Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ3

Santa Claus came early and upgraded my recently deceased Kodak DC3400 with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ3.

Why this camera? Easy - 12X Leica zoom lens. Price - around $350, cheaper if you shop around. Many digital SLR features at a point-n-shoot price. 3 megapixels. I'm still playing around with it - so I can't comment much more.

I'll spare the review of the camera - look it up on Steve's DigiCams website. But here's what a 12X lens is capable of. I reduced the photo sizes to fit most people's screens.

Full wide:


Full zoom (12X):


'Nuff said!

Congrats! That camera has been getting very good reviews, and the 12x Leica zoom is indeed very nice. The optical image stabilization is one of my favorite features.

I may start saving up for its bigger sibling, the FZ20.

MEC407 wrote:Congrats! That camera has been getting very good reviews, and the 12x Leica zoom is indeed very nice. The optical image stabilization is one of my favorite features.

I may start saving up for its bigger sibling, the FZ20.

If I had a bigger budget, I'd go for the FZ20. On the other hand, if I was gonna spend $500 on a camera, I'd wait another year for the digital SLR's to come down to that price range.

So far the FZ3 has been a great camera. Waiting for warm sunny weather to take it trackside.