Entered CNET Catalog: 03/03/2007
SKU: 037988986248
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Manufacturer description
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 is the digital camera, which is renowned for packaging a remarkable 10x optical zoom in a compact, stylish body. To further add to its appeal, the DMC-TZ3 goes one step further to feature a 28mm wide-angle Leica DC lens (equivalent to 28-280mm on a 35mm film camera) for wide-angle shooting. The 28mm wide-angle lens opens up a plethera of photographic opportunities, allowing photographers to easily capture a large group of people, or expansive architectural structures and landscapes with dynamic width and rich perspective. The wide-angle lens is particularly helpful in situations where you cannot step back or move away from a subject - ideal for shooting group portraits in a small room for example. The diminutive size of the 7.2 megapixel DMC-TZ3 belies the wealth of technological features. Incorporating a powerful 10x optical zoom in such a slim and stylish body is impressive in itself. Add to this the incorporation of Panasonic's Mega O.I.S that prevents blurring from shaky hands, Intelligent ISO to prevent motion blur, and the high quality, high performance image-processing Venus Engine III to name but a few - and the caliber of these new additions becomes apparent.Product summary
The good: Wide, powerful lens with little distortion; quick performance.
The bad: No manual exposure controls; tiny buttons; no stop-motion movie mode.
The bottom line: Though it leaves out one fun, little shooting mode, the Panasonic DMC-TZ3 improves upon its predecessor in nearly every way.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 04/06/2007
The DMC-TZ3 looks almost identical to the DMC-TZ1, sharing its predecessor's chunky 9-ounce frame, its prominent lens, the tasteful gold-and-silver Leica accent, and a straightforward, minimalist control scheme. I readily accessed the camera's buttons with just my right hand for one-handed shooting, though they were a little smaller than I would have liked. If you're not careful, you may end up hitting the wrong button, especially when using the four-way multicontroller.
Much like the DMC-TZ1, the DMC-TZ3's lens remains the camera's most notable feature. The camera's 28mm-to-280mm-equivalent, f/3.3-to-f/4.6, 10x optical, Leica zoom lens can handle both wide and close-up shots, a distinct improvement over its predecessor. Most high-zoom cameras, including the TZ1, use 35mm or narrower lenses, so the TZ3's 28mm wide-angle lens gives it a definite edge when pulling back to take a shot. Panasonic included its Mega OIS optical image stabilization on the TZ3, a vital inclusion for any high-zoom camera.
The DMC-TZ3 also uses a 3-inch LCD screen, notably larger than the DMC-TZ1's 2.5-inch display. The camera misses one minor feature its little brother had: the TZ3 doesn't have the TZ1's nifty stop-motion Flip Animation movie node. Beyond this minor mode omission, however, the TZ3 either retains or improves upon all of the TZ1's features. Unfortunately, like its predecessor, the TZ3 also lacks any significant manual exposure controls.
The DMC-TZ3 performed admirably in our lab performance tests. The camera's shutter lagged only 0.6 second for our high-contrast target and 1.3 seconds for in low-contrast conditions. We waited a mere 1.3 seconds between shots, and that wait increased to 2.4 seconds with the onboard flash enabled. Burst mode took five shots in just less than 2 seconds for a satisfying rate of 2.5 shots per second.
The camera's pictures looked good and were almost completely free of lens distortion. This greatly impressed us, as most ultrazoom lenses--especially those with 28mm-equivalent wide-angles--tend to heavily distort images at their extreme settings. Fuzzy artifacts obscured certain finer points, but photos were otherwise colorful and detailed. Noise was evident, even at the camera's lowest sensitivity of ISO 100, but the Panasonic keeps it well under control through ISO 400, where the amount of finer detail in our images diminished further. Even at ISO 800, the DMC-TZ3 produces usable images, though fine detail and shadow detail decrease slightly compared to those taken at ISO 400. The noise turned into a sea of static at ISO 1,250, taking away most fine detail and shadow detail, though you should still be able to eke out a usable 4x6-inch print. Of course, it's best to stick with lower ISOs whenever possible.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 puts a lot of lens into a small package. The wide-angle, high-zoom camera performs well and takes acceptable shots, though it's hardly perfect. Its higher resolution, wider lens, and larger screen make it better than its predecessor in nearly all categories. Unfortunately, it misses one of the TZ1's most fun shooting modes, and it keeps some minor image issues that, while improved over the TZ1, still cause problems. All that said, the DMC-TZ3 offers a lot of value for the money and easily trumps most other super zooms on size.
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User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13out of 13 user reviews
Long-duration video sample, MOV to AVI conversion tool
Pros: Great LENS and image stabilization. Rapid continuous shooting.
