Pros
- Impressive zoom for its size
- Screen rotates for easy selfies
- Easy to use for beginners, plus some manual features
Cons
- Image quality is decent, but not great
- Compact but not “small”
- Low-light performance is mediocre
We’re seeing a bit of a resurgence in point-and-shoot cameras, with the used market going crazy and several brands, including Canon, coming out with new models. That’s pretty interesting because the entire category was considered dead a few years ago. The new Panasonic Lumix ZS99 is a compact, 20.3-megapixel camera with an impressive 30x optical zoom. It’s marketed as a “travel zoom” and features a variety of automatic modes as well as some more advanced manual features for those who know or want to learn.
The result is a camera that can do some things phones simply can’t but it also stumbles with a few things they can. The ZS99’s small 1/2.3-inch sensor, roughly the size you’d find in some phones, struggles in low light without the heavy processing possible with those devices. Its tremendous zoom, however, has far better reach than any phone, smoothly going from a wide 24mm to a long telephoto of 720mm (35mm equivalent). So you can definitely take photos your phone couldn’t, which is a big part of why a camera like this could be interesting. Image quality is, well, I’ll get to that.
Panasonic Lumix ZS99 Specs
| Photo resolution | 20.3 megapixels (5,184×3,888) |
|---|---|
| Video resolution | 4K30 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.3-inch |
| Lens | 30x optical, 24-720mm (35mm equivalent), f3.3-f6.4 |
| Image stabilization | Optical, 5-axis |
| Display | 3-inch touchscreen, 180-degree pivot |
| Weight | 322 grams (0.71 pound) |
| App | iOS/Android |
The ZS99 features a fairly small 1/2.3-inch sensor, roughly the size you’d find in many modern cell phones. Broadly speaking, larger image sensors capture more light and have the potential for better image quality, especially in darker situations. Larger sensors also typically make it possible to create softer, more pleasing out-of-focus backgrounds with portraits and other closeup images. While there are cameras the ZS99’s size that have larger sensors, such as the Sony ZV-1 II (1-inch sensor) and the Ricoh GR IIIx (even larger APS-C-size), they don’t have the ZS99’s zoom range. That’s because the larger the sensor is, the larger the lens needs to be; a camera with a 1-inch sensor and a 30x zoom would not fit in a pocket.
That zoom, 30x optical, goes from a wide 24mm to an extreme telephoto of 720mm (both 35mm equivalent numbers). That’s roughly as wide as many phone main cameras but with far greater zoom. This means you could capture a big group photo inside, then step outside and zoom in and get a picture of a bird in a tree across the street. Make no mistake, this zoom range in a camera this small is absolutely the ZS99’s best feature and main selling point.
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Here you can see the Panasonic’s extensive optical zoom range: 24mm on the left, 720mm on the right, from the same spot.
Helping you keep the camera steady while getting a close-up of a squirrel in your neighbor’s yard is five-axis optical image stabilization. It works decently enough, given the camera’s price. Even so, paired with the small sensor and a fairly slow lens, shutter speeds slow to the point where any photos in all but the brightest conditions will be blurry. Perfect focus in those situations would be a lot to ask of any small, inexpensive camera, so it’s more just something to be aware of than a specific shortcoming of the ZS99.
That open flap on the right is the most annoying aspect of the ZS99’s build. It hides the USB-C and HDMI connections but is flimsy and difficult to fully open. Once open, it resists closing fully. In either direction, it feels like you’ll snap it off.
The Panasonic Image app lets you transfer images and control the camera, including zoom and picture settings. It also has a few additional features, like the ability to create a photo collage. Camera apps are rarely remarkable but this one works well.
Lastly, while our review sample was all black, which looks fairly traditional for a “digicam,” the ZS99 is also available with an even more retro silver top that looks very stylish.
Usability and photo quality
All photos in this section are unedited other than some cropping for better fit or framing.
The ZS99 is a little bigger than the tiniest of digital cameras from ye olden days. Sure, it can fit in a pocket, and it’s easy enough to hold in your hands, but I’ve been careful to refer to it as compact, not small, throughout this review. It’s roughly 60% of the length of my Pixel 9 Pro, roughly the same height as that phone is wide, and three times thicker with the lens retracted. You won’t forget it’s in your pocket. When fully zoomed in, the lens is three times deeper than that. The rubber grip on the front and a textured, raised thumb rest on the back make it feel secure enough in your grip, but I’d highly recommend a wrist or neck strap. The various dials, buttons and levers all feel at least as good as what you’d expect for a $500 camera and offer a tactile experience that suits the vibe.
Pressing the power button unleashes a tiny flurry of activity as the lens cover snaps open, the lens extends from the body and finally, the rear screen activates. In use, I’d thought it felt slow, but that might just be because there’s a lot going on. Turning it on at the same time as double-pressing the power button on my Pixel (which opens the camera app), they were both ready to go at nearly the same time, roughly 2 seconds. It takes roughly twice that to power down the ZS99 when you’re finished, something that feels longer because you can’t put it away until the lens fully retracts.
