advertisement
 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3

 Print    Email     Bookmark     Share



CNET Asia Review

By Will Greenwald, CNET.com

Very good

7

out of 10

View score

The good: Wide, powerful lens with little distortion; quick performance.

The bad: No manual exposure controls; tiny buttons; no stop-motion movie mode.

The bottom line: Though it leaves out one fun, little shooting mode, the Panasonic DMC-TZ3 improves upon its predecessor in nearly every way.

Read full review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 »

 

Average User Rating

from 8 users


Very good

7.1

out of 10
 

How would you rate this product?

 
 

User Reviews

Poor picture quality



Rating: 2 out of 10 (Terrible)
Pros: 10X Zoom
Cons: Poor quality images in bring light, low light & with with flash.
Opinion:
I have major issues with this camera. The more I use it, the less I like it. Pictures taken on nice, sunny days often have vertical lines across the horizon and are unusable. Image quality in low light is also poor. When I use the flash the images are either far too bright or underexposed. I cannot recommend Panasonic Lumix cameras based on my experience with the TZ3. If I am the only one experiencing these problems, perhaps my camera is defective.

 

Great all round camera, not pocketable



Rating: 8 out of 10 (Excellent)
Pros: optical zoom, wide angle lens, preconfigured settings
Cons: size
Opinion:
I used an excilim for years and was very happy with it, small enough to through in any pocket, very convenient.

Then I decided I wanted more optical zoom, I wanted to upgrade. I looked at so many manufacturers and models I got dizzy. I eventually settled on the TZ3.

Its a great all in one camera, not an ultra compact but not big like an SLR.

If you can compromise on a little on size, I highly recommend this camera.

 

Do NOT buy this camera (and this comes from a an-Lumix fan)



Rating: 5 out of 10 (Average)
Pros: 10x zoom in relatively pocketable package
Cons: HUGE NOISE means over half of images turn out poor / unuseable
Opinion:
I have been a fan of Panasonic/Lumix cameras for a few years, from my FZ-5 later upgraded to an FZ-7. I loved the simple and logical menus, I loved the design, I loved the features, and I found the image quality to be quite competitive.

The TZ-3 I've just bought is however, a HUGE disappointment. I'd say it produces about two-thirds poor shots, and even the acceptable shots looks pretty poor when examined just a bit closely. No I'm not comparing to an SLR, I'm just comparing to decent compacts. But the TZ-3 is not one.

Please, please, Panasonic: could you take the same camera, and put in it a DECENT chip, and a decent image processing chain? I have now wasted about 500 USD. Why wasted? Because I'll probably go back to using my Canon IXUS - less zoom, but at least most of the images look crisp.


IN MORE DETAIL:
I've just bought a ... Read more

 

See all user opinions »

Rate It Now

Rating guidelines

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3
Rate this product:

Need help? Read our guidelines for what each number rating represents.