Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3 inch LCD (Black)

I always wanted a real serious camera. Was thinking of getting into professional photography and so was seriously thinking of getting one of those photographer-type camera and lens, but with the prices of them bad-boys and my loss of interest in lugging something so big around me, I opted to just get want I always wanted (a compact camera with ALOT of Optical zoom!) and this is what I found! PROS*******PROS*******PROS**********PROS 1) ZOOM-ZOOM-ZOOM: 12X Optical Zoom! It's range is 25mm wide-angle to 12x telephoto. Now I've just had this camera for 2 weeks, but I took it on my vacation recently and was able to get amazing pics from the airplane as I flew over (what I believe is) the Grand Canyon and Colorado River...(plus I always read reviews on CNET.com and is STILL #3 from THE TOP 5 BEST ALL-AROUND CAMERAS - and that's good enough for me! [[...] 2) AMAZING MOVIE OPTIONS: - It records in HD (Formats are Motion-JPEG or AVCHD) - Digital Video Format (QuickTime & AVCHD Lite) - You can zoom while recording! - Has a dedicated button for recording movies 3) MANY, MANY Scene modes for great photos: - Portrait, Soft Skin, Self-Portrait, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, etc...(plus I especially love the 'Aerial Photo' Mode since I am always flying) [there is even a scene that distorts a portrait so the camera actually does make you 'lose' 10 pounds, lol. 4) LARGE 3-inch LCD window: My last camera had a 1.5 inch LCD, so YOU KNOW this is a huge jump for me!!! 5) Shooting Modes: There are six: - Intelligent AUTO (which does all the hard work for ya!) - Normal Picture (which is like the one before) - MS1 & MS2 (they stand for My-Scene-1 and 2):so can quickly pick scenes you used frequently - SCN (stands for Scene) and allows quick access to changing to a new scene - Clipboard: this is a neat one: it ONLY saves pics on the camera memora, but its for pics or documents you may always need access to (AKA, a train schedule, or your itinerary, etc..) 6) BRIGHT, AMAZING PICS/ VIBRANT COLOR 7) USES SD & SDHD cards (My memory card of choice!) 8) RECHARGEABLE AND AMAZING BATTERY LIFE: (plus, the battery charges MUCH faster than it losses charge, so a big plus there! even when taking video!) 9) Surprisingly great night pictures! 10) COMPACT! 11) SOooooo many more........(plus you can get it in other colors than the typical silver color. I purposely got the black one, and its a beaut!) CONS********CONS*********CONS*******CONS 1) No Memory card - Yeah, not even a 32MD one...which wouldn't do anything anyway. I have a 2GB card with mine! 2) Few Manuel Controls - Now this is a big set-back for this camera, one of the biggest I heard, but hey, I am no professional, I still don't mess with the ISO's and the exposures and such, so if the camera is already set to do its own hard work, then let it. THIS IS NOT A 'CON' for me, but just want you to know since it may be for you 3) No camera case - but that's not too much of a big deal 4) Can't think of anything else actually.... Hope this helps...I am SO glad I got this camera. I am still playing with it, so if you have any questions, ask away...I am SO glad I got it! It is worth every buck!!!

