brucemcl Posted August 11, 2007 Share #1  Posted August 11, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) If you are thinking of a D-LUX or C-LUX camera, you may want to take a look at the TZ3 by Panasonic, which has a Leica lens. The following is a review from a fairly happy Panasonic FX01 owner who just bought a TZ3.  unique feature: 28mm at all aspect ratios. On nearly all point and shoot cameras, one aspect ratio gives you the "full frame" and the other ratios simply crop that frame. Not on the TZ3  4:3 - 3072 x 2304 3:2 - 3216 x 2144 16:9 - 3328 x 1872  Note that the taller aspect ratios get bigger numbers in height, and the wider aspect ratios get bigger numbers in width. I have not seen this on any other camera. I use wide angle a lot and I really like this feature.  The D-LUX cameras have 28 mm in 16:9 aspect ratio only. 3:2 aspect ratio is around 32 mm or so, and 4:3 aspect ratio is even less wide angle. With the C-LUX, 4:3 gives you 28mm and the other ratios have progressively less wide angle.  good features: Color Rendition - very good, true colors for outdoors, on the mild side. This camera does not have the "Disneyland" type colors that many other Panasonic cameras do. Tonality - Contrast is on the mild side. Shadows are relatively delicate and can be lightened up without too much blocking. I tend to take photos in high contrast environments and so I don't want the camera adding any extra contrast. I think it's much easier to add contrast and color to a mild image than to remove them from an overly punchy, contrasty image.  untested: portrait, indoor, action photography  could use improvement: low light - What can I say, all of the small Panasonics need help in this area. If you are serious about low light photography, I think a tripod and ISO 100 is the only way to go with this camera. no RAW - Lightroom, with it's convenience and non destructive editing, helps a lot with this. Last year lack of RAW was a big issue for me, this year with Lightroom, not so much. speed - a bit slower than the FX01 to start up and shut down. I'm getting used to it. battery life - not as good as the FX01, which was excellent size - Sadly, this is not a shirt pocket camera for me. The FX01 would almost disappear in my shirt pocket or in any pocket. The TZ3 will let you know where you are carrying it. If I can get used to carrying around a camera of this size I'll probably sell my FX01. On the other hand the TZ3's heft makes it much easier for me to handle than the FX01.  tips: I use ev -1/3 all the time to avoid blown highlights. Doing that seems to firm up the blue sky colors as well. I use manual white balance during the day, auto at night. For fooling around outdoors at night, intelligent ISO mode set to 800 max is kind of fun. I found a horizontal belt case without a zipper at the local camera store. The camera just barely fits in the case. Don't buy a case with smaller dimensions than this Promaster - Fairfield Collection - Model HL.  http://www.promaster.com/products/products.asp?CatID=40&CatSM=&SubCatID=5&CatName=Bags%20And%20Cases&SubCatName=Compact%20Digital&sm=sm2_405&dir=&page=PROD&product=4781  I could put a link to my TZ3 photos here but instead I'll refer you to Pbase and flickr.  http://www.pbase.com/cameras/panasonic/lumix_dmc_tz3  http://www.flickr.com/cameras/panasonic/dmc-tz3/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted August 11, 2007 Posted August 11, 2007 Hi brucemcl, Take a look here TZ3 - A Lot to Like. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
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