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Panasonic LZ40

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ40 front
 
  • 20MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 1600 (Expand to 6400)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 22-924mm (F3.0-6.5) lens
  • 524g - 126 x 87 x 94mm
  • Revealed January 2014
  • Replaced the Panasonic LZ30
  • Read full specs
  • Alternatives
  • Size Comparison
  • FAQ
Portability
67
Imaging
45
Features
35
Overall
41

Panasonic LZ40 summary

Panasonic LZ40 is Panasonic's Small Sensor Superzoom digital camera initially introduced on January of 2014. The camera has a 20MP, CCD 1/2.3" sized sensor and has a max resolution of 5152 x 3864.

Panasonic launched this model in an effort to update the earlier Panasonic LZ30 (Read Full Comparison)

The LZ40 is ranked #109 out of 244 in Small Sensor Superzoom cameras and over all #646 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our database. You should look at our Smart camera filter to find camera listings based on your custom criteria.

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Below is a diagram of different factors used in the rating system.

Panasonic LZ40 history

The Panasonic LZ40 comes with a history of related digital cameras. Underneath, you can look at all older and the latest models as well as important specifications.

ModelVisualizeLensResolutionSensor SizeReleased
Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-LZ40 front thumbnailPanasonic LZ4022-924mm
F3.0-6.5
20MP1/2.3"2014
Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-LZ30 front thumbnailPanasonic LZ30
LZ40 vs LZ30
25-875mm
F3.0-5.9
16MP1/2.3"2013
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Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-LZ20 front thumbnailPanasonic LZ20
LZ40 vs LZ20
25-525mm
F3.1-5.8
16MP1/2.3"2012

Panasonic LZ40 Pros and Cons

Below is a shortlist of advantages and drawbacks of the Panasonic LZ40 based on aspects that are oftentimes considered necessary in a digital camera.

above average minimum ISO (100)
comes with mic socket
excellent zoom range (22-924mm 42.0 x zoom)
flash built-in
has face detect autofocus
has image stabilization (Optical)
has tracking focus
long reach (924mm)
rather wide (22mm)
screen size is decent (3 inches)
sensor resolution is decent (20 megapixels)
external flash not possible
fixed screen
heavier than average in class (524g)
lack of manual focus
lacks phase detect autofocus
lacks RAW format
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
missing HDMI socket
missing headphone socket
missing Time Lapse recording
no aperture priority mode
no shutter priority mode
screen has low resolution (460 thousand dots)
screen is not selfie friendly
sensor is small (1/2.3")
slow at tele end (f6.5)
sluggish max aperture (f3.0)
very slow continuous shooting (1.0 frames per second)
video res low (1280 x 720 resolution)
Photography Glossary

Panasonic LZ40 Sensor info

The spec of the sensor in the Panasonic LZ40 is 6.17mm x 4.55mm (1/2.3"). The 28 mm² sensor can capture 5152 x 3864 pixels and aspect ratios of 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The camera includes Image Stabilization (Optical). Optical stabilization is more effective than digital stabilization as the latter can easily produce cropping.

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The CCD sensor boasts 20 megapixels and has a standard ISO range of 100 - 1600. This ISO can also be extended electronically to a high of 6400. Unfortunately, RAW files are not saved so you have less room to maneuver in post.

The picture below illustrates the LZ40's sensor dimensions compared to other popular sizes. The LZ40 sensor comes with a crop factor of 5.8 and is highlighted in green.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ40 sensor size Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

To get an understanding of various aspect ratios, you should refer to the graphic below.

Camera sensor aspect ratios

Panasonic LZ40 dimensions

Panasonic LZ40 weighs 1.16 lb (524g / 18.48 ounces) and the measurement of the camera is 126mm x 87mm x 94mm (5.0" x 3.4" x 3.7"). The weight of typical Small Sensor Superzoom camera is 387g so the Panasonic LZ40 is more heavy when compared to its rivals.

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Below is a visual of the Panasonic LZ40 with a soft drink to help you to have a feel for its scale.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ40 dimensions scale

The top view directly below will provide the button design on the LZ40.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ40 topview buttons dials

Panasonic LZ40 Lens info

The LZ40 has got an inbuilt lens featuring a focal range of 22-924mm giving it a 42.0 x zoom which is huge and would make it easier to zoom right in.

At the widest 22mm, the lens offers an aperture of f3.0 which will be pretty slow and not good in low light occasions and you will probably struggle to capture a shallow depth of field. You will probably also need to up the ISO which causes noisy images. With the tele end, 924mm is superb zoom and comes to f6.5 making it very sluggish and you may need to apply slower shutter speeds.

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Panasonic LZ40 Connectivity

The LZ40 has the following connectivity:

  • USB Yes

Digital cameras that have NFC or Bluetooth compatibility are able to be controlled wirelessly via smartphones. You can copy images and oftentimes change camera settings without connecting directly to the camera.

Certain applications even provide a Liveview and hit the shutter in case you are not close to the camera. If the camera contains a HDMI out, it can easily be hooked up to an external display. The majority of cameras will allow you to charge the battery pack using the USB port.

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Panasonic LZ40 Video info

The max video quality in the Panasonic LZ40 is 1280 x 720 and it can shoot in Motion JPEG file format. 720p is low by today's standards. You should really aim for at least FUll HD quality for video. Although the camera includes a mic port, it is unfortunately missing a headphone port so you will not be able to monitor your sound levels.

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Panasonic LZ40 Weather Sealing

There is no environment proofing in the Panasonic LZ40 so you need to be careful in rainy or dusty conditions.

Panasonic LZ40 Screen and Viewfinder

The Panasonic LZ40 has a 3 inch fixed display supporting a resolution of 460 thousand dots.

