Average Camera Review Rating [2 reviews]
At PMA, Panasonic recently
announced 4 new cameras - the Lumix TS2 (aka FT2), ZS7 (aka TZ10), ZS5 (aka TZ8), and ZR3 (aka ZX3). Panasonic announced that all of the models will begin shipping in mid-March.
Successor to the highly regarded DMC-ZR1 (aka ZX1), Panasonic's new 14.1-megapixel Lumix DMC-ZR3 (aka ZX3) offers style and compactness whilst also boasting a powerful 8x optical zoom starting at 25mm. The 25-200mm lens comprises 9 elements in 7 groups, including 4 super thin aspherical lenses with 6 spherical surfaces. Thanks to the newly incorporated Intelligent Resolution technology, the new Intelligent Zoom is available with the ZX3 which extends the zoom ratio by approx.1.3x maintaining the picture quality even when using a digital zoom. This means the 8x optical can virtually extend to 10x equivalent. With the Intelligent Resolution technology, 3 areas - outlines, detailed texture areas and soft gradation areas - are automatically detected. The outline parts are enhanced effectively to give edges more clarity while giving a moderate accentuation to the texture areas to look more finely detailed. As a result, images are naturally clear and crisp in both photo and movie recording.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR3 is priced at $299.95. Here is the summary of a latest review by PhotographyBLOG, giving the camera high rating of 4.5 out of 5:
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The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZX3 remains an excellent compact camera, but it's much less of an enjoyable surprise than its predecessor, with little really new on offer except for videographers.
Still bridging the size gap between the smaller FX and larger TZ series cameras, the ZX3 inherits the 720p AVCHD Lite movie format, bringing with it a much-needed reduction in file size plus a very welcome one-touch record button, HDMI port and simple in-camera editing options. There's no stereo sound or full 1080p HD, but the improvements have definitely made the ZX3 a more appealing option in terms of moving footage.
Still images are a different story, however, with the move to 14 megapixels and the new Intelligent Resolution feature bringing few actual benefits. While the photos produced by the ZX3 are slightly higher-resolution than the ZX1 without any drop in quality, most users won't see any benefit from the extra pixels. The ability to increase the zoom range without having to decrease the image size is the main benefit of the Intelligent Resolution function, but the quality does noticeably degrade.
Thankfully all of the other appealing aspects of the ZX1 are present and correct. The combination of an ultra-compact, lightweight and well-made body with the 8x, 25-200mm lens remains a real winner, with few real rivals from other manufacturers, although we'd have liked to see some of the flaws of the ZX1 addressed in this version, most notably the slow burst shooting speed (even slower now), flimsy battery compartment cover, and the annoyingly loose Mode Dial.
The lack of significant improvements aside, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZX3 remains a compelling point-and-shoot camera thanks to its winning combination of small size, quick speed and big zoom.
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| CNET: "The digital zoom doesn't crop into the centre of the image like you might expect. Or it does, but then it blows it up to a full 14-megapixel file, which means you get all the pixels but a fraction of the definition. The extra optical zoom is more like conventional digital zooms, in that you just get a smaller, cropped image. The test chart detail comes out bright and clean, but, while the DMC-ZX3 is very good a..." - Mar 01 2010 More » | |
Panasonic DMC-ZR3 Camera Recent User ReviewsGreat, easy to use camera, Joseph A. Braddock "joepat" - Jul 19 2010
I wanted an easy to use point and shoot camera with good picture quality and video. This camera does the job and then some. It is the best digital camera I have ever owned. The picture quality is great and the HD video is even better. With a mini HDMI to normal HDMI cable you can plug this camera right into most HD sets with ease. I have a 60 inch Sharp and everything looks flawl...
Great amera., Joseph T. Dietz "joedietz" - Jul 18 2010
So far we love this camera. We have owned it for about 2 weeks but we have taken over 200 pictures on it. It takes good action shots and good low light shots. The pictures are clear and sharp. The camera is easy to use and I like how all the buttons work. The zoom works very well and I love the 10x zoom. The stabilization works well with the zoom all the way out as well. Videos...
Fantastic little camera, keno - Jul 10 2010
I bought this camera to replace a Sony W230 that I was unhappy with. This camera is the same size as the Sony, but has so much more! The 8x zoom is great, especially nice that you can use it in movie mode. The video recording is quite good, in all different modes. I took some really good 4th of July fireworks movies in standard VGA and also in HD. The HDMI output works great wi...
An amazing Little Camera, Henry C. Englund "Gus" - Jul 09 2010
This is an anamazing camera given its size. It does what I wanted: I can put it in my pocket and get fairly decent photos. Screen glare is a problem outside in bright sun....
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