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Anyone got this exact model? If so any comments please?

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/Products/LUMIX+Digital+Cameras/Stylish+Compact/DMC-ZX3/Overview/3378867/index.html

Just bought Fuji's latest model which was a bag of shit and am offloading it, don't want to be disappointed again. I know the Lumix's superzoom range is really high quality, just want to know if this translates over to the smaller range.

Also if anyone knows where to find out impartial reviews I would be grateful, am pissed off with paid magazine professionals writing good reviews because they are paid to do it.

think panasonic are right up at the top of the compact range - lenses by leica make them first rate. the screens on the back are also really good.

Yeah I know the super zoom range is awesome, just want to know if this translates across to their smaller sisters.........

Why that model Andrew? It's a fantasic camera, but have a look at this one....


http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2010/02/26/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-TZ10/p1

It will make your SLR obsolete.

Too big Tom otherwise I would, I specifically want a smaller one. I know that range is the nuts, I just want to know if the quality translates to the smaller range minus the zoom........

I have owned a Panasonic FZ 50 for about 3 Years and it is fantastic I also have a  DMC FS42 and never had a problem with either.

Regards

M

Just google Lumix DMC-ZX3 and look for the user reviews.

LOL already tried that with a camera I bought a few weeks ago and its crap. Too many of them aren't written by users but are sly promotions, I don't know which are/aren't unfortunately, hey ho...........

I've got a ZX1, which is older model but very similar to the ZX3 but slightly lower res. Might even have the same body, pics look identical. Very nice, like it a lot. I've had 2 canons previously, but the combination of size, a 8x zoom lens, and 25mm equivalent wide angle sold the Panasonic to me. Picture quality is very good, got lots of nice features. Does all I need it to do. But I mainly bought it because it easily fits in a pocket, tbh!

OK cheers mate

GPS in a camera wtf.

Wondering if it makes an SLR obsolete, maybe. Looks like quite a limited Aperture range.

Please can we have a blonde weekly photo comp cos I am a beginner and need tipz ty.

I have a Lumix FZ7. It's a great camera but I take all of my pics on my phone cam simply because it's always with me.


Today's phone cam effort:

1/64s
f/2.8
iso100

(http://i48.tinypic.com/2qd5shy.jpg)

Not outstanding, but miles better than no picture at all.


(http://i46.tinypic.com/302vpfs.jpg)

From my walk yesterday. A photo can't do it justice though.


(http://i47.tinypic.com/2wmjed3.jpg)

Nice! Miles better than my phone cam, for a smartphone its results are unacceptable really.

Got this pic last week, put 3 exposures together with photomatix but the hills are still black!

(http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/ab127/PaulNewmansEyes/op112_0_1_tonemapped.jpg)

Dramatic sky though....

I got pulled up by a friend for talking about the 'fanning clouds', she says they are diffused airplane contrails, I dunno.

My camera hates kids, and animals, unless you have enough light to get a decent shutter speed, so many pics turn out as blurfests. The new DSLRs have ISOs that run up to like 16000, I don't know if all of these come out noisy as hell.

This would have been nice but for the lack of sharpness:

(http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/ab127/PaulNewmansEyes/ducklings/op974.jpg)

Looks like a cracking compact camera Tom. 

I'm looking around for camera, and that one is along the lines of what I'm after.

Liking this

Yes, almost a doozy.

Autofocus? Water plays havoc with it.

It's the dogs danglies of a camera Kin, and hardly any bigger than the FZ3.

....Mind you, have you seen that new Cannon with the 14 x optical zoom and the to-die-for image stabilisation?

autofocus is for wimps...

What, like power steering you mean?

Looking through the alternatives now!  It's all confusing for a noob like me, but fortunately I have a professional photographer for a girlfriend and she's trying to advise me. But I'm a bit slow... apertures, shutter speeds, thingywhatsits, etc.

Ignore all that, set it to point & shoot. (Don't tell Laz)

It took me a month, youtube is your friend, plenty of taking loads of different shots in different settings. Still learning obv, but it was a dazzling mystery to me at the start also.
There are a ton of features in a modern DSLR, but plenty of them are just manipulating the RAW image in a way you could do on a PC afterwards with software anyway.
I have a Canon, the image stabilization is in the lens, gg £££ for new lenses. You could always buy an adaptor and try using old lenses lol.
Just spent £25 on sensor cleaning materials, be careful where you swap lenses...

My ducklings were autofocussed yeah, single point on the leading duckling,and  ISO 200 I think, the shutter speed was just a little too low for their speed. My camera has 2 additional autofocus modes for moving objects, where it keeps trying for a new focus lock just before the shot.

(http://i661.photobucket.com/albums/uu339/Andr4w1/Chiang%20Mai%20April%2010/IMG_1426.jpg)

(http://i661.photobucket.com/albums/uu339/Andr4w1/Chiang%20Mai%20April%2010/IMG_1379.jpg)

I have the TZ10 -- my prev camera was a Nikon D80 SLR - this is brilliant in comparison...

