Panasonic DMC-ZS3 hands-on and review
By Tim Stevens 
posted Jun 15th 2009 11:01AM
posted Jun 15th 2009 11:01AM
Had we been able to secure one in time (we tried, we really did), the DMC-ZS3 would have tied Panasonic's other summer hit, the DMC-TS1, as the most expensive camera at $400. That's a lot of cheddar when most people get by with a $150ish compact and/or step up to something in a nice SLR. Despite that it doesn't exactly feel high-end. The camera is definitely hefty, but its plastic body doesn't really exude the feeling of solidity and durability that you might like from something this costly yet is almost guaranteed to get dropped at some point.
That's not to say that it feels flimsy, just not exactly $400 solid. That said, the mode dial on top with its knurled edge feels decidedly high-end, and of course there's the beefy brushed metal ring around the Leica lens -- this camera's main attraction. It's a 12x unit and is about the most usable we've seen in a compact, starting at a properly wide 25mm equivalent and going all the way up to 300mm. That's a huge range for a compact and, more impressively, the optical stabilization means both ends are quite usable.
The camera's menus are reasonably well grouped; not as user-friendly as those in the Samsung SL820, but quicker to wade through. Even speedier is the "Q.MENU" mode, which gives quick (with a capital 'Q') access to all the exposure settings you can tweak here, like white balance, ISO, exposure timing, and aspect ratio. A full manual this ain't, but you didn't really think that it would be, did you?
Also buried in the menus are some interesting additions beyond the typical point-and-shooter mold, most notable being a face recognition system that not only recognizes faces in general, but can identify specific faces. You can save someone's mug and assign a name to it, which the camera will display when that face is recognized. Then, in a group shot, the camera can be set to give focal priority to those people recognizes, and you can search photos by who is in them. It's a fun feature, but, honestly, is pretty useless. We'd have liked to see a timer mode that doesn't take a picture until the photographer is in the shot and, preferably, smiling.
Image and video quality
The DMC-ZS3's 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor isn't the highest resolution thing out there, but of course more important is image quality, and overall we're impressed with that produced here. Like all compacts it's at its best in bright light, taking clear and crisp images at both ends of that 25mm - 300mm range. Optical image stabilization is quite effective when taking stills, and after a few days of playing with this camera we'd forgotten entirely about concentrating, holding our breath, using a short timer, or any other tricks we might typically employ to get a clear shot on a powerful lens. Yes this is a cliche, this camera lives up to the point-and-shoot moniker.
Lower-light pics are somewhat less memorable, but still good. Maximum ISO here is 1600, but 400 has a good amount of noise if you look closely. Colors are still bright and accurate, though, and images with lengthier exposures are again kept sharp thanks to the optical stabilization.
Videos are captured at 720p, and a set of stereo mics on the top ensures you'll get good quality audio to match -- assuming you don't accidentally put your finger over one or both, which is easy to do. Video quality is quite good, on par with the best we've seen in a compact, getting us a little closer to the point where a dedicated camcorder becomes overkill for casual filming. With two flavors of video encoding you can choose to either fill your memory card quickly with Motion JPEG vids, or spend more time later converting AVCHD videos into something your video editing suite can handle (a quick trip through Handbrake usually does the trick). Going with the latter encoding gives you about one fourth the video size (31 minutes on a 2GB card vs. about 8) without any drop in visual quality, and regardless which mode you choose videos can be as long as you have the flash to hold 'em.
The camera does allow optical zooming while filming, and the motor on the lens makes very little noise. The stabilization can't cure all shake at full zoom, but given the lack of a big grip and the size of the body we found video to be quite stable at its full extent.
Wrap-up
The Panasonic DMS-ZS3 is a lot of camera in a compact but not exactly small package. It impressed in every situation we could throw at it, and that fantastic lens on the front makes it far more flexible than your average point-and-shoot. But, it's not for everyone, with that $400 price being the first and biggest disadvantage. For about $150 less you can get a quite comparable Panasonic DMC-TZ5 or take home the Samsung SL820 that recently won our shootout.
