Labs

The DMC-TZ3 is a beefed up version of Panasonic's DMC-TZ2, upping the resolution to seven megapixels and the LCD screen to a whopping three inches.

Even more impressive is the lens. The zoom starts at a wide-angle 28mm and goes all the way to 280mm, giving a 10x zoom range that's rare among compact cameras. This feature allows you to frame subjects far more creatively than a smaller zoom permits. The lens also includes highly effective

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optical image stabilisation, important when shooting at extreme telephoto zoom settings. However, the f/3.3 maximum aperture captures less light than the other cameras' f/2.8 apertures.

Considering the camera's creative potential, it's disappointing that priority and manual exposure modes aren't available. Still, it's easy to use, and an Intelligent ISO mode lets you set the maximum ISO speed that the Auto ISO can use. The amount of noise and detail-killing noise-reduction processing that appear at ISO 800 and 1250 won't be to everyone's taste, but a steady hand is needed to shoot indoors at ISO 400 without the flash.

Noise was below average in this group, and images weren't significantly less detailed than from the higher-resolution cameras. Colour reproduction was superb, with vibrant tones and expertly judged exposures. Performance was excellent, with 1.4 seconds between shots and a 1.9fps continuous mode. It's the priciest camera here, but the stabilised 10x zoom lens is well worth paying for.