Panasonic has long been making small pocket zooms with long lenses, and the latest model, the panasonic lumix zs3, is perhaps the most impressive. They’ve been so successful with the format, new lines that appear to take on Panasonic’s line head-on. The panasonic lumix zs3 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. The panasonic lumix zs3 has a surprisingly simple interface, yet offers some depth for those wanting to explore Scene modes and movie making. The panasonic lumix zs3 10.1-megapixel sensor is a bit of a curiosity in itself, as it’s actually a 12.7-megapixel sensor that the panasonic lumix zs3 crops from to get its 4:3, 3:2, and 16:9 aspect ratios from.
The Panasonic lumix zs3 VS Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5
Panasonic Lumix series has been evolved and both panasonic lumix zs3 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 sounds successfully developed. The panasonic lumix zs3 is ranging from 25-300mm equivalent. The panasonic lumix zs3′s 12x zoom is a Leica-branded optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization. The panasonic lumix zs3 has no optical viewfinder, but does have a large 3-inch LCD with 460,000 dots of resolution, which is a little more than usual, making for a sharper image. On the other hand, Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 3.0-inch LCD screen is also maintained, but the resolution has increased from 230,000 pixels to 460,000 pixels, offering a much clearer and sharper playback image. Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 removes four of its settings to the operation menu, and adds a dedicated image playback switch near where your right thumb will rest on the back of the camera body. The results is a less imposing selector dial, that also doesn’t switch to playback mode when the dial gets accidentally turned. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 ISO sensitivity has also been pushed one more stop with a maximum sensitivity of 6,400 in a dedicated scene mode. Panasonic hasn’t added manual controls to its feature set, preferring to aim this camera at the point-and-shoot market. To get this amazing features and most of Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5, click here now.
An 11-point multi-area autofocus system of panasonic lumix zs3 is the default focusing method, but the user can choose from six different modes, including Face Detection and Face Recognition, where the camera can actually identify individuals that it sees. The panasonic lumix zs3 also includes autofocus tracking as a part of the face-detection system. The panasonic lumix zs3 has no manual or semi-automatic modes, instead using only Program, Intelligent Auto, and 28 Scene modes. Movie mode on the panasonic lumix zs3 can capture HD video at 1,280 x 720 pixels (720p) at 60 frames per second when you use the AVCHD Lite capture mode. Motion JPEG is also available, but is limited to HD at 30 frames per second. Get this and more of panasonic lumix zs3 features, click here.
Here is a summary of panasonic lumix zs3 review from a satisfied customer:
3rd time’s a charm- a standing “O” for the ZS3!
I have owned two prior digital cameras- the first was a Canon that took good pictures, but was too bulky to pocket around and required AA batteries to power it. The second was a Sony CyberShot DSC-W150 that took crappy, blurry pictures in low light. Needless to say, I felt an upgrade was in order. So I’m going on an east coast trip next month. My buddy and I are avid baseball fans. One problem: as we do not always have great seats, taking close-up pictures of ballplayers is a real pain with 99% of the compact point and shoots out there. This is because the camera’s size will only allow it 5X optical zoom. You can combine this with digital zooming, but I don’t need to tell you how terrible and pixilated this looks. Thus my conundrum. So I really wanted a compact, pocketable camera with a long range optical lens, without having to lug around an expensive digital SLR.
The panasonic lumix zs3 stores images on SD/SDHC cards and includes about 45MB of internal memory. Connectivity includes USB 2.0, Standard-definition video output, and Mini-HDMI out port. Power comes from a lithium-ion battery, good for 300 shots according to CIPA standards. In Movie Mode, the panasonic lumix zs3, Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.) helps prevent handshake when using the high-powered zoom. The panasonic lumix zs3 Face Detection automatically detects a face in the frame and adjusts focus, exposure, contrast, and skin complexion so it turns out perfectly. Intelligent Exposure continually checks the ambient light level and adjusts the exposure setting as conditions change to prevent blown highlights and blocked shadows. And Intelligent Scene Selector automatically switches between Normal, Portrait, Macro, Scenery, and Low Light modes according to the situation to optimize visual quality.
The panasonic lumix zs3 has the following features and specifications:
- 10.1 effective Megapixels
- 25-300mm equiv lens
- 12x optical zoom and up to 85.6x Extra Optical Zoom
- 720p HD video (AVCHD Lite), 60 fps
- 3.0-inch LCD with 460,000 dots resolution
- Optical Image Stabilizer
- ISO sensitivity up to 1600 (up to 6400 in Auto ISO)
- Face Detection and Tracking, Dynamic Range enhancer (iExposure)
- 27 scene modes and Intelligent Auto Mode with scene selector
- Battery life: 300 shots (CIPA standard)
To watch a video of panasonic lumix zs3 and experience the amazing features, click here
The panasonic lumix zs3 has the following Pros and cons:
Pros:
- Good image quality
- Intuitive user interface
- Decent high ISO output (for smaller prints)
- 25mm wide-angle
- Relatively fast lens at the long end (F4.9)
- Large high-res screen
- Versatile movie mode
cons:
- Some highlight clipping of contrasty scenes
- Occasionally slightly underexposed flash shots
- Non versatile
Conclusion:
Overall, The panasonic lumix zs3′s metal body handles nicely and it delivers very good image quality at low ISOs and does a better job than most others in this test at higher sensitivities. However, the panasonic lumix zs3 improves by adding an excellent 3.0 inch/460.000 dots LCD screen and a very versatile HD movie mode to the package. The panasonic lumix zs3′s movie mode offers AVCHD Lite recording and stereo sound and makes the camera the obvious choice if your intent is to shoot a large proportion of video footage with your compact superzoom camera. To experience the most amazing features of panasonic lumix zs3, click here now.
