Cons: No sound in movies, vignetting, chromatic aberrations and slight softening in corners
The Bottom Line: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3 is an inexpensive, yet very versatile 5-Megapixel camera with 6x optically stabilized zoom. With its long battery life, fast...
dkozin's Full Review: Panasonic Lumix® DMC-LZ3 Digital Camera
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3 is an update to the 5-Megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2. Although it has the same 5-Megapixel resolution and 6x optical stabilized zoom, it improves on the porevious model in several important areas. It still sells for just a little over $200.
Pictures
I took pictures of the Panasonic DMC-LZ3 and also sample photos that you can see at the address below (copy and paste it into your browser's address area):
The LZ3 is a compact 5-megapixel digital camera that features a 6x optical (37-222 mm equivalent focal length) f/2.8-4.5 zoom lens, optical image stabilization, 2-inch LCD screen and records images on Secure Digital cards (SD cards).
The camera has 14 MB of built-in memory to get you started and is powered by 2 AA batteries (disposable Alkaline or rechargeable NiMH, disposable Panasonic Oxyride included). It can record video at 640x480 or 320x240 resolution at 30 or 10 fps, with movie length limited by capacity of the memory card only.
The important improvements on the previous model (LZ2) include extended sensitivity mode (ISO 800-1600), better LCD visibility in sunlight or darkness, autofocus-assist light and faster focusing.
Handling and Ergonomics
The LZ3 is rather small for its impressive 6x optical zoom and features (e.g. optical image stabilization). The camera feels solid in your hand and is convenient to hold. It is not too light and not too heavy at the same time. It is also compact enough to be placed in the knee pocket of the pants or shorts, a purse or bag.
The camera has a convenient hand grip and its zoom control as well the shutter release button are located within easy reach. Other controls are conveniently located as well. The camera features a rotating mode dial, which has the right feel to it. It is not too flimsy and not too stiff.
The camera has menus that are easy to use. I like Panasonic menus more than Canon or Sony menus, let alone Fujifilm’s. The menus of the LZ3 are colorful and legible as well.
Speed
The LZ3 is pretty fast. Once you slide the switch on the top deck to power it on, the lens extends and the lens lid opens automatically within about two seconds and you are ready to shoot. If you turn the camera on in the review mode, it powers on even faster as it does not need to extend the lens.
Powering the camera off makes it retract the lens and close the lid in under two seconds. The shutter lag is virtually nonexistent when pre-focused (the camera takes the picture as soon as you press the shutter release button). The focusing time is very good (under a second at either wide angle or telephoto), even in the dimly-lit environments. This is much better than some Sony cameras, for example. The focus-assist light helps here, but the camera is fast even without it.
The camera takes photos at about 1.5-second intervals with no flash and 3-4 seconds with flash. There are several burst modes with the top mode letting you shoot at 3 fps for 8 frames.
LCD Screen
The camera features a 2-inch LCD screen, but no viewfinder. It is difficult to make a compact optical viewfinder for a camera that has 6x optical zoom. That is why many cameras that have high-powered optical zooms use electronic viewfinders (EVF) or have no viewfinders at all. An EVF would add to the price and size of the LZ3, so it doesn't have one.
The 2-inch LCD screen is a good size for the job, has good resolution and accurate 100% coverage. The previous model (LZ2) has issues in the sun/bright light, where you had to cover the LCD screen with your hand or anything else to be able to see anything. The LZ3 is much better in this regard with better antireflective qualities and wider viewing angle as well.
The way you use the wider viewing angle is quite unorthodox. You have to push and hold the "Display" button for one second, which makes the picture too bright when looking at it directly. But this makes it much better vidible when viewed at an angle. You push the same button for one second to disengage this mode.
The LCD is fluid in bright light, slightly less so in dim ligth. It gains-up (increases brightness in dim light).
Power
The camera uses two AA-sized batteries. You can use disposable ones (Alkaline, Panasonic Oxyride) or rechargeable NiMH. You can select in the menu what kind of batteries you are using (rechargeable or Oxyride) and the camera will show you battery status information based on your selection.
The camera comes with two disposable 1.7V Panasonic Oxyride batteries. The Oxyride batteries provide (according to Panasonic) enough energy for about 250 shots. I used my old 1600 mAh NiMH rechargeable Panasonic batteries and took more than 100 pictures with no sign of batteries being even partially discharged. You should be able to take more than 300 pictures on one set of high-capacity (2100 mAh) rechargeable NiMH batteries. I suggest that you get at least one set of two NiMH AA batteries and a charger.
The camera can take pictures at several resolutions with 5-Megapixel photos sized about 2.5 MB in fine mode or 1.3 MB in normal mode. You can fit about 5 5MP fine photos or 11 5MP normal photos on the supplied 14MB of memory. If you use a 512MB memory card, you should be able to store about 200 5MP fine photos or 390 5MP standard photos. I usually set the camera to Fine mode to avoid artifacts in large prints.