I have owned two prior digital cameras- the first was a Canon that took good pictures, but was too bulky to pocket around and required AA batteries to power it. The second was a Sony CyberShot DSC-W150 that took crappy, blurry pictures in low light. Needless to say, I felt an upgrade was in order. So I'm going on an east coast trip next month. My buddy and I are avid baseball fans. One problem: as we do not always have great seats, taking close-up pictures of ballplayers is a real pain with 99% of the compact point and shoots out there. This is because the camera's size will only allow it 5X optical zoom. You can combine this with digital zooming, but I don't need to tell you how terrible and pixilated this looks. Thus my conundrum. So I really wanted a compact, pocketable camera with a long range optical lens, without having to lug around an expensive digital SLR. Enter the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3. When I read the specs on it, I was in awe. 10 megapixel, 12X OPTICAL zoom. Here's the sweetest part about the zoom- if you planning to use smaller prints (i.e. 4X6), you can quickly adjust the camera's Megapixel (MP) count from 10 to 7, 5, and 3 to yield maximum OPTICAL zooms of 14.3, 17.1, and 21.4 respectably, without much loss of detail on such prints. I wish Panasonic would have allowed the camera to adjust the MP count automatically as you zoom, but it's not too much trouble to change the MP settings manually from the quick menu. Another great feature: the camera's screen is beautiful at 460,000 pixels, twice the count as the rival Canon Powershot SX200 IS (more on that camera later). From the moment you view your first picture, you'll quickly notice how much sharper photos look on this camera. It's a nice convenience to view photos on the camera in a manner closer to the quality that will actually be seen when you're viewing them on the computer (and ultimately printing them). I also want to give Panasonic kudos for the build quality and compactness of this camera. The ZS3 is a replacement for the popular TZ5 model, which was 9MP and 10X Optical Zoom. So they increased the resolution, and added a wider range lens, and REDUCED the size by .4 cubic inches. Specifications aside, I was more than pleased that this camera will comfortably fit inside my jeans pocket. It's a bit bulkier than an ultracompact for sure, but not objectionably so. Note that the SX200 is a full 2.0 cubic inches thicker, another reason I passed on the Canon. Here's a few more reasons the Canon falls short: the Canon has a cheesy looking popup flash that sticks out at the top of the camera, whether you're using flash or not (bad design decision). It has less rated battery life than the Lumix. Also, when shooting video, the Canon does NOT allow you to use optical zooming. Photo quality on the Lumix is excellent, although I've only snapped samples around my place so far. However, I've taken quite a few pictures at low light, and at maximum zoom levels to try to get a bad shot. So far, there's none to be found. I'll put this through its paces more when I travel next month, but I'm extremely pleased so far. As for video shooting, I've sampled it a bit, and it seems pretty solid. The camera gives you the choice of shooting video in its touted AVCHD Lite format (ideal for watching it on your TV in HD with an optional mini to standard HDMI cable), or JPEG if you prefer to email video clips to friends. This year's model also added stereo sound on video playback versus last year's monaural effort. One thing I found a bit strange, was the incredibly slow zooming when shooting video. I guess Panasonic was trying to give the user a more controlled, deliberate zoom, but unlike the snappy photo zooming, it's a bit slow for my liking. Some other minor quibbles: The dial that controls the shooting mode is extremely loose. If you lightly rub it against anything (a camera bag, your pocket), there's a good chance it will shift. When you turn the camera on, it will digitally tell you what mode you're in, but it's still annoying when it happens by accident. Second, when making a quick zoom on an object, it will appear blurry on the camera's screen until the shutter button is pressed. There are modes to continually focus the object when zooming, but this drains the camera's battery life more rapidly. It would be nice if this feature was incorporated automatically without any such sacrifice. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the included PhotofunStudio software bundled with this camera, as there are other, more compelling programs to view, edit, and print photos (I like Canon's Zoombrowser program better). Finally, this is not the camera to buy if you're into manual controls. There's a ton of preset scenes that can be used (nighttime, portrait, baby, sunset, food, etc.), and you can adjust items like flash, white balance, and max ISO level, but this is meant to be a simple point and shoot for casual photographers. Note that the Lumix has an intelligent auto mode (IA) that will analyze the shooting conditions and pick the right scene, flash, and exposure without any adjustments by the user. This camera screams simplicity, but there's enough tweaking on the Normal and Scene modes to keep the vast majority of amateur photographers happy. Regardless of these nitpicks, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 is an awesome camera, unbeatable for those that want the best of both worlds- a great zoom lens and compact body. It's a bit pricey at $399, but you're getting quite a lot of camera for your hard earned dollars. I have no doubt that my third digital camera is a terrific buy and a long-term staple for my travels.

