Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (TZ7)

The DMC-ZS1's LCD features a large 3.0-inch, 460,000-dot resolution, and a wide-viewing angle that lets you frame your shot in a variety of ways for both shooting and viewing. LUMIX's acclaimed Intelligent LCD function also automatically adjusts the brightness in 11 steps according to shooting conditions. This LCD provides sharp, clear images in virtually all shooting situations, ranging from nighttime to bright daylight scenes and from low-angle to high-angle shooting. It lets you share the fun of viewing images with family and friends.

More Detail in a Single Frame

The ZS3 features a high-quality LEICA DC VARIO ELMAR 25mm ultra-wide-angle lens with a 12x optical zoom. A lens like this, with a range from 25mm to 300mm in 35mm film equivalence, is almost inconceivable in such a small, lightweight camera. Comprising 10 elements in 8 groups, including 2 ED lenses and 2 aspherical lenses with 3 aspherical surfaces, and utilizing new lens material in its design, this advanced lens unit realizes the outstandingly slim and compact body while passing Leica's stringent standards to deliver exceptional optical performance. The Extra Optical Zoom function that extends zoom power to 21.4x (at 3-megapixel resolution) by using the center part of the large CCD to bring subjects even closer without deteriorating the image quality.

The ZS3 has a 12-megapixel CCD and shoots with up to 10-megapixel resolution. This is because the CCD on the ZS3 is multi-aspect that can reproduce images shot with the lens set from 25mm to 300mm in any of three aspect ratios - 4:3, 3:2 or 16:9 - so you can always capture dynamic, richly expressive shots with a wide perspective. The Multi Aspect mode lets you to take an image in all three aspect ratios simultaneously then choose the one that best suits your scene after shooting.

AVCD Lite for Long Recording of HD Motion Images

In addition to Motion JPEG images *2 , the ZS3 can record high-definition motion picture *3 in AVCHD Lite. It features almost doubling the recording time in HD quality compared with the conventional Motion JPEG format. The ZS3 also features Dolby Digital Stereo Creator to record high quality audio, so you can match the beautiful motion images with outstanding stereo sound.

Now on the ZS3, the popular iA (Intelligent Auto) is also available in motion image recording. Optical Image Stabilizer (O.I.S.) helps prevent handshake when using high-powered zoom. Face Detection automatically detects a face in the frame and adjusts focus, exposure, contrast, and skin complexion so it always turns out beautifully. Intelligent Exposure continually checks the ambient light level and adjusts the exposure setting as conditions change to prevent blown highlights and blocked shadows. And Intelligent Scene Selector automatically switches between Normal, Portrait, Macro, Scenery, and Low Light modes according to the situation to optimize visual quality.

Motion image recording can be started by pressing a dedicated button on the camera's back panel - an extremely quick, convenient way to start motion image recording. Most of the camera's settings will be carried over when switched to motion picture recording. The powerful 12x optical zoom is available in movie recording, too.

The ZS3 also carries over 16 different scene modes in movie recording. In AVCHD Lite recording, you can select from three levels of motion image quality: SH (17 Mbps), H (13 Mbps) and L (9 Mbps).

Still or motion images recorded in AVCHD Lite on SD Memory Cards are easy to view on a Panasonic VIERA TV *4 . Simply insert the card into the VIERA Image Viewer (SDHC/SD Memory Card slot) on VIERA TV or DIGA Blu-ray Disc Player to playback your contents. Alternatively, you can use an optional Mini HDMI cable to output the still and motion images you took from the ZS3 directly to the TV for VIERA Link. You can take maximum advantage of Lumix camera's playback functions including the slideshow in which both still and motion images integrated in the timeline, category playback according to the scene mode you used or calendar display and so on. All control is possible using only the TV's remote control.

In addition, with the included software PHOTOfunSTUDIO HD Edition, it is easy to view and edit your recorded contents. You may also choose to upload your videos to YouTube *5 or burn them to a DVD disc for archiving.

Newly added Face Recognition

With the ZS3, taking great photos is that easy. Panasonic incorporated Intelligent Auto mode in pursuit of the ultimate ease of operation and the reduction of misshots. This mode is also further advanced with the inclusion of AF tracking and Face Recognition *6 feature – a function that ‘remembers faces'.

