New Superzoom Compacts: Panasonic TZ10, Sony HX5V, Nikon S8000

We'll admit it: we didn't make that much of a song and dance about it earlier, but along with the Panasonic TZ10 and Sony HX5V, we've also been testing their challenger form Nikon, the S8000.  We weren't sure if we were going to get all three tests ready on time, so we decided to tell you more about the first two, as the third, without either a wide-angle lens or GPS, is a little different.  But we're finished, and so here are the first three superzoom compacts of 2010 …

The Panasonic TZ10 is a direct descendent of our most popular camera of 2009, the TZ7.  With a 25-300 mm zoom, 12 Megapixel multi-aspect sensor that has the same angle of view in 4:3 and 16:9, a GPS module and a 460 000 pixel screen, it might be expensive, but it seems like the most attractive of the three on paper.

The Sony HX5V is its most direct challenger, and has been eagerly awaited as Sony's first foray into this field.  It has a 25-250 mm zoom, but its Exmor R sensor has only 10 Megapixels.  Its GPS system is complemented by a digital compass.  Its main weakness is a screen with a resolution of just 230 000 pixels, but can its other strengths make up for that?

The Nikon S8000 is the only member of our trio not to have a wide-angle lens, zooming from 30 to 300 mm.  With no GPS, it's banking on the inclusion of a 14 Megapixel sensor and 921 000 pixel VGA screen.  It is--by a hair's breadth--the thinnest of the three, and also the cheapest.

> Test: Panasonic TZ10

> Test: Sony HX5V

> Test: Nikon S8000

Panasonic TZ10	Sony HX5V	Nikon S8000
MARCHANDS €     Amazon mark...  219.99  Amazon.co.uk  227.44  Compare prices	Product unavailable Our suggested alternatives: Editor's Choice Sony Cyber-shot HX9V Lower-Cost Superzoom Canon PowerShot SX230 HS Quality Budget Snapper Canon Ixus 220 HS	Product unavailable Our suggested alternatives: Editor's Choice Sony Cyber-shot HX9V Lower-Cost Superzoom Canon PowerShot SX230 HS Quality Budget Snapper Canon Ixus 220 HS

New Year, New Tests

We haven't had time to tell you about these changes yet, but these three cameras have been tested using our new lab, with a more complete range of test procedures.  If you're used to reading our tests, then you might feel a little lost at first, as everything has been redesigned from top to bottom, from the lighting and the tests themselves.


Of course, that's going to make it difficult to compare cameras tested in our old lab with the new ones.  Unfortunately, though, it's inevitable consequence of the changes we've been wanting to make to the Face-Off for a long time now, with the aim of giving today's cameras a stiffer set of challenges.  We've put it off for a long time, and decided to change everything in one fell swoop, rather than gradually changing things over time.  At least you won't confuse the tests from the 2007 procedure with those form the 2010 procedure that way ...

We'll be explaining these changes in more detail soon, and we're also planning to retest some older cameras in the new lab so that you have some reference points.  But we can't give you any details for the time being: our tests on this year's crop of digital cameras have already begun, and with over a hundred new products announced since the start of January, we've already got more than enough to be getting on with …  

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