Panasonic DMC LZ3 Review

The Panasonic DMC LZ3 is a five megapixel digital camera with a six times optical zoom lens. It is the extra length of the zoom lens that marks the DMC LZ3 out as something different to a typical digital camera. Another feature that is not commonly found in a digital camera in this price bracket is optical image stabilisation.

This is an easy to use digital camera and is aimed at anyone who is looking for something straightforward, but with some extra zoom power.

For a relatively inexpensive digital camera the DMC LZ3 hits a high standard when it comes to picture quality. Importantly the camera is as at home in lowlight situations as it is in bright sunlight.

Looking at the outdoor scenic shots the first point that strikes me is how sharply focused the photos are. The brickwork on the building in the first test shot shows up very clearly. The same can be said for the tiles on the roof. This is an area where many other digital cameras find great problems in focusing. I am also happy with how well focused the shots are up to the edge of each photo.

There is a slight loss of detail in the white areas of the boats, but this is not to a level that would really worry me. Darker areas are handled well and the glare of the sun is also coped with. There is a tiny amount of purple fringing showing in the third test shot where the zoom lens is fully extended. Purple fringing is where a thin purple line is added to the edges of very light objects. The level of purple fringing is a long way below the levels usually apparent with super zoom digital cameras.

The dedicated test for colour produces a fairly standard result. The colours are vivid without being at all shocking. Each colour is well balanced and levels on general are about right in my opinion.

Next up are the portrait shots. The outdoor portrait has a pleasant warm glow to it. This shows up in the skin tones and also the brickwork that makes up the background of the shot. I like the end result.

The indoor portrait shows that the camera can function well when the light is not perfect. The photograph is very bright compared to many others I have taken in similar conditions. The detail the camera manages to capture is more or less spot on and the camera has no problem with focusing.

My test shot taken in almost complete darkness is another that underlines the focusing qualities of the DMC LZ3. Despite the extreme conditions this is another sharp image. Once again the level of brightness surpasses that achieved by other digital cameras in the same situation.

For close up photography the macro shot is slightly above average. Yet again the camera produces a sharply focused shot showing a good level of detail. As with other photos this one is also brightly lit.

The only photo I have any level of disappointment with is the one taken using an ISO rating of 400. The majority of digital cameras struggle with this setting, but here the DMC LZ3 produces a photo that is below average and I would only use higher ISO settings if the occasion really merited it.

I was able to take a single shot in 0.53 seconds and five shots in 12.31 seconds. These are both slow times and I would liked to have seen the DMC LZ3 clock something a bit faster.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

The six times optical zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 37-222mm in 35mm format. The aperture of the lens works in the following ranges. Wide: F2.8/F5.6 (2 steps) and Tele: F4.5 - F9 (2 steps).

There are two other types of zoom available. The first is digital zoom. This offers a further 4x zoom. The second is a less common type and is called extended zoom. This increases the total optical zoom to 7.5x zoom. It is only available at lower resolutions.

For composing images there is a 2" LCD. There is no viewfinder. The screen is made up of around 85,000 pixels. One extra feature the screen offers is a special mode for when you would like to hold the camera above your head to take a photo. This could be when you are trying to take a photo over the heads of a crowd of people. This high angle mode makes the screen much easier to see.

The built in flash unit has a maximum range of 4.2m. This falls to 2.6m when the zoom lens is in use. In high sensitivity mode only the range of the flash increases to 5.7m The flash modes available are Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction Forced On and Forced Off.

Panasonic have clearly put in a lot of effort when considering aspect ratios. You can choose between three. These are 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. Aspect ratios determine the dimensions of a photo. A 4:3 aspect ratio will fit perfectly on a computer screen. 3:2 ratios are ideal for 6x4" prints as the image does not need to be trimmed at all to fit on to the paper. 16:9 matches the dimensions of a widescreen television set. This ratio can also be used for panoramic type prints.

You can select from a number of different methods of auto focus metering. These are 1 point, 1 point high speed, 3 points high speed, 5 points and Spot. For close up shots the DMC LZ3 can focus from 5cm away in macro mode.