So then, this is one of those "if you have the means" situations. If you do, this camera is quite choice.
Just got this camera last week. I love it. Great picture quality, and small enough for me to take anywhere. Low light isn't THAT impressive but it's still loads better than my last camera.
What Engadget Forget to mention is that the ZS3 is the only camera available that record in AVCHD format (No 2GB file limit-Better Picture Quality/Higher frame rate/ and less space taken to save the files)
Plus Auto focus+Optical Zoom is available during video unlike canon and almost every other company
Also it record High quality Audio in stereo during videos
Also its sensor is 12MP but it record in 10MP to keep the aspect ratio wide screen
If you go to Cnet/Image resource/etc or any professional website that focus at cameras they will tell you pretty much that ZS3 is the BEST compact camera in the market by a mile if you look at picture quality+Noise level but it have 2 problems
#1 no full manual control (you can still control ISO and etc but not everything)
#2 its expensive
and from me #3 try to buy it...... it been sold out for months lol no where to be bought even from panasonic themself
ZS3 is Camera+Camcorder combined without any sacrifice in any side of these too
Yeah it forgets to mention all things it did in fact mention, how about you read then judge and jabber?
Maybe you should give this advice to yourself then?
They say the sensor is 10MP which is false , the sensor is 12MP but it capture in 10MP to save wide screen pictures
Also they say it have video quality "on par" with other compact cameras , which is false ZS3 have hand down the best video capture in compact camcorders , tell me how many compact cameras capture AVCHD videos ? NONE expect panasonic ZS3 and the T1 (Underwater panasonic camera) plus its 1280x720 60 FRAME with optical zoom+image stabilization+Auto focus and HIGH quality Stereo Audio , that's not on par with other cameras Actually the PAR is ZS3, compared to canon its low frame,no zoom+no auto focus during video with bad mono audio and old capture format that doesnt give the quality of the AVCHD format
Also Its saying it have not user friendly menus compared to the samsung SL820 which is misleading , Pro users wont have a problem with it and amateur users will use the auto mode which is according to pretty much every review is the BEST AI mode in any compact camera, the ZS3 is the successor of the TZ5 (Camera of the year for last year)
I can go on and on about whats wrong in there review, the video sample they have is so bad that doesnt show the zs3 Quality not the gimped down scaled pictures the camera been sold out since april everywhere , people who see real pictures and reviews can tell, unlike engadget review which make the zs3 Just another camera and they didn't even include it with there Best camera under 400$ review that they made a while ago
I guess Canon or someone else gave them some $$$
Engadget, the body on this camera is not plastic... it's metal.
I bought this camera 5 days ago.
It's magnificent. People are blown away by the wide angle pictures.
HD quality is excellent, and sound quality is far better than I expected.
I bought it mostly so that I wouldn't have to lug two devices on vacation, and based on a discussion here at Engadget a couple of weeks ago. Best serious purchase I have made in a long time. Thank you Engadget.
I had this on pre-order from buy.com on april 4th, they canceled the pre-order last week saying that they aren't going to get them in. Where can I find a reputable seller to buy from? Also, panasonic is doing a free 4gb SD card and camera case via rebate if purchased between like 05/somthing and june 24th I believe.
I got mine from JR.com (through Amazon.com), came in 2 days using the expedite shipping. Only had silver available though, but that might have changed. I wanted black so bad but whatever lol.
try Vanns.com
I tried butterflyphoto but I couldnt get it on time for my trip.($380) I had it on order for 3 weeks, and it will still take at least another 2. I went to vanns this morning and will have it by Thursday as the Silver is in stock. ($400)
I got mine from amazon but it shipped through jr.com. Got it with 2 day shipping.
Yay for double posting :-/ Sorry about that. Might even be quad posting because none of my posts were showing up.
I am interested in a new camera, but I am undecided between G10 and P90
Picked one up a month or two ago; and amazing camera; great to hold me off till I get a proper slr (And then I still have quick point and shoot).