Long duration video: see my 75 minute continuous video sample on Vimeo. Conversion from MOV to AVI is not difficult.
Cons: No zooming during video (to prevent zoom noise).
A stealth/battery-save LCD-off mode for video would have been nice.
I wish the video files weren't MOV, but it's easy enough to convert to AVI.
I've had my TZ3 for a long time now, and still love it. In fact, I rarely carry my Nikon D70 DSLR anymore when traveling, unless I have a specific reason, such as needing to use a huge lens. My Sony MiniDV camcorder has done nothing but gather dust since getting the TZ3, so I disagree with people who don't want better video in cameras. I do!!
I like the video mode despite the much-maligned inability to zoom during video. For anything from a short clip to reaching the 2GB filesize limit per clip, this camera is great. The sound is not high fidelity, but it's OK for most non-musical purposes. Here is a CONTINUOUS 75+ MINUTE clip I took of a drive on a remote road/trail in Nevada, in the snow at night: http://vimeo.com/6939153
To post it, I had to degrade the beautiful 848x480 10fps original to 320x240 at 5fps with some compression, and Vimeo then converted it to a stupid non-original 400x300 size in Flash. This caused some serious video artifacts which ARE NOT in the MOV or a big-file AVI conversion.
I shot it at 10fps to conserve file size and increase the light gathering. This strategy worked well. The headlights provided plenty of light, the file was only 1.06GB, and the battery didn't die even though I stupidly had forgotten to turn the LCD down from extra-bright. Considering the 2GB filesize limit, you might fit about a 2.4 hour 10fps video on this camera if you hacked it for external power. This implies 45+ minutes of 30fps 848x480, well within battery capacity, though I've never tried a 30fps video that long.
There are newer versions available: TZ5, TZ7/ZS3 etc but I'm not sure if their smaller pixels have the low-light, long duration video capability of the TZ3. I've read complaints that the TZ5 disables longer videos intentionally.
ACCESSORIZE!
-------------------
If you get a TZ3, don't worry about battery life/charging or card capacity. SDHC cards are almost free now, and so are TZ3 clone batteries from China on eBay. GET SOME, and cheap extra chargers for car, camera bag, home, everywhere.
I've used several cheap brands of 8GB SDHC Class 6 cards in the TZ3, and all work perfectly. My favorites are A-Data, pqi, and Transcend in no particular order. I bought a bunch of cheap lithium ion batteries for it from reputable eBay dealers, including ones in Hong Kong. Their quality and performance are indistinguishable from the Panasonic battery. Anyone spending this kind of money for a camera should shell out at least 4 extra batteries @$5ea and at least 2 8GB SDHC Class 6 cards @$15ea.
MOV to AVI conversion:
-----------------------------
For any TZ3 owners, or people with other (Lumix or other brand) cameras generating MOV format video files, I thought I'd share my recommendations for how
to convert the MOV files to the AVI format needed in many video editing programs.
I found a great, free, non-crippled, non-watermarked conversion program called
RAD Video Tools. Free to download directly from radgametools.com
Rather than using their Bink/Smacker programs in this package, intended for video game developers, just click on your MOV file and then hit the button labeled "Convert a file". There are a couple of non-obvious tricks to getting the best TZ3 MOV file conversion using RAD.
The TZ3 audio converts best (perfectly, it seems) if you check the Convert Audio checkbox and set the Convert Output format to 8-bit mono, rate 8000 to match the camera's internal recording rate.
If you try to use both cropping and scaling, you'll go crazy until you realize that the cropping numbers are applied to the size of video that remains AFTER the scaling is completed. This is the opposite of what I expected, seeing as cropping parameters are shown to the left of the scaling parameters, and I'm used to operations being performed from left to right! But not so in this case. To convert my 848x240 WVGA to 320x240 with unequal parts of the left and right edges cropped off, I used scaling width 424 and scaling height 240; plus cropping width 320 and left cropping location 61. So of the 424 width, the left 60 pixels and the right 44 pixels are thrown out, equivalent to throwing out the left 120 pixels and right 88 pixels of the original 848.
In conclusion, I'm occasionally tempted to upgrade to the following cameras, but despite my camera-equipment bug, always decide the TZ3 is either better in enough ways, and good enough in the rest, that I have yet to go ahead and buy a TZ5, TZ7/XS3 or Canon SX200IS. The latest temptation is the Lumix ZR1 but I've not yet given in to it, and would certainly keep the TZ3 even if I did, at least until I found out that the replacement can do all the things I love that the TZ3 can.
