ZS3/TZ7 vs. TZ5 - maximum aperture

[S_p_i_d_e_r]

TZ5's maximum aperture is listed at f8 at wideangle and f11 at telephoto. New ZS3/TZ7's maximum aperture is listed* at f6.3 at both wide and tele settings.

*http://www.panasonic.net/avc/lumix/compact/zs3_tz7/specifications.html

Don't you think that smaller maximum aperture will negatively affect depth of field?

[Beowulff]

.....Don't you think that smaller maximum aperture will negatively affect depth of field?

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "negatively" affect the depth of field.

DoF is not really quantifiable in the sense of being 'good' or 'bad' — it is what it is.

Sometimes we want a shallow DoF and other times we want a greater DoF. Depends on the situation really. And it's not just solely the aperture that affects the DoF — the focus distance (not focal length) comes into the equation as well.

Cheers :)

[Dark Cobra]

I too would also say that it's really not a "negative". In fact, a lot of people might like having a little bit of this affect. The TZ5 is a 10x with 28 to 280, while the TZ7 is a 12x with 25 to 300. It's not surprising that with the longer focal length we might see a slightly larger opening on the end. It really isn't a major difference given the natural great depth of field with compacts and I doubt most would even notice it.