One thing to mention though; is at a recent NiN concert; I recorded a couple songs back to back; and maxed out ~12 minutes long in mpg mode( ~1.9gb recorded). This is going to an 8gb sandisk xtremeIII card. About 1-2 second pause before I could resume again; I am assuming this is a hard coded limit; but I have not looked into it (And I am also not on the newest firmware yet).
-Chris
wom, using motion jpeg has a 2gb limit. Switch to AVCHD, no limit. At least not on the ZS3. I've heard that the TZ7 version may have some limits due to European law. AVCHD looks better to me, and software is now widely available compared to just a few weeks ago.
Are all those advertisements on the front removable? I'm not spending money on a camera and then be their billboard for ads. Back in the day, pro photographers used to tape over the name of the camera company to make their cameras more inobtrusive.
Yes, it's just a sticker for shelf display purposes.
That trick still applies!
Isn't the main point of this camera that it's got 12x zoom in a compact, and that would be one of its main selling points? So why recommend the SL820, when clearly they are catering for different needs?
Not exactly fair to compare it to the Samsung SL820. The Samsung mentioned is only a 5X zoom...quite a bit away from the mega-zoom of this Panasonic. And for a 12X mega-zoom, this Panasonic is quite compact! Look at the other point and shoot mega-zooms out there.. most are more bulky..your own review of the Samsung HZ15W told of how bulky it was...Please, oranges to oranges here!
Plus, I looked at that picture at ISO 400 and didn't see any noise...perhaps if you compared that to other mega-zooms, you may not have noticed the noise as much.
Ed
web/gadget guru
To be fair, most new point-n-shoot cameras use more and more noise reduction as the ISO goes up -- so you won't see typical noise. But you do see a degradation of image quality at the pixel level. Look for yourself at this site (scroll down to the ISO tests), and you can see that the quality steadily degrades as the ISO goes up (look at how dark and solid the spade looks at the lowest ISO, but at 400 it's kinda of splotchy and faded).
http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=3957&review=panasonic+lumix+zs3
I ordered this jack-of-all-trades camera yesterday. Seemed like the best camera that is small, has a big zoom, good movie mode (including zoom during recording), and good sound (the previous incarnations of this Panasonic line appear to suffer from poor sound quality). Wish it was cheaper, but oh well...
I guess I don't understand why anyone would spend $400+ on a point-and-shoot. Just spend $100 more and get the last-generation Canon DSLR. I guess the only argument would be video, but you'd be better off getting a consumer flash-based HD camera.
Because you can take this anywhere and a DSLR requires a backpack for all the gear you need to take along.
I have an SLR too, but who wants to drag it (and big lenses) around everywhere? I can bring this camera with me at all times. Not to mention, you can usually bring a point-n-shoot to a concert, but not an SLR. The whole point you're missing is, this is a small, portable camera!
Exactly. DLSRs are big and chunky. In fact, they're also generally more delicate and prone to being made temporarily useless if you get dirt in the body while changing lenses.
Saying that we should all spend the extra on a mediocre DSLR over a high-end P&S is like saying that I should take a large powerboat camping in the interior instead of a nice, light canoe. It's all about having the right tool for the job.
most people who have dslrs have 2nd multipurpose cams as to not having to lug around the loads of glass with them... wish panasonic added some manual capability similar to Nikon's S710...
I've a DSLR and a pack of lenses. No matter which way I turn them, they just don't fit in my pocket.
The ZS3/TZ7 is for an entirely different situation. I really can't afford it but bought it anyway. No regrets. The 25mm wide end produces brilliant landscape/sunset/scenic photos. The stablization works very, very well at 300mm. I will use both in the matter of 30 seconds when I'm outdoors and the IQ is excellent.
I'm using video more than I expected, not available with my DSLR.
Different tools for different jobs. As usual.
Panasonic has been making great cameras of late. They fixed the noise issues of the past and now treat it better than most of the competition, even better than the 'big 2' of Canon and Nikon in the P&S arena.
Maybe Engadget should try using some PC video editing software, as 90% of video editing software on a PC works natively with AVCHD, so no conversion needed to be able to edit it.
Final Cut Pro will import AVCHD no worries too. Log and Capture. Did it myself the other day from my own ZS3. Very happy.
