Features
Supplied Software

Features

LCD Monitor: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 digital camera features a clear, bright, high-resolution, 3" (diagonal), low-temperature polycrystalline TFT LCD monitor for framing shots and displaying your recorded images. The LCD monitor has approximately 230,000 pixels with a field of view of about 100% of the image being recorded. The Power LCD mode increases the brightness of the monitor, making it easier to see when taking pictures outdoors. The High Angle mode makes the monitor easier to see when the camera is held high above your head in order to shoot over an obstruction.

Image Sensor: The images are captured on the TZ3's 1/2.35" CCD with 8,500,000 total pixels; 7,200,000 effective. The CCD features a primary color filter which ensures the correct extraction of color information from the CCD for vivid, rich color images.

Leica Lens: The TZ3 is equipped with a high-quality Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens with a powerful 10x optical zoom (35mm film camera equivalent: 28mm to 280mm).

Digital Zoom: The camera has a digital zoom with a maximum of 4x. Combined with the 10x optical zoom, the total zoom is 40x. The digital zoom can be turned off if you prefer.

Extended Optical Zoom: When the resolution isn't set to the highest quality for a given aspect ratio, you can use the extra capacity to effectively increase the optical zoom power without picture quality deterioration. The Extended Optical Zoom function uses the center part of the high-resolution CCD and crops the picture to the size you've chosen. The result is an optical zoom power maximum of 15x. Combined with the 4x digital zoom, the total maximum zoom is 60x.

MEGA Optical Image Stabilization: To prevent blurry images caused by hand movement, you can activate the MEGA Optical Image Stabilization (MEGA O.I.S.). Inadvertent hand movement generally occurs during telephoto, macro, or self-portrait shooting, or when taking photos at night or in dim lighting. The MEGA O.I.S. system uses built-in gyrosensors to detect even tiny camera movement, then shifts a lens in the opposite direction to compensate. You can choose between two O.I.S. modes: continuous stabilization (Mode 1) or activated only when shutter is pressed (Mode 2).

Histogram Display: The histogram display shows the brightness on the horizontal axis (left side black, right side white) and the number of pixels at each brightness level on the vertical axis. This enables you to easily check a picture's exposure.

Recording Media: In addition to the 12.7 MB built-in memory, the TZ3 can record images on SD Memory Cards of 8 MB to 2 GB capacity, SDHC (High Capacity) Memory Cards larger than 2 GB, and MultiMediaCards (MMC).

Note: MMC read and write speeds are slower than SD and they cannot be used to record motion video.

Mode Dial: Using the mode dial you can easily switch between modes; Normal picture, Simple, Playback, Intelligent ISO sensitivity, Scene 1, Scene 2, Motion picture, Macro, Clipboard, and Print.

Simple Mode: The Simple Mode allows beginners to take pictures easily. Only the basic functions appear in the menu to make operation uncomplicated. All other operations and settings are preset.

Playback Features: Recorded images can be displayed on the LCD screen one at a time, or using multi-playback 9 or 25 at a time. From these screens, you can delete one or multiple images at a time. Playback zoom allows you to enlarge an image on the LCD screen by 2x, 4x, 8x or 16x.

ISO Sensitivity: The camera's sensitivity to light (ISO) can be set automatically, or you can manually select a sensitivity of ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, or ISO 1250. When set to Auto, the camera automatically sets the optimal sensitivity based on the brightness of the scene. There is also an Intelligent ISO Sensitivity Mode which detects the movement of the subject near the center of the frame and sets the sensitivity and shutter speed according to the movement and brightness of the subject.

Scene Modes: When you select a scene mode to match the subject and recording situation, the camera sets the optimal exposure and hue to obtain the desired picture. The scene 1 and scene 2 Mode Dial positions allow you to easily switch between any two scene modes. Available scene modes include:

