📷 Thinking of buying a compact photo camera? Do not miss this list of best compact cameras with buying tips and our 10 recommendations.
The recent birthday of someone close to me whom I esteem very much caused me to start looking for a suitable gift, specifically a compact digital camera. But of course, there are so many brands, models and features. In this type of situation, you always end up buying one and having the feeling that you have been scammed or that you have made the worst choice of your life. The fact is that after doing a little research on Google, reading reviews on other blogs, comparisons and opinions… I finally found this little bug that I am very proud of 🙂 Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30. Proud because when you want to buy a camera for yourself, you investigate and look at everything with a magnifying glass to make the right decision, but when it comes to another person with whom you want to look good, the stress and pressure multiply.
What group are you from?
In general, 100% of the readers of this humble blog LOVE photography, but a good percentage of them HATE SLR cameras. They are not without reason: a reflex camera is a stubby thing, with a bulky body and a not insignificant weight. These cameras could be used to do weights and lose weight, don’t you think? In addition, a reflex camera has the disadvantage that we have to buy different lenses depending on the type of photography we want to do. It looks like a scam!
Personally I couldn’t live without my SLR. Manias, what are we going to do? But I recognize that there is a type of user who normally does not need a SLR at all. They find a compact digital camera more practical, one that they can carry with them all the time, one that they can turn on and shoot right away with no fuss or fuss. It is a type of amateur who knows what they are looking for: a good camera with which to take good photos, period. No more no less. People who know that they will never dedicate themselves to professional photography, who are more interested in the practical side.
This article is for them.
One of the best compact digital cameras
Go ahead what I always say: that the “best” camera does not exist, there is a camera for each person, for each user profile and for each need. But if you identify yourself with the user profile that I just described before, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30 it will probably be the best compact camera you can buy right now.
What is so special about the Lumix DMC-TZ30?
It’s enough of so much talk. Let’s go to the concrete facts. Here I explain why this camera is, in my opinion, a little jewel of photography. As always, you already know that searching Google by the name of the camera you will find hundreds and thousands of pages where the technical characteristics of this camera are broken down. Here I will only highlight the highlights:
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- Zoom: 20X. It’s one of the few compact cameras (really compact, not bridges or evils or anything like that) that offer such a wide zoom range. To give you an idea, 20x would be equivalent in reflex cameras to a lens of more than 400mm, when most of us who own reflex cameras do not exceed 200mm or 300mm. 20X Zoom is amazing. It is also all optical zoom, so the optical quality of the photo does not suffer in the least.
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- Burst mode: The Lumix DMC-TZ30 is capable of taking burst photos of up to 10 photos per second. I repeat: 10 pictures per second.
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- Screen: Enormous. And touch, although you can do without the touch part and use the camera through normal buttons.
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- Video: Record video in Full HD 1080p up to 60fps (other resolutions are possible too).
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- Other features: It carries everything a modern digital compact camera can have: Panoramic photos, HDR photos, 3D photos, Image Stabilizer, built-in GPS, long exposure photos, manual and semi-manual modes like in SLR cameras, and a few other things plus.
- Megapixels: 14MP. I have left this for last due to the little relevance it has today in digital cameras.
Personal experience
There will be everything but I don’t know ANYONE who is unhappy with Panasonic’s line of LUMIX compact cameras. They are famous for being robust cameras. Panasonic does not expressly offer any guarantee in this regard, but I remember a Panasonic Lumix that I had back in 2006 that withstood drops, bumps, and even dropped it in the water and continued to work like nothing.
Price
The Lumix DMC-TZ30 It came out on the market for more than 300 euros, but right now you can get it on Amazon for 200 euros (sometimes even for less). I think it’s the best purchase I’ve made in a long time. I think it is a very well invested price, for all the features it offers. It can take a few years and it will still be a good camera. For those who have always been jumping from flower to flower, from camera to camera, not feeling satisfied with any of them, the Lumix DMC-TZ30 is the typical camera that one would want to marry. Forever.
Note: If you find this article useful please don’t stop sharing it with other frustrated would-be photographers who can’t find their compact better half. You’ll be doing them a favor.