Panasonic Lumix DMCZR1 12.1MP Digital Camera with 8x
June 23, 2009 by Mike
Filed under Point & Shoot Digital Cameras
| Brand: | Panasonic | ||
| Average Rating |
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The compact body of the ZR1 houses a LEICA DC Vario-Elmar lens that ranges from 25mm wide-angle all the way to 200mm telephoto. In addition to its superb image rendering, the Leica DC lens lets you capture photos clearly without having to worry about hand-shake in all kinds of travel situations, thanks to the double corrective power of POWER O.I.S. as compared to previous models.Enjoy high-speed 1.1-second start-ups, AF speeds of approximately 0.27 second, and up to five consecutive shots at 2.3 frames per second with full resolution. You can also take up to 330 photos with a single battery charge (CIPA). This comfortable level of performance lets you capture even the most fleeting shutter chances.Simply switch to iA mode, and leave everything up to the camera. It automatically activates six detection and correction functions including POWER O.I.S., and lets you easily preserve your magnificent travel memories.The camera automatically arranges photos and movies using data such as the dates and locations of where they were taken. This makes it easier to enjoy your travel images in slideshows of photos and movies. more info
Be realistic
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Stop the nonsense! This is a tiny camera – smaller than a deck of cards with an F3.3 lens and a necessarily tiny ccd, and people are expecting low light capability from it. Get real! Photography requires light. When you give this little thing light, it does an amazing job! Yes the images at night with poor incandescent light and without flash are grainy. Does anyone remember the grainy images from film cameras with pushed 400 iso? If you want a low light camera, get a big heavy camera with a large sensor and a nice F1.8 lens. If you want a tiny gem of an engineering miracle that takes sharp, well exposed, true colored photographs, get this little Lumix ZR1! It does everything one can rationally expect, given the laws of Physics, and does them extremely well!
Now wonder it’s inexpensive
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I’ve been in the market for several months to replace my broken Panny LX3 so I decided to try Panny again. In a few words: “awful photos!” Don’t waste your money.
DMC-ZR1 appears to have one big flaw
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
We must be missing something with the date/time stamp. The other two digital cameras that we had gave us the ability to turn on or turn off the date stamp. We cannot find where this camera allows you to do that. All we can find is the ability to select which pictures you want to time/date stamp after you take the picture {only up to about 40 at a time}. and there is not a select all feature. You have to manually select each individual picture {even if you select multi} that you want to time/date stamp. Hopefully, someone else who owns this camera can tell me I’m missing something. Otherwise, we’ll be returning this one for one that has a true time/date stamp feature. With, having two young kids, the time/date stamp feature on the pictures is something we really enjoyed. I never thought that this camera would be such a pain with this feature.
Quick and Easy Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I used this camera for Christmas and was very impressed. When I saw a moment I wanted to capture, I simply pulled the camera out of my shirt pocket and snapped the picture. You push a button to turn the camera on and it’s ready to shoot in about a second and a half. Point the camera at what you want to shoot and push the shutter release half way down to focus which takes another half second. Push the shutter the rest of the way and you’ve taken the picture. It takes about two seconds from pocket to picture, especially if you have everything set to auto. There are of course numerous manual settings as well. Red eye correction, automatic correction for your shaky hands (like mine), 12.1 megapixel photos and a powerful 8X zoom as well as a built in wide angle lens. For me, its a very quick and easy to use little pocket camera that takes great photos without a bunch of fuss. If you the kind who likes to do everything manually, this camera may not be the best choice, bowever, there are some manual settings including ISO settings and many scene selections to choose from. A lot of nice features at a resonalbe price.
Fine Camera, what a Point and Shoot is supposed to be
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Already being an owner and user of two different camera types, DSLR and film, I felt I was missing out on the point and shoot category. So, I researched upcoming cameras in June and heard about Panasonic’s new Lumix lineup and didn’t wait any time to pre order this guy. It is very compact (smaller than a deck of cards) with a serious range 8x zoom. Just be sure you want a camera that takes all the manual control of picture taking before you buy it. There is almost no manual settings, other than choosing which “scene” you think your shot will be. Panasonic has some fun settings – Pin Hole, film grain, and the key word that people love “High Dynamic” mode, which is their attempt to create a High Dynamic Range type of shot. They also have an underwater setting, for those who will later shell out the money for the casing to take this baby in the pool or some other form of wet. The Leica name on the lens is what got me looking at panasonic cameras, and as far as I can tell, its a fine lens. It is no DSLR, but it is a great incognito camera.