When a familiar face is recorded several times, the camera will prompt you to register the face *7 . Once complete, if the familiar face appears into your frame again, the camera will display the name you specified for that person and prioritize focus and exposure so that the registered face is bright and in sharp focus. Perfect for group shots for example – this new feature will give auto focus and auto exposure priority to a single person, ensuring their loved ones face will be captured beautifully.

To further add to its appeal, you can also specify the age of the registered subject and have both the name and the age of the subject stamped onto your photos. When babies under 3 years-old are registered, the camera will automatically switch to Baby mode if the baby appears into the frame. In playback, you can choose to display only photos that contain a specific registered face using Category Playback – so you can search for all photos of your Cousin Jennie, for example - perfect for compiling a surprise birthday collage. 

You can also view image slideshows of only a selected person. Face recognition makes sorting archiving incredibly easy. This advanced face detection system also digitally corrects unwanted red-eye during recording.

With AF Tracking, the DMC-ZS3 can lock onto any subject and keep it in focus even if it moves – making it easy to get beautiful, clear shots when a great photo opportunity suddenly arises. Simply aim, lock, and shoot.

In addition to the advanced functions mentioned above, the iA mode inherits fundamental functions users need in a good digital still camera. These include Mega O.I.S., which helps prevent blurring from hand-shake, and Intelligent ISO Control, which reduces motion blur by adjusting the ISO sensitivity if the subject moves as the shot is taken.

The Mega O.I.S. now has an AUTO mode to select between the conventional Mode 1 and 2 depending on which mode best suits the zoom ratio being used. Intelligent Exposure optimizes the exposure for each part of an image, preventing blocked shadows and blown highlights and helping ensure that gradation and details are reproduced beautifully. It now features an automatic backlight compensation function that activates whenever the subject is in backlight. Intelligent Scene Selector automatically detects the five most common shooting situations – Portrait, Night Portrait, Scenery, Night Scenery and Macro - and switches to the appropriate Scene mode.

The Quick AF system helps keep focus on the subject while the camera is in recording mode even before pressing the shutter button. The user can activate all of these useful, convenient shooting-assist functions by simply selecting iA mode.

The Venus Engine HD

The high-speed, high-performance Venus Engine HD has been re-engineered to support the recording of beautiful, high-definition motion images in AVCHD Lite. With its twin CPUs, Venus Engine HD boasts approx. 2.4x processing capability, greatly improving the speed of camera operations.

This high performance LSI elevates the artificial intelligence of the camera by introducing new circuitry making it possible to “recognize” human faces individually. It also supports high definition output through HDMI.

In image processing, luminance noise and chromatic noise are reduced separately before and after signal processing. This is further refined by separating noise two-dimensionally into high-frequency and low-frequency noise. The circuits then effectively reduce only the low-frequency noise to minimize the unwanted noise and help produce beautiful, sharp still and motion images.

This multi-task image-processing engine has a super-fast response time. The shutter release time lag is as short as approx. 0.006 seconds, making it easy to capture sudden, spur-of-the-moment photo opportunities.

In burst shooting mode, the ZS3 can snap approx. 2.3 shots per second at 10.1-megapixel full resolution *8 . In High-Speed Burst shooting mode, it fires off an incredible approx. 10 shots per second *9 . Unlimited consecutive shooting is also available to let you shoot until the memory card is full *10 . Newly added Flash Burst mode makes it possible to take consecutive shots with continuous emissions of the flash *11 .

In addition to its outstanding performance, the high performance engine is also more energy efficient compared with the conventional Venus Engine IV, extending the battery life up to 300 shots (CIPA) per a single charge.

Super High Resolution LCD for Easy Playback

The ZS3 is equipped with a 3.0-inch, 460,000-dot Intelligent LCD with super high resolution and a wide viewing angle. The screen brightness automatically adjusts in 11 steps as the surrounding brightness level changes, ensuring easy visibility at all times. The big screen reflects fine details, making it easy to check the focus before shooting. It also serves as a small photo and video viewer, allowing the user and friends to enjoy viewing the still and motion images together.

