Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ80

Small but mighty, Panasonic's latest compact comes with a 30x optical zoom and the latest 4K technology, packaged in an attractive retro design. The camera feels very well made, with grips in all the right places for comfortable shooting. There's a bright three-inch LCD that's easy to view in sunny conditions, and it's the first in the line-up to feature touchscreen capability. You can tap to focus anywhere on screen, as well as make adjustments to settings, which considerably speeds up the shooting process.

The only thing letting the LCD down is that it's fixed. We've grown so used to vari-angle screens, which really do help when composing high and low-angle shots, particularly with street photography. There's also a small but serviceable EVF, but it's awkwardly positioned in the top left-hand corner. This means that the eye sensors can easily be accidentally activated by your finger while trying to frame a shot. Thankfully, you can turn this feature off if you prefer.

Speaking of settings, the mode dial is fully equipped with manual and automatic modes. A lens ring controls manual focus, aperture or shutter speed - depending on the selected mode - and a rear wheel enables you to alter exposure or cycle through the well laid-out menu. What we were especially bowled over by however, was the 30x optical zoom range. It brings all subjects within your reach without the added bulk of telephoto lenses, making this an excellent everyday option. However, if you're planning on printing your photos larger than 5"x7", you will notice that images suffer from an almost painterly smoothness and lack of detail. Shooting in low-light also amplifies this effect, so it's better to switch to RAW format and alter the amount of noise reduction.

Perhaps these observations regarding image quality may be down to the increased megapixel count. While last year's TZ70 sported the same 1/2.3 inch sensor, it only had 12MP and photographs clearly benefitted from this, exhibiting a good dynamic range and sharpness. Now Panasonic has upped the count to 18 and we're left wondering why. It highlights the lens' shortcomings, with a limited aperture range of f3.3-f6.4 that requires faster shutter and ISO speeds and therefore diminished quality.

Results are good in sunny conditions, but it struggles to capture better images than a smartphone in overcast weather. For this reason, we would recommend considering the earlier model if touchscreen capability and 4K features are not high on your list of essentials. 4K is more than just a video option, with 4K Photo and Post-Focus options that enable you to extract stills from footage. It's a feature that's available on many of the G-series of Lumix cameras, but we're not sure it's enough to warrant purchasing for this alone.

There's no denying that the TZ80 is pocket-sized and feature-packed, but even this can't make up for the hit-and-miss image quality. With plenty more standout superzooms available from Panasonic - including the TZ100 with a one-inch sensor - it might be worth saving up for a more solid performer.