Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3K 7.2MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

I have to get on the bandwagon here. This is a superb little camera, definately five stars! I also have the TZ1, which showed promise, but has limitations. In my review of the TZ1, I noted it had lots of "noise" and pictures shouldn't be printed much beyond 4x6 inches if they were to be sharp. I also wanted more manual controls.

The TZ3 fixes and improves almost everything about the TZ1 and adds some new, very useful features. The noise has been drastically reduced, the lens is better, the sensor is bigger, and the processor is not only faster, but produces better pictures. The TZ3 adds a very handy "function" button - or I should say function capability - the number of buttons is the same - which gives immediate access to five or so "most used" settings without having to go into the menues - of which there are several.

The TZ3 keeps the Mega Optical Image Stabilization and adds Intelligent ISO, increases the sensitivity without adding noise,(I have not tried the 3200 setting yet.), increases the size of the viewing screen, etc., etc.

The TZ3 is a "well-rounded," and very capable camera. There is simply no comparison between the TZ1 and the TZ3 as far as the quality of the pictures. The TZ3 wins hands down. In my opinion it also beats some big name, higher priced digicams - a couple of which I own - rather handily.

Of course, the big selling point for the TZ3 is still the 10X lens - now with wide angle capability - on a pocket-sized point and shoot camera. This lens is SHARP, and combined with larger sensor and the new processor yields some excellent results.

While there are no manual controls, per se, the camera seems to do very well without them. Pictures are sharp, exposures seem nicely done (haven't tried it at night yet, but low light forrest shots were excellent), colors were accurate, appropriately saturated, and vivid (OK. I like the vivid setting.), good contrast, etc. There are a variety of AF settings, settable focal points, and focus modes. There is also exposure compensation, and exposure bracketing available - and they work well! The live histogram is a welcome bonus. The TZ3 focuses down to about 2 inches in macro mode - again with excellent, sharp results. The TZ3 is very well speced out.

One nice thing that is gone is the lens cap on the TZ1. It was really not to inconvenient, but seemed always to be swinging in the wind to add yet another source of camera shake. The TZ3 lens includes an built in lens cover. Very welcome.

I currently own five top flight digicams (including this one), and have owned about that many others, I am most impressed with this one - for combined convenience and results. It is a quantum step forward.

I also have a couple of quite nice, and fairly complete DSLR kits. They are wonderful, and in a class by themselves, but when I want very nice pictures and the convenience of a pocketable point and shoot with a 10X, wide angle lens, or a back up for the DSLRs, the TZ3 is now my camera of choice.

Let me start with my credentials: I've been working for a major daily newspaper for 23 years. I've won various photo contests, from local and regional contests, to national and international contests such as NPPA, POY, as well as the National Baseball Hall of Fame (several times). I've literally traveled around the globe, covering news features and sports. So, please allow me to lend my own feedback on this camera, which I have owned for several months now. I've also started actively shooting with camcorders such as the Panasonic AG-HVX200 high-definition camcorder, and the Sony DCR-SR30 camcorder.

I'm a proud TZ3 owner (purchasing it with my own funds), and I've been using Lumix cameras since I was issued a DMC-FZ20, at my request. (That camera taught me about versatility when I went to the Superdome and the Convention Center to cover the plight of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, who struggled to survive the elements following the storm). I've also used the FZ30, and also own a TZ1, the older and less-impressive sibling to the TZ3. And I'd pick this camera, over even the Nikon D2Xs and D2Hs cameras, if I had only one camera to pack in order to cover any breaking news story as of the date of this writing. Why? Because the Lumix line of "bridge" cameras are the most versatile and quick-performing that I've experienced to date. With the pro SLRs, I'd need to carry lenses from a 17-35mm, 80-200mm, and 300mm lenses, to shoot images while all that glass is wrapped into the neat package of the TZ3. Yet the Nikons I own don't shoot video. The Sony camcorder shoots only 3 still images per recording session, which don't match the image quality of the TZ3. And the HVX200 is too bulky.

The TZ3 is a great run-and-gun camera. At a heartbeat, I can switch over to video and shoot some decent footage at widescreen mode (my preference), which is widescreen, at 848 x 480 (better than most hybrid cameras, which tend to shoot only in 640x480. The TZ3 is such a low-profile camera that you can shoot very candid stills and video when you want to capture people at their most human moments.

The body is so compact, I can do 3 very vital and exciting things: place it into tight spaces, shoot without attracting unwanted attention, and mount the camera on unusual items (most recently, a bass drum belonging to a high school student in a marching band, and it recorded video during the band's practice). I've also clamped it onto a wheel barrow and also placed it among stocked food in the refrigerator section. That yields such wide ranging perspectives that could hardly be accomplished with many other cameras and camcorders.

I like keeping the ISO setting at the minimum of ISO 100 or 200, for the digital noise can yell loudly at higher ISO settings. Most recently, I shot a gorgeous image of a moody scene at midnight, with street lamps and the moon being the only light sources on a fog-filled street.

Some drawbacks: I'm not satisfied with the way the camera captures images at the default setting because they seem too washed out. So I set the camera at 2/3rds stop under-exposure. It adds better tonal quality. And the audio quality lacks for the video. I wash the sound in some audio software to crank up the treble, and add some bass. It takes more time, but it helps bring back the muffled sound that gets recorded through a single hole on top of the camera.

The TZ3 is so compact that I carry it with me almost everywhere at work and wherever I go, because in a heartbeat, something could happen. If so, I'd be prepared to document whatever happens. Think about it: on my days off, I'd NEVER carry my Nikon pro bodies. And so this is great for sticking in your pocket for day trips, extended vacations, or a family gathering. If you can just remember that you can capture a moment, just pull the TZ3 out, and within about 5 seconds, you can record what could be some cherished memories.

