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

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 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!!!

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.