Menus are now cleaner and easier to navigate, even for seniors, thanks to the new "Display Size" option. Thanks to the Venus Engine HD, smooth image playback at very high speeds is now available, approx.17x faster for thumbnails and approx. 4x for single images even when the image resolution is as high as 12.1-megapixels.

The ZS3 offers a Mode Playback feature which allows you to choose playing back ‘only still images', ‘only motion images', or ‘both'. When choosing to playback ‘only motion images', you can even select to playback AVCHD Lite and Motion JPEG videos separately. Images and videos can be played back together with an attractive seamless effect and background music in the new Slideshow Mode. Using an optional mini HDMI cable, you share your slideshows in astounding HD video and audio quality on your HDTV with your family and friends.

Scenes Modes for Motion Images Too

Designed with users in mind, the scene modes, which are optimized for a variety of still-image shooting situations, are now available for motion images as well. Thanks to a rich variety of 27 scene modes for still image and 17 for motion image (Portrait, Soft Skin, Transform, Self portrait, Scenery, Low light, Food, Party, Candle light, Sunset, Beach, Snow, Aerial, High Sensitivity, Pin hole, Film grain and Underwater), capturing beautiful videos is effortless with the ZS3. 

The new scene mode for shooting still images includes the Panorama Assist mode, which allows you to create powerful panoramic images - both vertically and horizontally. Simply align your shots according to a guide which overlaps the frame when you shoot, then use the included PanoramaMaker software to create your panorama images.

The mode dial comes with two My Scene settings. Users can assign a specific scene mode to each setting and switch instantly between modes when desired.

The minimum shooting distance has been shortened to 3 cm on the ZS3. With the new Macro Zoom function, the user can pull subjects even closer with the wide-angle setting using 3x digital zoom, and capture dramatic close-ups.

*1 The "AVCHD" is a high definition (HD) digital video recording / playback format jointly established by Panasonic Corporation and Sony Corporation. The “AVCHD Lite” is a subset of the “AVCHD format” for HD digital video cameras with HD video recording restricted to 720P.The new “AVCHD Lite” Logo and the “AVCHD Lite” License are restricted to devices within the AVCHD Video Camera category. Digital cameras have been added to the AVCHD Video Camera category.
*The “AVCHD Lite” and the “AVCHD Lite” logo are trademarks of Panasonic Corporation and Sony Corporation.
*AVCHD Lite motion images recorded onto an SD Memory Card or a DVD disc cannot be played from a device that does not support the AVCHD standard.
*2 Continuous recording exceeding 2GB is not possible when recording motion JPEG. Remaining time for continuous recording is displayed on the screen.
*3 Motion pictures can be recorded continuously for up to 15 minutes in some countries. When you set the picture quality to HD, WVGA or VGA, we recommend using a high-speed card with “10MB/s” or greater displayed on the package.
*4 AVCHD Lite motion images recorded onto an SD Memory Card or a DVD disc cannot be played from a device that does not support the AVCHD standard.
*5 YouTube is a trademark of Google Inc.
*6 Depending on background and facial expression, camera may not recognize a registered person. For family members with similar facial features, camera may not correctly identify the intended subject.
*7 A maximum of six people can be registered.
*8 Max 5 images in standard mode / 3 images in fine mode
*9 3-megapixel (4:3), 2.5-megapixel (3:2), 2-megapixel (16:9) recording. (10fps in Speed Priority mode / 6fps in Picture Priority mode)
*10 The consecutive shooting speed varies with the memory card, image size, and image compression mode. The number of shots depends on the memory card size, battery life, image size and image compression mode.
*11 Max. 5 images. In 3-megapixel (4:3), 2.5-megapixel (3:2), 2-megapixel (16:9) recording.

