Panasonic Lumix ZS3 Hybrid Superzoom Digital Camera
Panasonic has upgraded their popular TZ-Series of pocket superzoom digital cameras and renamed it “ZS” for the US market. Compared to the TZ5 (read our Panasonic Lumix TZ5 pro review), the new Lumix ZS3 (TZ7 in Europe) has the zoom increased from 10x to 12x and at 25mm the new lens is also wider. The resolution has gone from 9 megapixels to 10 megapixels, and the ZS3 hybrid uses the new Venus Engine HD with two separate processors to ensure the camera can keep up with the video its capturing. The Venus Engine HD processing is supposed to be faster and produce better image quality with more sophisticated noise reduction algorithms. And in spite of the ZS3’s increased zoom range, Panasonic managed to make it 10% slimmer than the TZ5. That’s nice because it’s a reach to call the TZ5 a pocket camera. You can fit in a pocket, but not comfortably. The ZS3 still isn’t a really small camera, either. But it’s getting there.
Other new features include a Panorama Assist scene mode that can create panoramic images from vertical or horizontal photos, a 10 frames-per-second burst mode (3-megapixel images), Face Recognition, more scene modes, and two My Scene modes for user defined shooting parameters.
I had both the waterproof Lumix TS1 and the ZS3 to shoot with while I was on Miami’s South Beach. Of the two, I think most of the journalists were shooting with the ZS3 most of the time. With the 12x zoom and bigger body, it feels and operates like a more serious camera. Panasonic had stations set up with volleyball players, rollerbladers, cheerleaders, and the aforementioned bikini snake handler girl. Using the ZS3 in the Intelligent Auto (iA) pure point-and-shoot mode was a breeze and the camera handled almost every situation better than I expected. It’s too early to say much about the image quality – especially since the cameras I had aren’t final production models. But the images did have an over-processed look I’ve come to expect from Panasonic’s Lumix compact cameras. With increased resolution this will matter less but I would like to see the image quality improve. I love the performance and features of the Panasonic cameras so much that I find their JPEG image quality a little frustrating.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 Press Release >>
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 Sample Photo Gallery >>
next page – Panasonic’s iA Mode and AVCHD Lite Video >>
What I want to know is, where are the pictures of the half-naked men? Hmm?
Having used the TZ4 and TZ5, I agree that iA mode is pretty darn impressive. And I’m interested in the TS1 — it would be great for my summer float trips. But why, I wonder, did they have to go and change the TZ to ZS? TZ sounds better.
I hope Panasonic’s 15,000 layoffs announced today don’t affect its camera lines. Good thing you got that junket in beforehand.
I saw the news about the layoffs. I assume this event was planned before the economy took a big dive. And it was good for me and I hope it was good for them. I found it to be very informative and useful. I definitely got a lot more out of it than I would have a quick booth tour at a tradeshow.
I think I have a picture of some man for you. I will dig it up
Any video samples?
What is your experience in terms of shutter time? I plan to buy underwater housing and use the camera on diving trips, so shutter time can be pretty important. I hear that Canon is very fast, but I haven’t heard anything regarding Panasonic.
Thanks,
Majken-
Do you mean shutter-lag – the delay between the time you press the shutter release and when the picture is actually taken? My experience with Panasonic has been that they’re cameras are excellent with shutter-lag. They may actually have the least. I don’t recall how the ZS3 / TZ7 performed in regards to shutter-lag. But based on experience with other Panasonic Lumix cameras, I think it’s probably pretty good. Although it definitely won’t be as good as a digital SLR.
That is exactly what I meant – thanks
I am looking specifically at the TS1/FT1 and hope that your experience includes that particular camera? Would you say that this camera is as good as other “ordinary, non -waterproof” digital cameras when it comes to taking pictures on dry land? What I mean is, would you say that this is an underwater camera or is it a good digital camera, that just happens to be (more or less) waterproof?
Thanks.
Does anyone know if one is able to adjust the cameras shooting settings in a manual mode?
John-
Neither the Panasonic Lumix ZS3 / TZ7 nor the TS1 have a true manual mode. They both offer exposure composition to adjust image brightness. But that’s the most control you can get. If you want more control take a look at the Pannasonic Lumix LX3. It has full manual exposure controls:
Panasonic Lumix LX3 User Reviews >>
John-
When is the TS1 going to be on store shelves? Do you feel that the TS1 will have better image quality or out perform the new Canon D10?
Photo John-
How does the TS 1 image quality compare to the canon D 10?