Regards,
John aka NikonF7
Updated on Oct 12, 2009Where I said 848x240 it was a typo, I meant 848x480 as the original WVGA video size the TZ3 creates.
out of 13 user reviews
Great for the long shots
Pros: super zoom, video capture in the zoom and fairly compact
Cons: not great in low light, sometimes doesn't focus on faces well - especially in zoom
out of 13 user reviews
Outstanding from someone who has only used an SLR in the past.
Pros: Incredible zoom, effective image stabilization
Cons: No zoom with video clips
Image quality is astonishing for a small camera, and the IS is very effective when the lens is way out. Colors are rich and pure, and the absence of a viewfinder is pretty well compensated for by a very large screen on the back of the camera. The zoom is inoperative when taking video clips, so you have to set that up properly in advance, but hey, this is a still camera.
All in all, this is the first trip I've taken in a long time when I didn't feel burdened by my camera. I traded off a bit of flexibility, but very little image quality. Amazing, Panasonic, I don't know how you did it.
out of 13 user reviews
Very good camera
Pros: Very long Battery Life
Cons: No option to turn off the LCD
out of 13 user reviews
Amazingly versatile camera!
Pros: -Long zoom, Great colour, easy to use features, compact
Cons: -camera has slight difficulty auto-focussing at the extreme telephoto zoom
out of 13 user reviews
Nice features and pics
Pros: Easy to learn, didn't even read the book
Cons: Flash will wash out photos if too close
Don't get closer then about 8 feet to your subject with the flash on or it will wash out the photo.
out of 13 user reviews
Super Zoom!
Pros: 10X -- 15X optical zoom, optical image stabiliser, good build quality,
Cons: No manual controls, cannot pause or zoom while filming video clips, focus is fixed while filming in video mode, some noise on pic abouve ISO200
I already have the Sony DSCH1 which, in my opinion, is unmatched in terms of its quality. However, it's bulkier and heavier to carry and far too often I simply couldn't be bothered to carry it around - then regretted it by missing shots which the pocket cameras with a 3X optical zoom lens just couldn't take, eg wildlife.
This camera fits the bill perfectly. Not only has it the 10X optical zoom on 7 megapixel photos but... when used for pics up to 3 mpx, this increases to a whopping 15X optical zoom - which beats even the 12X Sony. The massive zoom, combined with an optical image stabiliser, wide angle (28mm) lens and small, compact build is the perfect combination for almost any snapshot - be it a macro of a bee on a flower, a distant landscape or a candid shot discreetly captured from a distance! It's easy to carry, fits into a (larger) pocket and is probably the most versatile model currently available - Panasonic promote it as the smallest wide-angle, high-zoom camera available worldwide putting it in a class of its own, for now.
I've tested many cameras on an amateur level for a typical ‘keen amateur’ user and the TZ3 scores highly. This camera performs well - it has a fast start-up, a good range of modes (although I tend not to use them), a bight clear 3" display which can be powered-up in bright light, a high-quality video mode with sound, 3 picture aspect settings for both still photos and video (4:3, 16:9 widescreen and 3:2) and I've managed to beat the quoted 270 shots per battery by achieving almost 500 from a single charge using a mix of video, burst shooting plus the occasional flash.
Naturally, I have just a few niggles - but nothing too major: There is no way to set the shutter speed manually, eg to 'slow' the flow of a fast-moving waterfall (although it's possible to experiment with some of the 'fireworks' type modes with a slower shutter speed but the shot is likely to be very over-exposed). The incorporated lens-cover is a bit flimsy, the zoom cannot be used during filming (but I add pans and zooms during editing later) and after setting the focus for the first shot, the focus mechanism remains fixed at that point. This isn't necessarily a bad point - some cameras which don't fix the focus then pick up noise from the focussing mechanism creating a clicking noise which ruins the video. My only real niggle is that I think the Leica lens is superior to the sensor on the camera. I generally shoot at ISO100 but after about ISO200, noise can become visible on the photos when enlarged on a monitor - but this probably wouldn't be an issue for a typical user of this camera or printing shots of up to 8" but it is there and the shots are not as crisp and clear as my Sony. However, I probably wouldn't have lugged the larger Sony camera around to take these so any minor niggle has to be put into perspective!
I am very pleased with the camera and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good quality, highly-portable camera with long zoom and wide-angle lens, particularly those moving up from a 3X zoom 'pocket' camera. The customer service from Panasonic is also good so the camera can be purchased with confidence.
out of 13 user reviews
Best wide angle & zoom on the market for the money
Pros: 28 mm wide angle, 10x optical zoom, 3 inch screen, easy to use and great photos
Cons: have not found any functions cons after 3 months use; not for the casual snap shot person who does not need the great wide angle
out of 13 user reviews
excellent zoom with out any distortaion, easy to use ,little bit heavy, great features & performance
Pros: wide tft screen, easy to read,follow functions,real zoom benefit compared to other camers 60x zoom.video clarity is superb,photos great
Cons: heavy, compared to other compact digital cameras.look is not that attractive.
out of 13 user reviews
Good, but not good enought!!!