Camera Type	Super Zoom
Intelligent Auto (iA) Mode	Face Recognition (Still) Optical Image Stabilizer (Still & Movie) Intelligent ISO Control (Still & Movie) Face Detection (Still) Intelligent Scene Selector (Still - Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Macro; Movie -
Camera Effective Pixels	10.1 Megapixels
Optical Image Stabilizer	MEGA O.I.S. (Auto/Mode1/ Mode2)
Optical Zoom	12x
Image Sensor	1/2.33-inch / 12.7 Total Megapixels / Primary Color Filter
Image Sensor Size	1/2.33-inch
Extra Optical Zoom	14.3x (4:3 / 7M), 17.1x (4:3 / 5M), 21.4x (under 3M)
Digital Zoom	4x ( Max. 48.0 x combined with Optical Zoom without Extra Optical Zoom ) (Max.85.5x combined with Extra Optical Zoom)
Focal Length	f=4.1-49.2mm (25-300mm in 35mm equiv.)
Lens	LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR 10 elements in 8 groups (2 Aspherical Lenses / 3 Aspherical surfaces, 2 ED lens)
Conversion Lens Compatibility	No
Focusing Area	Normal: Wide 50cm/ Tele 200cm - infinity Macro / Intelligent AUTO / Clipboard : Wide 3cm / Max 200cm / Tele 100cm - infinity
AF Metering	Face / AF Tracking / Multi (11pt) / 1pt HS / 1pt / Spot
Focus	Normal / Macro, Continuous AF (On / Off), AF Tracking (On / Off), Quick AF (On / Off)
AF Assist Lamp	Yes
ISO Sensitivity	Auto / 80 / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 (High Sensitivity Mode : Auto(1600 - 6400) )
White Balance	Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Halogen / White Set (Selectable at Portrait, Soft Skin, Transform, Self-Portrait, Sports, Baby, Pet, High Sensitivity, Highspeed Burst, Photo Frame mode)
Exposure	Program AE
Exposure Compensation	1/3 EV Step, ± 2 EV
Backlight Compensation	Yes (only in Intelligent AUTO mode)
Auto Bracketing (AE)	+/- 1/3 EV ~ 1EV step, 3 frames
Light Metering	Multiple / Center-weighted / Spot
Dedicated Button/Mode Switch	[Recording] / [Playback]
Shooting Mode (Mode Dial)/Rec. Mode	Intelligent AUTO, Normal Picture, MySCN, SCN, Motion Picture
Scene Modes	Portrait, Soft Skin, Self-Portrait, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Food, Party, Candle Light, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Sunset, High sensitivity, Hi-Speed Burst, Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Aerial Photo
Shutter Speed/Shutter System	8-1/2000 sec Starry Sky Mode : 15, 30, 60sec.
Self Timer	2sec, 10sec
Auto Review	1sec, 2sec, Zoom, Hold
Review	Yes
Picture Adjustment	No
Color Effect Mode	No
Color Mode	Standard, Natural, Vivid, Black & White, Sepia, Cool, Warm
Recording Format	Still Image: JPEG (DCF / Exif2.21) Motion picture: QuickTime Motion JPEG
Image Quality	Fine/Standard
4:3 Aspect Ratio (Still Image)	3648 x 2736 (10M) / 3072 x 2304 (7M EZ) / 2560 x 1920 (5M EZ) / 2048 x 1536 (3M EZ) / 1600 x 1200 (2M EZ) / 640 x 480 (0.3M EZ)
3:2 Aspect Ratio (Still Image)	3776 x 2520 (9.5M) / 3168x2112 (6.5M EZ? / 2656x1768 (4.5M EZ) / 2112x1408 (3M EZ) / 2048 x 1360 (2.5M EZ)
16:9 Aspect Ratio (Still Image)	3968 x 2232 (9M) / 3328x1872 (6M EZ) / 2784x1568 (4.5M EZ) / 2208x1248 ?2.5M EZ) / 1920 x 1080 (2M EZ)
Motion Image (4:3 Aspect Ratio)	VGA: 640 x 480 pixels, 30fps (Motion JPEG) QVGA: 320 x 240 pixels, 30 fps (Motion JPEG)
Motion Image (16:9 Aspect Ratio)	WVGA: 848 x 480 pixels, 30 fps (Motion JPEG)
Unlimited Consecutive Shooting	1.8 frames/sec
Intelligent Exposure	Still & Movie
Digital Red Eye Correction	Yes