Panasonic has taken the original TZ1 and made it even better. There's not much missing from this camera. 28mm wide angle lens. 10X optical zoom. 3" high resolution screen, excellent Image Stabilization, etc. All this in a fairly compact camera. Panasonic has also improved the "noise" on higher ISO's. Low light performance is better than on previous Panasonic models. The most important this is, the camera takes great pictures. Panasonic did take one step back in video mode on the TZ3. Unlike on the TZ1, you can not "zoom" while taking video. You can zoom before you start taking the video. This doesn't bother me, but some people find it important. Overall, this is the best compact camera I've ever owned.

Edit 01/30/2008: Just a note. The TZ4 and TZ5 will be out within the next 2-3 months!

I spent weeks researching cameras and had narrowed my search down to the Canon 800IS, Fujifilm fx31 and this Panasonic Lumix TZ3. I needed a camera that can give me decent low light photos and good movie capture. I was skeptical of the panasonic brand at first but their feature set and decent price won me over. I've been using my TZ3 for a month now and I'm extremely happy with it.

Here's an example why...I was in the 30th row at red rocks amphitheatre and was able to zoom in 10x to take close ups of members of the band I was seeing. No way could I pull that off with a 3x or 4x zoom. The high sensitivity ISO (3200) does serve a purpose, despite what critics say. It let me capture these musicians lit up very well in just the stage lights - there is some noise in those shots but its not noticeable in a 4x6 photo. The Fujifilm has been cited for its excellent low light capabilities but its lack of other features left me unexcited about its overall package. Now I know most folks don't buy a camera for concert photos but that's what I was looking for and the TZ3 didn't let me down.

I also picked up a 4GB memory card and I loved being able to take 30fps movies during our last family vacation. I'll never lug my videocamera around again. This baby will film excellent resolution movies for almost 1.5 hours with that memory.

The image stabilization seems to work well although I haven't really tested photos without it on. I just leave it on the second mode which offers more effective stabilization and I don't have to think about it. I used to get blurry pics once in a while with my old Canon S40 but haven't had a one with this Panasonic.

The numerous scene modes are also handy. Canon offers a handful but Panasonic gives you several more and even offers in-menu descriptions to remind you when to use a particular scene mode. Better than referring to a owner's manual. For new parents, the two baby shot modes even let you set up a scene that displays the age of up to 2 children on the picture so you can track their growth over time.

The picture quality has been excellent. You need to learn how to pick the right settings on some lower light or fast moving picture opportunities but for 90% of your shots, the point and shoot quality of the intelligent ISO mode is excellent.

The wide angle lens is great. It gives you more room to compose your shots and I don't know if I could go back to a simple 35mm again. The Canon 800IS is the only other compact that offers the wide angle. But Panasonic's 10x zoom sealed the deal for me. The zoom works quickly and lets you take shots you wouldn't normally take. You can also record in 3:2 ratio which is conducive to widescreens movie playback as well as 4x6 photo sizes.

I've used the included arcsoft software with an older Canon camera but have since migrated to google's picasa and haven't looked back. The photo-stitch functionality for creating panoramic images from multiple frames was a fun toy for a little while but for 99% of your photos, all you're doing is uploading to a repository, fixing a handful of the really good ones and that's it. Picasa is extremely simple to accomplish this and a great image management tool.

I also like the battery meter on this camera. I've yet to run out of juice because it tells me when I'm running low and recharge over night for the next day. Canons don't have a visible battery meter.

I could go on further about lots of little features which make this an extremely useful and portable companion. If you're reading this and am torn between this and something from the Canon line, be assured you won't be sorry with this one. It simply offers more bang for your buck and you won't be compromising much of anything. I'm looking forward to years of service from this little marvel.

I normally shoot with a DSLR, but wanted a small camera, with a decent zoom that I could slip in a pocket or put on a belt pouch to carry around with me all the time. This camera is the only one in the market that fitted my needs, and I am really happy with it. I give it half a star short of the full rating only because of one or two shortcomings.

The construction of this camera is solid, which is what one wants, and I don't understand some of the criticism about it being a tad too large or heavy. A 10x lens needs to be wel supported. The fantastic lens is the best thing about this camera. It is equivalent to a 28mm wide angle which is what I need for landscape shots and some professional uses. The 10x zoom covers a wide range of uses, and as promoted, this makes for a great travel camera. The macro capabilities are also great. I found battery life to be pretty good, the secret being to switch the camera off when not actally shooting. Some of the critcism about the low light capabilities is correct, but I find the problems associated with this camera to be no worse than other cameras that I have tried. Even my DSLR gives me grief in low light.

Negative comments on the image quality in other reviews seem a little exaggerated. The color rendition in this camera is very natural. The image processing engine IS too agressive and the images tend to be on the soft side, which is a bit silly when you have this great Leica lens. It's not a problem with small prints but you'll notice it on larger prints on less contrasty subjects. The information seems to be there, however, as they are easily sharpened up using Photoshop (or even using Preview on my Mac). Since I post-process all my photos, this is not a problem for me. I don't shoot video on this camera (that's what Camcorders are for) so I cannot comment on the microphone quality.

Drawbacks: I found the lack of a viewfinder to be the major drawback on this camera. I do not like holding the camera at arms length, even with its impressive shake reduction (although I note that most people like to take pictures this way and do not use their viewfinders. Even the bright LCD screen washes out in bright sunlight making it difficult to compose a shot. Note to Panasonic - put a viewfinder in upcoming models. or give the camera a swiveling LCD that is easier to shade. Also put a few more contols of the image processor so that we could sharpen up out pictures a little.

This camera isn't perfect, but for its size it has an excellent optical range. Even for the serious photographer types, it makes a great portable second camera.