Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2 14.1 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 4.6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 2.7-Inch LCD (Yellow)

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2 14.1 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 4.6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 2.7-Inch LCD (Yellow)

#1: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2 14.1 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 4.6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 2.7-Inch LCD (Yellow) Reviews!

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First of all to say that I am an ordinary user of cameras, a MacBook user and a kayaker. I have no intention of purposely submerging this camera underwater, so cannot comment on its underwater abilities... but now I don't worry about about my camera getting splashed on or bumped around while I am paddling on some river. I recently did both (splashes and bumps) and it still works fine.

My aim is to take clean and clear videos to post on my blog and send to friends and family of my "micro" adventuring. And this little camera fits my aim perfectly. It takes excellent HD videos and stills. No, it's not pro equipment but it certainly takes crystal clear HD video.. You can view my first (rather silly) video at [...] Everything, including the still images (except the one cloud picture at the end) on that video was taken with the DMC-TS2 (in the "Motion JPEG" mode), imported into my MacBookPro (10.5.8) and edited on Imovie 09 (8.0.6), and hosted at Vimeo.
Seriously, who can complain about this quality if you are not trying to be a professional photographer? ..

I think Mac users worrying about not being able to use the AVCHD-Lite are worrying about nothing. (OK, I worried about it too before buying!) I've compared quality between the finished AVCHD-lite and the finished MOTION JPEG using a tripod and 2 ten-second clips and there is little difference between the two. The AVCHD appears to be a little more contrasty but only noticeable if you do side-by-side comparison as I did. Both are equally sharp. File size is a tiny bit smaller with the AVCHD-lite but not a lot smaller on a ten second test clip.

My 8 month old MacPro laptop converts the AVCHD clips without having to buy extra software. (insert memory card into computer, open Imovie, file, "import from camera", import all, create "new event" and voila'.. there it is all converted and put into the new event in Imovie to be edited and saved as your finished HD .mov)
Of course different folks have different Mac computers so I can only know what works on mine. Software is available for 40 or 50 bucks for converting but why bother if your older Mac won't convert it..? just use the MOTION-JPEG mode of video recording. If there is any difference it is so small to be unnoticeable.
Battery lasted me 3 hours of on and off usage while I made the completed 5 minute video. No complaints on the battery life either.
I ordered a spare Panasonic Lumix battery as a back-up from amazon, but so far have not needed it while out and about.

The only downside I see to this camera is that the screen and the lens attracts fingerprints, which is not much of a problem at all. I carry a small lens cloth to use and then wrap the camera in the cloth and stick the whole thing in my jeans pocket when I'm walking around.

In the interest in transparency I did not buy this camera through Amazon but rather BH Photo. I take no chances on purchasing a gray market camera from companies I've not already done business with just so I can save 50 bucks or so. (If you don't know what gray market is, google it.)

Am I happy with this camera? You bet I am.