To help take the best possible photos there is a wide range of predefined scene modes available. When you select a scene mode you indicate to the camera the type of photo you area about to take. The camera will then do its best to use the optimum settings for the shot. The scene modes available to you are Portrait, Sports, Food, Scenery, Night Scenery, Night Portrait, Fireworks, Party, Snow, Baby, Soft Skin, Starry Sky, Candle, Soft Skin, Baby1, Baby2 and High Sensitivity.

Other features available to affect the way a picture will look are colour effects and picture adjustments. The colour effects are Cool, Warm, Black & White and Sepia. The picture adjustments are Natural, Standard and Vivid. A histogram is available too to help you get the exposure levels right. There is a self timer for when you would like to appear in a photo. The delay time can be set to either two or ten seconds.

As you get comfortable with the camera there are a number of more advanced features you can use. These give you greater control over the way the final photograph will look. The features include ISO sensitivities (Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400 (High Sensitivity Mode: 800 - 1600), white balance (Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Halogen, Flash, White Set White Balance Adjustment (except for Auto Set)), exposure compensation (1/3 EV Step, ± 2 EV) and auto bracketing (+1/3EV-1EV Step, 3 Frames). Backlight compensation is also available in simple mode.

Shutter speeds are controlled automatically by the camera. These normally work in the range between 8 and 1/2000 seconds. In starry sky mode times are increased to either 15, 30 or 60 seconds.

If you would like to reel off a number of consecutive shoots there is a burst mode available. This allows you to take up to five shots in standard mode or three shots in fine mode. Along similar lines is a consecutive shooting mode. This allows you to take shots until the memory card is full. This works at a slower rate than the burst modes described above.

After you have taken a photo you can make smaller copies or trim the original. There is also a feature that allows you to add up to ten seconds of voice commentary to a photo.

You can capture TV quality movies with the DMC LZ3. These can be shot at a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. It should be noted that this resolution is only available with an SD card and not when you are recording to the internal memory. The fastest recording speed is 30 frames per second. Movies are silent. You can zoom in and out before you start to record the movie, but zoom is not available while shooting.

For attaching the camera to a PictBridge compatible printer, television set and computer Panasonic supplies all the necessary cables and software with the DMC LZ3.

Panasonic digital cameras are amongst the easiest to use that you will find. This is mostly down to the menu system. It is as straightforward as you are likely to find. There is even a simple mode that cuts the menu options down to an absolute minimum making it even easier for you to find your way around. Help text is also available when you are using the menu to select scene modes.

Key controls covering flash, self timer, accessing the menu system, deleting image and macro mode can all be found on the back of the camera. Zoom is controlled through a ring around the shutter button on top of the camera. Nearby you will find a control dial. This is used to select the shooting mode.

You can pick up a Panasonic DMC LZ3 for around £150. This compares to around £210 for a Canon Powershot A700, £175 for a Nikon Coolpix L1 and £165 for a Panasonic DMC LZ5.

When it comes to digital cameras offering an increased length of zoom without going up to 10x zoom there are very few around. This means that the DMC LZ3 sits in a very small niche in the market. I would say that this camera offers very good value for money.

In terms of style the DMC LZ3 is nothing great to write home about. It has a plastic body and is a fairly standard rectangular shape. On the right hand side there is a grip to help you keep the camera steady when taking a shot. The camera comes in silver. It weighs 183g and has dimensions of 100 x 62 x 45 mm.

Two AA batteries are used to supply power to the camera. Panasonic estimates you should be able to take around 250 shots before the batteries are exhausted. This figure is based on using the alkaline batteries supplied with the camera. There is also an economy mode to help preserve battery life.

Panasonic have built 14mb of memory into the DMC LZ3. Therefore a memory card is not supplied as standard. I was only able to take five shots before the space ran out. This means that before you can take many pictures with the camera you will need to pick up a high capacity memory card. The camera is compatible with SD cards.

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Image stabilisation
Aspect ratios
Picture quality
Longer zoom
Ease of use

Red eye
Shutter lag
Small internal memory

I really like the Panasonic DMC LZ3. With its six times optical zoom lens it offers something different to so many digital cameras. Its simplicity is another factor that goes heavily in its favour. Picture quality is good and I think this camera represents a bit of a bargain.

Panasonic DMC LZ3 Front View

Panasonic DMC LZ3 Back View

Panasonic DMC LZ3 Top View

Sample Menus

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Panasonic DMC LZ3