Gadget Review: Panaconic Lumix ZS3
In keeping with many digital cameras of this type, the Panasonic Lumix ZS3 doesn’t have an optical viewfinder. Instead, images are composed via the large 3-inch LCD screen to the rear of the camera. This screen is bright, easy to view and, with 460,000 dots of resolution, very sharp.
The Panasonic Lumix ZS3 has a 10.1 megapixel sensor and sports an 11-point multi-area autofocus system. This is backed up by six further focusing mode options. These include the now ubiquitous ‘Face Detection’ and ‘Face Recognition’ modes. Rather than any manual or semi-automatic modes, the Panasonic Lumix ZS3 offers only the options of Program, Intelligent Auto along with a further 28 Scene modes. In addition, the camera can capture High Definition video in the 720p standard, at a rate of 60 fps, which is stored in the AVCHD Lite format. Images and video can be viewed on an HD TV via the cameras built in min-HDMI port.
The high definition video option, along with the ability to change aspect ratios on the Panasonic Lumix ZS3, means that the camera would make a great all-rounder. It is capable of shooting terrific landscape scenes and wonderful portraits with ease. It stores its images onto the readily available SDHC memory card format. Given that the price of these memory cards have fallen dramatically over the years, and because the Panasonic Lumix ZS3 can shoot HD video, I would recommend that you take a few spare cards with you on a photographic outing.
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