This is not a "normal" version of AVCHD, it's AVCHD-Lite which is not widely supported on Mac or PC yet. On top of that I heard Panasonic was doing something strange and breaking the AVCHD-Lite file up into lots of small chuncks...I think 20MB each? I can't find the review I read this in, so I might be slightly off. The good news for Mac owners is iMovie 8.0.3 update has added support for this file format. I have not tried it yet, so I'd love to know if anyone else has tried it and their thoughts?
I actually want the Panasonic DMC-TS1 which is rugged and waterproof version.
I don't have this camera, but a friend of mine bought it for a trip that we took to an Art & Wine Festival. We had gone to dinner at a sushi bar (was very dim inside), and I had tried using the camera to take a picture of the restaurant's logo printed on the front of the menu cover. Using the exposure compensation settings @ +2, it didn't look any different than @ +0. However it did get significantly darker when I changed it to -2. It might be due to the camera itself and overall just the fact that the place was dark so the camera could not capture enough light *HOWEVER* on the camera's screen it looked perfectly bright @ +2, but upon taking the picture, as mentioned previously, it was dim and looked the same @ +0. Very strange. Overall though the camera is great. Motor noise is a minimum, and it takes pictures very nicely, even with macro.
No mention of maximum aperture in the article and the photo of the front of the camera washes out the number.
Here it is: F3.3 - F4.9. For $400, I'd rather add on a little bit more money and get the LX3 (which still seems to be difficult to find in stock). Unless you absolutely need 12x zoom, the LX3 is a far better camera.
I agree, but clearly, this camera is for people who want a big zoom, as opposed to the LX-3, which has one of the smallest zoom factors I've seen. Also, if you really want to use the camera for videos, I've read the LX-3 sound quality is poor.
I have this camera since a month too, this is the best camera in the point and shoot scene. I have a Canon EoS 40d and I bought this for my wife, I couldn't help borrowing this from her from time to time for the video and for certain wide angle shots that I just wanted to quickly take.
The HD vide is crystal clear, on a mac only VLC is able to play the files but the camera ships with HDMI cables which you can connect to a TV and be amazed by the quality of picture.
To the above comment on going for a Leica , $400 is a stretch so adding $100 is definitely out of the picture, besides 12x zoom can come super handy in some situations.
I'd consider this, I tried the SL820 and was seriously unimpressed with the poor quality control buttons on the back of the camera. Selecting 'up' using the four way control was almost impossible.
focal length range is nice. but at this price, does this camera even have an optical viewfinderr? I couldn't tell. but lack of one would be a deal-killer.
Consider your deal killed. This one is screen-only. Though technically there are no P&S cameras with true "optical view finders." That's the whole point of an SLR mechanism.
Not sure what you mean by "true optical viewfinder" (unless you mean SLR through-the-lens viewing) but there are plenty of point-n-shoots at all price points with optical viewfinders. The point being, people can't always see an LCD screen in bright light, in which case any optical viewfinder is desired... Plus, some people just prefer looking through a viewfinder.
Where is everyone purchasing this camera? It seems most places are out of stock (bh, abes of maine, etc.) 6ave does seem to sell black and blue through amazon.com, but they charge tax for those that live in NY.
Does anyone know where in NYC one can take a look at this camera before purchasing?
J&R has the Camera to look at and purchase i think. i was there the other day.
I've had this camera for about a month. I love it. I had a larger camera for years but really enjoy the smaller format.
Low light pictures are a little inconsistent but not if it sees a face. If it locks on to a face the low-light picture couldn't be better.
The movie's are super on my Samsung 52" LCD. A mini HDMI cable is not included so I had to get one of those. The software in the camera makes playing slide shows and video to the TV very easy.
Worth the $400 in my opinion with the 12X zoom and 720p zoom movie mode. Wide angle shots are awesome too!
Its a 12 Megapixel CMOS not a 10.1.
Is that video good quality by today's P&S standards? It seems rather choppy and poor quality to me, but I'm not sure if it's the delivery mechanism or what...
