robgendreau
Explorer
I just got one of these and wanted to leave my impressions; there are lots of reviews (see links below) but they tend to emphasize stuff that may not be that important to outdoor enthusiasts like those here. And bear in mind it's not my main camera. I wanted something to use besides my phone for recording locations, and to use in really crappy conditions. This is in the category of "ruggedized" or waterproof cameras. And bear in mind we're talking point and shoots. The reviews can give you specs, IQ comparisons, etc.
For me, a huge criterion was the screen and whether it works in bright light. This does. Reviewers just don't take that into account in most instances. I could use this right up to the point the sun itself was actually mirrored in the screen. Menus are big and graphical, also a plus. But there's another way to use a viewfinder: via wifi.
The waterproofing is supposedly good to 43'. All the cameras in this category have consumer reviewers complaining about leaks. The TS5 probably fewer; the Nikon AW series probably more. The SD/battery slot is a likely culprit. I'd like to see them supply a replaceable gasket if you're gonna use this diving. But I also don't feel any of these are gonna last that long underwater without meticulous handling. But for my purposes, it's great. I can leave it out in rain and dust. No extending lenses to get messed up (so many little P&S cameras have them now these seem to be the only alternatives, besides a phone).
Battery life is decent, but wifi and GPS can chew it up fast. Buttons are pretty easy to use, but not with any thick gloves, except for shutter. A compromise with side for all of these. No add on lenses or filters, but not a concern for me. Aftermarket batteries and chargers available cheaply.
Again, I won't review IQ and specs, but this had two features I wanted. First, 60fps 1080 video. Nice to be able to use that. And a faster burst mode than the others here. I find I like to use that with cameras like this if I run across a critter or whatever especially since I might not have time to aim properly or frame it. Second, it has built in time lapse. It doesn't have tremendous control over frequency, but it is fun to just set it up outside and let 'er rip.
GPS and other geo data. I wanted to use something besides my phone and/or a data logger to keep geo info. This does that. But the acquisition times seem to be horrible. Get out of car, turn on, take photo of grizzly. No GPS. Worse, it will report a spurious (not inaccurate, but off-the-planet bad) location so it will seem like you have geo info. Working on seeing if I can fix this. The odd thing is that while the display sometimes shows no GPS info the camera obviously had it since the photos taken then were accurate. You can also use it to keep a GPS track log, which can be exported as NMEA or KML. Worked pretty well and was reasonably accurate. Some of the cameras have built in maps, but since they were topos or customizable I passed. It will find city, state, country, and some POIs. These were pretty worthless to me.
The camera also records altitude from an altimeter, not just GPS. It will keep a log of that as well, and does depth. Relately it keeps a 24hr atmospheric pressure graph running.
And it has a compass. So you can keep track of the direction you're facing when taking photos. This gets kept in exif data. Nice. And reasonably accurate. A little compass needle can show on the display. But it doesn't do anything like waypoints or go to... type nav. Sheesh, it's a camera.
Wifi. I own a EyeFi card and have used it. Sorta nice for certain things. This camera does most of what that card does, but with a much clunkier interface. But the controls for the wifi are right in the camera menus. It even has a dedicated "wifi" button to get you right to them. The camera can connect to a LAN. You go into its menus, give the SSID (name) of the network and enter the password (uses an old phone-type keyboard). Or you can use it to connect peer-to-peer; in that case, the camera broadcasts its own network and you connect from your mobile device via Settings and then to Panasonic's Image App (iPhone, iPad). You can also connect that app via LAN if you first connect the camera to the LAN, and then the phone to the LAN. The reception and broadcast range of the camera isn't too great. Like 25'. Of course you can effectively extend that if your LAN reaches a long way (camera closer to router, computer or smartphone much further away).