Video is Average, but I wasn’t really concerned about it. — When I say average, I’m comparing it to video I’ve seen taken from a camcorder. The HD component is nice, but you’d need to be still holding it and hope whatever you’re filming is not moving too fast for a great recording.
I want to love it, but indoor low light pix just aren’t doing it for me
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I thought I had found the perfect camera…
8x wide angle zoom: PERFECT! Love the image stabilization. It’s lightweight, portable, with nice ergonomics and very easy to operate with one hand. Fits into a pocket or small purse easily. I bought the red one (love the color!) but am posting here since most of the reviews are under the black version (doesn’t amazon usually combine the reviews for various colors? amazon, are you listening?)
ANYWAY, I put the camera in iA mode and started taking photos of my dogs, indoors, in medium to low light. Even with flash on, the shutter speed is often 1/8 second in low light. That’s fine for taking pix if the pups are sleeping…but not to record the activities of my two high-energy terriers. Many of the photos are blurry, not from camera movement but from subject movement. My 5-year old Casio Exilim EX-Z55 is producing better pix under these circumstances.
I don’t doubt this is a a very good camera…just not ideal for my situation. I saw another reviewer mention having his kids do a “jump test” (which this camera failed) and I think I’ve got pretty much the same issues. I’m going to play with changing default settings for the standard recording mode (vs iA) but what I was really hoping for was to use the iA mode with no fuss. Not sure I’ll be keeping this one.
great camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
We’re very happy with the ZR1, after a few weeks (and heavy holiday use); the photos are great so far (they beat the pics from other, comparably sized & priced cameras that we’ve owned and used). We haven’t at all experienced the “graininess” problems that others are speaking of — our indoor pics are turning out very nice. Of course, the camera has a variety of settings (ISO, etc.) that you can play around with to customize your shots. If a true low-light champion is what you’re after, I imagine there are other, more specialized choices out there (which I expect will be be larger and/or more expensive). But for a basic camera this small (and at this price level), the ZR1 is a winner, in our experience.
Great camera design, POOR PHOTO QUALITY
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I spent weeks reviewing cameras and chose the ZR1…
I love the contruction and the interface is easy to use– many great scene modes.
The pictures looked great on the camera’s LCD screen, but once I uploaded them to my computer I realized they were not as crisp as I had hoped.
I tried many different settings and most pictures appeared blurry or washed out.
Luckily I purchased the camera through Amazon and was able to return it.
Back to analyzing camera reviews…
Best Compact yet
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have owned many cams, This is one of the best for its size and price. Very good zoom even in macro mode. Photo quality much better than I expected. iA Does an excellent job, No worries. Highly recommended! I use this cam 90% of the time the G10 10%. It’s always in my pocket.
So far its a go.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I can’t say a lot as I have not had a chance to use this camera very much yet.
So far I like everything about it that I have gotten to use. Good picture quality.
Easy to work with. So very light to carry.
Looking into returning it
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I’ve had this camera since November of 09 and from the first few shots I took from the camera i was disappointed. the colors were off. But I decided to give it some time and try it out in different environments and settings and now I can honestly say I don’t like this. In low’ish light situations it fails. Fuzzy (noise) pictures galore. Forget that romantic date picture in the restaurant. Decent light situations, like a house party or a Christmas party or a new years party? Fail, fail, fail. In all three situations my camera did the worst out of everyone else’s at the party. Now these were indoor shots in apartments with lights on every where. I tried the different settings and the pretty much all failed. Too noisy, off color, bad image stabilization. The worst part of using this camera for a social evening is that the shooting speed is horrible. Maybe I got a really bad lemon but sometimes the button to take the picture doesn’t want to work. So I’m just standing there missing the shot or making my friends stand around like idiots as my camera tries to take the picture.
Out door pictures suffer from off colors and noise.
There is NOTHING HD about the video shot on this. Don’t even try buying this for that.
