Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 Review

You've read our squawks about the endless search for the perfect two-in-one imaging device (good pictures and videos in a single package). For the most part we've concentrated on camcorders since they start out with fine video. Unfortunately other than a few Canons we've been generally disappointed with these supposed hybrids since they really can't grab quality still images. Panasonic is flipping this formula on its head, starting off with a solid camera and adding high-quality movies to the mix. In this instance, the Lumix DMC-ZS3 is the first digicam with AVCHD Lite, a lesser quality codec compared to the AVCHD used in most high-def camcorders. Rather than 1080I, Lite records 720P at 60 frames per second, which in theory should be far better than 1280 x 720 30 fps clips taken by many 2009 cameras. In fact we just reviewed the Canon PowerShot SD970 IS with this feature and weren't too thrilled with the video results. Now will AVCHD Lite be a heavyweight or a bust? Time to check it out.



Link: Digitaltrends