• Portrait: subject stands out from the soft background and has natural facial tones
• Soft Skin: camera detects the face or skin area to achieve a smoother appearance of the skin than the Portrait mode
• Self Portrait: take a picture of yourself at arm's length
• Scenery: focuses preferentially on a distant subject, allowing you to take pictures of a wide landscape; the focus range is 16.4' to infinity.
• Sports: allows you to take pictures of sports or other fast-moving subjects; the minimum focus range is 16.4'
• Night Portrait: take pictures of a subject and a landscape at night with near real-life brightness by using the flash and slowing down the shutter speed; the focus range is approximately 4' to 16.4'
• Night Scenery: vividly record nightscapes; the shutter speed is greatly reduced (up to 8 seconds) so a tripod is recommended; the focus range is 16.4' to infinity
• Food: take pictures of food with a natural hue without being affected by the ambient light in restaurants
• Party: record pictures at indoor gatherings, the party mode slows down the shutter speed and uses the flash so both the subjects and the background are recorded at natural brightness; subjects should be about 5 feet away and a tripod is recommended
• Candle Light: take pictures in a candlelit atmosphere; a tripod is recommended
• Baby 1 & 2: photograph babies with a healthy complexion, the effect of the flash is weakened, you can enter the birthdays of two babies and display the age of the baby in each picture
• Pet: like the Baby mode, you can set the birth date of your pet
• Sunset: take vivid pictures of the red setting sun; the flash and AF assist lamp are off and the white balance is fixed
• High Sensitivity: sensitivity is set higher than usual, up to 3200, this mode helps minimize the blur of moving subjects in situations with inadequate lighting
• Starry Sky: take vivid pictures of a starry sky or a dark subject; the shutter is open for 15, 30, or 60 seconds, so a tripod is necessary
• Fireworks: photograph fireworks exploding in the night sky, a tripod is recommended, most effective when 32 feet or more away
• Beach: prevents under exposure of your subject in strong sunlight, emphasizes the vivid blue of the sea and sky
• Snow: the exposure and white balance are adjusted to make the white color of the snow stand out
• Aerial Photo: take pictures through an airplane window
• Underwater: take pictures in natural color underwater using the optional DMW-MCTZ3 marine case

Motion Pictures: The TZ3 can record motion pictures with audio at two speeds and at three picture sizes. You can record at 848 x 480 pixels in the 16:9 aspect ratio, and at 640 x 480 pixels and 320 x 240 pixels in the 4:3 aspect ratio. For each size, you can record at 30 or 10 frames per second.

Clipboard: The clipboard mode is useful for taking pictures of timetables or maps, instead of writing notes. They are saved in a clipboard folder of the built-in memory to distinguish them from standard photos.

PictBridge: The TZ3 can be connected to any PictBridge-compatible printer via the supplied USB cable for direct printing. The print size, layout, date, and other settings can be made with the camera prior to printing.

Image Resolution You can record still images in 12 sizes, three aspect ratios (4:3, 3:2, and 16:9), and two quality settings (Fine or Standard). The number of images you can record is as follows:

Auto Focus: You can select any of five Auto Focus modes:

• 9-Area: the camera focuses on any of 9 points, effective when the subject is not in the center of the frame
• 3-Area (High Speed): the camera quickly focuses on any of 3 focus areas (left, right, or center)
• 1-Area (High Speed): the camera quickly focuses on the subject in the AF area in the center of the screen
• 1-Area: the camera focuses on the subject in the AF area in the center of the screen
• Spot Focusing: the camera focuses on a limited narrow area in the screen

AF Assist Lamp: The camera has an AF Assist Lamp which provides extra lighting as a focusing aid for slightly dark situations where auto focusing would ordinarily be difficult.

Continuous Auto Focus: In the Continuous Auto Focus mode, the camera is constantly focusing on the subject. When activated, the time required for focusing is greatly shortened when the AF mode is set to 1-area focusing, 1-area focusing (high speed), or spot focusing. The battery lasts longer between charges when Continuous AF is turned off.

Focus Range: The TZ3's focus range is approximately 1.6 feet to infinity (Wide), 6.5 feet to infinity (Tele), and 2 inches to 6.5 feet in Macro mode.

Exposure Compensation: If you cannot achieve the proper exposure due to the difference in brightness between the subject and background, exposure compensation allows you to adjust the exposure between -2EV and +2EV in steps of 1/3EV.

Light Metering: The TZ3 gives you three options for light metering:

• Multiple: measures the amount of light across the entire image to achieve a balanced exposure setting
• Center-Weighted: focuses on the subject in the center of the screen and measures the whole screen evenly
• Spot: light is measured on the subject in the spot metering target

Auto Bracketing: If you are unsure of the proper exposure, you can use the Auto Bracketing feature to take multiple pictures with a single press of the shutter button, each using a different exposure. The camera will take three exposures, one using the average exposure, one over exposed and one under exposed. The amount of compensation can be set to +/-1/3EV, +/-2/3EV or +/-1EV.

