In the days before mobile phone photography was ‘good enough’ for holiday snaps, Panasonic’s ‘TZ’ or ‘Travel Zoom’ series of compacts was popular among those of us who occasionally wanted to ditch the DSLR or mirrorless, but still wanted to achieve detail-rich, colour saturated images that preserved our memories in their best light. I’ve always found the TZ series to be well built, priced fairly, consistently reliable and conveniently compact given its feature set.
However more recent entries, specifically the ZS99 / TZ99, have ditched the traditional viewfinder or EVF – whether to be more cost efficient, add features such as USB charging, or simply because Panasonic doesn’t believe those in the market for a compact camera seriously value a separate viewfinder. Our mobile phones just use the one screen, after all, and we’re happy with that.
However, a large part of the appeal of using a compact camera, rather than a phone, is that it turns photography into the distraction-free process it always used to be, before apps ‘pinged’ us notifications as we lined up a shot. To my mind, there’s no better way of shutting out the rest of the world than bringing my eye up close to a viewfinder – whether optical or electronic.
It’s not just me, however.
There appears to be a bit of a groundswell towards ‘slow photography’ and a more mindful approach to shot composition and execution. At its most extreme this can mean a return to shooting on film; but even digital cameras are increasingly offering film camera-like operation, including optical viewfinders or EVFs.
Missing a viewfinder = missing a trick?
Now that the new TZ300 has once again ditched the viewfinder, in an echo of what the TZ99 did in replacing the viewfinder-equipped TZ95, I reckon its manufacturer could be missing a trick.
Sure, incorporating an EVF adds expense – and, at times, they’ve been so tiny and indistinct on compacts I’ve wondered why its maker has even bothered – but anything that helps differentiate a digital camera from a smartphone also adds potential value in my book.
Plus, the market for longer zoomed, higher-end one-inch sensor incorporating compacts, such as Panasonic’s previous TZ200 and TZ100 models, would, I’d argue, expect to have the viewfinder retained, especially if mirroring the improved 2.33 million dot EVF the TZ200 boasted over its predecessor. After all, if a larger sensor than the 1/2.3-inch chip found in cheaper compact pocket zooms already appeals, then you’re probably more of an enthusiast, who wants all the bells and whistles, than a casual point-and-shoot snapper.
Ditching something that helps you stand out – a viewfinder with a decent specification – therefore feels like a retrograde move. Especially on a higher priced and otherwise fully featured camera.
Related reading
- Best compact camera – the perfect point-and-shoots for photos and video
- The best travel cameras: Here are the cameras I’d take on a trip
- Have we already reached ‘peak camera’ technology?
The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Amateur Photographer magazine or Kelsey Media Limited. If you have an opinion you’d like to share on this topic, or any other photography related subject, email: ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk
