Cameras: Panasonic DMC-TZ3 Digital Camera review – 62

Cameras are the perfect travel companions; they slip into your bag with your best Hawaiian T and your fave loafers. The Panasonic DMC-TZ3 is like that: 7.2 million pixels with 10x optical zoom packed in a petite body with a proportionately huge 3-inch screen.

The metal body is big enough for a proper bloke to hold but small enough that it won’t be out of place with mum at the kid’s soccer. There’s a comfortable dimpled thumb pad on the back and raised grip at the front to make it feel as snug and secure as possible.

Choose the days your holiday begins and ends, and when you review images the camera tells you how deep into your holiday you were when you pushed the button

The screen is three inches of liquid crystal display that will have you drooling every time you switch this wee beast on. Playing back one image is great on this big (230,000 pixels) screen but there is a Dual Display setting that allows two images to be played back at a time, and this is great to use.

The lens – a Leica DC Vario-Elmarit covering 28mm through to 280mm – is quite simply wonderful. This range is perfect for shooting the narrow streets of Brasov in Romania (the narrowest streets in Europe) or sucking in the action at the Rugby World Cup. Make sure you get a seat close to the action, though, as 280mm won’t bring things in from too far away. Panasonic boasts extra optical zoom that works by lowering the amount of pixels in use; this gives you a smaller area of sensor being used and increases the optical zoom up to 15x. For me the more pixels in play the better, and the full 7.2 million pixels of the TZ3 produce sharp images.

If you are a traveller the TZ3 has some great features, including being able to set the date and time of your trip. Choose the days your holiday begins and ends, and when you review images the camera tells you how deep into your holiday you were when you pushed the button. When setting the date and time in the setup menu, you also have the option to set your home location as well as a travel destination. This lets you effortlessly swap from New Zealand time to what the time is in New York without having to fumble about while you’re trapped on the plane. On your return you simply switch back to your local time.

There are loads of scene modes (21), including an underwater setting. You will have to shell out a few more bucks for the optional underwater housing, but if you take a break on a tropical Pacific island or lounge around the Mediterranean, you’ll love being able to take shots in and around water without fearing you’ll ruin your camera.
The Lithium rechargeable battery gives a reasonable amount of usage time, even when you forget to turn the camera off. I kept forgetting to throw the switch and the battery had drained in five days, but there is a power saving setting that automatically puts the camera to sleep.

In the TZ3, Panasonic has produced what could arguably be described as the best 10x optical zoom camera out there. It’s compact enough to go anywhere and it has a brilliant 3-inch screen, while the pictures it takes are quite frankly brilliant. It doesn’t hurt that it has the best image stabiliser on the block and HD 16:9 movie recording.

FRASER KITT

Panasonic DMC-TZ3 Digital Camera $749

Contact
www.panasonic.co.nz

SPECIFICATIONS

Effective Pixels: 7.2 million
Lens: Leica DC Vario-Elmarit 10x optical zoom 4.6 – 46mm (28 – 280mm 35mm)
Viewfinder: None
LCD Monitor: 3-inch TFT LCD (230,000 pixels)
Shutter: 8 sec to 1/2000 sec (15, 30, 60-sec Starry Sky setting)
Aperture: f3.3 – f4.9
ISO: Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1250, 3200 – High Sens mode
Shooting Modes: Program, Macro, Movie, Portrait, Soft Skin, Self Portrait, Scenery, Sports, Night portrait, Night Scenery, Food, Party, Candle Light, Baby, Pet, Sunset, Starry Sky, High Sens, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Aerial Photo, Underwater.
Media: MMC, SD, SDHC
File Format: JPEG, Quicktime Motion JPEG
Batteries: Lithium-ion rechargeable
Dimensions: 94.9 x 51.9 x 22mm
Weight: 153g

PROS

3-inch screen
Compact size for 10x optical zoom
Travel features

CONS

No manual settings

VERDICT

A smart wee thing with a huge screen, brilliant optical zoom, and amazing image stabiliser.

Aesthetics: 90%
Performance: 92%
Features: 88%
Functionality: 89%
Price Value: 80%

Overall: 88%