Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 Digital camera

[Trog]

The Panasonic LUMIX ZS3 is a powerhouse performer with enormous versatility. Compared with the TZ-Series, it extends the power of the optical zoom from 10x to 12x and expands the wide-angle lens from 28mm to an ultra-wide 25mm, giving it the range for virtually any shooting situations, “Despite its superior lens specifications and functionality, the ZS3 is remarkably smaller and lighter than its predecessors, This makes it easier to carry on travels and everyday shooting opportunities.”


The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 Main Features

• The 10.1 effective Megapixel Lumix DMC-ZS3 camera
• DMW-BCG10 lithium-ion rechargeable battery
• Battery charger
• Wrist strap
• USB cable
• A/V cable
• CD-ROM featuring PhotoFunStudio 3.0 HD, ArcSoft Media Impression and Panorama Maker
• 137 page camera manual (printed)

BUILD AND DESIGN

The Panasonic DMC-ZS3 (also called the DMC-TZ7 in some markets) has a 10.1-megapixel sensor, a 3-inch LCD, and a 12x zoom that flattens out into a 1.29-inch-thick pocket camera. Overall, the ZS3 claims a 10 percent size reduction when compared to the TZ cameras, and although it's still a formidable model compared to many ultracompacts (and hardly pocket-size besides), the ZS3 still slightly bests the competitive Canon SX200 in compactness. Ranging from 25-300mm equivalent, the Panasonic ZS3's 12x zoom is a Leica-branded optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization.

Camera Controls

Panasonic ZS3 conrols are on the back side of the camera. The camera's typical-for-a-Lumix control arrangement clusters the camera's basic functions – a four-way controller, a couple of dedicated buttons, and the new video button – within easy reach of your thumb, and even with the camera's large lens extended, balance was never a problem.The Menu/Set button brings up the Panasonic ZS3's Main menu, and the left and right arrows move in and out of menu levels. 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.

25mm wide-angle LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens with 12x optical zoom :

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.

[Trog]

iA mode, for beautiful photos and movies - automatically

Just set the camera to iA mode, aim and shoot. The camera does all the rest. It automatically determines the most suitable Scene mode and helps correct blurring, focus, and brightness problems. With iA mode, it's easy to get beautiful, clear results. *In the ZS3, iA mode cannot be used when shooting motion images.


AVCHD format - beautiful HD images, extended shooting time

The Z3S records HD motion images at a smooth 60 frames per second with 1280 x 720-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.


Zoom-In Movie: You can zoom in and out while shooting motion images.
Stereo Mic:

The world's first compact camera to feature Dolby(R) sound, the ZS3 records dynamic, true-to-life audio that brings out the power of the HD images. (Dolby is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories).
Wind cut function: Minimizes the distracting sound you hear from wind blowing into the mic.

YouTubeUploader: This software (included with the camera) makes it easy to upload your video clips to YouTube.


HDMI output and VIERA Link: 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. (HDMI, High-Definition Multimedia Interface are trademarks of HDMI Licensing LLC).

[Trog]

Image and Video Quality

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 can shoot wide-angle views with ease. Like other Lumix models, the ZS3 features a pair of image stabilization modes, allowing for either shoot-only stabilization (which begins to stabilize when the shutter release is half-pressed), or continuous stabilizer operation. with Lumix DMC-ZS3 you can reach out and grab far off scenes, or shoot video with some grace, I start to think of them as companions rather than just cameras. Well, the Panasonic ZS3 does all three of those items quite well. Zooming with the Panasonic ZS3 is very basic while taking pictures, more on the zooming will be discussed in the video Quality. The ZS3's flash is powerful for a compact, with a range of roughly 15 feet at wide angle. At the same time, recycle times are snappy enough for back to back flash shooting, assuming you don't need full power for each shot.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 is still camera which takes a nice video
but not great. The ZS3 has a capability to take 720p video, and it supports two recording formats such as high-quality AVCHD Lite codec, and traditional MPEG . default aspect ratio for stills on the Panasonic ZS3 is 4:3, and if you're shooting an HD video, which is 16:9. Zooming while shooting video is enhanced, since it starts slowly and gradually speeds up, which I found better than the Panasonic TS1's "on or off" fast-all-the-time zoom. without using the file-size benefits of AVCHD, the video quality of the Lumix DMC-ZS3 is nice as compare to any cheap video camcorder.


Storage and battery :

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 is compatible with both SD and SDHC cards. maximum capacity is 32GB. which is sufficient for any one. the camera also has 45MB of built-in memory. 4 to 8 Gb card is sufficient unless you plan to shoot a lot of video.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 comes with 895mAh, 3.6 volt lithium-ion design Battery. the model number of the battery is DMW-BCG10PP. Battery life quite good as compare to other cameras. on a full charge it takes around 300 shots. but it is better to keep an extra battery if you are planning to shoot only video.

[Trog]

Final words:

The Panasonic Lumix ZS3 offers a lot of photographic power, covering wide and telephoto with better quality than many larger cameras. image quality is a little average at wide-angle, but overall image quality is brilliant. Movie quality is also better, Video performance is quite possibly the best you'll find on a still camera.Overall, the Panasonic Lumix ZS3 offers a lot of photographic power, covering wide and telephoto with better quality than many larger cameras, and slipping quietly into a pocket or bag.