There are several things you can do with this wifi connection. Like the EyeFi, you can send photos you're already shot, singly or in batch, to a designated folder on a computer, or to your mobile device. You can upload to Flickr, Picasa, etc, via an intermediary website called "Lumix Club" which Panasonic runs. This isn't particularly impressive, although it can be handy (I did it with camera still wet to avoid water intrusion). Faster just to copy the SD card. Another way this is handy is with iOS devices, since unless you have the adapter you can't read an SD card. You can also transfer photos as they're shot. Sort of nice when you're taking pictures and sending them to a phone so someone can watch. You could also send them to a DLNA capable device; I haven't tried that.
The more impressive wifi use, however, is remote shooting. I didn't buy the camera for that, but I gotta say that having that feature in a small camera is really nice. You make a connection via the LAN or peer-to-peer with the camera, and the Image App acts as a viewfinder. There's lag, for sure, but very usuable. I set up the camera as a trail cam by mounting it near a nest. Hid nearby and triggered the shutter remotely. You can adjust zoom and some other parameters remotely as well. The app has a butt ugly interface, and documentation is terrible, but it works well. It as also nice to use an iPhone as the viewfinder while taking macro shots or pole shots so I didn't have to bend down. Eliminates the need for a fold-out display. Kinda handy if you have it on a tripod as well. If you could extend the range you could do some interesting things with this. I haven't tried my directional wifi antenna with it, but I will. I could see this becoming an essential feature for all my point and shoots from now on.
In sum I'm liking this little guy. Wish the GPS was faster, but hey. Now I've got something I can whip out at a moments notice, and I can stop wrecking my iPhones by using them in wet and messy conditions (since duh I sometimes do need it to make calls).
And I was thinking of getting a trail cam anyway, so this may suffice for my needs. It doesn't do motion detection, but the time lapse is often a good way to capture critter photos anyway (motion detection can often get you just one end of an animal, for example). Another way to go on that, however, would be a Canon D10 or maybe D20 (older versions of the same type of camera as the TS's) with CHDK, which I believe does motion detection for that model (at least it does with the other Canon point and shoots I've used it on). And CHDK does time lapse even better, with for example a countdown to time lapse script.
Here's some reviews:
http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/ro...nderwater-camera-group-test-2013-verdict.html
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-ts5-ft5/5
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/2013-waterproof-roundup
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/waterproof-2013/waterproofA.HTM
Rob
For me, a huge criterion was the screen and whether it works in bright light. This does. Reviewers just don't take that into account in most instances. I could use this right up to the point the sun itself was actually mirrored in the screen. Menus are big and graphical, also a plus. But there's another way to use a viewfinder: via wifi.
The waterproofing is supposedly good to 43'. All the cameras in this category have consumer reviewers complaining about leaks. The TS5 probably fewer; the Nikon AW series probably more. The SD/battery slot is a likely culprit. I'd like to see them supply a replaceable gasket if you're gonna use this diving. But I also don't feel any of these are gonna last that long underwater without meticulous handling. But for my purposes, it's great. I can leave it out in rain and dust. No extending lenses to get messed up (so many little P&S cameras have them now these seem to be the only alternatives, besides a phone).
Battery life is decent, but wifi and GPS can chew it up fast. Buttons are pretty easy to use, but not with any thick gloves, except for shutter. A compromise with side for all of these. No add on lenses or filters, but not a concern for me. Aftermarket batteries and chargers available cheaply.
Again, I won't review IQ and specs, but this had two features I wanted. First, 60fps 1080 video. Nice to be able to use that. And a faster burst mode than the others here. I find I like to use that with cameras like this if I run across a critter or whatever especially since I might not have time to aim properly or frame it. Second, it has built in time lapse. It doesn't have tremendous control over frequency, but it is fun to just set it up outside and let 'er rip.