Unfortunately the display isn't a touch screen.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ40 screen and viewfinder Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

The ViewFinder specifications regarding Panasonic LZ40 are below:

  • ViewFinder None

In those bright outdoor conditions which make the camera displays washed out and challenging to view, viewfinders will be very useful.

Panasonic LZ40 Shutter info

Panasonic LZ40 continuous shooting speed is 1.0 frames per second. The maximum shutter speed is 1/1500s.

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Panasonic LZ40 Flash and Hot shoe info

Panasonic LZ40 includes only integrated flash with no external flash support.

Panasonic LZ40 Autofocus info

Panasonic LZ40 includes just Contrast Based Auto Focus and lacks Phase Detect Auto Focus. Phase Detection autofocusing is a lot snappier & exact when compared to Contrast Based autofocusing. The camera has Face detection which can be valuable for portraits.

It has 9 focus points to select from. It also has Tracking Auto Focus for things that move. Panasonic LZ40 lacks manual focusing. Manual focusing option is useful in low light or you want to have more precise focusing control.

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Panasonic LZ40 Battery life

The battery pack in the Panasonic LZ40 is fashioned to last for 320 clicks according to the CIPA benchmarks which is comparable with its competitors. The usual Small Sensor Superzoom camera battery life is 316. Fujifilm HS35EXR has the maximum (600) battery life in this class of cameras.

Here is a listing of Small Sensor Superzoom cameras with the highest battery life:

Panasonic LZ40 for different types of photography

The following diagram indicates a rundown of the Panasonic LZ40 for different types of photography. To learn more, browse to the specific section below.

Panasonic LZ40 Portrait photography info

The Panasonic LZ40 gets a points tally of 40 which is subpar, and means the camera is not really suitable for portraits. Taking portraits favors greatly towards sensor size, support for RAW files along with the option to work with off-camera flash.

Photography Glossary
decent sensor resolution (20MP)
offers face detect autofocus
lack of manual focus
external flash not possible
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW format

Panasonic LZ40 Street photography highlights

Having a subpar rating of 45, the Panasonic LZ40 is not really suitable to buy for street photography. A decent street photography camera offers a perfect balance of picture quality plus portability.

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has image stabilization (Optical)
no articulating screen
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
lacks RAW files
heavier than average (524g)

Panasonic LZ40 Sports photography factors

A modest sports photography score of 47 suggests the Panasonic LZ40 is fairly suitable for taking photos of sports. A camera needs good autofocus plus fast shutter speeds for sports photography.

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amazing zoom range (22-924mm 42.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count decent (20MP)
provides tracking autofocus
max fps very slow (1.0 frames per second)
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor is small (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect autofocus

Panasonic LZ40 Travel photography info

Size is pretty critical in picking a camera for travel. In general, the Panasonic LZ40 gets a average 55 for a travel camera which makes it fairly acceptable to buy for your vacations.

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megapixel count decent (20 megapixels)
built-in flash
pretty wide (22mm)
long reach (924mm)
missing Time Lapse function
heavier than competition (524g)
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)

Panasonic LZ40 Landscape photography features

When you are looking to choose a digital camera for landscape photographs, the most critical factor is going to be image quality. The Panasonic LZ40 at it's subpar rating of 44 for a landscape camera is not really suitable in the current marketplace.

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rather wide (22mm)
nice screen size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (20 megapixels)
manual focus not available
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
lack of Time Lapse recording

Vlogging with Panasonic LZ40

A camera for vlogging should really come with a articulating display, microphone port and preferably IBIS. Taking everything into account, the Panasonic LZ40 is not really suitable for vlogging as it comes to a subpar score of 27.

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decently wide (22mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
provides face detect autofocus
does have mic jack
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
display isn't selfie friendly
video quality not great (1280 x 720 resolution)
heavier than competition (524 grams)

Panasonic LZ40 Alternatives

If you are shopping for alternatives to the LZ40, here is a list of the highest scored cameras which fall under the category of Small Sensor Superzoom.

The chart below offers you a bird's eye view of the LZ40 versus it's top scored rivals mentioned earlier.

Here are a handful of other cameras you might take into account as alternate options. To check out a full comparison, simply click the "compare" link.

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Specifications

General Information
Brand Name
Panasonic
Model type
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ40
Class
Small Sensor Superzoom
Revealed
2014-01-06
Physical type
SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Sensor type
CCD
Sensor size
1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions
6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area
28.1mm²
Sensor resolution
20 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio
1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution
5152 x 3864
RAW images
Maximum native ISO
1600
Maximum enhanced ISO
6400
Min native ISO
100
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points
9
Lens
Lens support
fixed lens
Lens zoom range
22-924mm (42.0x)
Highest aperture
f/3.0-6.5
Macro focusing range
1cm
Crop factor
5.8
Screen
Type of screen
Fixed Type
Screen size
3 inches
Resolution of screen
460 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Screen technology
TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type
None
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating
not tested
DXO Color Depth rating
not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating
not tested
DXO Low light rating
not tested
Features
Min shutter speed
15s
Max shutter speed
1/1500s
Continuous shutter rate
1.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation
Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance
10.80 m
Flash modes
Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions
1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p), 320 x 240 (30p)
Maximum video resolution
1280x720
Video data format
Motion JPEG
Mic port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless
None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS
None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight
524g (1.16 pounds)
Physical dimensions
126 x 87 x 94mm (5.0" x 3.4" x 3.7")
Other
Battery life
320 images
Battery type
Battery Pack
Self timer
Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage
SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots
1
Pricing at release
$219