I bought this camera for my recent two-weeks vacation trip. Previously I was using Canon A510 and I loved that camera, thinking, that I'd be Canon's fan for many future models. At the time I wanted to upgrade I made several-month-investigation looking forward to seeing Canon releasing a perfect camera for me. Perfect for my requirements would be small sized, a nice 10x+ zoom, around 10Mpx matrix, good picture quality and good video quality (preferably HD). Months were passing and nothing new apart of IS SX200 appeared on the market. The latter after summarizing all pros and cons lost the fight with Lumix ZS3. I've chosen ZS3 for its compact size, nice zoom, optical zoom capabilities while filming, wide angle and HD movies. I have to admit, that lumix did a pretty good job with my pictures I was taking for the last month. I regret though that it tends to change colors completely where my old Canon very adequately transferred real-world colors into the digital pictures. During the day I think ZS3 did very well easily leaving A510 behind because of the zoom capabilities and ultra-wide angle (25mm) view. It's amazing how many objects can now fit into the picture compared to my previous photos. During the night however or at the sunrise I'd say I liked the Canon better. The reason for that is the sky, although looking pretty warm, had totally different color at the picture compared to what I saw with my eyes. Beach during the night in 'starry night' mode (15/30/60 s exposure time) ended up in being GREEN !!! That is not acceptable for me. Other pictures in night light also had mangled colors, which could only be fixed with manual 'white balance' set (you can set it with ZS3). I was expecting from Intelligent Auto present at ZS3 something more accurate. I also cannot understand why iA mode can't take pictures in 16:9 format in higher resolution than 2.5MB !??? Shooting a fullmoon was also hard to do. Using all possible tricks I finally managed to take its picture after doing 30+ pictures earlier. With my previous Canon it only took few to make a nice sharp photo (with worse zoom though of course). One advantage of the new ZS3 is ability to do pretty sharp night photos without using flash - Optical Image Stabilization is doing a great job, allowing to catch more of the background behind the object sharply. Overall I would recommend this camera to people who want to do nice wide-angle pictures during the day and don't expect doing any artistic photography. Camera is small taking into consideration it's 12x zoom and has a nice large LCD screen with excellent resolution (460K pixels). When I look at movies on a regular TV (no-HD) motion picture looks much better on the small screen of the camera, than the big tube; On a HD-ready 16:9 screen - movies are excellent! What I'm missing in the camera are manual settings I had in my simple Canon. I don't think that will come as a firmware upgrade though, cause they want to you to buy even more expensive model to have that. Weird thing is that cheaper models tend to have manual settings available. As for battery - I thought my batteries would do a little better than what I have observed. I managed to do around 200 pictures mixed with video shooting + some reviewing. For that reason I have bought 2 additional batteries and degraded firmware to 1.1 to allow third-party manufacturer savings. At the end I wish Amazon hasn't changed their price a couple of days after I ordered my product, which would save me around 25$. Customer service didn't want to hear about that refund ://// To sum up here are Pros: - 12x optical zoom (also while filming) - 460K pixels LCD bright screen - stereo microphone - ultra wide angle (25mm) - pretty decent small size compared to functions - AVCHD (makes great quality movies with less storage needed) Cons: - No manual controls - Some colors tend to be changed during evening/sunrise - I think I had smoother pictures with Canon earlier - menu changes depending on the mode you're shooting in, which tends to be confusing (like economy options not available in iA)

I spent a lot of time looking for the perfect camera -- one that takes great pictures & video, has a nice long zoom, is easy to use and portable. I had 2 digital cameras already, one being a Kodak 643 (reliable, but just okay) and the other a Nikon Coolpix S550 that was a big disappointment. Both cameras take pretty lousy pictures and video in low light, as does my Canon camcorder. This time I read lots and lots of reviews. I read reviews on camera websites, and I read consumer reviews on Amazon and other websites. The Panasonic Lumix ZS3 was, hands down, the winner for the type of camera I was searching for. I went to camera stores, too, and was told by one salesman at a major electronics store that, although his store didn't sell this particular camera, it was much better than the Canon that they did sell. He then reached into his pocket and produced his own camera...a ZS3! That was the deciding factor for me, so I watched the prices on Amazon and ordered my new camera in February when the price fell to $229. I certainly have not regretted my purchase. This camera is wonderful. The pictures are stunning, it works well in the automatic mode, and the HD videos are great, too. We have played videos on our 46" hi-def Sony TV, and they are gorgeous. My camcorder only gets used now on rare occasions when I need someone to take video at the same time I am taking pictures. Despite the fact that it has a 12x zoom, the camera is small enough to pop into my purse, or even in a jacket or pants pocket. The wide angle lens is great for group or outdoor shots. I would recommend buying at least one extra battery, as the supplied battery doesn't last terribly long. If you are looking for a camera that is easy to use and takes amazing photos and video, buy the ZS3. I can't wait to photograph fireworks on the 4th of July!

