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Panasonic ZS100

 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 front
 
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Push to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 25-250mm (F2.8-5.9) lens
  • 312g - 111 x 65 x 44mm
  • Introduced January 2016
  • Alternative Name is Lumix DMC-TZ100
  • Later Model is Panasonic ZS200
  • Read full specs
  • Alternatives
  • Size Comparison
  • FAQ
Portability
87
Imaging
52
Features
65
Overall
57

Panasonic ZS100 summary

Panasonic ZS100 is Panasonic's Large Sensor Compact camera first revealed on January of 2016. The camera has a 20MP, MOS 1" size sensor with a max resolution of 5472 x 3648. It is also known as "Lumix DMC-TZ100" in certain regions.

Panasonic released the newer Panasonic ZS200 (Read Full Comparison) as a way to update this camera.

The ZS100 is positioned #41 out of 65 in Large Sensor Compact cameras & over all #342 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our collection. You should try our Smart camera filter to see camera rankings based on your customized requirements.

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

Panasonic ZS100 family

The Panasonic ZS100 is part of a family of products. You can view the detailed list underneath.

ModelVisualizeLensResolutionSensor SizeReleased
Panasonic-Lumix-DC-ZS200 front thumbnailPanasonic ZS200
ZS100 vs ZS200
24-360mm
F3.3-6.4
20MP1"2018
Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-ZS100 front thumbnailPanasonic ZS10025-250mm
F2.8-5.9
20MP1"2016
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Panasonic ZS100 Pros and Cons

Here is a checklist of benefits and drawbacks of the Panasonic ZS100 based on aspects which are typically considered crucial in a camera.

fairly wide (25mm)
good sized screen (3 inch)
great zoom (250mm)
has built in flash
has face detect focus
has HDMI port
has manual focus
has tracking focus
high res video (3840 x 2160 pixels)
image stabilization (Optical)
in built zoom lens (25-250mm 10.0 x zoom)
includes focus by touch
lighter than average (312 grams)
quiet mode (1/16,000s)
resolution is good (20MP)
sensor size is decent (1")
supports RAW files
touchscreen capability
very good screen resolution (1,040 k dot)
can't use external flash
display isn't selfie friendly
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
does not have headphone port
does not have mic port
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
max zoom aperture not good (f5.9)
no articulating screen
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Panasonic ZS100 Sensor specs

The Panasonic ZS100 houses the Venus Engine chip. The sensor specification on the Panasonic ZS100 is 13.2mm x 8.8mm (1"). The 116 mm² sensor can capture 5472 x 3648 pixels using aspect ratios of 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The camera features Image Stabilization (Optical). Optical stabilization is better than digital stabilization since the latter can cause cropping.

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The MOS sensor has 20MP and has a native ISO range of 125 to 12800. The ISO can be widened digitally to 80 to 25600. RAW format is saved so you have more margin for error.

The image underneath illustrates the ZS100's sensor size in comparison to other common sizes. The ZS100 sensor has a crop factor of 2.7 and is shown in green.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 sensor size Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

To get a sense of different aspect ratios, you can refer to the visual below.

Camera sensor aspect ratios

Panasonic ZS100 dimensions

Panasonic ZS100 weighs around 0.69 lb (312 grams or 11.01 oz) & has exterior proportions of 111mm x 65mm x 44mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7"). The weight of typical Large Sensor Compact camera is 396 grams and the Panasonic ZS100 is less heavy as compared to other competitors.

Photography Glossary

Underneath is a image of the Panasonic ZS100 besides a soft drink to help you to get a feel for its size.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 dimensions scale

The top view underneath will illustrate the button layout on the ZS100.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 topview buttons dials

Panasonic ZS100 Lens details

The ZS100 comes with an inbuilt lens offering a focal range of 25-250mm making it a 10.0 x zoom which is not at all significant nevertheless it would certainly be useful in certain scenarios.