GPS and other geo data. I wanted to use something besides my phone and/or a data logger to keep geo info. This does that. But the acquisition times seem to be horrible. Get out of car, turn on, take photo of grizzly. No GPS. Worse, it will report a spurious (not inaccurate, but off-the-planet bad) location so it will seem like you have geo info. Working on seeing if I can fix this. The odd thing is that while the display sometimes shows no GPS info the camera obviously had it since the photos taken then were accurate. You can also use it to keep a GPS track log, which can be exported as NMEA or KML. Worked pretty well and was reasonably accurate. Some of the cameras have built in maps, but since they were topos or customizable I passed. It will find city, state, country, and some POIs. These were pretty worthless to me.
The camera also records altitude from an altimeter, not just GPS. It will keep a log of that as well, and does depth. Relately it keeps a 24hr atmospheric pressure graph running.
And it has a compass. So you can keep track of the direction you're facing when taking photos. This gets kept in exif data. Nice. And reasonably accurate. A little compass needle can show on the display. But it doesn't do anything like waypoints or go to... type nav. Sheesh, it's a camera.
Wifi. I own a EyeFi card and have used it. Sorta nice for certain things. This camera does most of what that card does, but with a much clunkier interface. But the controls for the wifi are right in the camera menus. It even has a dedicated "wifi" button to get you right to them. The camera can connect to a LAN. You go into its menus, give the SSID (name) of the network and enter the password (uses an old phone-type keyboard). Or you can use it to connect peer-to-peer; in that case, the camera broadcasts its own network and you connect from your mobile device via Settings and then to Panasonic's Image App (iPhone, iPad). You can also connect that app via LAN if you first connect the camera to the LAN, and then the phone to the LAN. The reception and broadcast range of the camera isn't too great. Like 25'. Of course you can effectively extend that if your LAN reaches a long way (camera closer to router, computer or smartphone much further away).
There are several things you can do with this wifi connection. Like the EyeFi, you can send photos you're already shot, singly or in batch, to a designated folder on a computer, or to your mobile device. You can upload to Flickr, Picasa, etc, via an intermediary website called "Lumix Club" which Panasonic runs. This isn't particularly impressive, although it can be handy (I did it with camera still wet to avoid water intrusion). Faster just to copy the SD card. Another way this is handy is with iOS devices, since unless you have the adapter you can't read an SD card. You can also transfer photos as they're shot. Sort of nice when you're taking pictures and sending them to a phone so someone can watch. You could also send them to a DLNA capable device; I haven't tried that.
The more impressive wifi use, however, is remote shooting. I didn't buy the camera for that, but I gotta say that having that feature in a small camera is really nice. You make a connection via the LAN or peer-to-peer with the camera, and the Image App acts as a viewfinder. There's lag, for sure, but very usuable. I set up the camera as a trail cam by mounting it near a nest. Hid nearby and triggered the shutter remotely. You can adjust zoom and some other parameters remotely as well. The app has a butt ugly interface, and documentation is terrible, but it works well. It as also nice to use an iPhone as the viewfinder while taking macro shots or pole shots so I didn't have to bend down. Eliminates the need for a fold-out display. Kinda handy if you have it on a tripod as well. If you could extend the range you could do some interesting things with this. I haven't tried my directional wifi antenna with it, but I will. I could see this becoming an essential feature for all my point and shoots from now on.
In sum I'm liking this little guy. Wish the GPS was faster, but hey. Now I've got something I can whip out at a moments notice, and I can stop wrecking my iPhones by using them in wet and messy conditions (since duh I sometimes do need it to make calls).
And I was thinking of getting a trail cam anyway, so this may suffice for my needs. It doesn't do motion detection, but the time lapse is often a good way to capture critter photos anyway (motion detection can often get you just one end of an animal, for example). Another way to go on that, however, would be a Canon D10 or maybe D20 (older versions of the same type of camera as the TS's) with CHDK, which I believe does motion detection for that model (at least it does with the other Canon point and shoots I've used it on). And CHDK does time lapse even better, with for example a countdown to time lapse script.
Here's some reviews:
http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/ro...nderwater-camera-group-test-2013-verdict.html
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-ts5-ft5/5
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/2013-waterproof-roundup
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/waterproof-2013/waterproofA.HTM
Rob