This was touted as a better, more appropriate option than our smartphone’s “zoom” – basically just cropping the image to give the impression that we were zooming in closer. The Panasonic Lumix ZS70S, with its Leica lens and 30x optical zoom, was certainly one of the most enticing examples when it was originally announced in 2017. Upon its release, the Panasonic Lumix ZS70 was billed as a “selfie-friendly” update to the manufacturer’s long-running line of travel zoom cameras. This was largely due to the fact that the LCD screen on the back could be flipped up instead of out, so that it faced the person standing in front of the lens – allowing for more accurate self-portraiture. In addition to the aforementioned 30x optical zoom, which is equivalent to a generous 24-720mm zoom in 35mm format, the camera offers both Raw and JPEG shooting, as well as the ability to record video clips at up to 4K resolution. The red record button on the top of the camera allows us to start shooting right away without having to change the settings selected on the penny-sized shooting mode dial, conveniently located on the top of the camera. A nice but perhaps unnecessary detail is the eye-level viewfinder at the top left of the LCD screen on the back of the camera, along with the lens control ring that surrounds the retractable zoom lens on the front, which is also easy to miss. Although many manufacturers have completely stopped producing standalone digital compact cameras at the time of writing, there are models that can be compared to the Panasonic Lumix ZS70S, such as the Canon PowerShot SX740S HS, which has a similar form factor but increases the focal range thanks to a 40x optical zoom, as opposed to the ZS70’s 30x optical zoom. Both cameras, however, share the same 20.3-megapixel (1/2.3-inch) sensor and deliver well-saturated images that require either no post-processing at all or only minor post-processing in your image-editing program of choice. If neither camera offers the combination of compact size and large zoom that suits you, you should also check out the Canon PowerShot SX430 IS, which reaches farther than most other cameras thanks to its built-in 45x optical zoom lens, and its ease of use makes it suitable for beginners.
