Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (blue)
Manufacturer: Panasonic Part number: DMC-ZS3A
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- As long as you don't want much in the way of manual features, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 is a very nice camera that can handle a variety of shooting situations.
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CNET editors' review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (blue) price range: $272.95 - $399.99
- Reviewed by: Lori Grunin
- Reviewed on: 04/16/2009
- Released on: 04/20/2009
The good: Long and wide-angle zoom lens in a compact body; 720p movies; lens can zoom during movie capture.
The bad: Very few manual controls.
The bottom line: As long as you don't want much in the way of manual features, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 is a very nice camera that can handle a variety of shooting situations.
Like its predecessor, the Lumix DMC-TZ5, Panasonic's Lumix DMC-ZS3 offers an interesting combination of features, including a 12x zoom lens and 720p AVCHD video capture, in an attractive, compact body. And with better photo quality, slightly faster performance, and a wider angle lens, the ZS3 does improve upon the older model. It also holds pretty well compared with competitors like the Canon PowerShot SX200 IS.
Available in blue, silver, black, and red, the ZS3 (aka the TZ7 elsewhere) has a similar little brother, the ZS1, which differs in some obvious and not-so-obvious ways for their approximately $100 price differential. Though they both shoot 10-megapixel photos, the ZS3 actually uses a 12-megapixel sensor in order to maintain the same angle of view 16:9 and 4:3 aspect modes. The ZS3 also offers a 720p HD movie mode with stereo and a mini HDMI output versus the ZS1's monaural VGA, and has a larger 3-inch LCD.
At 7.7 ounces with dimensions of 2.4 inches by 4.1 inches by 1.3 inches, the ZS3 counts as compact, and fits quite comfortably in a jacket pocket. For the most part, it uses the same design as the TZ5--both attractive and functional--and it's smaller and lighter. Panasonic swapped the traditional locations of the shutter and the mode dial, placing the former to the left of the latter. After a while, it starts to feel more natural, however. A dial lets you switch among camera and movie modes, as well as two slots for program exposure (scene) modes--these have the same choices, but allow the camera to remember two of your last selections--Intelligent Auto and an odd Clipboard mode that captures low-resolution photos to internal memory for fast display. Panasonic fixed the placement of the microphone; though there's still a warning in the manual to watch you don't put your fingers over it, it's farther in toward the center and didn't pose any problems.
The four navigation buttons toggle among the exposure compensation, flash, macro, and self-timer options. Depending upon your current zoom, it automatically chooses standard or telemacro. The ZS3 adds a macro zoom mode, which is basically digital zoom; I suggest you avoid it. Even though the photos look fine when small, I kept forgetting I'd left it on that mode rather than the standard AF Macro.
The Q(uick) menu button brings up a subset of options that are also available in the full menus: LCD brightness, picture size, aspect ratio, intelligent exposure, ISO sensitivity, white balance, AF mode--spot, face detect, AF tracking, 11-area, 1-area high speed, and 1-area--and burst shooting. The full menu adds more shooting settings--picture quality, Intelligent ISO, metering, continuous and Quick AF, intelligent exposure, color effects, digital zoom, minimum shutter speed, audio recording, AF assist, optical image stabilization mode, and clock set--as well as setup screens.
Panasonic adds face recognition to selected models in the Lumix line for 2009; in this case, the ZS3 but not the ZS1. At this point, I think the implementation is still more novel than useful. You can register up to six faces in the camera memory with names and birthdays, priority (for AF and exposure), and a custom focus icon. During playback, the person's name appears. However, you can't use this information to search during playback, and it doesn't seem to appear anywhere in the EXIF data for the photo. As with the TZ5, I still like the minimum shutter speed setting; you can set it as slow as 1 second or as fast as 1/200, and though it doesn't prevent the camera from shooting when exposure drops below the threshold, it does blink a warning message. Intelligent ISO lets you set a maximum for the auto of ISO 400, ISO 800, or ISO 1,600.
The various AF area-mode selections are pretty practical as well, though more for limiting the range of subjects the AF system chooses to focus on than for speed. For instance, the 11-area AF will frequently choose incorrect subjects, where the 1-area AF, which limits the focus area to the middle of the frame, will probably choose correctly more often (since most people simply point at their subject, which puts it in the middle of the frame). The ZS3 has a variety of continuous-shooting modes: standard burst (three best quality shots); a slower infinite burst (highest quality until the card is full), which most closely resembles a typical continuous-shooting mode; and a high-speed burst scene mode, with combinations of various reduced resolutions and ISO sensitivity setting constraints.
