Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 7.2 Megapixel Compact Camera - Black

Great camera for size and features

Strengths: 10x zoom!!!!, wide angle lens, enough features and scene selection to work with almost any situations, 3" LCD beautiful body, strongly built

Weakness: Slightly large, barrel can get lengthy at telescopic end, battery life only decent

This camera is amazing. First off, the body is perfect. The silver and black are in all the right places and makes this camera look beautiful. Next, the LCD is massive and makes taking pictures very easy. It doesn't have a viewfinder, but I never used one on a digital so I can't say I miss one. This picture quality is great as well. Though there aren't full manual controls, the scene selections...
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This camera is amazing. First off, the body is perfect. The silver and black are in all the right places and makes this camera look beautiful. Next, the LCD is massive and makes taking pictures very easy. It doesn't have a viewfinder, but I never used one on a digital so I can't say I miss one.
This picture quality is great as well. Though there aren't full manual controls, the scene selections can be used the manipulate a picture to what you want. You can control exposure, as well as shutter speed to an extent. The 10x zoom combined with the image stability makes this a very usable camera for distance shooting. The wide angle makes it great to include a large group picture or landscapes.
The camera is slightly large, but for the features definitely smaller than anything else you'll find. This would fit in a jacket pocket, but probably not anything smaller. The barrel extends out quite a bit, but that shouldn't be a problem in most situations. Last small gripe is that the battery life is decent, neither good nor bad. A spare battery is recommended as always.
Overall, this camera delivers everything you want. Anybody short of being an advance amateur will enjoy this camera.

By dang3r1917 - Dec 8, 2007

Nice cam, good for travel

Strengths: 28mm wide angle;10x optical zoom;compact size

Weakness: No zoom changing at video mode, a bit heavy

I brought this camera to a road trip during the thanksgiving holiday. It's a perfect camera for traveling. 10 x zoom helps a lot. It focus and zoom really fast. The battery life is awesome that I only charge twice during the one week road trip with more than 1500 photos taken.

By tonypeng - Dec 2, 2007

A balance that works for me

Strengths: Size; incredible optical zoom for a compact camera, supported by optical image stabilization; intuitive user interface; sturdy metal case * Ability to take high-capacity SD (SDHC) car

Weakness: LCD screen seems to be too large for this small body; Relatively noisy CCD

To me, a perfect digital camera does not exist. It is all about the balance of picture quality and size. My experience is such that I would rather have a poor image taken taken at the right moment with a cell phone camera than carry a big camera with me at all times. This camera strikes the perfect balance for me: small enough to carry it on my belt, sturdy enough to take the abuse of daily wear...
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To me, a perfect digital camera does not exist. It is all about the balance of picture quality and size. My experience is such that I would rather have a poor image taken taken at the right moment with a cell phone camera than carry a big camera with me at all times. This camera strikes the perfect balance for me: small enough to carry it on my belt, sturdy enough to take the abuse of daily wear and tear, and yet capable of taking 15x-zoomed pictures (using the extended zoom in 3-megapixel mode).

Yes, it will not take perfect pictures in low light conditions, where its bigger SLR brothers would really shine. It will take good pictures instead.

Have a tripod, an extra battery and a large capacity SD card, and you're set to go anywhere.

By emelianov69 - Nov 13, 2007

TZ3K Panasonic Compact Ultra-Zoom

Strengths: Well Build, Large 3" LCD screen, Good photo quality, good anti-shaking technology, wide angle 28mm

Weakness: no zoom function for video, no auto playback after shooting a photo.

Excellent camera, very well build. The 3" LCD really help to view pictures. Setting is simple. Photo quality is good. I used the camera for taking picture of my little baby boy. Speed performance is average, no match compared to my DSLR. Wide angle len is a plus to me too.

By m3mozoom - Oct 15, 2007

Great Everyday Camera

Strengths: 10x zoom, 28mm wide angle lens, high quality optics, large bright screen with high-angle mode, high resolution (848x480) widescreen movie mode, image stabilization, small, and lightweight

Weakness: Overeager noise reduction, images very noisy at ISO 400 and above, no zooming during movies, mediocre macro mode, no manual shutter control, proprietary battery

I have been extremely happy with this camera so far. My previous camera was also a mega-zoom with image stabilization (a Konica-Minolta DiMage Z3), but it was very bulky. However, this camera has the same image stabilization and wide zoom range, but is small enough to easily fit in my pocket. It also has a very good lens and doesn't exhibit the same color smearing that most compact cameras do...
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I have been extremely happy with this camera so far. My previous camera was also a mega-zoom with image stabilization (a Konica-Minolta DiMage Z3), but it was very bulky. However, this camera has the same image stabilization and wide zoom range, but is small enough to easily fit in my pocket. It also has a very good lens and doesn't exhibit the same color smearing that most compact cameras do (especially the small Sony and Canon cameras). While it lacks manual shutter and aperture control, it has many scene modes which do a very good job at adjusting for various environments. It has a large 3" screen which can get very bright when it needs to and has a "high-angle" mode which makes it more visible when you are holding the camera over your head.


My only real image quality complaint is that images taken in low light appear smeared when viewed at full resolution due to the overeager noise reduction algorithm. However, because it is a 7.2 mega-pixel camera, prints look just fine.


One of the nice features of this camera is that it actually has an 8.5 mega-pixel sensor, and so it allows you to take pictures at a 4:3, 3:2, or 16:9 aspect ratio while still maintaining a full 7.2 mega-pixels (most cameras that offer multiple aspect ratios have a lower resolution at 3:2 or 16:9 mode). It also can film movies in HDTV-style widescreen at 848x480 resolution, which is higher than most cameras.


There are a bunch of other interesting features, such as the ability to record which day of your vacation pictures were taken, or the age of a baby in baby pictures. It automatically rotates pictures that were taken in a portrait orientation thanks to a tilt sensor. It has a clipboard mode for quick reference pictures of maps or schedules. It can produce a slideshow with nice transitions and recorded audio. I'm not sure how useful any of these features are, but it's nice to have them if I need them.


The one drawback of this being a small and light camera is that, unlike my larger Konica-Minolta, it cannot take regular AA batteries in an emergency (or extended vacation). Official replacement batteries are $50, but 3rd party batteries are available in a higher capacity than the OEMs for under $10 shipped.


So far, I think this camera is the best I've owned. It's not as small and light as my old Canon SD-100, but the optics are much much better. It has less manual control than my Konica-Minolta DiMage Z3, but the fact that I can slip it in my pocket makes is much more useful.

By ahecht - Oct 12, 2007