The Lumix ZS300/TZ300 is a pocket-sized super-zoom compact camera that looks like a refreshed version of Panasonic’s previous ZS/TZ100 and later ZS/TZ200 cameras, and the perfect portable travel camera. The difference between this camera and most others like it is its larger 1-inch type sensor, which immediately offers a jump in quality over the tiny 1/2.3-inch sensors found in cheaper point-and-shoot compacts.
The ZS300/TZ300 is slim enough to fit in a shirt or trouser pocket when it’s switched off but it nevertheless packs a massive 15x optical zoom equivalent to 24-360mm in full frame camera terms. Obviously the lens extends considerably when you zoom in, but this is still impressive in a pocket camera.
The Leica-badged lens has a maximum aperture of f/3.3 at the wide-angle end of the zoom range and f/6.4 at full zoom. It’s not the fastest lens, then, but it’s still decent for a lens with this kind of focal range. Optically, it includes five aspherical lens elements, one aspherical element with ED glass and three ED lenses, so even though maintaining image quality over a 15x zoom range is a tall order, Panasonic and Leica have pulled out all the (optical) stops.
The ZS300/TZ300 can shoot video too, though it tops out at 4K 30p (not 60p), and while it can hit 120fps at full HD resolution, it’s clearly a step behind the latest mirrorless camera video technologies – it’s fine for casual filming, but not perhaps serious vlogging. The rear screen is fixed, too, so you can’t flip it forward for selfies or talking to the camera.
This does dampen the appeal of the ZS300/TZ300, especially given its price. With a launch price of $897 in the US and £869 in the UK, this is pretty expensive by compact camera standards. It’s good to see Panasonic resurrecting some of its best point and shoot cameras of the past, but it’s obvious too that it intends to make some proper money out of them as it rides the wave of the current retro compact camera craze. Having said that, the previous ZS200/TZ200 is commanding stiff prices on the used market (£719 for an ‘excellent’ TZ200 on MPB in the UK, for example), so perhaps the ZS300/TZ300 new prices aren’t so bad after all!
- Panasonic ZS300 price: $898 at B&H
- Panasonic TZ300 price: £869 at Wex