Movie-specific options include size and quality, a choice of area or face detect for AF, continuous AF, color, and wind filter. The ZS3 shoots 1,280x720 30fps (720p) HD video, which gets saved in the AVCHD Lite format. This might be a bit of a problem on the software end; many players (software and standalone) need to see the entire AVCHD path on the media, but if you use a photo downloader it might either ignore the movies entirely or simply copy them over without the directory structure. The ZS3 can zoom--quietly, too--while shooting video, but the autofocus doesn't adjust while zooming and takes a second to lock again once you've stopped. But it's got a dedicated movie-record button, which comes in handy.
While the 12x lens covers a nice focal range, 25-300mm-equivalent, it's fairly slow: maximum aperture is f3.3-4.9, depending upon the zoom. The 3-inch LCD looks nice, but tends to get reflective in direct sunlight making it difficult to frame scenes, especially if you're trying to view off-angle.
The ZS3 delivers decent performance, a bit better than the TZ5 and about average for its category. It powers on and shoots in about 2.3 seconds. While it takes a reasonable 0.5 second to focus and shoot in good light, its 1.1 seconds to do so in dimmer, lower contrast lighting is on the high side--too high. Shot-to-shot takes a hair more than 2 seconds, and increases moderately to 2.4 seconds with flash enabled. Our tests with the standard three-shot burst mode yielded a range from 1.9 to 2.3 frames per second.
Overall, the photo quality is quite good for its class. While not quite as sharp as that of the Canon PowerShot SX200 IS, the lens is sharper than the TZ5's with less distortion and practically no fringing. It renders excellent color, saturated and accurate, and generally exposes well, though it tends to clip highlights and haze over a bit in bright scenes. Typical of a point and shoot, the ZS3's noise profile fares well up to ISO 200; at ISO 400 noise-suppression artifacts like blurring start to appear, though the quality isn't bad. Despite the camera's ability to go up as high as ISO 6,400 (in the scene modes), I certainly wouldn't use it beyond ISO 1,600 and even then only in an emergency.
It would be nice if the camera had some more--OK, any--manual features, like the SX200 IS, but if you're looking for a real point and shoot with the flexibility to cover a large variety of shooting situations, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 offers a very compelling alternative.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
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Time to first shot | |
Typical shot-to-shot time | |
Shutter lag (dim) | |
Shutter lag (typical) |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
User reviews
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A great, disappointing camera
by LeonTaipei on September 1, 2009
Pros: The zoom is awesome, particularly while filming. The HD vid is surprisingly good & very clear. The photos, in good lighting, exceptional. Build is solid, and dials, switches etc. also
Cons: Photo quality: Indoors or when the lame flash is involved--as good as any lower priced point-n-shoot. Main cons are the inexplicable limitations of the Intelligent Auto mode.
Summary: I can't believe I'm writing this, but I regret buying the Panasonic ZS3. I have regretted it almost from the moment I bought it. I did my homework, ...
Summary: I can't believe I'm writing this, but I regret buying the Panasonic ZS3. I have regretted it almost from the moment I bought it. I did my homework, researched cameras for weeks, including reading the rave review it got on this site and others. In the end, despite its very high price tag (for a point-n'-shoot), I bought it.
But I am not a happy camera-per. I'm frustrated, and I'm disappointed. I regret buying it. And here is why.
I believe I am the target consumer of this camera. I live a varied, active life. I enjoy taking great photos wherever I go, but I'm not big on using many manual features. I demand great quality photos across a spectrum of situations, all at the click of a button. I'm willing to pay for that. And that is what I came to buy this high-end point-'n-shoot from Panasonic.
Yes, the zoom is awesome, particularly while filming. The HD video is surprisingly good and very clear. It also delivers well in many areas related to build. The photos, in good lighting, exceptional. Other situations--indoors or when the lame flash is involved--as good as any lower priced point-n-shoot.
The main reason for my sizable disappointment with this camera is not, as some reviewers point out, the lack of manual controls. It is just the opposite--it is the ridiculous limitations of the Intelligent Auto (IA) mode.
My grand assumption: people who buy this camera, knowing it has limited Manual controls, do not actually want many Manual controls. They want the Intelligent Auto to be amazing in every way. Like me, they will spend the vast majority of their shooting time in IA mode, and expect it to deliver. But it is, as I will point out in there three examples, not very intelligently designed for the IA user at all--it is bang-your-head-on-the-wall inexplicably designed.
First example: Aspect Ratio & Picture size. If you shoot in Manual mode you have a whole range of choice of Aspect Ratio (4:3, 3:2, 16:9) and Picture Size (0.3M, 2M, 3M, 5M, 7M, 10M). You choose the AR you want, and the size of the photo you want. Lovely. It works out to 16 different possibilities of ARxSize. You can find exactly what you like. Personally I love to shoot in 3:2 at 3M (2048x1536). Nice size photos which won't gobble up hard disk space on my computer.
