Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Digital Camera - Black (7.2MP, 10x Optical Zoom) Antishake, 3.0" LCD

Bought this camera as we were going on a Mediterranean cruise. I wanted a compact camera with wide angle lens for using on the ship but also needed a good telephoto lens as well.

I already own a Nikon D80 with 2 lenses covering 18-300mm but didn't want the hassle of carrying it around on a relaxing holiday. This wee beauty covers 28-280mm, there is no constant changing of lenses and the LCD screen can be easily seen even in bright sunlight so the lack of a viewfinder is no problem. I was even able to use the camera to read the names of other ships when I did not have binoculars with me!

It always amazes me that so few compact digitals come with a wide angle lens and only 2 or 3 combine a wide angle with a long zoom.

This camera is great for shooting sunrise and sunset photos using the warm mode and there is a vivid mode for shooting bright colours. I also found the travel mode useful. You just set the start date of your holiday and the camera will tell you on what day any photo was taken-eg 3rd day/6th day.

Although the camera is not the smallest you can buy it packs a lot into a fairly compact body and the camera will easily slip into a trouser pocket.

I also bought a 2GB SD Card from Play.com for approximately £13 including postage and was able to take around 700 photos on the highest resolution setting of 7mp.

This camera must not be seen as a straight alternative to a DSLR however. Although the camera has high ISO options any pictures shot above ISO 200 will be a lot less than perfect. There is no control over shutter speed or aperture size either and in anything less than bright light it may be difficult to obtain a fast enough shutter speed to capture a sharp image.

As I say I bought this camera specifically for ease of use for holidaying in sunny climes and I can thoroughly recommend it in this respect. For snapping wildlife in the middle of a British winter(or even summer!) stick to a quality DSLR.

UPDATE
Since returning from holiday I have taken many photos in less than bright conditions and have to say that I am really impressed with the camera.

Some tips I would add to my original review are;

1) Buy a screen protector for the LCD screen, they cost about £6 including postage for a pack of 6.
2) Keep the camera set on VIVID colour mode permanently, results are much brighter even in dull conditions.
3) As the battery doesn't last a huge length of time it may be an idea to buy a 2nd battery if taking lots of of shots on single outings. The good news is that the battery recharges in a couple of hours.
4) The camera does not have a high speed USB connection so it may be better to stick to 1GB memory cards as it takes forever to download a 2GB card.

Having had a few digital camera's over the years, what I was looking for was one with a decent wide angle and zoom and started looking at "prosumer/bridge " and even SLR camera's. Then I saw the TZ3. I've been using it for over a month now.
Pros: ease of use, sharpness, image stabilisation, 10x zoom, battery life, zoom-resume, very little "purple fringeing" (only on extreme of zoom), etc, and it's pocket sized.
Cons: probably only the weight (about 250 g) as it feels like glass lenses.
Conclusions: I've tended to use the wide angle with the 16:9 aspect ratio but the versatility of the 10x zoom is very useful. There are a lot of useful settings like histograms and grids to put on the LCD and you can make it as simple or as complicated as you want. In fact don't be put off with all the settings as you can just use "simple" mode and get superb crisp photo's and familiarise yourself later (if you want). The flash is pretty adequate for it being a compact.
I was dissapointed not to be able to get RAW and TIFF files, but the on-board processing needs little further adjustment. I'm very glad I've got one as I'm far more likely to be carrying it in my pocket than I would be with something bigger.

I bought this camera to replace my old Olympus C770 ultra zoom and my newer Fuji F10 as I wanted something that would encapsulate what both cameras could do ( Small with a powerfull zoom ) I was not dissapointed, this compact has all the features you could want. It has many different scenes settings and the zoom is amazing for a camera of this size, I love the anti shake feature as well which will give some great long distance shots. Try using the wide angle feature too it gives a different and interesting perspective.
The screen is crystal clear and a good healthy 3".
I give this camera 5 stars coz I looked long and hard for really good compact that fitted all my requirements, give it a go you won't be dissapointed.

Bought this camera from Digital cameras.com. for £230, high street prices can be as high as £300 so shop around. Arrived next day with a 2 year warranty. It has won numerous awards lately including T3 magazine top zoom compact. Nice build quality, and a large screen. The 28mm wide angle came into its own at a wedding recently. I would say it matches my Canon Ixus 750, but also with the Panasonic you get the image stabiliser and of course the 10x zoom, which when combined with the brilliant Leica lens gives very good results. There are many settings to play with, and as with most new digital cameras, you have to experiment to get the best out of it. If you are after pure professional results then go for a £500 plus SLR, but remember for the equivilent zoom you would have to invest in a twin lens kit, so add another £200. Lets face it most of us just want a compact point and shoot that you can drop in your pocket and take anywhere, and this little marvel can do this and a lot more besides.

I bought a Lumix when in the US on Amazon.com because the price with the exchange rate meant I got it for about £180.

I have taken an age to buy a replacement for my creaking Ixus and nothing was really doing it for me, mainly due to the poor optical zoom. What was very strange was that when I got to the US and bought my new camera a colleague from Australia had done exactly the same and bought a Lumix TZ3.

I have to say that it has bowled me over how good this thing is. I have taken pictures which in some instances look better than the real thing. One example is when I took a picture of the sunset using the sunset scenario mode - the pictures that I produced were incredible.

The camera came with a 256MB memory card which was sufficient for approx 2 short films and 50 pictures. I have since bought a 2GB memory card.

I would recommend this camera to anyone that wants the convenience of a compact but the power of a SLR.