February 15th, 2008Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3
The TZ3 is a small piece of a strange duck. Though it boasts an excellent 10x visual zoom, it’s still a few features short of being an actual super zoom – a category in which Panasonic has a strong foothold. Going by the on the whole looks and build of the TZ3, I’d say it’s better described as a compact camera with a massive zoom lens and build quality that would give the Terminator a complex. The TZ3 is available in many colors, but the piece we received for review was good old silver; which looked impressive nonetheless. The control system is rather simple, with the mode dial, power switch, zoom toggle, and of way the shutter let go, placed on the top.
On the rear, there’s the massive 3-inch LCD screen along with the d-pad controls, and the display and function buttons. The LCD in the TZ3 is luminous and very well intended to work under different circumstances. It has a ‘Power LCD’ mode that boosts the brightness level of the display, making it ideal for bright outside lighting. The screen also has a ‘High Angle’ mode that shifts the contrast of the screen in a way that the image is best viewed from a lower angle, making it perfect for high angle shots.
Going back to my ‘Terminator’ remark, the TZ3 feels extremely sturdy and secure, making it a great travel companion. It’s fairly small at 105 x 59 x 37 mm, but its weight of 280g keeps it a bit on the heavy side. The 7 mega pixel image resolution may not seem such a big contract for a solid camera these days, but bearing in mind so as to the resolution is high-quality enough for an A3-sized print, I’d say it’s enough. Besides, it’s the 10x optical zoom by means of visual image stabilization that’s the real USP.
The best part about the lens here in not only its zoom capabilities, but also its wide angle, which at 28mm is a lot wider than the standard 34mm wide angle that you usually see in consumer cameras. While the price we got from Panasonic TZ3 was Rs 24,990, the actual market price with bill and warranty was closer to Rs 18,500. The problem is, when I’m spending that much on a compact digital camera, I’d want it in the direction of be great or at least good for most common circumstances, which include indoor shots.
The camera’s propensity to underexpose in less-than-optimum conditions is quite a bummer, considering its excellent recital in all other departments. I’d recommend it to people whose vacations consist mainly of having fun in the sun. General reason users, however, should look somewhere else.
