Reach for the Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-TS1 if you want to shoot movies with your go-anywhere pocket camera. This slim, compact has a dedicated video button and offers plenty of video options (including zoom!) and high-definition video in wide-screen (up to 720 pixels).
Along with the second-best overall image quality in Women’s Adventure’s test, the zoom is exceptional: 2.1 megapixels over an appreciably wide 4.6x, 28 – 128 mm equivalent focal length. Rounding out the lens package, the camera has optical image stabilization which allows for smooth video and overall improved image quality and a surprise feature: the Starry Sky mode allows you to hold the shutter open for a full 60 seconds.
Though colors and white balance were occasionally over-saturated in auto modes, easy white balance adjustments were a snap with the usable—but rudimentary looking—buttons. In terms of general ruggedness, the Lumix seemed shoulder to shoulder with other cameras in this class, but some dampness inside the battery door during our 5-foot underwater test was a major concern.
In rain and snow, the camera’s water resistance is fine, but it’s probably not a great choice if you’re planning substantial underwater time—even if it’s shallow. Updates with Panasonic’s second generation of rugged point-and-shoot digital are due out this summer in the TS2 which claims water-proofness up to 33 feet and overall improvements in ruggedness and image quality. $380; www.panasonic.com
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