My New Panasonic DMC-TS3

[cmwade77]

Ok, so my Olympus 770SW is now a little over 3 years old, which is ancient in the tech world, so it was time to start looking at a new camera. I considered a DSLR, but we actually recently bought one for my sister, which I took on our most recent cruise. I literally used it one day only, then used my Olympus for the rest of the trip. I am sure many of you are asking why, here are the basic reasons:

• I am not by any means a professional photographer, I enjoy taking pictures, but I am not a pro and so many of the settings are very confusing.
• It was WAY too heavy and bulky.

I liked the fact that my last camera was waterproof, so after exhaustive research, I found that the Panasonic DNC-TS3 would be the best. Here is what I liked about the features:

• 4.6x Optical Zoom (Up to 6x Digital zoom, with no quality loss, not sure how that works)
• Full HD video (even my HD Video camera doesn't take full HD 1080P at 30 FPS)
• Waterproof up to 40 FT.
• Drop Proof
• Dust Proof
• Zoom works when taking video
• Takes 3D photos (This was minor to me, but cool)
• Inteligent Auto Mode
• In camera Red Eye removal

Now, after getting the camera, here is what I liked about it that hasn't been mentioned in reviews or the specs:

• Ultrafast Picture taking (virtualy intant)
• Amazing low light performance (especially on dark rides, tested on Little Mermaid)
• The inteligent auto mode is great at figuring out the best setting, again virtually instantly, even when I tell it that it can't use the flash.
• The video is amazing, again, focuses well, even in low light.

Please note that many of these shots are literally among the first shots taken with my camera (Spoiler warning many are photos from the Little Mermaid attraction at DCA):

The following video has some out of focus parts, but it was the very first video I took with this camera (spoiler warning, it is a complete ride through of The Little Mermaid attraction at DCA):
http://youtu.be/2ufAjNeijJs

 

[FINFAN]

congrat's on the new toy.....we love our Lumix camera's. Really cool on the underwater part...I just might have to look into that. Could you post any images of underwater...even just into the tub of a toy or something, just to see the quality. We have the Kodak playsport but it goes to about 10 feet.

 

[chou4555]

congrat's on the new toy.....we love our Lumix camera's. Really cool on the underwater part...I just might have to look into that. Could you post any images of underwater...even just into the tub of a toy or something, just to see the quality. We have the Kodak playsport but it goes to about 10 feet.

Hi! I too am very happy with my Lumix camera (the G3 model: http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_...MIX+G+Micro+System+Cameras/4855154/index.html )

Initially I was a bit worried that it was too sophisticated for my needs, but isn't it amazing how once you find out all the features on a piece of equipment, you want to try them all out!!

Underwater.. never tried that, and have to have a look at the instructions and see if that's a possibility! I went swinning once with my old minolta in my trunks pocket... alas, it never worked again, but keep it on a shelf to remind me never to do something that stoopid again!

 

[cmwade77]

Please note that to my knowledge the G3 is not waterproof, but there is probably an underwater case for it. The T3 (and I think the T1 & T2) is waterproof (up to 40 ft. for an hour without the underwater case, with the under water case I believe it can go to something like 200 ft.), shock proof and dust proof.

Anyway, I have really only taken one underwater picture and it is NOT the most flattering picture of DW, because it is underwater, but here it is:

I mostly like the waterproof features because I take the camera on water rides and in the pool, etc.

 

[FINFAN]

thanks for posting the underwater pic...the colors are pretty darn bright for underwater! Yeah...water rides, sudden rains, even misty mornings make having a waterproof camera very nice to have. New cameras are blast to play with, enjoy yours!