At it's widest 25mm, it features an aperture of f2.8 which is fairly sluggish and not good for low light occasions and you will find it difficult to get a shallow depth of field. You would also need to increase your ISO leading to noisy photographs. At the long end, 250mm is amazing zoom and comes to f5.9 making it very sluggish and you might have to utilize slow shutter speeds.

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Panasonic ZS100 Connectivity

The ZS100 has the following connectivity:

  • USB Yes
  • Wireless Yes
  • HDMI Yes

Digital cameras that have NFC and / or Bluetooth compatibility can easily be controlled wirelessly via smartphones. You can easily transfer photos and in some cases adjust settings without the hassle of connecting physically with the camera.

Some apps also stream a Liveview and hit the shutter when you are not close to the camera. If the camera boasts a HDMI port, it could be hooked up to an external display. Virtually all cameras enable you to charge the battery pack using the USB socket.

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Panasonic ZS100 Video details

The max video quality on the Panasonic ZS100 is 3840 x 2160 and you can record in MPEG-4 and AVCHD format. 2160p can provide a superb quality for video recording. You can downsample to 1080p to get cleaner results. Be wary of the substantial file sizes and make sure you have good SD cards with good write speed. The body does not have a microphone and / or headphone socket so you get absolutely no control over the audio. It is probably a better idea to buy an alternative model in case you want decent audio for your video clips.

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Panasonic ZS100 Weather Sealing

Panasonic ZS100 does not have environment proofing so damp conditions can damage the camera.

Panasonic ZS100 Display and Viewfinder

The Panasonic ZS100 has a 3" fixed display screen having a resolution of 1,040k dots.

Additionally the display screen is touch friendly so you can adjust focus points plus adjust settings by using your fingertips.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 screen and viewfinder Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

The ViewFinder details for Panasonic ZS100 are as follows:

  • ViewFinder Electronic
  • Resolution 1,166k dots
  • Coverage 100 percent
  • Magnification 0.46x

For sunny outdoor conditions that make the camera displays washed out and tough to see, viewfinders will be very valuable.

Panasonic ZS100 Shutter details

Panasonic ZS100 continuous shooting rate is 9.9 frames per second. The max shutter speed is 1/2000 seconds. The camera also provides silent electronic shutter of 1/16000 seconds. Keep in mind that the electronic shutter can cause "rolling shutter" in some lighting conditions.

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Panasonic ZS100 Flash and Hot shoe details

Panasonic ZS100 features just integrated flash without external flash support.

Panasonic ZS100 Autofocus details

Panasonic ZS100 features only Contrast Detect Auto Focus & does not have Phase Detect Auto Focus. Phase Detection autofocusing is a lot more faster and precise as compared to Contrast Detect autofocusing. The camera has Face detect which makes it useful for people photography.

The AF system has 49 focus points to select from. Panasonic ZS100 has tap to focus. You can use your fingers to shift focus. It also includes Tracking Auto Focus for moving objects. Panasonic ZS100 boasts manual focus when required for low light or you want more precise control on focus.

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Panasonic ZS100 Battery life

The battery pack in the Panasonic ZS100 is designed to last for 300 shots with respect to the CIPA standards which is similar to it's competitors. The usual Large Sensor Compact camera battery life is 301. Leica X-U features the maximum (450) battery life for this class of cameras.

Below is a list of Large Sensor Compact cameras that have the best battery life:

Panasonic ZS100 for specific categories of photography

The following chart gives a rundown of the Panasonic ZS100 for specific categories of photography. To understand more, check out the specific section underneath.

Portrait photography with Panasonic ZS100

The Panasonic ZS100 receives a rating of 64 which is very good, meaning that it is a respectable fit for portrait photography. Shooting portraits leans heavily to sensor dimensions, support for RAW photos in addition to the flexibility to utilize off-camera flash.

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has manual focus
resolution is good (20MP)
sensor size is decent (1")
supports face detect focus
saves RAW formats
external flash not possible

Street photography with Panasonic ZS100

Having a terrific score of 78, the Panasonic ZS100 is a terrific pick to use in street photography. A decent street photography camera has a perfect balance of image quality plus portability.