Like the point-and-shoot cameras of their golden age, the ZS99 is very easy to use. The iA and iA+ modes automatically adjust exposure and other settings, with the latter including color. In either of these modes all you need to worry about is framing and zoom. The 3-inch screen is hinged at the top so it can pivot out perpendicular to the body, allowing you to shoot from the hip or pivot it all the way up so it faces forward for easy selfie framing. Given the size and price, it’s not surprising there’s no viewfinder, something I didn’t miss but some might.
Autofocus is fast and generally does a good job of locking onto what you want. There are six autofocus modes to choose from but I imagine most people will just pick one and stick with it. There’s face/eye detection, tracking, point and three options for zone focus sizes.
On the left is the official bird of Southern California. On the right, the zoom has enough reach that you can generally get planes in flight, but even with the image stabilization sometimes the results can be blurry.
If you want a bit more control you can adjust just about everything. There are aperture and shutter priority modes, program and even fully manual modes. The selection dial for these modes has a satisfying click. Adjusting them isn’t as easy as it would be on a larger camera because the only way to adjust anything is either via the touchscreen, a dial on the back or a ring around the lens. What the latter two do depends on the mode. For instance, in iA mode the lens ring zooms in, doubling the function of the dedicated zoom lever on top. In manual mode, the ring controls the aperture, while the dial on the back controls the shutter speed. Alternatively, you can access these settings on the touchscreen, although that’s even slower. It’s great these adjustments are here, and I love that, but they’re more useful as a beginner tool to learn what they do than something that can get you radically different results than the automatic settings. There’s just not much range in shutter speed and aperture to really see that big a difference.
Decent moon photos are possible, even handheld at night, but the slow lens and small sensor makes lower-light photos difficult.
For beginners who want to try something more than automatic but less than manually adjusted settings, there are 24 “Scenes” such as Artistic Nightscape, Clear Portrait, Appetizing Food and so on that tweak the settings for specific types of shots. A step further are the 24 filters such as Fantasy, Toy Effect and Retro that significantly change the image for a more “artistic” result. I’ve rarely found these modes useful, preferring to make adjustments in post, but they’re quite typical for a camera like this. Speaking of post, the ZS99 can shoot raw as well as JPEG but I’d be shocked if many people use this feature.
The photo quality is generally good but not amazing. In my weeks with the ZS99, I rarely got images that impressed me but I was able to consistently get decent results. Not sure if that’s damning the camera with faint praise but as you can see in this section and graded on the curve of price and size, there aren’t many things overly wrong with the results. It’s not punching above its weight so to speak, definitely of its weight. The color and detail are also generally good, although as you zoom in, the image softens quite a bit. The slow lens means shutter speeds in the auto modes are often higher than expected. There’s a built-in flash to help with close-up low-light shots and they definitely give that “Y2K” vibe that’s popular on social media.
A bird-looking bird.
Video quality is similar to photo quality in that it’s good, not amazing. There’s plenty of detail and the optical image stabilization does a decent job of keeping things somewhat steady. A tripod could keep things steady at the far end of the telephoto range but if you’re careful the footage is still usable. Really, though, it’s that zoom that’s the point here. It’s smooth enough that you can zoom in and out while recording and it’s still watchable.
Pocket zoom
At this point, the question with any point-and-shoot camera is whether it can take better photos than your phone. Given what the top-of-the-line, and even many mid-range phones can capture now, the answer to that question is why this category has nearly disappeared from its boom 15 years ago. As in, if you’re looking for a camera that takes “better” photos than your phone, the ZS99 is not it. The small sensor, not backed up by the elaborate computational photography found in many phones, leaves it lacking in certain situations, especially when the light is low. Honestly, I doubt any camera this far under $1,000 could compete with the better phones in terms of overall image quality.
However, the focus (pun intended) on absolute image quality by photographers like myself misses what a lot of people are looking for in a camera like this. Can the ZS99 take photos your phone can’t? Yes. Can it take photos without having to be distracted by your phone? Also yes. The images it can capture, even in low light if you can use the flash, can look really good on social media. If someone wants a camera to capture life, traveling or otherwise, the ZS99 is a “real camera” with the zoom to match. It can get you up close with wildlife and other distant subjects in a way few phones can mimic. That lens also being able to capture quite a wide angle speaks to the flexibility of this camera that few can match.
Even better, if someone wants to get into photography, many of the settings they’ll want to learn to take advantage of in a full-size camera, such as shutter speed, aperture and ISO, are all adjustable here. They won’t do as much adjusting of those same settings on a higher-end or more capable camera but it can work as a learning tool.
Which is to say the ZS99 is good for what it is but don’t expect it to be more than that.
I feel like I’m being watched.
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This is also a bird.
This is not a bird.
In addition to covering audio and display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000-mile road trips and more.