Pros: 10x zoom, 3" LCD, wide lens, Amazing menu, plenty of shooting sizes, Fast, good flash.
Cons: Only 280mm at full tele for a 10x, The cover of the lens is very cheap offers little to no protection, colors are a bit of not being rich enought.
The Panasonic TZ3 fit perfectly in that range except for the size it was a little on the bulky side. Everything seem nice and dandy, and I was pleased with the camera until I took it for my own personal tests. The pictures lacked in my opinion a lot of color and the 10x zoom wasn't to long at 280mm compared to other cameras at 390mm, but in compensation you get a nice wide angle lens. Pictures at the long end of the tele lack of detail and that mixed with the lack in color leave you with pictures that I wasn't crazy for.
Another problem I encountered was that the lens cover was made of to many pieces and they did not have a secure fit, at least not for me since I have to put the camera in my ski jacket and they could get hurt easily, also in a purse with the keys it could get damaged, just something to note.
The screen is to die for excellent in every lighting conditions and the menu work great together with the big LCD. The camera is a little heavy but nothing to worry about considering the powerful lens the camera packs in it. In addition to that I think the camera looks are not bad at all, it's a little chunky but it looks good for my taste.
The video is not bad for a digital camera, sound is a little on the crappy side and the zoom cant be used, but the good news is that the optical stabilizer works in movie mode.
Low light pictures aren't bad but they are not perfect either sometimes the flash tends to be to powerful. Another problem I noted was that the camera tends to take pictures and videos with dark corners and it is kind of annoying for me.
Overall the TZ3 is a good camera with it shares of flaws mainly being pale (lifeless) pictures and videos. But on the plus side it has good list of positive things. But it wasn't good enough for me to keep, this is the second camera I return, the other one was the Sony T100 which main issues where it's horrible low light pictures, only 5x zoom and soft images. Now I took a risk and purchased the Canon TX1 I have done my research and I know it's has a few flaws but at least dose flaws are none that concern me(battery, memory, etc) my main concern are on the quality of the pictures. I will post the review of the Canon TX1 a week after I receive the camera to give me time to run my tests.
out of 13 user reviews
Very good for such a small package
Pros: Compact, impressive zoom
Cons: Images a bit soft, slow to process images with flash
I've been looking for a minimum 10x zoom in a pocket sized camera for quite some time. What I like about this one is that it really is compact, comes with a stabalization mode, and does not have tons of bells and whistles that I would never use. A basic camera that I could carry around with me was all I was looking for and this one fit the bill.
The 10x zoom is impressive. Having only had a digital camera with a 5x zoom (and still using my trusty Canon AE-1 for 200+ shots) I was amazed at how close I could focus on objects.
That said, I found that zoomed images come in a bit soft, though acceptable for everyday pictures (I wouldn't blow these up, though). Applying sharpening tools from Paint Shop Pro helps; but I'd prefer not to use it.
I was dismayed at how long it takes to process images when the flash is used. Even though I was using a SanDisk SD Extreme III card, it sometimes took longer than a minute before I could shoot my next shot. I tried switching batteries but found that didn't help. I was pleased, though, to find that turning the flash off not only allowed me to shoot more shots in less time but the pictures came out fairly well in darkened rooms after applying some Paint Shop Pro tools.
All in all I am quite pleased with the camera and am looking forward to taking it on many future adventures.
out of 13 user reviews
Good camera, too bad quicktime and no AA batteries
Pros: Large easy to see display, good picture quality and great stablization
Cons: Uses propriotory batteries and records videos in quicktime
I really wish Panasonice would use some video format that you could actually do something with after it is recorded. This camera as all Panasonics records in Quicktime, which leaves you with buying Quicktime Pro as your only real option to edit any videos that you might shoot with the camera. I would much have preferred that it used even uncompressed avi files or some other format other than an Apple product.
All in all this is an enjoyable camera to use and takes easy good pictures. Panasonic does have the best image stablization going and this camera shines as a result.
out of 13 user reviews
An outstanding camera, takes great pictures with excellent video also!
Pros: Wide angle lens (28mm), 10x optical zoom, 16:9 video format at 30fps, sturdy construction, optical image stabilization
Cons: Slightly larger than I would have liked, but this is a minor issue - the camera easily fits in my back pocket