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image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is decent (1")
supports RAW files
includes touch to focus
lighter than competition in class (312g)
screen does not articulate

Panasonic ZS100 Sports photography details

A above average sports photography points total of 67 suggests the Panasonic ZS100 is a respectable pick for photographing sports. A camera needs to have fantastic tracking and fast shutter speeds for sports photography.

Photography Glossary
silent shooting (1/16,000s)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor resolution (20MP)
sensor size is decent (1")
features tracking autofocus
does not have phase detect AF

Travel photography with Panasonic ZS100

Weight is super crucial in selecting a travel camera. On the whole, the Panasonic ZS100 gets a very good 75 for a travelling camera which makes it a good fit to buy for your trips.

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lighter than competitors in class (312 grams)
offers focus via touch
good MP (20 megapixels)
built-in flash
fairly wide (25mm)
great zoom (250mm)
display isn't selfie friendly
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)

Landscape photography with Panasonic ZS100

In case you're looking to buy a camera for landscape photographs, the most important aspect is going to be image quality. The Panasonic ZS100 and it's very good score of 68 for a landscape camera is a very decent option among its competition.

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manual focus
quite wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is good (1")
supports RAW files
cannot swap lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)

Panasonic ZS100 Vlogging factors

A vlogging camera really should come with a moving screen, mic port and preferably image stabilization. Taking all things into account, the Panasonic ZS100 is just not suitable as a vlog camera as it comes to a terrible rating of 35.

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rather wide (25mm)
screen is touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Optical)
features face detect focusing
video res high (3840 x 2160 resolution)
lighter than others (312g)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
does not have microphone jack

Panasonic ZS100 Alternatives

If you need replacements to the ZS100, here is a list of the top ranked cameras that fall under the class of Large Sensor Compact.

The line chart just below offers you a summary of the ZS100 versus it's highest ranking rivals listed earlier.

Here are a handful of other cameras you may check out as alternatives. To check out a detailed comparison, visit the "compare" link.

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Specifications

General Information
Brand Name
Panasonic
Model
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100
Also called as
Lumix DMC-TZ100
Category
Large Sensor Compact
Introduced
2016-01-05
Body design
Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Sensor type
MOS
Processor Chip
Venus Engine
Sensor size
1"
Sensor dimensions
13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area
116.2mm²
Sensor resolution
20 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio
1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution
5472 x 3648
RAW files
Max native ISO
12800
Max enhanced ISO
25600
Minimum native ISO
125
Minimum enhanced ISO
80
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
Single AF
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points
49
Lens
Lens mount
fixed lens
Lens focal range
25-250mm (10.0x)
Maximum aperture
f/2.8-5.9
Macro focus range
5cm
Focal length multiplier
2.7
Screen
Display type
Fixed Type
Display sizing
3 inch
Resolution of display
1,040k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder
Electronic
Viewfinder resolution
1,166k dot
Viewfinder coverage
100 percent
Viewfinder magnification
0.46x
DXO scores
DXO Overall score
70
DXO Color Depth score
22.8
DXO Dynamic range score
12.5
DXO Low light score
559
Features
Min shutter speed
60 secs
Max shutter speed
1/2000 secs
Max quiet shutter speed
1/16000 secs
Continuous shutter speed
9.9 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation
Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range
8.00 m (at Auto ISO)
Flash modes
Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync., Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions
4K/UHD (3840 x 2160 @ 30p/24p), 1920 x 1080 @ 60p/60i/30p/24p, 640 x 480 (30p)
Max video resolution
3840x2160
Video file format
MPEG-4, AVCHD
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless
Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS
None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight
312 gr (0.69 pounds)
Dimensions
111 x 65 x 44mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7")
Other
Battery life
300 images
Battery form
Battery Pack
Self timer
Yes (2 or 10 secs, 3 shots @ 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage
SD/SDHC/SDXC card
Storage slots
Single
Cost at release
$700