Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Panasonic LUMIX DC-ZS70S, 20.3 Megapixel, 4K Digital Camera, Touch Enabled 3-inch 180 Degree Flip-front Display, 30X LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR Lens, WiFi (Silver)

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2022

Style: ZS70SSet: CameraVerified Purchase

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I'm going to give a review based on what I expected the camera to do, and there are a couple of reasons why I think it's a hands-down camera and who should use this kind of compact camera. It may not be for everybody, but I think I like it more than any other compact camera. I'm not going to complain that there are a limited number of features and they are not on par with features that you'd normally get on any high-end DSLR or mirrorless camera. I think it's just enough for me and those who have recently ventured into the photography world. I've been using this point-and-shoot camera for about a month and a half and these are my thoughts on it.⁣
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An intuitive UI and a foolproof system⁣
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When I first bought it, I had a lot of things going on in my mind. How the heck should I utilize this fancy kind of camera? Until it landed on my doorstep, I did a little unboxing and tested it out right off the bat without looking at the manuals. Toggling all the settings and features is a lot easier than I thought it would be. It all goes down to how patient you are with all the settings set to your liking. A very responsive flip-out screen makes everything seamless in focusing on subjects and tweaking exposure and ISO. You don't have to worry about the settings you use even after turning it off because it'll go back to the previous features and settings you set to. ⁣
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Portability⁣
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The purported weight of 11.36 oz or 322 g seems like a little burden to carry around in your pocket or fanny pack because it's very lightweight without a case on. I don't have to carry a huge backpack on my shoulder and whenever I have something to capture, I just take it out and shoot right away. Easy peasy!⁣
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Who is qualified to use this camera?⁣
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I'd say most of the beginners who are on a budget are looking for the perfect camera to start off with and not for claustrophobes. ⁣
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Focus accuracy and image quality⁣
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The focus in the AF mode is quite spot on when there is sufficient light on the subject that you're going to capture. If not, it may be out of focus for a moment, and it'll refocus again. The AF Macro and the Macro Zoom are incredibly impressive when taking pictures of bugs and flowers with sharp details around them, and the focal point where the light enters through the lens is not too terrible when shooting in a low-light condition with minimal blemishes and grainy elements. Equipped with a 20.3MP, the output from this camera is insanely good under some circumstances where there's enough lighting. If you're into those kinds of portrait shots, this camera may not be good for you as the maximum F-Stop is only set at 3.3, but you can put a fake depth of field in the background using an advanced software called Luminar AI. ⁣
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All in all, it's an impeccable camera for avid photographers with a reasonable price tag compared to other point-and-shoot camera brands and this one is affordable. Ease of use, portability, and great features are what I'm looking for when buying a low-budget one, and this camera does cut it and I highly recommend it!⁣
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102 people found this helpful

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C. Garrard

A Sleeper Powerhouse!

Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2017

Style: ZS70KSet: CameraVerified Purchase

Short review for the ZS70 here, my full review shortly will be published on my blog (google camera name and photographic-central). Quick rant/explanation: I'm giving it 5 stars for two reasons- One, I can't choose 4.5, and two, there were a couple one star reviews here when either the camera wasn't released yet or there was obvious user error. To me, those aren't valid reviews so the extra half point helps to mitigate them (since Amazon hasn't removed the reviews, and probably won't I'm doing my part to keep things fair). Moving on...

Review: There simply aren't any decent pocket-able super zoom cameras on the market that shoot raw. As a professional and enthusiast, I demand raw. I suggest readers who don't use raw learn how to so that they can get the most out of the TZ70. This camera has a very small sensor, but, it is a modern BSI CMOS, which means it's very efficient for the size of its pixels. As long as you have reasonable expectations from a sensor this size, it will probably exceed those expectations. Image quality from raw is much better than I anticipated. The lens is very sharp through the range (just don't go over f5.6 if you can avoid it, natural diffraction kicks in). Therefore the sensor and lens combo out perform a camera of this class. Even dynamic range is better than I could have possibly thought. Credit to technology moving on.

When you factor in all its features (a vast array from 4k video to wireless to time lapse video), it's top notch design aesthetics (minimalist, classy, utilitarian), excellent build and ergonomics, this camera is a powerhouse of a pocketable "all in one" compact. My only wish is that the lens were slightly brighter (max aperture through the range), but otherwise it's a camera in its class of sensor size that shadows all others. At first I dismissed the ZS70 because of its packed tiny sensor, but I was shocked and pleasantly surprised looking at the image quality in raw. 1" sized sensors are still going to outperform it mind you, but this sensor is much better than you might think. Once you get it set up, it's a joy to shoot with. That lens is so versatile for all kinds of snapshot photography- from landscapes to macros, action shots to long range stills or portraits. Its fast focusing so even actions shots are within reach.

