Panasonic’s new 7.2-megapixel Lumix DMC-TZ3 point-and-shoot digital camera is heavy on the features with a large 3-inch LCD display and a 10x Leica DC Vario-Elmar optical zoom lens with MEGA O.I.S. image stabilization. The 10x optical zoom lens puts the TZ3 in the superzoom category and it’s a bit larger than most pocket point-and-shoots. However, in spite of the big zoom, it’s still small enough to fit into your pocket.

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Studio Test Images
	ISO 100 Sample >> ISO 200 Sample >> ISO 400 Sample >> ISO 800 Sample >> ISO 1250 Sample >>

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

Introduction
The most impressive element of the Panasonic Lumix TZ3 digital camera is the 10x 28-280mm (35mm equivalent) Leica zoom lens. At 28mm on the wide end, it actually has a wide-angle aspect, something that isn’t common among compact digital cameras.. No one will be referring to the TZ3 as “cool” or “swanky” - this is a working-persons camera. But it does work well. I appreciated it during a newspaper work trip to Beijing, China where I needed a camera stealthier than the big digital SLR I usually use.

Features
The 10x Leica zoom lens is the star of this show. It produces high quality, sharp images even when zoomed all the way to the 10x maximum. The TZ3 also has an additional 4x digital zoom you can add to the already impressive 10x zoom. But since digital zoom quality is always quite bad, I don’t see the point. Better to just take the picture and enlarge it on your computer with Photoshop or other software.

A photograph from the same spot demonstrating the widest and tightest view from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 in Narita International Airport, Tokyo, Japan.

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 the appropriate time both during and after the trip.

Besides the World Clock, there’s also a really nifty, dual display playback mode. It allows you to look at two images next to each other - in case you want to compare and contrast different images.

Like most point-and-shoot digital cameras, the Panasonic Lumix TZ3 has scene modes, which correspond to different photo subjects and situations. If you don’t know what a particular scene mode does, you can select it and press the “DISPLAY” button on the back of the camera and a short description will appear. In the case of “CANDLE LIGHT” scene mode, the description reads: “For taking pictures expressing the atmosphere of the candle lit subjects. Recommend using a tripod.” The TZ3 includes all the standard scene modes, like PORTRAIT, SPORTS, PET, etc. The odd ones here are STARRY SKY, FIEWORKS, and UNDERWATER (using the TZ3 underwater requires the “optional marine case.” The PET and BABY scene modes that allow you to associate an age with a picture - except the subject needs to have been born on or after the year 2000. Unfortunately, my cat was born in 1997 - so Whitie and I don’t get the full benefit of the pet mode!

The large, 3-inch LCD means there is no optical viewfinder. The TZ3 has an optional histogram display and compositional grid that can be turned on or off, if desired.

The TZ3’s sensitivity ranges from ISO 100 to ISO 1250. I was a bit surprised the camera doesn’t go below ISO 100 since many of the other point and shoots I’ve used go to 50 ISO. The TZ3 has four basic exposure modes: NORMAL MODE, [show photo of mode dial here] an “Intelligent ISO” mode that detects moving subjects, SIMPLE MODE (heart icon), MACRO MODE, represented by the standard flower icon. There are also two SCENE MODE menus, a Motion Picture mode, and a CLIPBOARD MODE for taking quickly accessible pictures of timetables or maps. Finally, there’s a printer mode for printing directly from the camera. The NORMAL MODE offers the most control.

Design
The Panasonic Lumix TZ3 straddles two categories - it’s both a pocket point-and-shoot and, with its 10x zoom lens, it’s also a superzoom digital camera. I’m not sure what the TZ3 is made of, but it’s got a stainless steel look. The camera is big and bulky for a point-and-shoot digital camera. “Elegant” or “hip” are not words I’d use to describe the look of the TZ3. One photographer I showed it to called it, “ugly.” There is a raised area on the left front of the camera that seems to be a grip for your hand. But it’s such a small bump it actually made the camera feel more awkward in my hands and gives it kind of a weird look.

