The Panasonic DMC TZ3 is a seven megapixel digital camera with a 10x optical zoom lens. The lens has image stabilisation built in. The focal length of the lens is equivalent to 28 - 280mm in 35mm format. 4x digital zoom is also available.

Special settings are available for taking photos to be made into 6 x 4" prints and for displaying on a widescreen television.

There is also a self timer with a two or ten second delay.

There is an option to record five seconds of sound while a picture is being taken. If you prefer you can add ten seconds of commentary after a picture has been taken.

Colour levels can be adjusted with settings available for natural, vivid, cool, warm, black and white and sepia.

For close up shots the DMC TZ3 can focus from 5cm away from the subject.

A large 3" LCD screen is available for composing photos. It is made up of around 230,000 pixels and offers impressive performance even in sunny conditions. The screen also has a special high angle mode. This comes into play when you hold the camera above eye level, for example when you are taking a photo over the top of a crowd.

The flash unit has a maximum range of 4.2m. This falls to around 2.8m when the zoom lens is fully extended. Flash modes are Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off.

A wide range of preset scenes are available. When you select a scene the camera uses what it considers to be the optimum settings for the type of shot. The scene modes are: Portrait, Soft Skin, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Self-portrait, Food, Party, Candle, Fireworks, Starry Sky, Beach, Aerial photo, Snow, High Sensitivity, Baby1, Baby2, Underwater, Sunset and Pet.

You can shoot special widescreen movies using a resolution of 848 x 480 at a speed of 30 frames per second. Sound can be recorded, but zoom can only be added before you start to record.

As you get to know the DMC TZ3 you may wish to experiment by adjusting sensitivity (Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1250 (High Sensitivity Mode : 3200)), white balance (Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen, White Set, White Balance Adjustment (+/-10steps, except for auto set)), exposure compensation (1/3 EV step, -2 - +2 EV) and metering (Intelligent Multiple, Center Weighted, Spot). Bracketing (+/- 1/3 EV -1EV step, 3 frames), burst mode (3fps for 7 images) and unlimited consecutive shooting are also available.

Shutter speeds are set automatically by the camera in the range 8 - 1/2000 seconds. The aperture range is Wide: F3.3 / F8.0 (2 steps) Tele: F4.9 / F11 (2 steps).

The DMC TZ3 can be attached to a television, compatible printer and computer. Panasonic supplies all the necessary cables and software. Panasonic DMC TZ3

Description:	7 megapixels with a 10x optical zoom lens
Ease of Use:	9
Features:	8
Colour:	8
Macro:	9
Indoors:	8
Value for Money:	8
Style:	8
Movie Mode:	8
Image Quality:	8
Build Quality:	8
Total:	82
Verdict:	"The Panasonic DMC TZ3 is a very good digital camera. It has a long zoom lens, images stabilisation and a wide angle lens. It is pretty straightforward and easy to use. One of the biggest selling points of the camera is its compact body size."
Review Date:	June 2007
Click for:	Specification Sample Images Features

Camera	Rating
Panasonic DMC FZ28	86
Canon Powershot SX110 IS	85
Olympus SP-570 UZ	84
Canon Powershot S5 IS	83
Panasonic DMC TZ5	83
Panasonic DMC TZ4	83
Fuji Finepix S8000fd	82
Sony DSC H50	82

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 TZ3