Overall the ZS70 is everything you need in a little point n shoot, and nothing you don't. The controls on the exterior are plenty and holding it is quite lovely for one handed shooting- it's slightly larger, thicker, and heavier than the ZS50/60 but that is a good thing for a camera with such a long zoom. It makes a more stable platform when you are shooting at full telephoto. It has just the right heft to it for a camera of its size and type, welcome if you ask me. The five axis stabilization helps tremendously to keep blur at bay. Most of the controls are customizeable. The LCD is helpful for waist level shots and acts as a sort of angle bi-pod when you place the camera down for more stable shots (if you don't have a tripod for example). The EVF is welcome and usable, and helps in bright light and for extra stability when you are looking through it with the camera pressed to your eye/face.

I cannot get over how lovely its designed- all sides are nice n flat, nothing protrudes to snag, there's no obnoxious advertising of features on the camera itself, and everything appears proportionate and cleanly organized. The front and rear grips are improved and excellent. The design looks very Leica-esque - minimalist and beautiful. Great choice in exterior materials, the blend of flat fleck paint and satin metal. The black and silver versions are both excellent and classy.

If you print, you can easily make lovely prints to 13x19", and if you have some talent or stack your raw images, you can raise that number substantially (30x40" perhaps!). To me this camera is the sleeper compact out there right now. And it's likely to get more reviews and fans as a result.

Overall the ZS70 is the best of the newer ZS series (or TZ series if outside the USA) cameras. It's classy, versatile, discreet, minimalist, and utilitarian. I wish more cameras were designed like this. Keep it up Panasonic!

Edit: My full review is now up on photographic-central blogspot dot com :)

636 people found this helpful

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Avik G

Decent Camera - Beware Dust Getting Inside!

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2018

Style: ZS70KSet: CameraVerified Purchase

UPDATE (4 Star) After getting the technician report it said: "excessive amount of dust in lens and on barrels causing issue-unable to clean off- dust also in unit-deemed abused". I am not sure how to abuse a camera to insert dust inside it- and to clean it the charges were to be over $200. For having this camera for two months through normal use, I felt the need to write a strong email and request to speak to a manager, especially with my big trip coming up (which this camera was mainly for) with a few days left to spare. He decided to authorize the repairs in warranty this time and had said to always store the camera in a case and never put it directly put it in my pocket (which is what I tend to do with smaller cameras). I luckily got it back today with 1 day to spare before leaving the country and it looks great and has no dust on the lens. I still warn others though that this camera is prone to this dust issue, which is a major design flaw in my opinion- but use with a case and never in your pocket and hopefully this experience does not happen to you!

ORIGINAL REVIEW (1 Star) This is the second Lumix I have purchased, and after my experience with Panasonic I will never purchase a Panasonic product of any kind. My prior Lumix was great, however after a year there was dust/fibers in the camera that were ruining every photo (I would have to manually Photoshop it out of thousands of images). In that case, my Asurion warranty through Amazon came to the rescue and I got the camera good as new in under a week.

With this new camera, I had it for under two months and it already had the same issue- I am not sure how dust and fibers get in Lumix cameras so easily. Asurion said the camera is still under Panasonic's warranty so they cannot handle it until later. I used Panasonic's help form and mailed in the camera. After not hearing anything after two weeks, I decided to give them a call today and they claim the camera is 'out of warranty and beyond repair because of excessive dust in the lens'. I am not quite sure how it can be deemed as excessive- regardless of the amount of dust, cleaning it is the same process. Also, Asurion was able to clean a much dirtier lens and get it back to me in less than a week. How does the repair center for the camera manufacturer so incompetent in their abilities that they cannot perform a basic clean their own product while a third party, like Asurion, can have it back in under a week? When I asked why they had not contacted me and that they were simply not going to fix the camera and were just holding it, they said they didn't have my email address on-file. The hilarious thing is that to give them all my information I had to send my phone, address, product, serial number, and other info via my email address through previous correspondence with them. I told the Panasonic representative that it was unacceptable their product is unusable after 2 months after minimal use, with a simple issue that their technician team is unwilling to address, and that they weren't even going to reach out to me to tell me?!? The technician didn't even apologize- for any of Panasonic's incompetency in design or service, and pretty much had a 'just deal with it' attitude. I requested a manager call me back and am awaiting to hear anything.

