Panasonic's 2008 travel zoom — 9.1MP CCD, Leica 28-280mm 10x, 3in LCD, 720p video
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 was the 2008 flagship of Panasonic's TZ travel-zoom series, announced in January and released in March of that year. It succeeded the popular DMC-TZ3, keeping the pocketable big-zoom formula while raising resolution and adding HD video. Unlike later TZ models, it carried the TZ5 name in the US as well, so there is no ZS-series twin.
It combined a 9.1-megapixel 1/2.33-inch CCD with a Leica DC Vario-Elmarit 10x zoom covering 28-280mm equivalent at f/3.3-4.9, stabilised by Mega O.I.S. A large 3.0-inch high-resolution LCD replaced the TZ3's 230k screen, and the TZ5 could record 1280x720 HD video at 30fps in 16:9. Storage was SD/SDHC and power came from a proprietary lithium-ion battery.
The TZ5 defined the one-camera travel kit of its day: wide enough for architecture, long enough for detail shots, and small enough for a jacket pocket. It remains a capable CCD travel compact, though there is no raw capture or manual exposure control, and high-ISO output is limited in the way of all small-sensor CCD cameras.
Used examples should be checked for zoom mechanism health across the full 10x range, as lens errors are the common failure on TZ-series bodies. Confirm a working battery and charger are present, look for LCD scratches given the large screen, and test HD video recording with an SDHC card. Sensor dust visible at the long end is worth checking on sample shots.