Panasonic plans to introduce two AVCHD Lite cameras in April, the Lumix DMC-ZS3 and DMC-TS1, both $399 but targeted to very different photographers. The 10-megapixel ZS3 (the replacement for the TZ5) has a 12x optical zoom with a nice range of 28-300mm and a big 3-inch LCD screen. It’s also 10 percent slimmer than the already thin TZ5. The 12MP TS1 with a 4.6x zoom starting at 28mm is Panasonic’s first entry in the ever-growing “tough” category of digicams popularized by the Olympus Stylus SW series. You can drop this baby 5 feet and take it underwater for capturing stills or HD video.
The two digicams have iA Movie, similar to the Intelligent Auto mode for photos found in Lumix models. Engage it and the camera decides the proper exposure, engages optical image stabilization, face detection and will even pick the proper scene mode. It’s about as aim-and-forget as you can get.
DigitalTrends had the chance to put the two cameras through their paces at the Lumix Global Seminar in Miami. Since these were pre-production models they were prone to freeze-ups but this is hardly out of the ordinary for practically hand-made units. After shooting we took the SD cards out and reviewed the stills and movies on a 50-inch plasma. It was here we experienced the excellent video—even from early sample cameras. Naturally we’ll do more thorough tests when the real-deal arrives.
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