I am going on a big Europe trip in two weeks and now I have no camera and am down $400. I am a very reasonable and patient person, but this is the worst customer service I have had in my entire life. Unless they fix this I will never purchase a Panasonic product again of any kind in my life- it is unacceptable. Panasonic's tagline should be 'Terrible Cameras and Customer Service™'

66 people found this helpful

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RG in New York

LOVE... THIS... CAMERA!!!

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2019

Style: ZS80KSet: CameraVerified Purchase

Did I say I loved this camera? Well I do. I love this camera. When it first arrived I was a little disappointed that it is a little bulkier than my previous cameras. I've purchased several generations of the Panasonic ZS series and have loved every one. Well, I was tired of buying refurbs and decided to treat myself to a brand new model, with all the bells and whistles. This was the first camera I've had without GPS built in. Initially I was disappointed that I couldn't get one with it, but connecting it with the cell phone's GPS was easy. On average it's taken about 13 seconds to lock in, the longest was maybe 20 seconds. I was concerned about when I travel abroad if it would work, but from what I've read, you bring your cell phone and even if you don't have phone or internet service, our US gov't tax dollars provide us with free satellite connections all over the planet. I haven't had the opportunity to test this for myself, but there are a few YouTubers who have confirmed it.

ANYWAY this thing takes amazing pictures. Granted, all digital cameras have their faults when it comes to focus and lighting issues, but for the most part this thing works like a champ and on rare occasions have I run into any of those problems.

The screen is crisp and flips up for selfies, and includes a 4-3-2-1 countdown so you can smile and look ready and natural for the shot. This also worked well when I had to use a mini tripod for a group photo and it 'just' gave me enough time to jump in - although the outtakes are pretty funny with my hair flying in the air as I hadn't quite gotten where I needed to be. And even THOSE pictures are CRISP.

It is such a pleasure to take a Panoramic shot and have all the images stitched right on the camera rather than bringing it home and doing it on the computer. How nice to see it instantly to ensure you've captured everything you wanted. I have yet to try it but am anxious to dabble with the burst feature along with another 'stitching' program which takes several photos you've chosen (out of up to 30[?]) and putting them together to show the object-in-motion in a series of positions, while everything else stays the same. THIS you have to use software for, but it's going to be great, I know it.

SUMMARY: The camera is great. As far as point-and-shoot cameras go, it is a terrific choice with lots of cool features. It's a little too big to fit in an average sized pocket but if you wear cargo pants, you can probably carry it in there. I chose to get a good case with a strap as I decided that most of the time I KNOW when I'll be taking pictures, and will want it out and ready anyway. The other reason is that these cameras are notorious for getting dust in, behind the lens and will need it cleaned professionally (trust me - as careful as I was it was still a disaster doing it myself). The GPS will work anywhere and tag all your photos accordingly. Panoramic shots, you see in an instant! Burst is terrific too, and the app and/or software will help to make some even more interesting pictures for you to share. You want this camera. I have absolutely NO buyer's remorse.

16 people found this helpful

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walter murray

Excellent update but not as light

Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2022

Style: ZS70SSet: CameraVerified Purchase

I have a ZS40, which I love. I sit a a bay window on my computer that looks out over my garden. I see lots of birds and use the camera to take shats using most of the time the full magnification. A couple of things don't function. The cover for the battery and SD card broke. It a really stupid design. I use some electrical tape. More critical the zoom can be sluggish and does not also extend quickly. It may just need cleaning. Its very light and small. The replacement is significantly larger and heavier. However, it has improved performance probably from the high resolution of the chip. What surprised my is that the improved screen makes it much easier to use the tiny images I am trying to find. Typically with my old camera I have to zoom in on a tiny bird from knit sat the shrub on which the bird is now perched. I can easily see the bird on the screen even before I magnify. The is very helpful when the bird is not in an easily identifiable larger object.
The cover is now much better designed but ironically the cover on the side to the socket, which had an excellent design now has a staid design. It has a hinge only at the Botton of the "door", which means it twists when you swing it open. When you swing it back it remains twisted so you have to fiddle with it to get it closed. Hard to understand why they just did not use the old design. It covers the two sockets one for charging and the other an HDMI.

2 people found this helpful

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Jennifer M.

Just an okay camera

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2022

Style: ZS70SSet: CameraVerified Purchase

I’ve purchased many cameras. I needed a new point and shoot for my overseas trip so I wouldn’t only be relying only on my phone if it got damaged. I’ve had Panasonic previously and wanted the brand again because it was good quality and easy to use.