Easy Zoom/Zoom Resume/Motion Zoom	No/Yes/No
Still Image Recording with Audio	5 seconds
Audio Dubbing	Maximum of 10 Seconds
Real-time Histograms	Yes
Composition Guide Lines	Yes (2 patterns)
Built-in Memory	approx. 45MB
Scene Mode Help Screen	Yes
Flip Animation	No
Travel Date/World Time	Yes/Yes
Text Stamp/Date Stamp	Yes
Built-in Flash Type/Mode	Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off 0.6 - 5.3m (Wide/ISO Auto), 1.0 - 3.6m (Tele/ISO Auto)
External Flash	No
Viewfinder	No
LCD Monitor	3.0", 3:2 Polycrystalline TFT LCD Display (460K dots) Field of View : approx. 100% AUTO Power LCD mode, Power LCD mode
Playback Mode	Normal Playback, Slideshow, Category Playback, Favorites Playback
OSD Language	English, Spanish
Recording Media	Built-in Memory SD Memory Card SDHC Memory Card MultiMediaCard (Still image only)
Microphone	Stereo, Wind-cut: on/off
Speaker	Yes
Interface	miniHDMI, USB2.0 High speed / AV Output (Stereo Type, NTSC) / DC Input (requires optional Multi-Adapter)
Color	Silver
Power Supply	ID-Security Li-ion Battery Pack (3.6V, 940mAh) (Included) AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC) (Optional)
Battery Life	Up to 300 pictures (CIPA Standard)
Included Software	PHOTOfunSTUDIO v3.0 ArcSoft (MediaImpression / Panorama Maker) USB Driver, QuickTime
Standard Accessories	Battery Charger, Battery Pack, Battery carrying case, AV Cable, USB Connection Cable, AC Cable, Hand Strap, CD-ROM
Multi-Exposure	No
Multi-Aspect	Yes
Color Bracketing	No
Motion Image HD?16:9 Aspect Ratio)	1280x720 pixels 30fps
2-Speed Zoom	Yes
Aperture	F3.3 - 4.9 / Iris Diaphragm (F3.3 - 6.3 (W) / F4.9 - 6.3 (T))
Focus Range Display	Yes
Max Auto ISO Setting	No
Quick Menu	Yes
Continuous Shooting Mode	Full-Resolution Image, 2.5 frames/sec Max. 5 images (Standard mode), Max 3 images (Fine Mode), High-speed Burst Mode: approx. 6 frames/sec (recorded in 3M for 4:3, 2.5M for 3:2, 2M for 16:9)
Focus Icon Select	Yes
Optical Zoom in Motion Picture	Yes
Macro Zoom	Yes
Orientation Detector	Yes
Aspect Ratio	4:3 / 3:2 / 16:9
Touch Zoom	No
Thumbnails/Zoomed Playback	12,30-thumbnails / Max 16x
Calendar Display/Dual-Image Playback	Yes / No
Set Favorites/Rotate Image	Yes / No
Playback Still Images with Audio	Yes
Playback Motion Picture	Yes (Motion JPEG/AVCHD Lite)
Slideshow Mode	All Still Images / Favorites / Category BGM Effect (Natural / Slow / Swing / Urban / OFF)
Show Histogram	Yes
Show Highlights	No
Delete Image	Single / Multi / All / All except Favorites
DPOF Print Setting/Set Production	Yes / Yes
Resize/Trim/Aspect Conv./Leveling	Yes / Yes / No / No
PictBridge Support	Single / Multi / All / Favorites / DPOF
iA Direct Button	No
Mode Button	No
Movie Scene Mode	Portrait, Soft Skin, Transform, Self-Portrait, Scenery, Low Light, Food, Party, Candle Light, Sunset, High Sensitivity, Beach & Surf, Snow, Aerial, Pinhole, Film Grain, Underwater
AVCHD Lite REC	NTSC
One-Touch Movie Button	Yes
Water Proof	No
Dust Proof	No
Shock Proof	No
LED Illumination	No
Viera Link	Yes
HDMI Output	Video: Auto / 1080i / 720p / 480p Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo Creator
Movie REC Guide	Yes
Wind-Cut in Motion Picture	Yes
Motion Image (HD Movie)	1280x720, 60P(CCD output is 30p) (AVCHD Lite, SH: 17Mbps / H:13Mbps / L:9Mbps ) / 30fps (Motion JPEG)
Dimensions (H x W x D)	2.35'' x 4.07'' x 1.29''
Weight	Approx. 0.45 lbs

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