I know I’ve had it around 2 and a halve months now but I want to look into returning this or maybe having the factory send me a replacement. If i get one and its better I’ll be sure to update this. For now stick with a cannon power shot. I bought one for my ex two years ago and her pictures blew my cameras away.
Remarkable for such a compact camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I have owned a Panasonic FX35 for almost two years and been very pleased with its handling and performance for a camera so small. When I saw the Panasonic ZR1 with double the zoom range (25-200mm compared to 25-100mm for the FX35) I decided to upgrade. Both cameras are the same size. The FX35 was good. The ZR1 is even better. Having 8x zoom in a camera weighing less than 6oz is astounding. Not only that, but there are two other new features I have grown to appreciate: High Dynamic scene mode and improved image stabilization (anti-shake). This combination means that virtually every photo is a keeper, especially if you shoot both standard and High Dynamic of the same scene and compare–one will be perfect. High Dynamic opens up images with shadows or dimmer interior shots in a more natural way than flash, which I only use as a last resort. The improved anti-shake system allows use of the full 200mm end of the zoom if you have reasonably steady hands in good daylight. Add the reasonable price and this is a great camera. After three months of use, I haven’t encountered a downside. Perhaps that’s because I also have a DSLR for more demanding shooting, but for people, pets and travel, it is the best I have owned and I’ve been a photography buff for 45 years and owned more than 30 cameras.
Buying decision: 720p HD Video, 8x Zoom, Power O.I.S.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The Lumix ZR1 is a very good snapshot and HD video camera.
I got the ZR1 around a month ago and I am still enthusiastic. The most important things besides picture quality were for me, that the cam should be fast and able to zoom while recording HD video. I hate the low res VGA videos, the older generation cams made. You can’t use them for anything. My first reference was the Lumix ZS3, which is a really good camera and it had all I wanted… Until I found out, that some experts claimed that the “Mega Optical Image Stabilizer” works a bit slow, so that when taking snapshots there is a longer focus time. But I was lucky, that Panasonic just released this little beauty here. The ZR1 uses a newer much faster OIS, called “Power OIS”, which is even faster than most other snapshot cameras, while canceling camera shakes very well. So for me there was no time to wait and get this thing.
If you are not so focused on speed, check out the ZS3!
Main differences between the SR1 and the ZS3:
SR1:
- 12MP
- Zoom-able 720p HD Video
- Power O.I.S.
- 8x Zoom
- 2.7″ display
ZS3:
- 10MP
- Zoom-able 720p HD Video
- Mega O.I.S.
- 12x Zoom
- 3″ display
Comments on the comparison:
- Megapixels aren’t the point anyway, because even 8MP are very enough for the normal user, but I had to mention the difference.
- Both cams record the same HD Video, so that’s also no point
- The OIS made a difference for me: “Power” is faster than “Mega”. I think they just fixed a software issue here.
- Zooming while recording video is a nice and (by this time) rare feature at snapshot cameras. Either zoom, 8x and 12x is huge! Of course 12x would be better than 8x, so this point goes to the ZS3.
- Also the display of the ZS3 is bigger.
Conclusion: If you don’t care how fast your stabilized auto focus is (perhaps you use tripods so that you don’t need a OIS, or have always time to make your shoot – it’s really NOT that bad, it’s just a bit slower), get the ZS3 (zoom and display is better)! Otherwise the ZR1 is perfect (fast and still fat zooming).
Perfect point and shoot
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
After spending months reading and comparing features and reviews of compact point and shoot digital cameras, I decided to take a chance on the Lumix DMC-ZR1. I say ‘take a chance’ because, if you’re reading this review, you’ve probably read (or are getting ready to read) a ton of reviews and, no doubt, noticed the range of opinions. Also, like all advanced technological devices, nothing lasts long, you can always get a lemon, and you’re replacing electronics faster than underwear. Long and short of it, I’m thrilled with my new camera. This is my third digital camera in 5 years (whoa! 5 years?) Well, I love taking pictures. The Lumix is everything you want in a compact digital without the huge price tag. A well thought out display. Solid construction. Feels good in the hand. Intuitive. Lots of scene settings. And terrfic pictures. I’ve taken indoor and outdoor shots, with and without flash (and the camera allows forced flash or flash-off). I haven’t taken a bad picture, yet. Colors are rich. Skin tones, natural. Inside flash doesn’t wash out faces (face recognition is excellent). I tend to do a lot of snap, snap, snapping when I’m on vacation so the image stabilizer is great for taking shots on the go. The wide angle lens ensures you’re outdoor shots will have drama. The superfast (and ultra quiet) zoom lives up to the hype. If you’re looking at Canon Powershots or Elfs, Sony Cybershots, or Fuji Finepixs (my last camera), I recommend you consider the Lumix. I think you’re going to find the performance on a par or better than those competitors and for a much nicer pricetag. Happy shooting!
