Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20

By Jim Fisher

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 ($349.99 direct) ?is a marked improvement over its predecessor, the ZS10. Its lens isn't the sharpest we've seen, but the long-zooming camera does do well at higher ISO settings and features a GPS so you can easily geotag your photos. The 14-megapixel camera doesn't manage to better our current Editors' Choice compact superzoom, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V , but it is less expensive, making it a solid option for superzoom seekers on a budget.

Design and Features
The ZS20 follow the blueprint of most compact superzoom cameras. It measures 2.3 by 4.1 by 1.1 inches, weighs only 7.2 ounces, and has a modest grip on its front. The rear is dominated by a large touch-screen LCD, and there are a good number of controls squeezed into the svelte body. The ZS20 does make one departure in design when compared with its current competition?most other cameras in this class, including the Canon PowerShot SX260 HS ?feature a pop-up flash that hides in the body when not in use. The ZS20's flash is placed right on the front of the camera, next to the grip, so you'll have to be careful not to block it with your finger when shooting.

The lens is a 20x zoom covering 24-480mm (35mm equivalent) range. It isn't the longest in this class, but it is one of the widest. Only the Samsung WB850F ?is wider?its 21x lens starts at 23mm. The 3-inch rear LCD is a touch-screen design with a sharp 460k-dot resolution. You can tap the screen to fire and focus the camera, zoom the lens, navigate through menus, or swipe it to scroll through images in playback mode. It's not as responsive as a smartphone screen, and doesn't support multi-touch gestures like pinch, but is definitely above average when compared with other touch-enabled point-and-shoots. The touch input on the Canon PowerShot Elph 320 HS ?is unresponsive in comparison.

There are a good number of physical controls, including a Mode Dial, a dedicated Movie button, and a button that allows you to quickly adjust EV Compensation. Other shooting settings are adjusted via the Q. Menu, an overlay display that gives you access to White Balance, ISO, Drive Mode, Video Quality, Metering Area, LCD Brightness, GPS, and Image Resolution settings. Other settings must be adjusted via a standard text menu, which must be navigated via the on-camera controls?touch input isn't supported here.

The ZS20's GPS works quite well. It takes about 45 seconds to acquire a signal for the first time. Once enabled, the GPS does try and find at a regular interval when the camera is powered down, so you'll want to turn the GPS off when not using the camera if battery life is a concern. There's also Map functionality with landmarks, so you can see where a photo was taken.

Performance and Conclusions
It takes about 2.3 seconds for the ZS20 to start and take a shot, fires off a burst of 10 photos in just over a second, and records a respectable 0.3-second shutter lag. If you don't mind a slower burst rate, you can shoot at 5 frames per second, grabbing about 17 photos before the camera slows down to about 2 frames per second. The Canon SX260HS is slower in terms of shot-to-shot time, topping out at 2 frames per second, but is able to start and shoot in 1.8 seconds and has a slightly faster 0.2-second shutter lag.

I used Imatest to check the sharpness of photos captured by the ZS20. It is a bit lacking, notching only 1,662 lines per picture height, shy of the 1,800 lines required for a sharp photo. The Samsung WB850F has a much sharper lens?one of the best we've seen in a compact superzoom?it resolves 2,377 lines.

Imatest also checks noise, which can harm image quality and make an image appear grainy at higher ISOs. Noise is kept under 1.5 percent through ISO 800, and image detail holds up very well through that setting. At this setting images look a smidge better than those from our Editors' Choice, the Sony HX30V, although the HX30V has an edge at ISO 1600 and 3200.

Video is recorded in either AVCHD or MP4 format. If you opt for AVCHD you can choose from 1080p60, 1080i60, or 720p60 resolution. You're limited to 1080p30, 720p30, or 480p30 video when you choose MP4 format. Regardless of resolution, the camera does a great job recording footage?it's sharp and bright with autofocus. You can zoom in and out while rolling footage, and there's also a digital zoom that extends the lens beyond its 480mm extreme, without giving up too much in terms of quality. There's a proprietary USB port, which doubles as the charging port?no dedicated battery charger is included?and a mini HDMI port to connect to an HDTV. Standard SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards are supported.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 may not be the best compact superzoom that we've tested, but it's far from the worst. It leaves a bit to be desired in image sharpness, but it does run neck and neck with our Editors' Choice Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V in high ISO performance. Both cameras have a GPS and support 1080p60 video, but the HX30V, which is $70 more expensive, adds Wi-Fi. If Wi-Fi isn't a must, you should also consider the Canon PowerShot SX260 HS. It's priced the same, its lens is sharper, and image quality is comparable through ISO 800, but it's limited to 1080p24 video capture.

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