Pros:
The zoom is great. I took photos of birds and was glad I had it.

I like the wifi feature with image sync app. I can transfer photos to my phone and share them on the internet. It’s also handy if you’re worried about losing the camera or photos and can transfer to phone them backup to a cloud storage app (Shutterfly, Walgreens, etc).

The LCD screen adjusts for easy use to take a selfie. It provided better quality than my iPhone 8 in this aspect.

Cons:
The photo quality is just okay but I admit, I’m pickier than most since I know a little about cameras and photography. I notice grain/noise more than anything.

I also felt the colors were flat and always needed to adjust them.

Camera is heavy.

Bottom line:
Certainly not as good as a DSLR, but decent budget camera for traveling.

2 people found this helpful

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Roi Soleil

Small but features packed

Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2023

Style: ZS80KSet: CameraVerified Purchase

A little complicated to learn all the features, but slowly getting the hang of it. Takes great pictures in the auto mode, and now experimenting with other more advanced settings. Also, the ability to use WiFi to transfer pictures is a nice feature to have. A lot going on in a small package, great for upgraded photos versus the phone...highly recommend.

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LGN

No WiFi via access point, VERY poor support

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2018

Style: ZS70SSet: CameraVerified Purchase

I ordered the Lumix ZS70 specific goals 1) a compact camera easy to carry 2) a large zoom and 3) Able to upload pictures to facebook/social media.

So
First the good:
Camera arrived in good condition, new with everything but a SIM card included
Entry level users manual included, full manual online
Intuitive and responsive touch screen on back (sweet!).
Standard type rotary dial on top for ASPM as well as effects mode
Excellent zoom
Quick focus, even at max zoom

Bad:
Not all the features or how to use them are listed in a straight forward manner in either the short or on-line user manuals
The dedicated viewfinder is really small (but not too small to use. Better than not having one for sure.)
No external battery charging station. Have to charge the battery in the camera which makes charging a spare a pain.
Mediocre picture quality at full zoom in moderate light (dusk)
AND THE BIG ONE - WiFi wouldn't connect to my home access point. Tried everything from disabling WiFi security (WPA2) to resetting router etc. Even went so far as to go to a friends and tried to connect there. No luck.

Now, to be honest, I didn't take many pictures with this camera before realizing it wouldn't connect to WiFi which was a deal breaker for me so I can't really evaluate the picture quality but from what I did take and review it took very nice photos at the wide to low zoom range and mediocre pictures at full, enhanced (~1000mm) range. The fact it can use RAW format means I could edit the photos afterwards but never got that far. This one is going back and Amazon, like always (cudos to them!), authorized a return and is sending me a replacement. I get the new unit tomorrow. If it works for WiFi I'll update this with a better STAR rating, if not it's going back and I'll try the Cannon.

So: Got the replacement, put the charged up battery from the first unit in along with a SIM card and.... NO WiFi connection. Bummer. I tried, I really tried, to get this little thing to work. I changed every setting I could on both the camera and the router but still no connection.
I will go one further here and say that Panasonic's "tech support" (and I use that in only the loosest of terms) is abysmal. Called the tech number and got a recording that basically says 'we have no phone support, go online'. So I went back online to their web site and, not only did they not have an active user comment/assist/problem section the best I could do was access a FAQ section that did nothing but repeat the information in the online user manual. I'm downgrading this unit from 3 stars to 2 for: 1) No WiFi to access point availability, 2) VERY POOR online and NONEXISTENT phone support. 3) Very limited user manual guidance

This ones going back too. Hope the Canon works better...

UPDATE:
Just got a call from Panasonic tech support (after waiting 2 days for the call). The tech told me Panasonic quit supporting the software program used to upload pictures directly from the camera to the web (Facebk, g-drive, twitt.. etc) almost two years ago!! When I asked him why the camera was still being advertised as compatible and the official Panasonic users guide still said it was available he said 'well, Panasonic quit supporting the software just after the camera came out so the documentation still references it.'.
Now how lame is that?
Downgrade again Panasonic - you should get 4 stars for what could be a great camera but just one because of poor decision making and deceptive marketing.