Took the camera out first day to a local florist shop and a nursery to test it on flowers. Very pleased with the result. Auto focus worked perfectly, images are sharp, high in detail, well saturated, true greens, reds, blues; no color cast problem, no fringing. The tele macro pulls in flowers from 15 feet away, or longer if you go down to 3 mp, as if they were inches from the lens. Can't complain. Next day took it to the local produce market to test macro, and was again very pleased with focus, sharpness, color, everything. Last night put it to its real work at an art opening doing casual posed shots with celebs and video of speakers. Flash worked fine for the posed shots. The high-speed burst mode is great for doing talking heads; just hold down the button and out of 20 shots you can pick the good ones. The best is the video. You can zoom to the full 12x and fill the frame with the head from 18 feet away, and the sound is excellent for a built in mike. The MPEG video mode yields sharp, clear images. The multi-layer menu structure lets you pick from a simple menu, a medium menu, and a full menu with zillions of options. I have a big 35mm digital with a stack of lenses from 12 to 1000 mm, and it can make fine pictures, but it weighs a ton. I also have a little Kodak V1003 10mp pocket digital that takes good pictures within its range. But the ZS3 runs rings around the Kodak, and still fits in a shirt pocket. Both the Kodak and the big 35 mm are going to be gathering dust, I'm afraid, now that I have this talented little performer. The downside is the software. The Panasonic Photo Fun app crashed on Win RC7 so many times in so many different ways that I uninstalled it after 48 hours. Google's Picasa3 does so much more, and it works. But the ArcSoft video utility and the panorama stitcher, separate programs supplied with the Lumix, are OK. Bottom line, great camera, five stars from me.

To anyone out there considering this camera, ask yourself these questions: 1. Is picture quality important? 2. Do I want the subject of the picture to be in focus? 3. Do I EVER use my camera indoors? 4. Do I want to occasionally shoot high quality HD video with my camera? 5. Do I want the battery to last more than 2 hours when taking pictures/video? If you answered yes to any/all of the above questions stay FAR away from this camera. I don't recall ever being so dissatisfied with an electronics purchase. The pictures are almost all blurry (even with the auto mode IAF turned on). Any shots taken indoors are ridiculously grainy and very very poor quality. I know most ccd's for digital cameras suffer in low light situations, but this is by FAR the worst I have EVER seen. The flash makes many pictures look worse.. as everything in the foreground is awash with super bright light and everything behind the subject is pitch black. Red eye reduction works sometimes, but still drowns out the backgrounds. The camera is supposed to shoot HD video as well. There are notes on the box and the camera itself touting the AVCHD format (it also shoot motion jpeg but that is not HD). Let me be the first to say that my standard def camcorder takes better images in all lighting conditions (and that shoots at 640x480). Something that is touted as a feature for video is the ability to zoom while filming. Unless you want the noise of the lense moving to drown out the audio of what you are shooting, I wouldn't recommend using it. Last but certainly not least is the battery life...or more specifically the lack thereof. I have NEVER used a device, any device, that goes through batteries this fast. We charged the battery for a full 8 hours on Christmas eve in anticipation of using the camera all day. Not 2 hours in with mixed video and stills and the battery indicator is blinking on the display (it ran out 5 minutes later and shut off). Utterly ridiculous. To continue, the mode switch button feels like it belongs on a 5 dollar plastic toy. It feels as if it is going to break off with normal use. The only thing that is any good on this camera is the display on the back. Unfortunately what you see is NOT what you get. I have always been partial to Canon cameras. The model I replaced the Powershot A70 was an AWESOME camera. The images it took were amazing indoors or out. It would still be in use today if it had not broken (son dropped it accidently). That camera would last almost a WEEK on a single charge. My friend has a Sony (don't recall which model) and it takes MUCH better photos, MUCH MUCH better videos (in actual HD), and costs 129.00 less than this camera. I may have to look into that after I dump this thing on Ebay (unfortunately it is beyond the return period). I made the mistake of taking some outdoor photos when I first got the camera. They looked good. Unfortunately we don't hold Christmas or many other holidays (bar 4th of July) outdoors. I am just trying to figure out if I got a really bad camera in an otherwise great line, or if all these reviews are smoke and mirrors. I don't usually review these things, rarer still will I bad mouth something, however this thing has ruined 2 birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas this year with photos that look like they were taken with a 6 dollar disposable camera. Sorry but I demand more, and I assume you do too. Stay FAR away from this camera if picture quality, indoor capabilities, battery life etc matter to you. You have been warned.

