Gail's Digital Photography Blogs

Gail's Panasonic TZ3 Blog

extremely versativle 28-280mm (35mm equivalent) zoom range with very little lens distortion
sharp lens
excellent, bright 3" LCD screen but...
camera is well-built and a great size
you can set the maximun ISO limit when using Intelligent ISO; a nice feature since the TZ3 leaves a lot to be desired at higher ISO numbers
Auto Exposure Bracketing and Exposure Compensation easily accessed
Quick Setting - fast access to key camera settings via the Function button
variable screen ratios

read the manual; camera menu icons have no text explanations, though most are quite intuituve
slow lens; aperture at wide angle is only f3.3
noise and some loss of fine detail even when using ISO 100, though may not be noticeable when an image is reduced in size
in-camera noise reduction at higher ISO numbers blurs fine detail and colors bleed - not an ideal camera for those who take a lot of low light photos.
easy to hit a button that brings up a menu while shooting; annoying
poor flash - not the best camera for those who have high expectations for or do a lot of low light photography
lackluster macro mode
lacks manual controls (not an issue for many since it has plenty of useful scene modes)