210 people found this helpful

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wjt

A Very Good Camera

Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2019

Style: ZS70KSet: CameraVerified Purchase

Oct. 2020: If you're photographing foliage with a lot of stems & leaf edges, turn off/down i.Resolution. The "i" isn't that intelligent & makes some nasty over-sharpened halos in some spots. My advice, if you like the overall look of the jpeg, shoot raw+jpeg & process the raw using the jpeg as a guide. This isn't needed all the time. Only some scenes have this problem.
8/14/2020 I never played with the weird 4K burst modes. I just mucked with them today. They tend to hang up the camera. They don't seem to offer much over the regular drive modes. They take up two programmable buttons I can put to better use.
7/18/2019 Low light. No camera of this type is going to do well in natural light at last light (9 PM here.) This one is noticeably worse than my SX720HS. And that's bad.
6/29/2019 With an upgraded SD card, I tried the high speed video. The 240 fps VGA mode worked like a dream. To access it, you have to have the camera on [Cinema Camera]M mode. WARNING: Objects in camera fall 1/8th as fast as real life. :)
6/24/2019. With hundreds of pictures down, I really like the flip screen. I also like the auto bracket. I tend to keep it on 1/3 stop; 2/3 seems to be a bit wide. I've turned off the touch screen. Moving the focus position with the tip of my nose whenever I use the EVF is right out.
6/21/2019. Video playback seems to be twitchy on this model. Apparently some cameras, some times have trouble playing back some videos. Check your memory card specs. Even with a high end card, playback is chancy. Recording is fine. Playback on a PC is fine.

6/17/2019. The only serious negative about this camera is the slight increase in size and weight over my old SX720HS. It's about twice the volume. It has reasons for that, with the added features, particularly the tilt-screen and the EVF.

I really like high-end, 1/2.3"-sensor, long-zoom, point & shoot cameras. This one is pretty close to the limit. Much more and you have to go to 1" sensor designs, which hurts your zoom range. I currently have:
-Canon SX280HS--great camera, still has features no one else has, terrible for videos (I don't care), battery hog (I do care)
-Canon SX720HS--basically the SX280HS perfected. I wouldn't normally upgrade this soon, but for,
-Panasonic ZS70--this camera, which I got for very short money (thanks Amazon warehouse)

* I wasn't that interested in the flip-up screen, I don't do selfies or vlogs. Boy was I wrong. It allows you to snake the camera into positions that would otherwise require a contortionist.
* I was interested in the EVF. It's good in dim light, but I'm used to eyeballing pictures from an external screen. Still a plus, but less of one than I thought.
* I was interested in the powerful bracketing functions. Still interested, but I'll need a bit more study to make it work.

Generally, I shoot in P mode or M mode. Both modes work fine on this camera. The autofocus is better than on the two Canons. The focus modes take a little experimentation to find the one that works best for you, but they all seem to work. 'Standard' color balance is fine. I need to play with 'Natural' a bit to see which one I prefer. The attached photos were all taken on standard. All on a single sunny morning walk after a rainy night in Massachusetts.

First impression? This is a really good camera, even at the list price.

23 people found this helpful

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Roofless

Didn't meet my requirements, returned it after a few days

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2022

Style: ZS80KSet: CameraVerified Purchase

I was looking for a camera for an upcoming trip to South America. Although my iPhone 13 Pro takes great photos, it has limited telephoto capabilities, so I decided to buy a "real" camera instead, one that was both compact in size but had good optical zoom.

After considering both the Panasonic Lumix ZS80 and very similar Nikon Coolpix A1000, I decided to order the Lumix. After playing with it for a couple of days, I decided to return it, primarily for two reasons:

1. The fonts on the screen and camera controls are very small, and hard for me to read without reading glasses, which I don't plan to wear outside. That might have become less of an issue after I became more familiar with the camera, but I didn't want to have to struggle with it on my upcoming trip. Note that reading the fonts was not a problem when using the viewfinder rather than the touchscreen.

2. The feature that allows you to automatically transfer photos from the camera to your phone using the Panasonic app was pretty quirky. Even though the camera can connect to the phone via Bluetooth, you have to connect the phone to the camera's WiFi in order to transfer photos.

A couple of other observations: there are two manuals, basic and advanced. A printed copy of the basic manual is included, but you have to access the advanced online. Also, the cover over the charging and HDMI ports is very flimsy and seems like it might fall off.

I can't evaluate the camera's performance since I didn't use it enough. It appears well built (other than the port cover) and feels comfortable in your hand. It's pretty small, so it should be easy to pack. I also ordered a case, extra battery, battery charger, and memory cards (none come with the camera), but returned everything except the memory card that I opened.

Sorry it didn't work out for me, but if your eyes are better than mine, the camera is worth considering.

21 people found this helpful

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