Panasonic ZS45

Panasonic ZS45 is Panasonic's Small Sensor Superzoom camera first introduced on January of 2015. The camera comes with a 16MP, CMOS 1/2.3" size sensor with a full resolution of 4608 x 3456. The camera is referred to as "Lumix DMC-TZ57" in other markets.

Panasonic released this camera in an effort to replace the older Panasonic ZS40 (Read Full Comparison) and then launched the newer Panasonic ZS50 (Read Full Comparison) to update this model.

The ZS45 is placed #42 out of 244 in Small Sensor Superzoom cameras and overall #491 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our collection. Please try out our Smart camera finder to get camera rankings based on your customized requirements.

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

The Panasonic ZS45 is part of a family of products. You can read the complete list underneath.

You can view the ZS45 from different angles in the gallery below.

Here is a list of pros and cons of the Panasonic ZS45 based on features which are generally regarded as important in a camera.

The sensor dimension in the Panasonic ZS45 is 6.08mm x 4.56mm (1/2.3"). The 28 mm² sensor can capture 4608 x 3456 pixels with aspect ratios of 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The camera includes Image Stabilization (Optical). In body stabilization is more desirable than digital stabilization as the latter may cause cropping.

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The CMOS sensor boasts 16MP and gives a native ISO range of 100 - 6400. Unfortunately, RAW files are not saved so you have less room to maneuver in post.

The picture underneath illustrates the ZS45's sensor size in comparison to other common sizes. The ZS45 sensor comes with a crop factor of 5.9 and is highlighted in green.

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

Panasonic ZS45 weighs about 0.55 pounds (249 grams or 8.78 oz) and features exterior proportions of 108mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3"). The weight of average Small Sensor Superzoom camera is 387 grams so the Panasonic ZS45 is less heavy compared to other competitors.

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Underneath is a shot of the Panasonic ZS45 alongside a soft drink to help you to have a feel for its size.

The top view underneath will illustrate the button layout on the ZS45.

The ZS45 houses an inbuilt lens giving a focal range of 24-480mm making it a 20.0 x zoom which is ideal and will allow you to zoom all the way in.

At it's widest 24mm, the lens offers an aperture of f3.3 and that's fairly sluggish and not very good in low light situations and you will probably find it difficult to capture a shallow depth of field. You would also need to increase your ISO causing noisy pictures. On the long end, 480mm is excellent zoom and comes with f6.4 making it quite sluggish and you will have to use slow shutter speeds.

The ZS45 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• Wireless Yes
• HDMI Yes

Digital cameras which include NFC and Bluetooth support can easily be controlled wirelessly with smartphones. You are able to copy pictures and in some cases alter settings with no need to connect physically with the camera.

A few apps also allow a Liveview and release the shutter in case you are not close to the camera. If the camera contains a HDMI out, it could be attached to an external screen. A lot of cameras enable you to charge the battery pack with the USB socket.

The highest possible video quality in the Panasonic ZS45 is 1920 x 1080 and it can save in MPEG-4 format. 1080p quality can provide a good balance for quality vs file size but 1080p will not give you much room to crop. The body does not offer a mic and headphone port so you have got zero control over your audio. It is probably best to get a different model should you require better audio in your video clips.

Panasonic ZS45 does not have environment proofing so rainy conditions can affect the camera.

The Panasonic ZS45 comes with a 3" tilting screen with a resolution of 1,040k dots.

Unfortunately the screen is not a touch screen.

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The ViewFinder specs regarding Panasonic ZS45 are the following:

• ViewFinder None

Viewfinders are really handy for sunny outdoor conditions which can make the camera display washed out and hard to view.

Panasonic ZS45 continuous shooting rate is 10.0 frames per second. The highest shutter speed is 1/2000s.

Panasonic ZS45 includes just built-in flash with no external flash support.

Panasonic ZS45 includes only Contrast Detect Auto Focus and does not have Phase Detect Auto Focus. Phase Detection autofocusing is more quicker and accurate compared to Contrast Detect autofocusing. The camera comes with Face detect which makes it useful for people photography.

The Sensor comes with 21 focus points to choose from. It also comes with Tracking Auto Focus for things on the move. Panasonic ZS45 has not got manual focus. Manual focus is good for low light situations or you need to have more accurate focus control.

The battery life in the Panasonic ZS45 is designed to last for 350 images with respect to the CIPA requirements which is higher than average for its class. The average Small Sensor Superzoom camera battery life is 316. Fujifilm HS35EXR has got the best (600) battery life for this group of cameras.

Following is a collection of Small Sensor Superzoom cameras which have the best battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Fujifilm HS35EXR
ZS45 vs Fujifilm HS35EXR600 yesnono

Nikon B500
ZS45 vs B500600 nonoyes

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Nikon L840
ZS45 vs L840590 noyesno

Panasonic FZ200
ZS45 vs FZ200540 yesnono

Leica V-Lux 4
ZS45 vs V-Lux 4540 yesnono

The following graph gives a summary of the Panasonic ZS45 for specific categories of photography. To find out more, browse to the specific section underneath.

The Panasonic ZS45 has a rating of 37 which is lousy, meaning that it is not acceptable for portrait photography. Taking portrait images favors heavily to sensor size, RAW support & potential to use external flash.

Coming in at a nice score of 69, the Panasonic ZS45 is a respectable pick to use in street photography. A decent street photography camera features a perfect balance of image quality and portability.

A moderate sports photography score of 56 means the Panasonic ZS45 is reasonably acceptable for taking photos of sports. A camera should have very good focusing plus fast shutter speeds for sports photography.

Portability is pretty crucial in buying a camera for travel. Over-all, the Panasonic ZS45 gets a nice 71 for a travelling camera which makes it a very decent pick to purchase for your vacations.

When you're looking to pick a digital camera for landscape photographs, the biggest factor will be image quality. The Panasonic ZS45 at it's modest rating of 48 for a landscape camera is fairly acceptable compared to its competitors.

A vlogging camera should really come with a articulating screen, microphone port and if possible image stabilization. Taking everything into account, the Panasonic ZS45 is not acceptable as a vlog camera as it comes to a lousy score of 34.

If you are in the market for replacements to the ZS45, here is a collection of the highest placed cameras that fall under the category of Small Sensor Superzoom.

The line graph down below gives you a summary of the ZS45 vs it's top scored rivals suggested above.

Here are a few more cameras you may regard as alternate options. To see a full comparison, click the "compare" link.