BUT...(and this is the beginning of my rant against feature design that seems to ignore just who the customer of this camera is), in IA mode you have a ridiculous, inexplicable limitation on choice here. If I want to shoot in IA at 4:3 (TV dimensions), I can choose 3M, 5M, or 10M. Okay, but I really like to shoot in 3:2 (film photo dimensions) as I never view on my TV. However, if I choose 3:2 in IA, I can choose only 9.5M (3776x2520). What the $%&#? That's huge! For whatever reason the 4 other sizes available in Manual are all blocked in IA mode for 3:2. One choice. Inexplicable.
Oh, but what about 16:9 (Widescreen TV dimensions) you ask? Surely this aspect ratio must give a range of sizes to choose from? You'd think so wouldn't you. Want to guess what they offer? In 16:9 IA you get...wait for it...2M (1920x1080). The smallest. Again one choice. In IA you get a meer 5 size choices total, and 3 are for 4:3. Can someone please explain why the majority of sizes readily available in Manual are blocked in IA?
Second example. Let's talk Auto Review (reviewing of pictures immediately after taking it). In IA it is fixed to 2 seconds. Can I make it longer, say 4 or 5 seconds? No, I can't (but I could on my $150 Canon). No, if I want choice of review time, I have to be taking pictures in Manual. Again, why don't both IA and Manual modes not have the exact same review options? This kind of thing makes we want to bonk my head on the wall.
Third example. Auto LCD Off. What a great feature. Too bad it's only for Manual. IA? Nah. What the $%&#? Truly, what the the buyer of this camera wants wants--one who is more than likely to spend the vast majority of his or her photo time in Intelligent Auto mode--is all those "none photo" related functions available in Manual and IA mode. That's why I bought this camera. So why am I snookered in the IA mode? This is where I live. Why is something so fundamental as having control over LCD power saving only available in Manual mode?
My last comment on the camera is on video. I just didn't realize when I bought it the limitations of HD video as it relates to memory. The videos are crisp and clear and yes, eat up a ton of memory very quickly. When filming at any level of quality in JPEG mode the max it can record at one go is 2G. So, when recording in HD JPEG mode, 2G = 8min 20sec. So my 4G card is all but gone in about 16 minutes. Moving down in video quality does open up more space, but then you're not in HD anymore. This is something for HD JPEG filmers be aware--you can only film to 2G, stop, and then you need to press go again to record more.
In the end, my frustration with this camera translates to only one thing--it is not worth it.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great outdoor, very poor indoor
Pros: I love the wide angle lense and the zoom feature. The outdoor photos are fantastic.
Cons: The flash is terrible and indoor picture quality is poor, especially in low light conditions. If you plan on taking a lot of night portraits get something else. Also the mode selector dial is a pain and is always getting shifted to the wrong mode.
Summary: If most of the pictures you take are outside then it's a great camera, but if you shoot indoors a lot go with something else.
Summary: If most of the pictures you take are outside then it's a great camera, but if you shoot indoors a lot go with something else.
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Great megazoom point-and-shoot
by czeckers on September 18, 2009
Pros: Takes great pictures in a variety of lighting situations including low light. Auto focus is superb. Extra wide wide-angle lens a huge bonus but still has a 12x zoom. It's very compact and fits easily in my front pocket. Battery life is good.
Cons: Very limited manual controls. There are many many presets trying to fit every conceivable shooting situation. There are even presets for your favorite presets on the dial, but it would still be nice to be able to be able to set it yourself.
Summary: Overall a great camera. I deducted 1/2 star for lack of manual controls.
Summary: Overall a great camera. I deducted 1/2 star for lack of manual controls.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Panasonic
- Part number: DMC-ZS3A
- Description: The ZS3 records HD motion images at a smooth 60 frames per second with 1280x720-pixel resolution. It uses the AVCHD (MPEG-4/H.264) format via AVCHD Lite, which stores less data than other formats and thus lets you shoot more minutes of HD motion images before running out of memory. The ZS3 is equipped with an HDMI output terminal for direct transmission of digital picture and sound signals. Just connect the camera to an HDTV using a single HDMI mini cable (purchased separately), and it's easy to view beautiful HD photos and motion images. If you have a VIERA HDTV, you can control the camera's playback functions with VIERA's remote control unit. The ZS3 packs a LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens with 12x optical zoom into a compact body. This versatile photographic tool lets you shoot everything from sweeping vistas at the 25mm wide-angle setting to dynamic 300mm telephoto shots. And the lens system's exquisite rendering ability lets you capture even the subtle nuances of the sights and scenes in your travels.