Works for a novice like me
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I don’t know what else to say….been researching Lumix cameras for a while now. I was going to purchase the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 due to the high quality of reviews and the long 12x optical zoom. I decided to trade in the zoom for what I am told is a better optical stabilization. This camera still has an excellent zoom (8x), and it really works well for me. You turn it on and it is ready to take a picture in less than 5 seconds. I put it on the setting for automatic adjustments for taking pictures, and it takes the guesswork out of what the settings need to be for the camera. I did still have to turn off the flash once in a while manually. I am sure that there is so much more I can do with this camera, but to get it one day and take it on a trip, I was truly impressed. I highly recommend it.
Hoped for better
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I anxiously awaited this camera after having sat in front of my computer for 3 days reading review after review. I can’t say that my time was wasted because although I think I take great pics I learned a lot of the terminology that I didn’t understand previously. That being said I thought I had narrowed it down to exactly what I wanted. The zoom was important to me and the fact that this camera had 8x optical was great! However every single picture I took indoors that I zoomed in on was horribly grainy! In fact a lot the indoor shots I took turned out grainy and or blurry! I was able to get great outdoor shots but since at least 50% of my pics will be taken indoors this camera just doesn’t do it for me. The flash also seemed to go off excessively even when I was outside unless I was standing in direct sun light. I also did what I call the “jump test” I have my kids jump in front of the camera indoors on the auto setting and I take a picture of them to see if it turns out blurry. This camera failed miserably. I tried every setting and uploaded pics 2 separate times then gave up and shipped it back to amazon. I then went out and bought a canon sx110is, which I love so far, and I also bought the Panasonic Lumix FS8. The FS8 cost me $100 at Wal-mart and preformed great! It even surpassed my expectations on the “jump test”. I have owned a couple of Panasonic Lumix cameras but the Lumix DMC-ZR1 sadly fell short.
Good, but I like the ZS3 better
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I spent a lot of time lately reviewing compact digital cameras. I knew that zoom was one of my highest priorities so I ended up settling on the panasonics. I have now owned both the ZR1 and ZS3 and I prefer and will keep the ZS3, although it is a very close call. Both cameras are pretty much the exact same as far as operation and menus go. They each have iA and normal modes, to go along with twenty something scene modes like high sensitivity, high speed burst, portrait, starry sky, fireworks, etc… There is definitely the most control in Normal Picture mode, and that is the mode I take almost all of my pictures in. I never use the iA (intelligent auto) mode. While they are billed as fully automatic cameras with no manual controls, you can choose the sensitivity (ISO 80-1600, auto), adjust the exposure (-2 to +2 eV), choose a minimum shutter speed (1 to 1/125 for ZR1, 1 to 1/250 for ZS3), which , while it is not capable of extremely long exposures, it is effective at forcing a very fast shutter speed if you are trying to get action shots. You can also set the white balance. Both cameras also have a button for a quick menu which brings up relevant parameters you might want to alter in that mode so you don’t have to scroll through the menus. For instance, in normal mode, if you press the quick menu button, Auto focus mode, white balance selection, ISO, picture size, aspect ratio, burst mode, LCD power all pop up on the top of the screen for easy access. I only wish that the minimum shutter speed control would also pop up with the quick menu, Each camera also comes with an extended optical zoom, where you can get an extra zoom by reducing the picture size. With this feature, the ZR1 moves from a 8x zoom to 15.6x, and ZS3 goes from 12x to 21.4x. Here I must give a point to the ZR1. The ZS3 puts a much greater emphasis on video, and I really don’t care about video. There is a little red button on the back of the ZS3 that automatically records video, you don’t have to be in motion picture mode. In its place on the ZR1 is an E. zoom button. This button automatically zooms the camera to full tele (8x) and if you press it twice it automatically extends the lens to its full capabilities, 15.6x. On the ZS3, you have to go to the menus and manually lower the picture size to attain your extended zoom, rather than just press a button. I like the ZR1′s take on this much better, but if you care about video, you might like this part of the ZS3 better.
