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 And now the TZ1 has been superceded by two models with a new 28-280mm equiv.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:
As is the case with most of Panasonic's Lumix models the TZ1 is available in either silver or black (though this may not be the case for every country and / or every retailer).
The TZ3 is available in three colors; blue, silver and black (though this may not be the case for every country and / or every retailer).
| Street price | • US: $330 • UK: £250 |
|---|---|
| Body Material | Metal |
| Sensor | • 1/2.35 " Type CCD |
| Image sizes | • 3072 x 2304 |
| Movie clips | • 640 x 480 @ 30 / 10fps |
| File formats | • JPEG (Exif 2.21) • DPOF • QuickTime Motion JPEG |
| Lens | • 28-280mm (35mm equiv) |
| Image stabilization | MEGA OIS: mode 1 / 2 |
| Conversion lenses | None |
| Digital zoom | Extra optical zoom (4:3: 12x for 5MP, 15x for 3, 2, 1, 0.3MP, 3:2: 12.6x for 4.5MP, 15x for 2.5MP, 16:9: 13x for 3.5MP, 15x for 2MP) |
| Focus | • Auto Focus system • Normal / Macro (dial) • Continuous AF on / off |
| AF area modes | • 1 / 9 point • 1 / 3 point high speed • Spot |
| AF assist lamp | Yes |
| Focus distance | • Normal: 50cm - infinity (wide) / 200cm - infinity (tele) • Macro / Simple mode / Intelligent ISO / Motion picture / Clipboard : 5cm - infinity (wide) / 200cm - infinity Tele (except tele end) • 100cm - infinity (Tele Macro at tele end) |
| Metering | • Intelligent Multiple • Center weighted • Spot |
| ISO sensitivity | • Auto • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 • ISO 800 • ISO 1250 • High Sensitivity mode ISO 3200 |
| Exposure compensation | • +/- 2EV • 1/3 EV steps |
| Exposure bracketing | • +/- 1/3EV -1EV • 3 frames |
| Shutter speed | • 8-1/2000 sec |
| Aperture | F3.3 / 8.0 (Wide: 2 steps) F4.9 / 11 (Tele: 2 steps) |
| Modes | • Program AE |
| Scene modes | • Portrait • Soft Skin • Scenery • Sports • Night Portrait • Night Scenery • Self Portrait • Food • Party • Candle • Fireworks • Starry Sky • Beach • Aerial photo • Snow • High Sensitivity • Baby 1 & 2 • Underwater • Sunset • Pet |
| White balance | • Auto |
| Self timer | • 10 or 2 secs |
| Continuous shooting | • Full-Resolution Image, 3 frames/sec or 2 frames/sec |
| Image parameters | Standard, Vivid, Cool, Warm, Natural, Black & White, Sepia |
| Flash | • Auto • Auto/Red-eye reduction • Forced On • Slow Sync/Red-eye reduction • Forced Off • Range: 0.6 - 4.2m (wide) 1.0 - 2.8m (tele) |
| Viewfinder | None |
| LCD monitor | • 3.0-inch Polycrystalline TFT • 230,000 pixels • Field of view 100% |
| Connectivity | • USB • DC in • AV out |
| Print compliance | PictBridge |
| Storage | • 12.7MB built-in memory • SD / SDHC / MMC card compatible |
| Power | • Li-ion battery pack • Optional AC adapter |
| Weight (excl batt) | 232 g (0.51lb) |
| Dimensions | 105 x 59.2 x 36.7 mm (4.20 x 2.37 x 1.47 in) |
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital
Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help
you understand some of the terms used).
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Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
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This article is Copyright 2007 Simon Joinson / dpreview.com and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact: Phil Askey
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3K 7.2MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) | $45.00 |
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3S 7.2MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) | $45.00 |
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3S 7.2MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) | $45.00 |
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3K 7.2MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) | $45.00 |
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS30K 18 Megapixel Digital Camera - Black | $361.00 |
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5K 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) | $109.95 |
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 16x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) | $190.00 |
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3 inch LCD (Black) | $563.59 |
Panasonic Lumix ZS20 14.1 MP High Sensitivity MOS Digital Camera with 20x Optical Zoom (Black) | $229.00 |
Panasonic Lumix digital camera 20x optical with GPS DMC-TZ40 Black | $259.00 |
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS15 12.1 MP High Sensitivity MOS Digital Camera with 16x Optical Zoom (Black) | $265.00 |
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ40 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 24x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD - Black | $379.99 |
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