For a point-and-shoot camera it's pretty good. It's only 720p video, but better that most non-hd camcorders on the market. If you want something for shooting HD video really well, then get a camcorder, this is excellent for this kind of camera.
The sample video on this site is not very representative.
Here is a better example of some video done with the TZ7 (aka ZS3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-wOEP_M0Sg
It's better than SD camcorders, not quite as sharp as hd camcorders. The autofocus is great, the zoom is slower than a typical camcorder and slower than the zoom during photo mode. In short, it's pretty awesome quality.
The color and clarity of the sushi video that TyMaYoJa posted (thanks!) was good, but panning the camera and moving object seemed jumpy to me. Is that how the original video really looked?
If I wanna record bits and pieces of a soccer game and not see this jumpy motion... can i buy this camera, or do I still need to get a "real camcoder"?
Bob,
I just watched the youtube link. I see the jumpy video that you're talking about. I don't know what is causing it, but the video from the camera loaded on to your computer is not jumpy at all. It's completely smooth and awesome.
I have it since two weeks and made all the computex shoots and videos for my website with that cam. It is great, The battery life lastet for a whole day point and shooting which was around 300 pictures and 20 minute video.
You can check out my pictures and video on flickr.com/photos/ndevil and youtube.com/ndeviltv to see more quality comparisons.
I recommend it to everyone and don't worry about the price. The cam costs here in Taiwan 12000 NT which would be arcutally even less than those 400 dollars, so there is some space for price dropping.
It takes nice looking wide angle pics.
it's too expensive
I've owned this camera (here in the UK it's sold as the Lumix DMC TZ7) for about 2 months now and have been most impressed with it's ease of use and the image quality under most conditions. It cost £274 ($446) so quite expensive. For some obscure reason we are also limited to 15 minutes record time for video. I've even used it to produce some HDR photos http://www.jabberlingo.com/gallery3 . The auto-bracket only goes from -1 to plus 1 so it means manually setting the exposure and taking 5 shots from -2 to +2 but can be done with a tripod.
The 15-minute limit is to keep it from being classified as a camcorder, which is taxed more.
when is this one available?
Been available for months.
Not exactly been available for months, "odd" resellers have had it, but mainstream (bestbuy, amazon, buy.com, etc.) have yet to get it in stock. Amazon says "1-2 months for delivery." I don't purchase from the other sites that sell it, like VideoDirect.com, B&H Photo, JR.com, Plemix, etc.
If you were in the UK though, you would have had it for a while now. Same with Canada. I think the resellers in the US that have it are importing from Canada.
Try www.6thave.com I have purchased from them just before a trip and they shipped it from NJ to DC in 2 Days!
Prior to that I called everyone from Best Buy to Amazon to even Panasonic ( they did not have one )
Plastic body? Did you guys even pick it up? It's got a metal body...hence the "hefty" feel. I have one and I also have the old TZ5. Both are fantastic cameras with probably the best lenses available in this price range. The image quality makes it worth the price.
Like someone else mentioned here, its odd this review says its a plastic body, when every other review says its a metal body. Do a search on google for zs3 and "metal body".
Yes, AVCHD is no problem now, compared to even just a few weeks ago. Most software publishers are issuing patches and updates to support it. And there is also some great freeware for AVCHD. Get TS Muxer. Great program to quickly "join" clips without having to recompress them (which takes a lot longer).
I've had the camera for a week. It is the perfect camera for travel. I missed tons of shots and no video because of the inconvenient bulk and weight of my dslr and hd video camera. Forget about indoor shots w/ natural light. The 3.3 min aperture means you have to use the flash which is very hit and miss. BTW indoor video looks great. This camera is all about convenience. The first time you whip it out of your pocket, snap a few photos, press the video record button to grab some video, you'll appreciate it's versatility. The ease of video recording will challenge you to rethink the way you capture events. The only people who will be disappointed with this camera, are those who travel around and take the majority of their pictures indoor using natural light. You will recognize them as they are often fumbling with the lens cover on the LX3. The manual says you can record up to 2 gigs of video regardless of which compression you choose, so it recommends avchd for longer duration video. Download the free basic K-lite codec pack, current ver 4.9.0, if you want to watch your avchd vids on wmp or picasa 3.