Unlike other cameras in the superzoom category, the TZ3 is small enough to fit in a pants pocket. Instead of looking like a miniature DSLR, like most superzooms, the TZ3 looks like an oversized point-and-shoot. The 3-inch LCD display is huge, taking up about 80% of the back of the camera. And as mentioned above, Panasonic decided to leave out the optical viewfinder. Most people won’t miss it and it helps keep the camera smaller.

Left: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Zoom lever, Image Stabilzation and On/Off Switch Right: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Mode Dial

There are lots of buttons and dials on the TZ3 - 12 to be exact. But despite the overwhelming number of controls, they are laid out well so they’re easy to identify by position and feel. I rarely pushed the wrong button.

Camera Experience
The 10x 28-280mm (35mm equivalent) Leica lens is the most impressive thing about the Panasonic Lumix TZ3. The 28mm wide-angle end of the zoom range has a real wide angle-of-view, something that’s not common on compact digital cameras. And image quality doesn’t degrade at either end of the zoom range as happens with so many other compact digital cameras. The 10x optical zoom maintains its sharpness when zoomed all the way to 10x. Zoom and focus operation are nice and quiet, as is turning the camera on and off. One of the last things you want is for everyone in a room to turn around when you turn on your camera.

The TZ3’s auto exposure metering worked well. It was spot on for the majority of my photos. And the exposure compensation control is easily accessible in the NORMAL PICTURE mode. I used the NORMAL PICTURE mode the most. However, the Mode dial turns too easily and would often change position in my pocket. So sometimes when I turned the camera on I was surprised by the mode it was on.

The NORMAL PICTURE mode offers the most control, with exposure compensation to lighten and darken photos and flash option controls. I also tried the SIMPLE mode (heart icon), although it’s too simple for me. It’s pure point-and-shoot and offers no control over camera functions, except the flash. Beginning photographers will appreciate the SIMPLE MODE but more experienced photographers will prefer the NORMAL PICTURE mode and scene modes. The Intelligent ISO mode is interesting. It’s supposed to detect subject movement and adjust the ISO to help freeze action. You choose a sensitivity threshold (such as ISO 400) and the camera chooses an appropriate sensitivity within that range, depending on light conditions and the subject. It works pretty well if you don’t want to worry about what ISO will work the best and helps ensure photos are sharp and without too much digital noise (grain).

The TZ3’s menus change depending on what mode you’ve chosen. I found this pretty confusing and annoying. The menu has SETUP, REC, and PLAY submenus organized by tabs. Depending on what mode you’re using you get a different menu. It makes it hard to find things in the menus. For example, to format the memory card you must either be in the PLAY menu or the PLAYBACK mode on the Mode dial. If you’re in a shooting mode you can’t format the SD memory card. People like consistency. That’s why big box stores and fast food chains are popular - they’re the same everywhere you go. But the TZ3’s menu is not consistent and the camera suffers for it.

The SD card goes in the opposite way that I think it should. When you’re looking at the rear of the camera, the label side of the card should face you so that you can see what size card you’re using. But the TZ3 is designed so you insert the card with the label facing away from you. This may not be a big deal to some people, but it was annoying to me.

The camera feels very sturdy and well built, with one exception. The battery door is a bit flimsy. Also, it must be manually locked every time. The lock probably does offer some additional security. But it’s an extra step that gets in the way of taking pictures.

The TZ3’s auto focus is a bit slow but the continuous capture rate is fast. Panasonic claims the camera will capture 3 frames-per-second and it does actually feel like it’s getting that many. The camera will do bursts in five frames - I was able to get five frames in 2 seconds - just below the claimed 3 frames-per-second, and quite impressive, even if it didn’t quite hit the mark. Once the 5 frames are up you have to lift your finger off the shutter release and depress it again to start shooting.

Panasonic’s MEGA O.I.S. image stabilization system works great. I was able to take several images at 1/10th of a second and they came out nice and sharp. There are two stabilization modes: Mode 1 constantly corrects so that you can see the stabilization in the LCD. Mode 2 only compensates for camera shake at the moment the shutter is released. Both help ensure sharp handheld photos in low light.