Of the two, the ZR1 is quite a bit smaller, and weighs 50% less. I didn’t know how much of a difference this actually makes until I actually held both of them in my hands. If size is your number one priority you might want to go with the ZR1. I never wear jeans, so I’m not sure how well it would work with them, because I know some people have complained about the ZS3 not being pocketable. I always wear basketball shorts or wind pants, and the ZS3 easily fits into my pockets. Though it is heavier and therefore feels less comfortable and less natural, I also have had no real problems using the ZS3 with one hand. The ZR1 also focuses a little faster than the ZS3, though this difference only becomes really noticeable when zoomed in under low light conditions. Both cameras seem to take about the same amount of time to extend to their fullest zoom, but the ZR1 can retract back to wide angle a little faster. The ZR1 starts up marginally faster than the ZS3, though this is also barely noticeable. When on a tripod, the image quality of both is good, I couldn’t tell a difference really in the two on my computer screen, but there is noticeable noise at low light in both starting at ISO 200. If anything, I think the ZR1 actually reproduces colors a little better than the ZS3, though neither one is bad. The ZR1 also has pretty good battery life for a compact camera. It actually uses the exact same battery as the ZS3, which has a much greater power need, so the ZR1 will get good battery life, and noticeably better than the ZS3. Where the ZR1 falls short is on indoor photos. The ZR1 has a much narrower aperture, so it lets in less light. This makes it hard to take photos in low light, and as a result, you must use a slower shutter speed, which will result in blurry pictures when taking handheld pictures. I would say that about half of my pictures taken inside with the ZR1 came out blurry. Panasonic says that this isn’t a problem because of the new Power O.I.S., but image stabilization can not fix everything. I am also not convinced that the Power O.I.S. is any better than the older Mega O.I.S. At any rate, more of my pictures came out blurry with the ZR1 than the ZS3. Also, the newest Panasonics, released January 2010, are equipped with Mega O.I.S and not Power, which is kind of interesting.
ZR1
Pros
- SMALLER SIZE AND WEIGHT!
- Feels more comfortable in hand, looks sleeker, more attractive
- E. zoom button in place of movie record button
- Better battery life
- Slightly faster focusing, especially when zoomed in under low light
- Faster response in general (very slightly)
- Has two additional scene modes that ZS3 doesn’t have
ZS3
Pros
- Wider minimum aperture lets it take much CLEARER HANDHELD PICTURES
- EXTRA ZOOM
- BETTER LOW LIGHT PERFORMANCE
- Better HD video, with an HDMI out port
- Better overall image quality
- Shutter control down to 1/250 second instead of 1/125
- I believe the ZS3 burst mode is a little better
- Higher resolution screen
Overall, the ZR1 is a very good camera I think, unless you plan to do a lot of indoor shots. I never use the flash with a camera if I can help it, so if you plan on using the flash whenever you are inside, the ZR1 will be fine for you. Without the flash, it was just too hard to get a clear shot indoors, especially if you have the lens extended at all. It is your typical compact camera size, with good speed and picture quality, and the best zoom I could find in a camera this small. I’m used to using my parents’ camera which is a lot higher end and has much more as far as manual controls, but there are not a lot of choices in compact point and shoots with manual controls. It is extremely easy to use, I don’t think anybody will really have a problem operating it. The menus are very intuitive, and the quick menu will pop up most of the things you might want to fiddle with to get the picture you want. The camera also feels very good in the hand, and feels like it is made well It comes with a CD that is the user’s manual, which does a pretty good job of explaining what all the scene modes and features of the camera do. For a camera with no manual controls this one does have a lot of features, and does give you more control than just point and shoot as some would imply. I was generally well pleased with the picture quality of this camera for the price. I guess you just have to be realistic and realize that one this small cannot excel at everything, and this camera was made for good lighting rather than indoor shots.
