Digital Trends

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 December 5th, 2007 | by David Elrich

Testing and Use

The TZ3 is good to go in about two seconds as the lens extends; this is about standard for a 2007 digicam but not the quickest I’ve handled. I began in Auto then moved to few other manual options available. I set the camera to maximum resolution (7MP, 3072 x 2304 pixels) with the least compression and initially auto white balance and ISO (sensitivity) with OIS engaged. Note: this is a true aim-and-forget camera—there are no manual adjustments for aperture or shutter speed so if those options have any appeal for you, look at another model. Also this camera does not have face detection, one of the most popular new features of the year. With most of the bad news on table it was time to start clicking in earnest.

Since it was Thanksgiving, I had the opportunity to take shots of lots of smiling faces on a trip to Florida. Even without face detection, the TZ3 did a very good job capturing smiles with very good exposures. Where the camera fell on its face (pun intended) was speed. Slipping the camera into continuous mode to capture a “birthday cake--blow out the candles” situation, the TZ3 chugged along; it took about four seconds for the flash to recycle (and this was with a charged battery). A few memories were missed because of this and it’s one of the reasons D-SLRs are catching on—no point-and-shoot digicam can match the speed—and the Panasonic definitely was slower than other aim-and-forget digicams recently tested. Although Panasonic claims three shots per second in continuous mode, I don’t know on which planet they determined this figure. That said, the 28mm wide angle setting came in very handy and it’s a real plus compared to the more traditional 35mm spec.

Image Courtesy of Panasonic

Beyond the usual turkey day festivities, I used the camera to capture the last leaves of fall and my usual indoor subjects (flower arrangements, cats and so on). When shooting outdoors, the TZ3 is fairly responsive with no problems grabbing focus. I could easily see the owner of this camera strolling along on a vacation, taking photos galore. Shooting indoors gave me the opportunity to see how well the OIS and ISO worked since I disabled the flash. Again the response was not the fastest and with no way to adjust shutter speed or aperture you’re at the mercy of the camera’s adjustments (not a great thing, I might add).

Once the card was loaded with images it was time to crank out 8.5x11 full bleed prints with no tweaking in the camera or printer. Before I get into the positives let me state that Panasonic Lumix digicams still have serious issues with digital noise when you hit ISO 400 when shooting with the flash off. Do not expect to turn out large pristine prints at these levels as you’ll be disappointed. Even though the OIS did a good job with blur, the images fell apart at anything 400 or higher. Too bad. As far as the shots taken with the flash, they were good for the most part although a few were a tad overexposed. Touristy outdoor photos were quite good, with accurate, natural colors and no discernible purple fringing with buildings or tree branches against the sky. I liked them and the prints were more than acceptable.

Conclusion

The 7MP Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 goes for around $260 USD (silver), a bit more in different colors. At this price it’s a good choice for people who want to take a versatile digicam along on their travels. The 28mm lens is great for landscapes and people shots; it’s one of my favorite features on this or any point-and-shoot camera. Before you drop the bucks, realize it’s not the fastest model on the block with a continuous shooting mode (with flash) that’ll have you twiddling your thumbs. And that old Panasonic bugaboo of too much digital noise at high ISOs is still with us. If you can deal with these issues, check it out.

Pros

• Compact 10x zoom
• Optical image stabilization
• Nice, large LCD screen

Cons

• Pokey performance
• Noisy at 400 ISO and beyond