PC Magazine's previous Editors' Choice budget superzoom was the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7, which has a 12X optical zoom lens and, at less than $400, is still a good buy. One thing that camera lacked, however, was a true wide-angle view. I'm glad to say that the company has addressed this shortcoming with its new budget superzoom model, the 7.2-megapixel Lumix DMC-TZ3, our latest Editors' Choice winner.

The DMC-TZ3 features a 10X optical zoom with a 4.6mm-to-46mm range (equivalent to a 35mm lens with a 28mm-280mm zoom) and corresponding maximum f-stops of f/3.3 to f/4.9. The big news here is that this very compact superzoom gives you a real wide-angle view. In my book, that's more important than zooming in, since you can always crop your photos later. Even better, the lens has very little distortion.

Granted, the DMC-TZ3 doesn't have quite as much zooming power as the FZ7 (which has since been updated to the 7.2MP Lumix DMC-FZ8). The FZ7 and FZ8 also have slightly better aperture ranges. But even so, many people overlook the benefits of having a wider angle in a camera's zoom range. Generally folks think that more optical zoom—12X, 15X, 18X for example—is what's best. But having a wide angle on your zoom is important, too, because it can assist you in capturing more of a particular scene, such as group portraits, landscapes, or interiors. Without a wide angle, you're forced to stitch images together after the fact. And that is never fun.

The wider view isn't the only thing I liked about this camera. At just $349.95 (direct), it's pretty cheap for a superzoom, $50 below the FZ7's original list price. (The FZ8 runs $349.95.) I also love that the DMC-TZ3 is very compact and portable. The camera is nicely designed, too, and available in three colors—blue, black, and silver. Of course, if the TZ3 had an articulating LCD, I'd be even happier.

The camera has 20 scene modes with two mode settings on the camera's mode dial. The nice thing about this feature is that it remembers your last setting. So, for example, you can set two different settings—say, one that has flash and one that doesn't—and toggle between the two.

I was also happy to see that Panasonic has remedied some of the concerns I had with the predecessor to the TZ3, the Lumix DMC-TZ1. The TZ1 had too much shutter lag, and its LCD solarized too quickly. You'll find a bigger, 3-inch LCD on the TZ3. There's no viewfinder, though, which is a feature I usually appreciate in bright light situations.

I really liked the TZ3's special Intelligent ISO mode, which detects moving subjects indoors and automatically increases the ISO to avoid blur. For stationary objects, the ISO is decreased. I tested this mode, and although it didn't work very well in low light, in bright light it functioned properly, boosting the ISO up to 1,250 for a moving object and setting it down to 200 for stationary objects. The camera also includes a basic, simple mode, designed for novice picture takers. Both the ISO and simple modes operated without a hitch.

As with all recent Lumix cameras, the TZ3 includes its Mega O.I.S. vibration reduction system. My tests revealed that this hardware-based solution, like others before it, worked quite well. The camera includes three burst modes—two with different compression rates that have a limit of two or three shots, and one that lets you shoot until the card is full. All in all, the TZ3 did a decent, if not stellar job in burst mode. None of the three settings worked with flash, though, which would be nice to have.

I did have some problems with this camera, though. There were no true manual modes for setting aperture and shutter speeds. You're not able to change the amount of flash in your shots either, a feature that's on the FZ8. But if you're looking for a more full-featured superzoom, I'd suggest reaching for another Panasonic: the FZ50, which has all these features. Another drawback is that the TZ3 doesn't shoot RAW shots, but very few budget superzooms do this. If you want that type of quality, I'd step up to a full-featured superzoom or get a D-SLR.

Overall, the quality of the video on this camera was pretty good, although you can't zoom during recording. Sound quality was disappointing, but color and detail were very good. Another nice feature is that the videos can be set in an 848-by-480 mode (which is a 16:9 aspect ratio), a slightly larger frame size than VGA mode (which is a 4:3 aspect ratio). And, of course, it's in an aspect ratio that will fit on most HDTVs.

I was impressed with the quality of both my lab test shots and my real-world photos. In my lab shots, there was very little noise, and I thought the color saturation and accuracy were excellent. I found very little fringing in the images, too. Also evident was the camera's excellent dynamic range, although some indoor shots were a tad too contrasty. Flash shots were also pleasing, with strong, even illumination throughout the scene and no blown-out highlights.

Resolution averaged 1,750 lines, which is fantastic for a 7.2MP camera. The bootup time was 2.7 seconds, which is quite good. The 2.8-second recycle time isn't the fastest I've seen, but it's still pretty speedy. There was very little shutter lag, as well. There was no pincushion distortion at the telephoto end of the zoom range and very little barrel distortion at the wide-angle end, which is great given the 28mm wide-angle view. And in both low and bright light, the images were improved when the image-stabilization mode was turned on.

Last, like many newer cameras, the TZ3 is compatible with SDHC memory cards. Panasonic includes a one-year warranty for parts. It also worked with my Windows Vista test system without a problem.

As superzooms go, I couldn't be more pleased with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3. With its very portable body and wide-angle zoom, this 10X optical superzoom is an excellent choice for most shooting situations.

Benchmark Test Results
Check out the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3's test scores.

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