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Panasonic Lumix SZ3 Pocket Superzoom Camera
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You don’t have to be rich to buy a pocket superzoom camera. The other four cameras in this guide are the cream of the crop with all the bells and whistles and big price tags to match. The Panasonic Lumix SZ3 is for the person on a budget who wants a simple, straight-forward pocket camera with a lot of zoom. The SZ3’s two most important specs are the lens – a 10x 25-250mm (equivalent) wide-angle Leica zoom; and the price – a very easy to swallow $149. And while it doesn’t have built-in Wi-Fi, GPS or a touchscreen LCD display, it does have 720p HD video, in-camera Creative Effects, a panoramic mode and Panasonic’s excellent Intelligent Auto (iA) shooting mode. The Panasonic Lumix SZ3 is a very capable, very affordable point-and-shoot pocket superzoom camera.
- Price: $149
- 16-megapixel 1/2.3-inch CCD sensor
- Lens: 10x 25-250mm f/3.1-5.9 Leica zoom lens
- 1280 x 720 HD video
- Sensitivity: ISO 100 to 1600 with ISO 1600 to 6400 High Sensitivity mode
- Shooting modes: iA Intelligent Auto with Program and scene modes
- Burst: 1.4 FPS at full resolution or 10 FPS at 3 megapixels
- Dimensions: 3.73 x 2.20 x 0.86 in. / 94.8 x 55.8 x 21.9mm
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About the author: Photo-John Photo-John, a.k.a. John Shafer, is the managing editor of PhotographyREVIEW.com and has been since the site launched back in 1999. He's an avid outdoor enthusiast and spends as much time as possible on his mountain bike, hiking or skiing in the mountains. He's been taking pictures for ever and ever, and never goes anywhere without a camera.
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A few days after I published this article, Samsung announced a new pocket superzoom camera – the WB700. The new Samsung outdoes all of these cameras spec-wise. It’s got an 18x optical zoom lens, RAW shooting and full manual exposure controls. It’s also smaller than all but one of the cameras in this gude. You can check out the new Samsung WB700 here: http://www.photographyreview.com/reviews/blog/samsung-wb700-pocket-superzoom-camera-18x-zoom-raw/
Too bad this camera wasn’t available a bit sooner. It’s a pretty sure bet it will be included when I update this article, sometime next year.
I love you camera reviews. They are extremely helpful. I agree with you about super zoom pocket cameras. I’m in the market for a new camera and can’t make up my mind about Nikon Coolpix S8100 or S9100 and now the Samsung WB700 excites me.
I will be using this camera for mostly stills indoor/outdoor/ landscape, wildlife, sports, grand kids and my four Maltese dogs.
Ease-of-use is important as well as night shots and the best quality images. Can you help me decide?
Thank you
I’m glad you found this guide useful. I actually started working on updating the guide with more current cameras. I am hoping to have that posted today. I think it will tell you everything you need to know. Check back tonight or tomorrow and please post again if you have more questions
OK, I realized that no matter how great the iPhone 5′s camera is, I cannot possibly give up a superzoom. I still like my TZ4, but this little Canon is looking pretty good.
Good for you, Patia! And I agree about the Canon SX230 HS. It snuck past me when it was announced and I only really discovered it while I was researching this guide. My experience with the SD4500 IS plus the SX230 HS specs made a strong impression on me and I bought the camera before I finished the guide. I am very, very pleased with it
Personally do have a pocket size superzoom (Fujifilm Finepix F800EXR to be exact). The camera is a little rectangle that fits nicely into my pocket and takes reasonable pictures. The manual overrides are not very refined so I rely on automatic settings a lot.
Despite the quality gap, there is a number of people who are non-photographers and accepted the bottom-line of an image is not to reproduce a poster (piece of paper) on your wall. Pros still print their images but there are those who are satisfied with enough resolution for sending by E-mail. The iPhone is an all in 1 device. Some people have become very up to date in the trend of carrying “portable” devices. You tell them a desktop computer has more processing power than a laptop and finally an iPad they’d rather be carrying the smallest thing that can fit into their purse or briefcase.
In the old days we don’t have a choice that prints must be made from negatives or need a good projector for slides. But when a choice is given, photo enthusiasts would still carry bulky SLRs but the casual photographer for quick sharing wouldn’t mind an image taken with a phone even at less than half the resolution.
By the way, the Fujifilm Finepix F770EXR listed here is already the previous model. Since Nov. 2012 the F800EXR is already out with the same resolution and a bit of enhancement. Some stores are already selling the F770EXR at a discounted price…
Hi, i am looking for a great camera to take pictures while climbing. So small, quick autofocus, fast continous picture…i am not an expert but i have no budget constraint. any help? thanks
Daniele-
Any of the cameras in this guide would be a good fit for you. However, since you’re talking about climbing, where your camera might get banged around, I’d encourage you to look at our Outdoor & Waterproof Camera Guide. The rugged, waterproof point-and-shoots don’t have the long zoom that pocket superzooms do, but they can take a lot more abuse and they’ll still fit in your pocket. Most of them also have fast burst rates, too. Here’s a link to the Outdoor & Waterproof Camera Guide: http://www.photographyreview.com/reviews/outdoor-waterproof-digital-cameras