My wife and I do a lot day and weekend trips and I really wanted a camera that was portable and compact, yet had decent zooming capabilities. I like to think of myself as an amateur photographer as I have a decent eye for a good photograph. I like to have a powerful but smallish camera at hand if I come across something decent to photograph as I don't like carrying a bulky camera and all the necessary equipment around like a professional photographer all the time. When I came across this camera I thought that it would solve all my problems; I was right and wrong. The camera is very good when there's a lot of light to shoot with. The outdoor photographs are absolutely amazing. The wide angle lens helps capture bigger areas when shooting scenery. The colors are natural and the camera captures all the details perfectly. The HD Movie mode is brilliant. I was very impressed with the clear and crisp picture quality both indoors and outdoors when making HD Movie clips. I also like the fact that there's a separate button to record movie clips. Surprisingly, the camera is not bulky as expected for one with a 12x zoom. Even if it feels a little large at first, you will get comfortable with it as time goes by. I have largish hands so the camera doesn't feel too big for me and it fits in my jeans pocket or a jacket pocket without much discomfort. However, I'm 6"1' and I wear comfortable loose jeans. My wife, on the other hand, is petite and it will NOT fit in her jeans pocket or jacket pocket. Its more of a carry-in-your-bag kind of camera for a smaller person. I am not happy with the cameras zooming capabilities as it is not as powerful as I expected it to be. I expected to get much closer to my subjects with the 12x zoom, but it feels more like a 3x or 5x instead. I was absolutely disappointed with the indoor and night time photos. Every photograph I took turned out blurry or grainy unless the there was absolutely no movement of the camera at the time of shooting. I couldn't figure out the reason for all the noise till I read another review which stated that the camera takes bad indoor and night time photos when its on iA mode. It said that indoor and night time photos should be taken in another mode other than iA. I have yet to try this out. The battery life was a big disappointment too. I could only take about 200 - 250 photo's on a full charge which is nowhere as close the amount of photos I take on a day trip. I ended up ordering a spare battery and a car charger just to be on the safe side. PROS: - Good outdoor photos, brilliant colors. - Superb HD Movie quality. - Wide angle lens captures bigger scenes. - Good sized camera, not too heavy. - iA mode is useful when shooting outdoors. - Easy to use controls. CONS: - Bad photo quality indoors and at night. - 12x zoom is a disappointment. - Poor battery life. - A smaller person may feel that the camera is too bulky. - High priced. CONCLUSION: This camera is neither here nor there; meaning that it does not do the job of being a compact point and shoot camera OR being a camera with good zooming capabilities well enough for the money you spend on it. It's better to go for a cheap point and shoot to take around as your "just-in-case" camera and invest in a more expensive camera with better zooming capabilities for outdoor photography.