Its too big for my purposes.............

OK, if I'm going to get one of these babies is it worth my while getting one when I'm out in Vegas?  The prices look a lot cheaper over there, but then will I have to contend with a charger that doesn't work over here (I only need an adaptor for the plug I'd hope) and also if I had to return it that might pose a problem.

Thoughts?

:dontask:

I know you've explained this already Andrew, but the "Smaller" model is hardly any smaller... is it?

Yes its quite a bit smaller. I have one now and am very pleased with it. The size difference makes it easy for me to take out for a night and put in my pocket, the TZ10 etc is quite a bit bulkier and heavier.

£200 on amazon, I have one and am happy with it. For what you would save it ain't worth the hassle of getting a US version imo. Just thinking of the warranty etc.

I think he literally wants it to be pocket-sized, so that he can put the phone in his trouser pocket (or shirt pocket, or somewhere) - whereas some are just a little too bulky to do that?  Same with mobile phones.  Some are small and slim enough to fit into a front jeans pocket, whereas others just don't quite fit comfortably.  It might be that one camera is a few mm deeper than the other.

That's just my guess.  I think I might be going for the TZ10 though!

Edit:  Took so long to write that, so now I look like a complete div.  Sigh...

I'm after the TZ10 though (I think)....

The warranty thing is an issue though, or is it?  If something goes drastically wrong with the camera, will Panasonic not cover it worldwide?

Fair enough, its a very good camera.........

I have no idea. Tip about buying cameras in Vegas, there are a bunch of camera places on the strip around Harrahs area, do not pay the price they first ask they will all negotiate! I don't know if they are the cheapest or not, but don't pay the first quoted price.

Maybe I should just buy one in the UK and spend £30 more (or whatever it is) and be done with it.  I'm being too much of a nit probably.  With the hassle of buying one in the States and not having it before I go, it's probably worth spending that money.

Glad to see that £2.5k hasn't gone to your head.

Got to make it last.  It'll be 4 years until I I have a decent cash again...

I am not an expert, but I recently bought the TZ8 which does the job for me.
Don't know if the link below works to show the comparison, but doesn't look much difference so the ZX3 should be fine.

http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/compare.do?categoryId=2006&sku=616923&sku=617040&sku=617067

There are a few differences, the main one being the zoom is bigger in the TZ-8, but that makes the camera  too big for my purposes.

Must admit it doesn't quite fit in my pocket like the FS20 did, until I took a photo too near a fountain and ruined the camera.  ::)

Tbh I actually wanted the TZ-10 (newer version of TZ-8), but had to rule it because of that.....................

The TZ10 has the GPS thingy, which looks like a complete gimmick that really isn't needed.  So I want that one...

Must admit the GPS thing is the only difference between the two. But I couldn't think of a good reason why I would want it other than it is a gadget.  :)

Me neither, so it'll be the one I get.

:D

GPS eats up batteries.

Yeah, but it'd be on charge most of the time.  It does on my phone too, but I always have it switched on...

 ;danafish;

Bump - did you ever come up with a decent pocket size camera in the end?

Reason I ask is because I'm looking for similar and kicking around buying this one, but don't want to toss money away if it's rubbish.

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5593361/c_1/1/category_root/Photography/14419436/c_2/2/cat_14419436/Digital+cameras+and+packages/14419441.htm

...and I did.  Love the camera - thanks for the heads-up on this one Tom and others.

I'll let the others who know more about them than me advise, but looks good for £150.

Very happy with mine, its a touch more expensive at around £200...........

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-ZX3-Digital-Camera/dp/B0031MA112/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1282385843&sr=1-1

Here's a question for those in the know.  If I wnt a replacement battery for my camera, it states in the manual that it MUST be a genuine Panasonic battery, otherwise black holes can be created that will destroy the world (or something along those lines).  Surely a lithium-ion battery of the same mAh and Voltage that's a 'copy' of the original battery will be fine?  Or am I missing something, and there's a genuine reason why I should pay four times as much for a battery that says 'Panasonic' on it, even though it's probably made in the same factory in China as the cheaper ones?

By the way, thanks for those who advised about the TZ10.  It really is a lovely bit of kit.  :)up  Shame I nearly lost it today by leaving it in the hire car and then having to go back to retrieve it ;oopsy;

I have the model before the TZ10 (can't remember the model, no GPS - maybe TZ5) and I bought it as a package online from a retailer. It came with a genuine Panasonic battery and a "copy" battery and the copy works just as well as the genuine IMO. No holes appearing here!

HTH

Paul.

Apparently if you update the firmware in some Panasonic cameras it actually rejects non-genuine batteries. Little encoded ID chip in them somewhere.

But otherwise, no, copy should be fine. LiIon do have a habit of getting very hot if they're dodgy though.