Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3S 5MP Digital Camera with 6x Image Stabilized Zoom

by Panasonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.5 x 4 inches ; 8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000E18BTM
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,527 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 4, 2006

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

159 of 160 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love the Lumix lineup!, May 3, 2006

By 

Brian Kerecz (PA, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3S 5MP Digital Camera with 6x Image Stabilized Zoom (Electronics)

I bought this camera last year, and returned it because it did not have a Leica lens, which I wanted. However, after a family member bought a Lumix camera sans Leica lens, I was a convert. For the money, you simply cannot beat it!

What makes this camera special for the price is the 6x optical zoom (up to 24X in conjunction with the digital zoom, though that causes degradation), and the Mega-OIS, or more precisely Optical Image Stabilization. This feature adjusts the camera to compensate for imperceptible hand shakes which occur inevitably on every push of the button. I believe that in the future, all cameras will have this function as it is the single most common cause of blurred photos. I have a Panasonic LC80 with a Leica lens, but one of the reasons I went looking for another camera was the blurred photos I got, even though I was as steady as I could be. I cannot overstate the importance of this feature.

The burst mode is a very nice aspect of this camera too, one mode allowing sequential shots until the entire card is filled. There is absolutely no excuse not to "get that shot" with this camera.

Also nice is the ability to use AA batteries instead of proprietary batteries which cost $60 or more. A power supply which can be easily replenished is a necessity if you plan on being out of touch with civilization for any length of time.

If you want a "Con" to go with the "Pros" it would have to be battery life....battery life is very low and even moreso in colder weather. But this should come as no surprise as this camera does not use a viewfinder; instead it uses a 2 inch LCD screen to compose pictures. Because of this, battery life will necessarily be much lower than with a camera which uses a viewfinder for composition.

Batterly life per manual under normal conditions:
Panasonic Oxyride: 250 pictures or 125 minutes
Alkaline batteries: 155 pictures or 77 minutes
Ni-MH batteries: 400 pictures or 200 minutes

When the temperature is 32F:
Panasonic Oxyride: 45 pictures or 22 minutes
Alkaline batteries: 35 pictures or 17 minutes
Ni-MH batteries: 360 pictures or 180 minutes

One other thing I would change is the On/Off switch....it can too easily be hit sideways which would open it in the case. If this happens, it could all too easily damage the motor of the zoom lens. To obviate this potential danger, simply keep the dial mode at "play" when the camera is off, and the lens will not open.

And it should be noted that this camera does NOT have a microphone for recording in video mode; if this is what you want look at the DMC-LZ5. Because I did not plan on using this feature very often, it did not present an issue for me.

For picture taking, this is a 5 star camera. For design, there are a few possible improvements which give it 4 stars.

4 1/2 stars overall.

64 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overall great camera that takes beautiful photos!, July 20, 2006

By 

M. Walton (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3S 5MP Digital Camera with 6x Image Stabilized Zoom (Electronics)

My previous camera before owning this one was a Canon Elph S230, so my comparisons are with that camera in mind.

PROS:
-A great price for 5MP and 6x optical zoom
-The 6x optical zoom, up to 24x digital zoom is awesome
-No time limit on movies, as long as you have memory
-Takes beautiful photos (Macro mode work great)
-Has some neat settings like fireworks, portrait and scenery that adjust everything automatically for you


CONS:
-Bigger than the Canon Elph series, can't really stick it in your pocket
-AA batteries (a pro for most people, I actually preferred the rechargeable Lithium battery on my Canon that already came with a recharger);
-no eye-hole (technical term?), only display to take photos (I got used to this real fast; most people only use the display anyways)
-only one movie size, and its not very big

What you need to buy along with the camera...
-AA rechargeables and recharger
-camera case
-SD memory card (size depending on how many photos you take at a time)

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Cam, June 11, 2006

By 

Juan F. Cordoba (Bogotá, Colombia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3S 5MP Digital Camera with 6x Image Stabilized Zoom (Electronics)

I bought this Camera almost one month ago after selling my old HP 307 camera. Compared to my old camera this one rocks!!! Macro mode is excellent, and it's got 11 scenery modes which work really well.
Battery life is very good with the Oxyride batteries and rechargable batteries.
The M.O.I.S does it's job.
It's got 6x optical zoom when most cameras under $200 have 4x max and if you change the aspect ratio you can get a total of 7.5x optical zoom which is very good to say the least.
Would i recommend this camera: Yes, definitely

Only negative i've seen after having this camera for some months now is that it doesn't record video with audio