Like many here, I looked at many cameras and read many reviews before deciding on this one, so I thought I should 'pay it forward' and share my impressions of the Lumix DMC-ZS3. The upshot is that, to me, this is the only camera on the market that successfully -- and at $240, affordably -- combines: -- a high quality Leica lens -- 12x optical zoom -- HD video capability -- intelligent autofocus -- pocket-sized portability I was in the market for a point-and-shoot, because I realized that I was missing a ton of good shots simply because I rarely break out my Canon DSLR. I love my Rebel XTi and its ability to use $1,500 zoom lenses and polarizing filters. And like many, I had considered myself a Canon loyalist prior to purchasing the Lumix. But even with my Lowepro easy-open sling bag, the memory of carrying that thing all over the streets of Dublin last summer made me admit that I needed to find a compromise. But in my heart, I suspected that a compromise would pit portability squarely against image quality, and that I would be using my new P&S exclusively at drunken office parties. So I began my research into the P&S category pessimistically. It seems that most people these days seem to be content with taking horrible pictures with their cell phones, and most compact cameras seem to be marketed along the lines of "fun new colors" and have names like "Coolpix" (shudder). And the thought of buying a camera from Panasonic (over Canon no less!), well, that didn't make much sense to me. But I couldn't ignore the hundreds of rave reviews, or its status as a top seller on Amazon, so I grudgingly checked it out. The single biggest differentiator, for me, was the Panasonic's incorporation of a Leica lens (an absolutely brilliant move on their part). Even decidedly amateur photogs like myself are aware of Leica's stature. Leica is to cameras, what Ducati is to motorcycles. So when I repeatedly read reviews that compared the Lumix's image quality favorably to that of Canon's SX200, I was open enough to the possibility that I decided to see for myself. Since unwrapping the Lumix two days ago, I have taken roughly 300 pictures. And while it struggles somewhat in low light (a handicap that is shared by every digital I've used), the clarity, color balance and warmth easily rivals my DSLR. In fact, at the risk of betraying my photographic naivete, I would be hard pressed to tell the difference in most shots. Beyond the pixel metrics and histogram comparisons, the Lumix produces images which possess that ethereal 'photographic' quality which I have found elusive among digital cameras. It's hard to describe, but shooting with the Lumix quickly felt warmer, more analogue, perhaps even more organic, than countless other digital camera experiences I've had. Ordinarily, I would chalk up those impressions to 'new buyer euphoria.' But in this case, the Panasonic could've easily fallen short of this Canon-loyalists expectations. The fact that it instead exceeded them -- I foresee my DSLR's role shrinking further than expected -- is a testament to what relative newcomer Panasonic has done here. So, in short, I am extremely impressed and happy with my purchase. I've been using Adobe Lightroom 2 as a digital darkroom, and the results have been extremely impressive. In fact a few photos of my dog, after some tinkering and applying a selenium tone filter, are actually breathtaking. Its HD video capabilities, while not a core need for me, are nevertheless a core capability of the camera, and a simply remarkable bonus for a $240 camera. I do wish the files it produces were more universally manageable, but my initial impressions of VideoPad video editor (free, but not included) indicate that it won't be too much trouble. HDMI output is also a wonderful bonus. The camera's size, while certainly not as comfortable in the hand as my DSLR, is almost exactly the same size as a pack of Marlboro Light 100s, and thus can easily fit in my pocket (presuming I quit smoking soon, as planned). The lack of an included case is easily remedied by the Lowepro Rezo 30, which I almost buy because one reviewer said it was too small for this model. Ignore that review, as it fits absolutely perfectly, has great features, and runs about $11. Of my only two complaints, the first is really a quibble: battery life. It's not horrible, but not praiseworthy either, so I would recommend a backup. Panasonic appears to have made its proprietary 'chipped' batteries an issue here as well, so -2 for that. Ny other complaint is the camera's lack of total manual control. There's no messing with the f-stop and shutter speed here, so you have to trust the Lumix's ability to make smart decisions. Thus far, I'd have to say that it makes better decisions than I probably would, and while I don't like creative control being taken away from me, I confess that most of my creative efforts are better expended in post-processing. So there's my review. At $240, the Lumix is an extraordinarily robust mixture of performance and portability. For those looking to give their necks and shoulders a break from their DSLR, this packs 90% of the performance into a 7oz. package.

Very happy with this camera. Easy to use, good battery life, very good pictures, nice size. I recommend this for travel.

The Panasonic DMC-ZS3 is an excellent camera. Very durable, stylist with great features. It take very high quality photos which transfer easily! The intelligent auto feature is superb, with little to no bluring with action shots. Great camera for the price, and amazon.ca delivery is excellent.

wow, still have this on my account history! This was good, but now my phone takes better pics.