Panasonic Lumix TZ40 (ZS30) Sample images and Video

Following the recent release of the new TZ40 from Panasonic I was eager to test the new 18Megapixel sensor of the new camera. My initial thoughts was that the pixel density on this 1-2/3 inch chip would be a step too far by Panasonic and that it would result in noisy images at higher iso and actually show up in the base iso of 100. Thanks to the Camera Centre at Chorley for allowing me to shoot a few video clips and still images to assess the image quality. I used fine Jpeg mode at iso 100 and using Aperture priority and standard photostyle for the tests. I also recorded the highest bit rate 1080p (PSH) AVCHD and 1080p 25 fps MP4 video. You may see in the 100% crops of even the base iso images the jpeg processing results in the usual Panasonic granular image and I believe it is worse than the predecessor TZ30 (ZS20). Once you get to iso 800 even in good light the noise has degraded the image even though Panasonic claim the new processing has improved on this. I know its only a short test but it&enough to tell me to avoid the purchase of this model. Let&hope they ignore the trend to keep pushing pixel density up and revert to a sensible pixel density of 12M to give us better IQ.