Panasonic with the Lumix DMC-TS1 has turned out a quality-built compact point-and-shoot in the “waterproof” category. However, rated to only three meters depth, this little gem can in no way be classified as a “dive” camera even for the casual fun user, and should be considered more suitable as a watersports camera where frequent drenchings and shallow dunkings are the rule. That aside, it is “ruggedized,” and will take those occassional hard knocks and drops without disintegrating into a multitude of small useless pieces.

The DMC-TS1 has a top-of-the-line Leica lens, the DC 4.9-22.8mm (28-128mm 35mm equivalent) f/3.3-5.9 Vario-Elmar, with in-the-lens Mega O.I.S. image stabilization, and is paired with a 12.1 megapixel (effective) 1/2.33” CCD that produces images that are sharp, well exposed, of excellent color with well rendered fine detail even at higher ISOs.

Features abound on the TS1 with, for example, twenty-four Still Picture modes, seventeen Movie Scene settings, six White Balance options, five Autofocus modes, ISOs from 100 to 1600 with special High Sensitivity settings up to 6400, and Shutter Speeds from 8 to 1/3000 seconds with extra long exposures of 15, 30 and 60 seconds under the Starry Sky scene mode. Additionally, it turns out standard 4:3 video in 640 x 480 and 320 x 240, 16:9 at 848 x 480; plus, 720p HD at 1280 x 720, all at 30 fps and Quicktime, too. All in all, quite a list.

But all is not rosey. The TS1 does have a caveat: It’s slow; although not the slowest. Power up to first shot takes almost two seconds. Shot to shot with autofocus takes over two seconds. Writing each image to a card takes 2.5 seconds, while zooming the lens across its full range takes almost three. However, this slow zooming does have an advantage: it permits zooming during video recording, which most cameras don’t allow. So, if you can live with those numbers, the Panasonic DMC-TS1 is a great little camera for the money.