Bushwalk Australia

Does anyone here have hands-on experience with the Panasonic DMC TZ 110 (= ZS 100 and TZ 100) ?

I've had a DMC FZ 200 for 5 years ( viewtopic.php?f=23&t=10389 ) but on the last trip, the lens obtained a noticeable surface chip.

I want to replace it with a camera (for multi-day tramps) that weighs less but has a larger sensor (better IQ) - but still has a moderate zoom (not asking much )

There are other 1" or four thirds cameras that are either light (300g or so) or have a big zoom but not both, with the one exception of the TZ 110.

The reviews I've read are all (mostly) positive and I expect the IQ will be better than my current camera but I'd appreciate some input from someone who has used the TZ 110.

bernieg, G'day Mate. This is going to sound crazy but it might be an option, if you're not wanting to discard the camera.

I don't know what your definition of a noticeable chip is, but if it is a scratch or a small chip, proportionally to the element's surface area, you can repair it by carefully filling the crack/chip with India Black ... also known as Indian Ink, then polishing off any excess ink.

When I was working as a photographer at the Australian National University one of my colleagues chipped a very expensive Leitz Wetzlar lens for a Linhoff camera. The recommendation from the lens distributor (if I remember correctly, it was Goodman Brothers in Surrey Hills in Sydney) was to repair it with India Black. This was done and the lens was fine to use.

The lens that was repaired with India Black had a relatively large front element (60-70mm diameter), so the repair was proportionally small, to the element's surface area.

Warren.

Thanks Warren, yes the chip is small and may be repairable.

I was going to try petroleum jelly (and still will, I think) but I had not thought of india ink - counter intuitive, but I can see that it would eliminate any flare from the chip.

I'll try the ink after the jelly.

Old thread - just noticed I'd not updated with my attempts to fix a small chip in the lens of the FZ200 (see above).

I didn't have any india ink so decided to try a finepoint black artline pen - wiped it across the chip, cleaned the lens - did this a few times to build up residue in the chip. It worked ! Although, looking at the lens, I can still see the chip, it is not discernable in photos.

I've taken single colour, bright pics, some pointing just off from directly into the sun to try to generate flare around the chip - no visible flaw, even at high magnification - a better result than I'd thought likely.

BZ to warren