Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Review
Review Date: March 26th 2007
Leave
a comment about this Review
Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 7M Fine (3072 x
2304) JPEG image size option, which
gives an average image size of around 3-3.5Mb.
Noise
There are 5 ISO settings available
on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 which you can select at any
time if the camera is in the normal shooting mode, plus a
High Sensitivity scene mode which shoots at ISO 3200. There
is virtually no discernible noise at the slowest settings
of ISO 100 and 200, but noise
and slight loss of detail is apparent
at ISO 400, particularly in the shadow areas. At ISO 800
image quality has deterioated quite a lot as the camera blurs
detail
to try and hide the noise. ISO 1250 should be
used only as a last resort, and the High Senitivity mode
should be avoided at all costs. Here are some 100% crops
which show the noise levels for each
ISO
setting:
High Sensitivity Mode
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 has a
High Sensitivity scene mode which promises to reduce
blurry images, particularly of moving subjects indoors, by
raising the ISO speed to a maximum of 3200 and therefore
allowing for a faster shutter speed. This mode allows you
to handhold the camera without using the flash and get more
natural results, whilst at the same time freezing subject
movement more successfully. There are some obvious drawbacks
with this special scene mode - Panasonic state that "Pictures may appear slightly grainy due to high sensitivity". You also need to select the scene mode and therefore have some idea about when
it is applicable to your subject. Here are some 100% crops
which show the noise levels:
Sharpening
Here are two 100% Crops which have
been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand
image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the
camera images are quite soft at the default sharpening setting
and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like
Adobe Photoshop. Unfortunately you can't change the in-camera
sharpening level.
Chromatic Aberrations
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 dealt
exceptionally well with chromatic aberrations during the
review, with only very limited purple fringing present around
the
edges of objects in certain high-contrast situations, especially
at the telephoto end of the 10x zoom.
Macro
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 offers
a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that
is 5cms away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle.
The first image shows how close you can get to the subject
(in this case a compact flash card). The second image is
a 100% crop.
Aspect Ratios
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 has 3 different image aspect ratios, as shown below.
They are worthy of mention because the TZ3 actually has an
8 megapixel, 1/2.35" sensor, and it then crops the different sizes out
of the middle of the sensor, rather than simply crop from
the top and bottom of a standard 4:3 image. This CCD, which
is
larger
than those
in conventional 7 megapixel and 6 megapixel cameras,
can reproduce images shot with the lens set 28mm to 280mm
in any of the three aspect ratios without
altering the angle of view.
| 16:9
(3328 x 1872) |
|
| 3:2
(3216 x 2144) |
|
| 4:3
(3072 x 2304) |
|
| |
|
Flash
The flash settings on the Panasonic
Lumix DMC-TZ3 are Auto,
Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye
Reduction, Forced Off. These shots of a white coloured
wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Auto
Flash - Telephoto (280mm) |
|
|
 |
| |
|
And here are some shots of yours truly.
As you can see, neither the Flash On setting or the Red-Eye
Reduction option caused any red-eye.
|
|
Flash
On (100% Crop) |
|
|
 |
| |
|
|
|
Flash
- Red-Eye Reduction (100% Crop) |
|
|
 |
| |
|
Night Shot
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 maximum
shutter speed is 60 seconds in the Starry Sky Mode scene
mode (there are also 15 and 30 second options) and 8 seconds
in the Night Scenery mode, which is good news if you're seriously
interested in night photography. The shot below was taken
using a shutter speed of 1 second at ISO 100. I've included
a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.
The camera takes the same amount of time again to apply noise
reduction, so for example at the 8 second setting the actual
exposure takes 16 seconds.
|
|
Night Shot (100% Crop) |
|
|
 |
| |
|
Anti Shake
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 has an
anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos
at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test
this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the
same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake
turned off, the second with it turned on. Here is a 100%
crop of the image to show the results. As you can see, with
anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper than with
anti shake turned
off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and
could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing
the opportunity altogether.
Overall Image Quality
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 produced
images of good quality during the review period.
The Panasonic
Lumix DMC-TZ3 dealt extremely well with chromatic aberrations,
with very limited purple fringing effects appearing only
in high contrast situations. The built-in flash worked well
indoors, with very little red-eye and good exposure. The
night photograph was good, with the maximum shutter speed
of 60 seconds allowing you to capture plenty of light. Anti-shake
is a feature that sets this camera apart from its competitors
and one that works very well when hand-holding the camera
in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of
the zoom range. Macro performance is average, allowing you
to focus as close as 5 cms away from
the subject. The 7 megapixel images were
quite soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpening
setting and ideally require
some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop,
as you can't change the in-camera setting. The
1/2.35 inch, 7.2 megapixel sensor used in the Panasonic Lumix
DMC-TZ3 produces noise-free images at ISO
100 and 200, with ISO 400 also looking quite good. ISO 800
does have easily visible noise and ISO 1250 is best avoided
at
all costs,
but overall this is an improvement on the DMC-TZ1 and the
previous generation of Panasonic compacts. The new High Sensitivity
mode extends
the ISO range to 3200 and allows
you
to
freeze subject
movement effectively,
but does so by significantly blurring detail and increasing
noise (so much so that the image is virtually unusable).
 PhotographyBLOG
is a member of the DIWA
organisation. Our test results for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 have
been submitted to DIWA
for comparison with test results for different samples of
the same camera model supplied by other DIWA
member sites.
Compare Prices
Support PhotographyBLOG: Buy the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 from
one of our affiliate retailers:
|
RSS
Feeds