General
- Product Type Digital camera - Compact
- Width 4.1 in
- Depth 1.3 in
- Height 2.4 in
- Weight 7.2 oz
- Enclosure Color Blue
Main Features
- Resolution 10.1 megapixels
- Color Support Color
- Total Pixels 12,700,000 pixels
- Effective Sensor Resolution 10,100,000 pixels
- Light Sensitivity ISO 80, ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO 1600, ISO 3200, ISO auto, ISO auto (1600-6400)
- Digital Zoom 4 x
- Shooting Modes Frame movie mode
- Shooting Programs Pet, Food, Snow, Baby1, Baby2, Beach, Candle, Sunset, Scenery, Pin hole, Fireworks, Low light, Soft skin, Transform, Film grain, Starry sky, Underwater, Night scene, Sports mode, Aerial photo, Beach & surf, Party/indoor, Portrait mode, Self-portrait, Hi-speed burst, Night portrait, High sensitivity
- Special Effects Cool, Warm, Sepia, Vivid, Natural, Black & White
- Image Stabilizer Optical (MEGA O.I.S.)
- Max Shutter Speed 1/2000 sec
- Min Shutter Speed 60 sec
- Exposure Metering Spot, Multi-segment, Center-weighted
- Exposure Modes Program, Automatic
- Exposure Compensation ±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps
- Auto Exposure Bracketing 3 steps in 1/3, 2/3 or 1 EV steps
- Face Detection Yes
- White Balance Custom, Presets, Automatic
- White Balance Presets Shade, Cloudy, Halogen, Daylight
- Digital Video Format QuickTime, AVCHD Lite
- Still Image Format JPEG
- TV Tuner None
- Video Capture QuickTime - 640 x 480, QuickTime - 320 x 240, QuickTime - 848 x 480, AVCHD Lite - 1280 x 720
Memory / Storage
- Supported Flash Memory MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card
- Integrated Memory 45 MB
- Floppy Drive None
- Image Storage JPEG 3648 x 2736, JPEG 3072 x 2304, JPEG 2560 x 1920, JPEG 2048 x 1536, JPEG 1600 x 1200, JPEG 640 x 480, JPEG 3776 x 2520, JPEG 3168 x 2112, JPEG 2656 x 1768, JPEG 2112 x 1408, JPEG 2048 x 1360, JPEG 3968 x 2232, JPEG 3328 x 1872, JPEG 2784 x 1568, JPEG 2208 x 1248, JPEG 1920 x 1080
Camera Flash
- Camera Flash Built-in flash
- Flash Modes Auto mode, Fill-in mode, Slow synchro, Flash OFF mode, Red-eye reduction
- Red Eye Reduction Yes
- Effective Flash Range 2 ft - 17.4 ft
- Features AF illuminator
Lens System
- Type Zoom lens - 4.1 mm - 49.2 mm - F/3.3-4.9
- Focal Length 4.1 mm - 49.2 mm
- Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 25 - 300 mm
- Focus Adjustment Automatic
- Min Focus Range 19.7 in
- Macro Focus Range 3cm
- Lens Aperture F/3.3-4.9
- Optical Zoom 12 x
- Zoom Adjustment Motorized drive
- Lens Construction 8 group(s) / 10 element(s)
- Lens Manufacturer Leica
- Features ED glass, Aspherical lens, Built-in lens shield
Additional Features
- Self Timer Yes
- Self Timer Delay 2 sec, 10 sec
- Additional Features DPOF support, Direct print, Audio dubbing, Face detection, Audio recording, Date/time stamp, Built-in speaker, Cropping an image, Histogram display, Resizing an image, Exif Print support, PictBridge support, Built-in help guide, YouTube capture mode, In-camera red-eye fix, USB 2.0 compatibility, Backlight compensation, Digital image rotation, RGB primary color filter, Intelligent Scene Selector, Camera orientation detection
Viewfinder
- Viewfinder Type None
Display
- Type LCD display - TFT active matrix - 3 in - Color
- Display Form Factor Built-in
- Display Format 460,000 pixels
Digital Player (Recorder)
- Type None
Microphone
- Type Microphone - Built-in
- Microphone Operation Mode Stereo
- Microphone Features Wind noise reduction
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x USB, 1 x Composite video/audio output, 1 x HDMI output, 1 x DC power input
- Expansion Slot(s) 1 x SD Memory Card
Software
- Software Drivers & Utilities, ArcSoft Panorama Maker, ArcSoft MediaImpression, Panasonic PHOTOfunSTUDIO 3.0
System Requirements for PC Connection
- Peripheral Devices USB port, CD-ROM drive
Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Hand strap, Battery case
- Cables Included USB cable, A/V cable
Power
- Power Device Battery charger - External
Battery
- Supported Battery 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery - 940 mAh ( Included )
Accessories
Manufacturer info
- Panasonic
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Panasonic products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.panasonic.com/
- Address:
One Panasonic Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094 - Phone: 800/662-3537
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