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.
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This Item  Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3K 7.2MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $199.99 | -17% $149.00 List: $179.99 | $149.95 | $69.99 | $63.99 | $159.99 |
| Delivery | Get it May 20 - 29 | Get it as soon as Friday, May 10 | — | Get it as soon as Friday, May 10 | Get it as soon as Friday, May 10 | Get it as soon as Friday, May 10 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Picture quality | ||||||
| Zoom | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Image stabilization | ||||||
| Easy to use | ||||||
| Sold By | EnviroCycle | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | YOODEE | Hiacinto | VAFOTON US |
| display type | — | LCD | LCD | LCD | LCD | LCD |
| display size | — | 3 inches | 2.7 inches | 2.8 inches | 2.88 inches | 2.8 inches |
| lens type | — | Wide Angle | Wide Angle | Macro | Telephoto | Zoom |
| zoom type | Optical, Digital | Optical Zoom | Optical Zoom | Digital Zoom | Digital Zoom | — |
| shooting modes | — | — | Automatic, Portrait, Landscape, Macro | Automatic | Manual | Time Lapse |
| connectivity tech | USB | USB | USB | USB | USB | USB |
Reviews with images
Lots of features, poor image quality
This camera could have had it all. Panasonic packed more features into this camera than anyone could probably use. The lens is great, the zoom range is great, the amount of configurable features is great, and the movie mode is great. Unfortunately, I bought this camera to take pictures, and that is the one thing that isn't great.I get a new point-and-shoot camera about every 15 months. Early on, I stuck with Sony, then moved to Canon, which made the last three of my cameras. This was my first Panasonic, and I am not impressed. I took about 200 shots in and around my house and neighborhood. I used all the different settings and features, then went to look at the photos on my computer. From a distance, they look great. When you zoom in to 100% (so you see the actual resolution of the photo), the pictures are grainy, noisy, and blocky; even in bright light, even with the sensitivity turned way down.What good are all the bells & whistles when all the camera can give you is a lousy photo?(Note: I recognize that half of digital camera users don't care about image quality. Those people will love this camera, as the rest of the camera is great.)
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Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2008
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Schneider Georg
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Reviewed in Germany on March 12, 2024Color: BlackVerified Purchase