The TZ3’s movie mode works well, with resolution nearly twice what you need for YouTube uploads. YouTube recommends uploading a 320×240 picture size, the camera can record 320×240 or 640×480 with the standard 4:3 aspect ratio. It can also record 848×480 in the widescreen, 16:9 aspect ratio. Unfortunately, the main reason for buying the TZ3 - the 10x zoom lens - is disabled in the Motion Picture mode. Once you start recording video you cannot zoom in or out. The MEGA O.I.S. image stabilization does work, though. One really cool video feature is video frame grabs. While the camera is in the movie PLAYBACK mode, you can pause the movie and push the shutter release button as if you were taking a picture. The camera saves a single frame, at 640×480 resolution - even if you are recording at the 320×240 movie resolution. Of course the quality of a frame grab isn’t as good as taking a full-resolution still image. But it’s not horrible either. You can also save a 9-frame selection from a movie by using the zoom-out function.

Camera Menus

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 playback mode with image info and histogram displayed		Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 during capture with image info and histogram on
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Record main menu		Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 MEGA O.I.S. Image stabilization system

Image Quality
Like all digital point-and-shoots I’ve used, the Panasonic TZ3’s image quality is okay. It looks really good at ISO 100, good at ISO 400, grainy at ISO 800 and super grainy at its max ISO 1250. That’s comparing it to digital SLR image quality, which is much better. Comparing the TZ3’s images to other superzooms, such as the Kodak p712, the higher ISO does look much better. Between the two cameras at ISO 400 the TZ3 produces sharper images that have better color reproduction and less grain. Compared to other compact digital cameras I’ve used, the TZ3 produces a very impressive image file. In the past, most compact camera photos didn’t look very good above ISO 100. So having good image quality at ISO 400 is a great improvement. However if the lighting conditions are not good, such as low light, then ISO 400 still won’t look great. The highest sensitivities, ISO 800 and ISO 1250, definitely add quite a bit more grain, lose sharpness, and have more muted color. Overall, the image quality is much better than other point-and-shoot digital cameras I’ve used with less noise (grain) and generally better high ISO performance.

Contrast and color are good for the most part -although maybe a bit on the flat, undersaturated side. The Leica lens delivers images that are very crisp. I didn’t get a chance to test the camera much in bright, contrasty sunlight because of the pollution in Beijing. The smog is so thick that there’s little direct sunshine. That left me shooting in essentially overcast conditions.

I didn’t use the flash much. But 90% of the time I did use it, I used the SLOW SYNC./RED-EYE setting. The results were pretty impressive, with pleasing, well-balanced flash exposure.

Click on thumbnails to view sample photos.

Conclusion
The 10x Leica lens is the centerpiece of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 and it really shines. This is the first point-and-shoot digital camera I’ve used that has an actual wide-angle lens. The TZ3 has many high-end features and specs - minimal shutter-lag, good-looking image files, impressive zoom range, and a fast capture rate. Compared to an SLR the TZ3 is small - but compared to a pocket point-and-shoot digital camera it’s pretty big and heavy.

I would consider buying the TZ3 if I needed a point-and-shoot digital with a large zoom range. Personally, I would rather have a smaller digital camera that fits comfortably in my pocket. The TZ3 did fit in my pocket - but not comfortably. However, considering that the 10x zoom lens technically puts it in the “superzoom” category, it’s nice that it fits in a pocket at all. However, I would be willing to give up a bit of zoom for a camera that is easier to carry in a pocket. For those of you whose priority is a high quality, powerful zoom lens, the Panasonic Lumix TZ3 is a great digital camera.

Who Should Buy It
If you’re looking for a truly pocket-sized digital camera, the Panasonic Lumix TZ3 is definitely not the right camera. But if your priority is a powerful, high-quality zoom lens in a reasonably compact camera with lots of features that produces good-looking photos, then Panasonic’s TZ3 is a good digital camera. If you want a compact digital camera with a 10x zoom lens that will fit in your pocket, then it’s the only choice.

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Contents of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Box
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Digital Camera
• Battery Pack
• Battery Charger
• Battery Carrying Case
• Strap
• USB Connection Cable
• AV Cable
• CD-ROM

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