What does anyone think of the Panasonic DMC TZ3 camera?
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 is a 7.2 Megapixel compact which houses a huge 10x optical zoom with image stabilisation. Announced in January 2007, the TZ3 is the successor to last year’s 5 Megapixel Lumix TZ1, which also sported a 10x optical zoom. An extra two Megapixels aside, the biggest difference with the new TZ3 is its equivalent optical range of 28-280mm compared to 35-350mm on the TZ1. What the TZ3 loses out in telephoto though is more than made up for at the other end. The ability to zoom-out to an equivalent of 28mm equips the TZ3 with proper wide angle capabilities which are invaluable whether you’re shooting landscapes, interiors or big group shots. It makes a huge difference in practice and is far preferable to the 35-350mm range of its predecessor; besides 280mm isn’t exactly weak in telephoto terms. Interestingly while the TZ3 records 7.2 Megapixel images, it’s actually equipped with an 8.5 Megapixel sensor. This larger sensor allows the TZ3 to capture images with the full
Pros 10x 28-280mm (35mm equivalent) optical zoom lens Quiet on / off and zoom operation Large, crisp, 3-inch LCD screen Good user manual Impressive 3 frames-per-second capture rate Minimal shutter-lag Cons Not really a pocket camera Confusing menus Memory card goes in opposite than you’d think Cheap feeling battery door Too many buttons The Lumix TZ3 is SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) memory card compatible so you can use cards with up to 8 GB of storage. But just in case you don’t have a card or run out of space, it also has 12.7 MB of built-in memory that can save 2 to 3 photos. Since I took the TZ3 to China, I really liked the World Clock feature. If you travel to a different time zone, you can program the camera’s clock with the time zone you’re traveling to and your return date, and the camera will automatically switch back to the correct time zone when you return home. I was able to program the dates of my trip to China into the Lumix TZ3 so that the images are tagged with th
Panasonic – the company that is more than any other responsible for the renaissance and continuing success of the ‘big zoom’ bridge camera – launched the original ‘Travel Zoom’ TZ1 back in February 2006. The formula – a big zoom on a small camera – isn’t exactly new, but the combination of Leica’s lens design expertise and Panasonic’s technology (image stabilization, fast performance) made the TZ1 the first serious alternative to bigger ‘SLR-style’ super zooms. And now the TZ1 has been superceded by two models with a new 28-280mm equiv. lens, the TZ2 (6MP, slightly lower spec) and the camera on test here, the TZ3. As well as the new wide lens the TZ3 also ups the sensor resolution to 7 megapixels, increases the screen size and throws in a few new features. The big question is, has Panasonic managed to improve some of the image quality issues that dogged the otherwise superbly capable TZ1? Let’s find out, starting as usual with the headline specification: 7.2 million effective pixel / 8