Its what I expected
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
After all the reviews stating that the camera took bad indoor shots I was a little worried that I might have purchased the wrong camera that cnet spoke so highly of. I found the in door shots to be natural looking without a lot of light brighting up areas that are dark to begin with. The picture I took look exactly like I see it. I love this camera its a perfect replacement for my old like new condition Olympus D40.
POOOOR indoor images
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
really really bad indoor picture quality. uncomparable with any other digital camera.. my six year old olypus c4000 took way way better pictures. ZR1 gave me the worst experience I could receive from a digital camera.
I will return the ZR1 as I received a ZS3 which is comparable to other cameras in the market ( i mean its way way better than a ZR1)
don’t be fooled by the reviews…they compare picture quality in good lighting (not even slightly bad lighting)…. and Dpreview and the top reviewers did not review it yet.
Like another reviewer said…
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Like one of the other reviewers said, this camera looks good on paper, but the picture quality doesn’t come close to other P&S cameras. I’ve used Casio and Canon before and they both took good pics. I still have an SD550 (7.1MP) and it takes much better shots than this Panasonic.
The noise and lack of sharpness in the panasonic pictures was more than I could handle.
If I could, I would post the two pictures I took (one with SD550 and one with DMC-ZR1). If it wasn’t for the smaller size of the Canon pic, you’d swear it was from the newer camera.
I just printed out the return shipping label.
great camera, and gorgeous!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this camera a couple months ago…and have taken more pictures in that time than I have in the past three years. It is just so tempting to take out this small, gorgeous camera and snap a photo. Would totally recommend it. Though I haven’t really messed with the features, I am sure I can take even more amazing pictures if I learned how to really use the camera.
Grainy pictures and videos
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I was initially planning to buy DMC-ZS3 because of its awesome reviews however decided to purchase this one because of small size and almost similar features. This is a feature packed camera for its price however its performance let me down. Almost all the pictures I took indoor came out very grainy and blurry. Even though this camera can shoot HD videos but the results are nowhere close to the quality you would expect from a HD video. Videos had some sort of noise even on a bright day. Pictures above ISO 200 came out very bad especially when I compared them to my four year old 5 Megapixel Nikon camera.
I borrowed Canon SD780 from one of my friend and compared the picture and video quatity in similar settings and Canon was far better in all respects. Initially I thought I might have received a bad piece. However, after reading few other reviews from other users who had similar issues I promptly returned it to amazon.
Excellent Value!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I use a camera virtually every day for my work and have had several digital cameras over the years. The ZR1 is an excellent value.
For me having a strong optical zoom is critical to my work and the 8x zoom on the ZR1 is very good. Even on the maximum zoom the new Panasonic Image Stabilization keeps things in focus. In the past I have favored larger more bulky cameras, many times a result fo the optical zoom, but the ZR1 is one of the tiniest and compact cameras I have ever used. In fact let me say this, for some people this camera may be too small, please note the dimensions and weight of the camera if that is of any concern to you. Along these lines, though small in footprint, the build quality is top-notch. It is one solid little device and nothing feels cheap about it. For example, the USB connector door has a great feel to it and snap open and shut with a satisfying click. Some cameras have very flimsy doors that tend to become loose or even break with repeated use. I do not anticipate that happening with the ZR1.
I like the ZR1 so much I have adopted it as my personal point and shoot camera of choice and will be taking it on my next vacation!
Not up to expectations
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
After reading the reviews of both Panasonic ZS3 and Panasonic ZR1 and I decided to check out the ZR1 as it was supposed to have the newer/better image stabilization and smaller in size. The size was definitely small enough and image stabilization was decent. The picture quality was quite good in bright light conditions but lower in low-light conditions, but this seems to be an issue with any of the digital cameras at this price point.
But where it really disappointed was in the video mode. I noticed that when I switch the mode dial to the video mode the brightness of what was displayed on the camera’s LCD screen became much lower compared to the photo mode. First I thought that this may be just an issue I’m seeing on LCD screen but when I transferred the video and watched it on my laptop and my TV I saw that the videos in fact looked dulled out compared to the photos. So pretty much any video that is shot indoors looked dull and kinda of poor quality.
