The Panasonic Lumix TZ10 is the latest version of a camera which has practically defined the compact superzoom market. It offers the advantages of pocket-sized dimensions with a 12x super-wideangle zoom, HD movie mode and now, in this version, manual exposure controls.

We don’t normally post details of compact digital cameras on this site, partly because there are so many of them and they change so often, and partly because there’s often not a lot to choose between them. The TZ10 is different, though, because this series of cameras has proved itself to be a cut above the rest, with an excellent zoom range, first-rate build quality and some very clever features.

For example:

• It shoots 12.1-megapixel images, but actually uses a 14.5-megapixel sensor. The extra megapixels are used to proved a range of different aspect ratios to shoot in.

• In the new Travel mode a built-in GPS receiver tags images with the location the picture was taken at, and these can then be sorted and organised on the camera or later on using a computer (and geotag-enabled software).

• Previously, the TZ series didn’t quite make it as ’serious’ cameras because of their auto-only operation. The TZ10, though, offers full PASM exposure modes (program AE, aperture-priority, shutter-priority and manual).

• Like the TZ8 before it, the TZ10 has a standard HD movie mode (1280 x 720 pixels) to provide amazing movie quality in such a small device.

• It has the same excellent 25-300mm equivalent 12x zoom, too, though Panasonic’s introduced a couple of new zooming technologies which sound a little dubious, frankly. One is an ‘Intelligent Zoom’ which uses some worryingly complex image processing to offer a 1.3x zoom extension, while another is an ‘Extra Optical Zoom’ function which works by ‘using the center part of the large CCD to bring distant subjects even closer’. Well, from that description it’s not an ‘extra optical zoom’ at all, but plain old digital zoom.

Panasonic does have a weakness for convoluted technical claims and over-the-top ‘intelligent’ automated features, but that doesn’t stop the cameras being good. Previous Panasonic TZ models have offered superb build and handling, and the 25-300mm 12x zoom has shown itself to be a clear step above other compact superzooms’ lenses, so unless Panasonic has stretched the sensor technology a little too far (with 14.5 megapixels crammed into a 1/2.33-inch sensor it’s a distinct possibility), the TZ10 should be something special.