Panasonic DMC-TZ3 review

It is a sunny Saturday. One of my diving buddies comes walking back from the water. He tells me there is a seal lying on the dike. I am sure he is pulling my leg, as usual, but after telling me three times I want to make sure and I set off to the dike taking my camera with me. I do have the feeling that I will be made a fool but suppose he is right and there is actually a seal lying there? I would not want to miss a chance like that… Fortunately I have the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 at my disposal for the weekend. Often people don't only go scuba diving when they go on holiday or a weekend away but they combine scuba diving with other activities. At times like that it is very convenient to have a camera at hand that serves both purposes. The underwater photography requires a camera that is not too large so it can easily be taken along. Besides that wide angle is an advantage in underwater shooting, because a wide angle lens lets you shoot close to the subject. This means less water in between the camera and the object and thus less dirt and more colour in the pictures. And during other activities the considerable zoom on this camera might come in handy.

The Panasonic Lumix TZ3 with 7.2 million pixels is such a camera. This camera is also called a Traveler Zoom camera. The Lumix TZ3 features 10x optical zoom and offers a 28mm wide angle. Often cameras with large zoom ranges such as the one on the Lumix TZ3 are also of a large size but Panasonic succeeded in keeping the camera quite small. Therefore it is a perfect camera for underwater shooting. And the good thing about the 28mm wide angle is that you don't have to carry along a wide angle lens in your usually already overweight luggage.

The underwater housing, the DMW-MCTZ3 has been made of polycarbonate and is waterproof until a depth of 40 meters. Nearly all the functions can be operated underwater. The camera slides into the underwater housing with ease and opening the housing is also effortless. Even when there is pressure on the housing you don't have to force anything. The underwater housing is identical to that of the DMC-TZ2, which makes swapping from the TZ2 to the TZ3 very easy. And as mentioned before, the camera offers a 28-280 zoom range.

High-Angle mode

Unfortunately the camera's lens is not that bright (f/3.3-f/4.9) but that does not diminish the quality of the lens. It is a Leica DC Vario Elmar lens delivering needle-sharp pictures. The camera features a 3-inch LCD monitor on the back offering 230,000 pixels of resolution. An additional function is the so-called High-Angle mode. This mode enables checking your composition on the monitor from an extreme angle. And that will come in extremely handy when you are trying to capture that one stubborn shrimp that just won't stay on the spot you had in mind for him.

Battery

The camera is delivered including a Lithium-Ion battery. Unfortunately this battery got empty after one hour of diving thus requiring a recharge before every next dive. It means that when you go for more than one dive during a day, you have to remove the camera from the underwater housing in between scuba diving. On a boat trip this is not the nicest of jobs and mistakes can be made easily.

Carefully I walk on the dike where the seal is supposed to be lying down. My diving buddy is walking behind me, holding his camera ready to shoot. I wonder if this is to capture my surprised face when I find out I have been made a fool again or is there really a seal? Getting closer I do see something lying on the ground and that something looks at me. I am greatly surprised and look around at my buddy, who looks at me as if to say: "see! I told you!" We approach the seal very carefully on our knees. We don't want to frighten this beautiful animal away. It's like a game.

Full framed

Every time when we move a step closer, the seal moves as if it wants to leave. We then dive down with our heads which makes the seal decide to stay. I am glad I have the Panasonic Lumix TZ3 on me this weekend. The extreme zoom function lets me capture a full framed close-up of the small seal. A minute later the story repeats itself until we arrive on a 3 meter distance of the seal. In the mean time other divers have joined us lying down on the ground. It must have been strange for outsiders to see a group of divers in diving suits lying on the ground on a dike.

After a while we've had enough and we leave the young seal in peace. We set up the barbecue and talk about this unique adventure. Suddenly a car drives up on the breakwater. It is Jaap van der Hiele, volunteer of E.H.B.Z. (First Aid for wounded Sea mammals) who comes running out of his car and before we know it he has captured the small seal. It turns out that the seal is only five weeks old and badly undernourished. Seals have a birth weight of seven to nine kilos. After four weeks they leave their mother and by then their weight has increased to thirty, thirty five kilos. This animal does not even weigh ten to twelve kilos. Van der Hiele immediately starts giving the seal liquid food. With pride he starts talking about his work. Somebody on a boat spotted and reported the seal at this unusual spot. Normally seals repose on sandbanks. We feel rather silly of overlooking the fact that this seal was an undernourished young animal. 75 Percent of the seals born here don't make it on their own because of lack of food. The young seal will be taken to the "Zeehondencrèche Pieterburen" and cared for until it is around three months old and will then be brought back to the Oosterschelde.

An additional nice function on the camera is the image stabilization system. It enables shooting with slow shutter speeds. You do have to activate this function beforehand, which I find a pity because once the camera is inside the underwater housing the function is not accessible anymore. The camera has a limited amount of setting possibilities, such as setting shutter time and aperture. Therefore it might be less suitable for the demanding photographer requiring more advanced settings. For those who like convenience this camera is ideal. There is a considerable amount of scene modes available to choose from.

Every picture I made during testing was taken in "Simple Mode". And I find it striking how well exposed the pictures come out in this mode. A diffuser is delivered with the underwater housing to spread the light of the flash. This makes the dirt in the water less visible on pictures; a great advantage. One disadvantage however is the fact that the left bottom of the pictures is not exposed well when only using the internal flash. This picture of a short-spined sea scorpion shows it. This problem occurs with almost every compact camera.

All in all I am very pleased with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 and the DMW-MCTZ3 underwater housing. Biggest plus of this camera is the large zoom range of 28-280mm that makes the camera perfect for using underwater as well as on land. The weekend that I was testing the camera a young seal appeared on the dike unexpectedly. It only took seconds to take the camera out of the housing and thanks to the extreme zoom function and image stabilization I was able to capture this beautiful creature. The camera takes needle-sharp pictures underwater as well as on land and it is an easy to operate camera. One disadvantage I came across is the battery's lack of stamina. Taking a second battery with you might be a solution.

Pros and Cons

++ Extreme zoom range making the camera ideal for snapshots on holidays
++ Image stabilizer
++ Large LCD monitor
++ Sharp pictures
++ Easy to operate


-- Battery empties after one hour of diving
-- Diffuser causes shadow bottom left on the picture
-- Image stabilizer cannot be operated when the camera is inside the underwater housing