Build quality also impresses with the TZ30 given a predominantly metal finish.

Lumix compacts have built a good reputation for shooting HD video and the TZ30 continues this trend, improving slightly on the TZ20’s headline specs with a maximum recordable quality of 1080/60p (as opposed to 1080/60i on the TZ20).

Given the importance of movie capture to digital cameras these days - especially to pocketable travel compacts like the S9300 - it comes as no great surprise to find that the S9300 is able to record high definition movies at a maximum quality setting of 1080p Full HD at 30fps, which is further complemented by 720p HD - also at 30fps.

New for the TZ30 is the ability to record movies in the more computer-friendly MP4 format as well as the high-quality (but more HDTV orientated) AVCHD format that Panasonic has favoured in recent years.

They're still easy to use but have all sorts of extra modes and features to justify the upgrade from a cheaper model, which explains why GPS and Full HD video are included on the S9300.

Should you want to record high-speed movies for slow motion playback then the S9300 offers a choice of 60fps and 120fps recording, although resolution does take a pretty hefty knock at both of the high-speed settings.

The first one was the high levels of noise in high ISO in the ZS3 (e.g. when you shoot at night or indoors with flash); in the ZS20 the noise levels have been noticeably reduced (although it might still be found some in very high ISO, like 1000 or 1600, but the outcome is not so terrible as in the ZS3).

At ISO 800, the TZ30 can still capture a reasonable image, although it is pretty soft.

At the lowest settings of ISO 100 and 200 the TZ30 captures noise-free images, however by as low as ISO 400 some visible noise does begin to creep into images.

Sadly, the TZ30 still lacks the ability to capture lossless Raw images for enhanced digital editing, although JPEG compression can be set to either Standard (more images) or Fine (better quality).

At it’s heart the TZ30 uses a 1/2.3in MOS sensor with an effective resolution of 14.1MP.

At ISO 800 the TZ30's built-in noise-reduction has begun to noticeably soften detail in an effort to control noise.

Sensitivity ranges from ISO 125 to 3200, which puts it on a par with the Canon SX260HS, Samsung WB850F and Lumix TZ30, although the Sony HX20V and Fujifilm F770EXR can go slightly higher at ISO 12,800 (albeit at reduced resolutions).