Panasonic ZS80 Performance

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Panasonic ZS80 Performance

Timing and Performance

Very good overall performance for long-zoom compact.

Startup/Play to Record
Power on to first shot	~1.4 seconds	Time it takes to turn on and capture a shot.
Play to Record, first shot	~0.7 second	Time until first shot is captured.

Startup time was pretty good a long-zoom compact, and switching from Play to Record mode and taking a shot was quick.

Shutter Response (Lag Time) Mechanical Shutter / Electronic Shutter
Full Autofocus, Single-area AF-S Wide Angle	0.156 / 0.199 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting.
Full Autofocus, Single-area AF-S Telephoto	0.189 / 0.235 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting.
Full Autofocus Single-area AF-S Flash enabled	0.351 / N/A second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture. Auto Flash enabled.
Manual Focus	0.053 / 0.105 second	For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused".
Prefocused	0.038 / 0.078 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

The Panasonic ZS80's autofocus speeds were very good in our tests, especially for a camera that uses contrast detection only. The ZS80 produced full-autofocus shutter lag (with the subject at a fixed distance) was 0.156 second at full wide angle and 0.189 second at full telephoto using 1-area (center) single-shot AF with the mechanical shutter. Enabling the flash increased lag to 0.351 second, to account for preflash metering.

When manually focused, the ZS80's lag time was 0.053 second, which is fast. The ZS80's prefocused shutter lag time of only 0.038 second is good.

As you can see above, using the electronic shutter mode adds some delay, and the flash isn't supported.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.

Cycle Time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large/Fine JPEG	0.50 second	Time per shot, averaged over a few frames (we no longer test for buffer depths in single-shot mode).
Single Shot mode RAW + L/F JPEG	2.13 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over a few frames (we no longer test for buffer depths in single-shot mode).
Early shutter penalty?	YES	Some cameras refuse to snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous H Large Fine JPEG	0.10 second (10.1 fps); 102 frames total; 3.3 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 102 frames, then slows to an average of 0.22s or 4.7 fps when buffer is full.
Continuous H RAW	0.11 second (9.5 fps); 32 frames total; 17.1 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 32 frames, then slows to an average of 0.63s or 1.6 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.
Continuous H RAW + L/F JPEG	0.11 second (9.5 fps); 27 frames total; 27.2 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 27 frames, then slows to an average of 0.94s or 1.1 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.
4K Burst Mode 8.3-megapixel JPEG	0.03 second (30.0 fps); "Unlimited"; 1.8 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over 20 frames. Maximum burst is 15 minutes (~27K frames).
Flash Recycling	2.6 seconds	Flash at maximum output.
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a 64GB Lexar Pro 2000x UHS-II SDXC card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity also affects cycle times and burst mode performance, with higher ISOs generally increasing cycle times and reducing burst performance.

Single-shot cycle times were very fast when shooting best quality JPEGs at about 0.5 second, however when shooting RAW+JPEG files, the average was quite slow at over two seconds with a lot of variation as there was a pre-press penalty. (If you press the shutter release too soon after taking a shot, the camera will ignore it and you have to press again to take another shot.)

Continuous High Speed "H" mode burst rate was fast at 10.1 frames per second for best quality JPEGs, meeting Panasonic's 10 fps spec with AFS (focus locked at the first frame). When shooting RAW or RAW+JPEG files, the frame rate dropped slightly to about 9.5 fps when using the mechanical shutter. (With the electronic shutter, the frame rate was more consistent at just over 10 fps no matter the file type.) With continuous autofocus enabled, the top frame rate drops to 5 fps according to Panasonic, however we do not test with continuous AF in the lab.

In Continuous High Speed "H" mode full-resolution buffer depth was very generous for Large/Fine JPEGs at over 100 frames. When shooting RAW files buffer depth dropped to 32 frames or 27 frames when shooting RAW+JPEG files, though that's still quite good for the class.

The ZS80's 4K burst mode allows you to shoot 8.3-megapixel JPEGs at up to 30 fps continuously for up to 15 minutes.

Buffer clearing can take some time even with a fast card, though, ranging from 3.3 to 27.2 seconds for full-res files with our fast 64GB Lexar Pro 2000x SDHC card, but you can continue shooting (at a much slower rate; see table above). You can't however change settings or view just-shot images until the buffer is flushed to the card.

Flash recycling after full-power discharge took an average of 2.6 seconds.

Bottom line, the Panasonic ZS80's performance is generally very good for its class. Startup and but mode switching are fast, autofocus speeds are quick, and prefocused shutter lag is low. Burst performance and buffer depths are quite good when shooting JPEGs or RAW files, however buffer clearing can take a long time with those deep buffers and there's a shutter button pre-press penalty which can slow you down when shooting RAW+JPEG files in single-shot mode.

Battery Life

Good battery life for its type.

Operating Mode	Battery Life
Still Capture, (LCD, CIPA standard)	380 shots
Still Capture, (EVF, CIPA standard)	250 shots

The Panasonic ZS80 uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack for power, and comes with a single battery and an AC adapter for in-camera charging via USB. The CIPA-rated 380 shots per charge when using the LCD and 250 shots when using the EVF is good for its size and class, but we still recommend getting a second battery for your ZS80 if you plan any extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))