Features
The most important and semi-unique feature of the LZ3 are two modes of optical image stabilization (Mode 1 stabilizes the image when you pre-focus, Mode 2 does so only when the shutter is released, giving you better battery life and sharper pictures). The camera came pre-set to Mode 1, which I immediately changed to Mode 2.
The camera has no real manual control, which is not a problem for me since it offers exposure compensation and bracketing and uses (as many other digital cameras) a two-step aperture. The camera selects between f/2.8 or f/5.6 at wide angle, between f/4.5 or f/9.0 at telephoto. It works pretty well.
You can select the full auto/easy mode, in which you only have to point and shoot. You can also select a scene mode from several provided (portrait, landscape, etc.) Or you can select a program mode and use exposure compensation and exposure bracketing.
The camera also has several burst modes, in which I was able to take several photos a second (3 fps for 8 frames).
You can select the resolution (full 5 Megapixel and lower), ISO sensitivity (Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, high sensitivity 800-1600), white balance, compression (Fine or Normal), color mode (standard, natural or vivid) and effects (B&W, Sepia, etc.)
The built-in flash has red-eye reduction mode and also can be disabled. The red-eye reduction proved effective (it uses a pre-flash). The camera has an orientation sensor and automatically rotates pictures taken with the camera in vertical position.
It also can show you a histogram during picture taking and while reviewing images. The camera has a USB and A/V outs. The only feature that should have been included but was omitted is sound recording. Be advised, if you record videos, they will not have sound. You will need to step up to 6-Megapixel Panasonic LZ5 to get sound (as well as larger LCD and an extra Megapixel of resolution).
Zoom and OIS
The powerful 6x optical zoom, combined with optical image stabilization make this camera a lot of fun to use. You can zoom in to magnify subjects pretty far away and yet avoid blur when shooting handheld (optical image stabilization). Only OIS makes the 6x zoom (and higher) truly usable, at least without need to carry a tripod.
Image Quality
I usually take photos that contain all primary colors at different focal lengths, apertures and compression ratios. Some photos are taken outdoors, some indoors with and without flash.
Oftentimes, I take a bunch of photos from my balcony. Those photos features all colors: blue sky, green foliage, red curbs, yellow fire hydrant and cars of different colors.
Taking photos at different focal lengths and apertures reveals the camera's optical quality: corner sharpness, chromatic aberrations, overall sharpness.
Taking photos at different ISO settings shows how well a given camera can keep noise levels low in dim light. I mostly evaluate the image quality using my computer monitor, but I also print some photos at different sizes using either my printer or online services like Shutterfly, Snapfish and Sam's Club's online photo center.
I have used the camera over several days in different lighting conditions and different modes. Overall, my experience was positive, but with some reservations. The LZ3 produces sharp and richly-saturated photos. You can adjust the sharpness and saturation by selecting among the Standard, Natural or Vivid picture modes. I usually use Natural mode in Panasonic cameras and then adjust everything in Photoshop, but for printing with no adjustments, Standard mode works better.
Packaging the 6x optics into a compact body is not easy. Unlike most other Panasonic cameras, the LZ3 does not bear the Leica name on its lens. Is it because the optics is inferior to something we come to expect from Leica?
At wide angle, I could see small amounts of chromatic aberration (purple fringing), mostly in the corners. There is also some vignetting (corners are darker than the rest of the image) at wide angle. And the corners are slightly softer than the rest of the photo.
At telephoto, the corners are a bit softer than at wide angle. Aside from that, the image is sharp and the colors are pleasing and well-saturated. Will the corner issues be a concern to you? Probably not: the effects are not visible when printed at 6x4 or 5x7 since the amount of vignetting/softening is small and th corners of the frame are cut off due to a different aspect ratio of the print and the CCD.
Noise
The image noise is virtually absent at ISO 80, appears in shadows at ISO 100, grows at ISO 200 and becomes worse at ISO 400. Still, ISO 400 prints look OK at 7x5 and 6x4-inch size. And ISO 80 pictures should enlarge well up to 11x14. The ISO 800-1600 noise is high. I see no reason to use it, since the image stabilization lets you shoot handheld at low ISO without introducing blur.
Computer Connectivity
I have not used the USB connection in order to download the pictures from this camera, but used my memory card reader. But if you want to use the USB connection, the driver installation will not be required under Windows 2000 or later.
Storage
The SD cards that camera uses are compact, sturdy and rather inexpensive.
Bottom Line
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3 is an inexpensive, yet very versatile 5-Megapixel camera with 6x optically stabilized zoom. With its long battery life, fast operation and powerful zoom in such a compact body, it is a great camera. And for its performance and features, it is rather cheap. Aside from slight issues with corners of the frame and no sound in movie mode, I highly recommend it.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 214 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
5.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 13 x 17-inch prints 6x image-stabilized optical zoom; 2.0-inch LCD display Playback of 9, 1...More at Amazon Marketplace
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