen the same with me, I am in a vacation, and I was in a water park, the camera Lumix waterproof stop working after a few immersions down the water in less then a meter. I don’t now what to do, if I can ask for warranty to panasonic?