Burst Mode: You can take multiple shots consecutively in the Burst Mode. Select from three Burst Mode settings; High Speed, Low Speed, and Unlimited. You can record up to 7 standard quality or 5 fine quality images at a speeds of 3 images per second (high speed) or 2 images per second (low speed). When set to Unlimited, the camera can record approximately 2 images per second until the memory is full.

White Balance: To reproduce colors accurately, you can set the White Balance to match the ambient light around the subject, or use the automatic setting. Presets include daylight, cloudy, shade, and incandescent lighting. You can also manually adjust the camera to the present lighting situation. A frequently used White Balance setting can be stored as a preset.

Built-in Flash: The built-in flash has the following modes:

• Auto: the flash is automatically activated when recording conditions make it necessary
• Auto/Red-eye Reduction: the flash is automatically activated when necessary, it is preceded by a pre-flash to reduce the red-eye effect
• Forced On: the flash is activated regardless of the recording conditions
• Forced On/Red-eye Reduction: the flash and pre-flash are always activated
• Slow sync./Red-eye Reduction: with a dark background, the shutter is slowed down when the flash is activated so the background will brighten, simultaneously, the red-eye phenomenon is reduced
• Forced Off: the flash is not activated under any recording conditions

Self Timer: The camera has a self timer feature that delays the shutter release, allowing you take pictures of yourself. The self timer can be set for 2 seconds or 10 seconds.

Review: After taking a picture, Auto Review will display it on the LCD monitor. Setting options are off (no review), 1 second, 3 seconds, and zoom (the picture is enlarged after a brief display at original size). At any time you can view the last recorded picture for about 10 seconds without leaving the recording mode. While the picture is displayed, you can enlarge the picture 4x or 8x. The picture can be deleted (Quick Deletion) during the review, if desired.

Audio Recording: Five seconds of audio can be recorded using the built-in microphone when you record a still image.

Battery: The TZ3 uses a single CGA-S007A rechargeable Lithium Ion battery. The estimated battery life is 270 recordable pictures or approximately 135 minutes of recording, and approximately 260 minutes of playback time. Estimated charging time is approximately 120 minutes using the supplied DE-A45 battery charger. The battery is not charged inside the camera.

Backup Battery: When a fully charged battery has been inserted for more than 24 hours, the clock setting is stored in the camera for at least 3 months, even if the battery is removed.

Optional AC Adapter: You can operate the camera on AC power using the optional DMW-AC55PP AC adapter (available from the manufacturer). The adapter is recommended when the camera is connected to your PC or printer. Note: The camera's battery is not charged when the AC adapter is in use.

Power Save Mode: The Power Save mode allows you save battery power by automatically turning the camera off after a set amount of time without operation; 1, 2, 5, or 10 minutes, or Off.

Color Effect Mode: You can set a color effect for recorded pictures for a special touch:

• Natural: picture becomes softer
• Vivid: picture becomes sharper
• Cool: picture becomes bluish
• Warm: picture becomes reddish
• B/W: picture is black and white
• Sepia: picture becomes sepia

Supplied Software

Applications: The supplied CD-ROM software includes the following applications:

• LUMIX Simple Viewer 1.2E (Windows): easily transfer pictures from the camera to the PC and view, print, and attach them to e-mails, etc.
• PHOTOfunSTUDIO-viewer 1.2E (Windows): similar to Simple Viewer, except that it allows you to categorize the pictures by their recording date, model of the camera used, or a keyword, you can also resize the pictures and set their layout when printing, dates can be added to pictures if not set when photo was taken
• ArcSoft Software Suite (Windows/Macintosh):
  • PhotoBase: make a catalog by bundling still picture files together
  • PhotoImpression: edit, process, print, and store pictures
  • Panorama Maker: combine several still pictures to make panoramic photos
• QuickTime (Windows 2000/XP): required for playing back still pictures with audio or motion video (included with Macintosh OS)
• Adobe Reader (Windows 2000 SP2 or later/XP): required to read PDF files (software instruction manuals on CD-ROM)
• USB Driver 1.0: required for operating the digital camera using Windows 98/98SE (driver is included in later Windows versions)

Operating Environment:

• LUMIX Simple Viewer: