Currently, there is a relatively wide variety
of compact cameras that offer both a powerful zoom and a large
monitor. What allows one camera to stand out above the others
are additional features, such as good ergonomic design, and
more critically with long zooms, the presence of an optical
stabilization system which makes it easier to obtain sharp
images at telephoto settings.
Equipped with a 7.2-megapixel resolution, a 3-inch high
resolution monitor and a stabilized 10X optical
zoom, the DMC-TZ3 should get noticed.
The stabilization system uses an optical
group within the lens to counteract the involuntary movements
of the photographer before they arrive at the CCD. The stabilization
makes it possible to obtain sharp shots at long focal lengths,
even when the ambient light is only sufficient for a slow
shutter speed such as 1/50 - 1/30 second that would, without
the dampening effect of the Mega O.I.S. stabilization, cause
camera shake.
Optically, the zoom lens of the DMC-TZ3 has few weaknesses.
At the widest angle, equivalent
to a 28 mm, the focus is a touch soft, but as soon as the
lens moves up to the next step, equivalent to a 30 mm, the
sharpness increases.
On the other hand, the wide
angle end is unaffected by barrel distortion, while the telephoto
end only shows a small amount of pincushion distortion, and
only when there are vertical image elements aligned to the
edges of the frame. Moreover, there is no noticeable chromatic
aberration at any point throughout the focal length range,
even when the subject contains very strong contrasts.
Aperture: f3.3, shutter speed: 1/250 sec., 100
ISO (16:9 ratio).
The DMC-TZ3 is one of a new series
of Panasonic cameras that are equipped with the Venus
III image processor. The processor is the first to
offer what Panasonic refers to as Intelligent ISO,
a system that takes into account the brightness and movement
of a subject and adjusts the CCD sensitivity incrementally
to minimize noise, thereby allowing for a faster shutter speed,
which ensures the shot freezes the subject's movement.
Indeed, in the recent past, noise has been
often identified as a weakness of some Panasonic cameras,
but in this area, the DMC-TZ3 shows improvement. Under good
outdoor lighting, there is no noise in images captured at
100 ISO. At 200 ISO, some noise becomes detectable in shadow
areas, albeit slight. Even at 400 ISO, although noise can
be seen in both shadows and in uniform colour areas, its level
remains within an acceptable range. At 800 ISO and beyond,
however, noise is pervasive and impacts the image sharpness
and quality.
Whether outdoor or indoor, the Auto white balance is quite
reliable and is able to handle a variety of lighting sources,
producing natural and evenly saturated images.
The DMC-TZ3 offers a choice of three different image aspect
ratios: 4:3, 3:2 or 16:9. And although other brands offer
the same thing, Panasonic is only one to offer a selection
of image sizes for each aspect ratio.
Whatever the image size or
its aspect ratio, however, the DMC-TZ3 only offers two JPEG
compression levels. But objectively, only the Fine
image quality setting is useable if images captured at the
highest resolution are going to be printed out to an 8 x 10
inch (20 x 25cm) size without any noticeable loss in the details.
The Fine level applies a compression that has a ratio in the
range of 6:1 which allows for subtle colours and good overall
sharpness as long as there is no noise.
The built-in flash of the DMC-TZ3 is not very strong, and
is best used as fill-in light in an environment that is already
reasonably well-lit, such as indoors with incandescent lighting.
By itself, the reach of the flash is limited, but it can be
boosted by allowing a higher ISO setting. The drawback is
an increase in noise, which can limit the value of the higher
sensitivity.
The DMC-TZ3 offers a good image quality when photos are captured
under good light, but is lower when the light is poor, making
it well-suited to bright and sunny environments.
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