Why has my Panasonic TZ99 not got any internal memory ? ! ?

Justin Smith

Justin Smith

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I was out on Saturday for a walk and wanted to take a pic of something interesting so whipped out my camera (a Panasonic TZ99) but the SD card had developed a fault on it. What surprised me is that the camera would not let me take a pic, and when I got home Google confirmed that the TZ99 really does have no internal memory at all. Every camera I have ever had has had a small amount of internal memory for just this eventuality so it surprised me (shocked me would be more accurate ! ) the TZ99 had none. What possible advantage would there be to not putting any internal memory in ?

The lack of any internal memory is particularly surprising as the camera has loads and loads of features, far too many in my book because I think it's far too bleedin' complicated, yet it also lacks the "panoramic" function of my prev TZ70, and I used to use that !
 
It's extremely rare for cameras to have their own memory and the reasons are likely that it saves money (even if only a very small amount) and most people won't use or need it. DJI do have a small amount of memory on some of their camera and drones which has saved me a couple of times when I forgot to put the SD card back in. I'm surprised all your other cameras had internal memory because aside from the DJI devices, none of mine do.
 
JohnMcL7 said:
It's extremely rare for cameras to have their own memory and the reasons are likely that it saves money (even if only a very small amount) and most people won't use or need it. DJI do have a small amount of memory on some of their camera and drones which has saved me a couple of times when I forgot to put the SD card back in. I'm surprised all your other cameras had internal memory because aside from the DJI devices, none of mine do.
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I have had Panasonics for the last 20 years odd (TZ5, TZ18, TZ60 and TZ70), all of them had a small amount of internal memory and I have had to use it more than once. The odd time the SD card has failed but more frequently (far more frequently ! ) when I have forgotten to put the SD card back in after downloading from it using a card reader.
Bearing in mind the camera cost nearly £500 and a bit of RAM would literally have cost a few pence I think it is pretty tight of Panasonic !
It seems particularly inconsistent when the camera is stuffed with esoteric features most people (me certainly) would never use.
 
Internal memory was a thing once, but no camera I've bought since 2013 has had any.
 
Justin Smith said:
The lack of any internal memory is particularly surprising...
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I've been using digital cameras since the 1990s and not found a use for internal image storage.

Other people may, of course, hold different opinions based on different experience.
 
Justin Smith said:
I have had Panasonics for the last 20 years odd (TZ5, TZ18, TZ60 and TZ70), all of them had a small amount of internal memory and I have had to use it more than once. The odd time the SD card has failed but more frequently (far more frequently ! ) when I have forgotten to put the SD card back in after downloading from it using a card reader.
Bearing in mind the camera cost nearly £500 and a bit of RAM would literally have cost a few pence I think it is pretty tight of Panasonic !
It seems particularly inconsistent when the camera is stuffed with esoteric features most people (me certainly) would never use.
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The 'esoteric' features cost them nothing because they're just software but adding the memory does cost money so if they can save it, they do. Even my £4000 camera has no internal memory so it's just something you have to accept.
 
JohnMcL7 said:
The 'esoteric' features cost them nothing because they're just software but adding the memory does cost money so if they can save it, they do. Even my £4000 camera has no internal memory so it's just something you have to accept.
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True enough (apart from the cost of the development / programming), but I still think it's exceptionally tight on a camera which cost nearly £500. Particularly when its predecessor, the TZ70 did have it and was only £214 (in Dec 21) !

As a side issue your point about software being free (or at least very cheap) is something we have discussed at work before. Because it is so cheap the manufacturers just put a ludicrous number of "features" on (that most people never use anyway), which has the side effect of making modern devices very complicated to operate, particularly when combined with that bane of the modern world "multifunction buttons". Don't get me started on them ! I bought a stop watch the other year and despite being an ex TV engineer I could not work out how to turn the soddin' hourly chime off ! !
 
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The newer cameras do have built in memory, but not for storage, just buffering and HDR etc.
I don't think I have used the internal panorama since the early Canon Axx series, prefer to make minor adjustments first.
First there was autostitch, which was excellent and I still use it, and then most editing programmes had it built in, and Affinity is very good.

As for features, I agree that many are not used by every one, but it is not the feature that is complicated, but the menu procedure to get there, and that is where Panasonic have a huge advantage. Their menu system follows the same pattern from my old TZ1 to the G9s.
I have not gone further than the TZ60 (do have a TZ70, but it is no better) as it does all I need in a compact before I would rather take a M43 camera.

I think old cameras had enough internal memory to try them out, in those days a CF card or SD card cost a lot, so having a few photos on board seemed like something worthwhile.
I still have some 8MB cards that came with Canon cameras, and then they were worth keeping just in case, with modern cameras you would often not get one image on them.
 
Leica M11 (64GB), M11P (256GB), Hasselblad X2DII (1TB) are the ones that come to mind in the latest ones that I know of. I'm sure there must be more.
 
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