I then decided to try out the ZS3 also and immediately saw that this issue isn’t there in the ZS3. To capture video on the ZS3 you don’t have to change the mode dial but simply have to press a “record” button and I don’t know if this has anything to do with this, but the videos were as bright as the photos on the ZS3. So the videos shot indoors are much better, both brighter and better quality, with the ZS3 compared to the ZR1.
I also did comparisons of photos taken by the two models and surprisingly I felt the ZS3 was better there too (despite the fact that ZR1 boasts 2MP more). Also, I didn’t find the image stabilization of ZS3 in anyway inferior to that of ZR1.
So after all my side-by-side comparisons I found the ZS3 to be definitely a better camera which I have kept and returned the ZR1. The ZR1 is definitely more compact than the ZS3 and does have quicker start up times (and possibly even faster zoom times). But, at the end of the day, in my opinion the ZS3 is a superior camera when it comes to videos and even photos, with the additional zoom capabilities (12X of ZS3 vs 8X in ZR1).
Great Point and Shoot
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great camera. Your hand can be shaking and the picture will still be clear and in focus. Also it powers on and is ready to take the first picture before you can even get ready. super fast super great little camera.
Soild point and shoot. I think, one of the best “all in one”
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Whats so good about this camera? Its one of the best “ALL IN ONE” cameras you can find. Why?
1) You can take very good 12mp photo’s with it. Not only does it have a very wide angle (25mm!), but the 8x zoom and Image Stabilization allows for a lot of flexibility.
2) You can take HD video’s with it.
3) Its very small. Yes, there are 12mp 10x-12x, HD capable zoom cameras out there (Canon SX200, Panasonic ZS3,…), but they are much larger.
4) It also has a lot of fun modes to take photo’s with (pincushion effect, high dynamic range effect, stretch effect, etc..)
I was hard pressed to find anything bad to say about it, BUT, after 2 weeks of taking photo’s with it, I did have to return it. I noticed a dark spot on the bottom left of the pictures (also visible on the LCD). I tried to clean the lens, but now I think its a dust particle on the inside of the lens or the sensor. Now, I think I got a defective one, and probably most of the ZR1′s out there are good, but since I did have to return it, I can only give it 4 stars and not 5. If I had to be really really picky, I didn’t like the menu interface either or the top scrolling wheel. I wish it could have been more like Canon or Nikon, but that may be just my personal preference.
All I expected
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Purchased this camera because it had a greater optical zoom than most cameras(10X), plus further digital zoom. It has a higher pixel count than the others in it’s class who had slightly larger zoom lenses. Not overly feature rich, but then how much do you really use them. Good size, able to control one handed and focuses quickly with good re-cycle time on the flash. Haven’t really used the video other to try it out, but with 12 megapixels, would think it is adequate. Only drawback is the actual trigger for the picture could be a little easier to find, but that is pretty picky.
Simple and efficient
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is an excellent dummy proof camera. Easy menus and features. Excellent zoom, very quiet and the video quality is great.
Excellent outdoor camera, poor low light indoor performance
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
After seeing drastically different review on this camera, you must be confused and puzzled. How can the same camera bring different results to different users?
The key is under what condition the ZR1 being used. After a month of use in different settings, I finally realize that the lighting condition is what make the ZR1 an excellent or a poor camera.
I have a TZ1 for 5 years and have been a big fan of it. But recently I can’t stand its slow performance so I looked for a upgrade. I finally decided on ZR1 instead of DSLR or ZS3(TZ7) because of portability and high speed focus. In outdoor the ZR1 does deliver. Today I took my 4 years old daughter out for roller skating and I was able to shoot both beautiful photos and video while I myself was rolling! I wouldn’t be able to do that with a DSLR.
But at indoor, the ZR1 failed quite miserably. It produced grainy picture. I have settled back to the TZ1 for indoor use now. I think the smaller lens of ZR1 is the root problem. I wish they keep the same lens size. That would be perfect!
So the conclusion? I can’t complain much because it costs only about $250 and it does provide a lot of value: snappy shooting, good picture quality, good zoom, ok video and ultra portability.
All you could ever need without bumping up to a DSLR
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a fantastic camera, shoots quick, starts up quick, quality is great even when set to 3 or 5 megapixles. its light, small, durable, and stylish. everything is easy to figure out and use.