Does anyone who have this camera can confirm if the new firmware helped any, or made things worse? I've updated mine to v1.1.
I have the camera
The firmware did nothing other than making the auto focus a little smoother during video capture when you switch zoom levels
I've been sitting on my hands waiting for my wife to let me buy this camera. I read a P&S comparo here on engadget while I was shopping for an HD video camera (like a Vado HD, etc) and realized I could scrap my old Coolpix without having to buy a new point and shoot AND a video camera. I've been dying to buy this so I'm glad there is a huge positive response from owners out there. I've got a baby on the way in a couple months and I need something to capture all the action that is small enough I'll actually want to carry it around. So thanks to everyone for commenting and sharing their opinion. This camera sounds as good as my research has indicated.
p.s. How weird is it that I REALLY want the red one?
Dude, if you've got a baby on the way, you really going to need low light capability. (At least that's what I found most useful photographing my children.) You need a Canon Tli or Nikon 5000. For the first year they're just a lump. By the time they're a toddler, there will be a newer/cheaper version of this camera.
Got this camera a month ago. Downside for me? Only the same as other point & shoots: low light picture-taking. Otherwise it's terrific. Used it for hundreds of pics, 15-20 vids. I also picked up an extra battery and Panasonic 16gb SDHC card that allows me plenty of space to shoot and record at highest resolution. The videos I've taken came out much better than this sample. My favorite features are being able to zoom during video recording, dedicated video record button, awesome lens and long zoom, stereo recording and large display. Best P&S camera I've bought in 20 years.
Like someone else mentioned here, its odd this review says its a plastic body, when every other review says its a metal body. Do a search on google for zs3 and "metal body".
For mac people: I've had no problem importing both motion jpeg and AVCHD from this camera. The motion JPEG videos import into iPhoto along with the stills. The AVCHD videos don't import in iPhoto, but in iMovie you can import them by clicking on camera icon (as if you were going to import from a firewire'd camcorder).
Agree with all of ChrisW's points...
-ve's:
- 15min video limit (in the UK)
- the dial is *very* easy to knock out of position. This quirk very quickly becomes frustrating
- Easy to accidentally cover the microphone with your finger
- Mic very sensitive to pick up wind noise (even in 'wind reduce' mode)
- Expensive .. price will drop over the next few months, so if you don't need a camera immediately it's worth waiting...
- Hard to find a slim case to fit the camera
- "HD" video isn't that great. Doesn't compare with a dedicated HD camcorder (as you'd expect). The engadget sample video in the article highlights this I think.
- supplied wrist strap doesn't have a woggle(? not sure of the correct word) to allow you to tighten it to your wrist
- battery life doesn't seem as good as my IXUS, although I haven't thoroughly tested this yet
- quite a large camera. only just about pocketable.
- not enough manual controls to play with
+ve's
+ body looks amazing, especially in black
+ wide angle lens is superb
+ 12x zoom is excellent
+ able to record loud concerts. indie/rock concerts in the past have always been too loud for previous cameras I've used
+ 3" screen very good
+ a lot of my friends who have seen this camera are keen to buy one themselves
The Panasonic TZ7 (uk model) is probably the best compact camera money can currently buy.
I'd recommend it but worth bearing in mind the above -ve points
Engadget video doesn't even display SD quality.... look at youtube for better quality
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBotO4wKzxg
Here is another nice sample video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zhJIzCmuCQ
Note that some people have issues with YouTube's HD flash videos. Let the video load completely and then drag the slider back to the absolute beginning. That usually gets rid of the choppiness.
I got mine from 17photo.com. Just checked - they still have a few of the black in stock. Rest are gone.
Thanks for the interesting post. This is a solid camera. It has good features and decent look. Recently I have Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ28. I am satisfied with its features. Image quality is also good. For more information refer http://www.etechreviews.net/panasonic-lumix-dmc-fz28-black-digital-camera-reviews/