Panasonic DMC-TS3D 12.1-megapixel LUMIX digital camera

One tough, trek-worthy camera

Get out and tromp the world — with your DMC-TS3 12.1-megapixel camera. This is one companion that knows how to pack its bags for any adventure. First, it's waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof. In fact, don't even worry about dust or sand getting inside — plus it has passed drop tests at a height of about 2 meters. Great for when the going gets rough. Record your tropical sailing voyage on HD still or movie formats. Shooting couldn't be easier. Just set the camera to iA mode, aim, and click. The camera does all the rest. It automatically determines the most suitable scene mode and helps correct blurring, focus, and brightness problems. With iA mode, it's easy to get beautiful, clear results. It also activates the new Face Recognition function, which finds familiar faces in a group of people and captures them in a clear focus with proper exposure. And what outdoor-oriented camera wouldn't be complete without GPS functionality that includes a compass, altimeter, and barometric sensor to tag your images with place names and coordinate details.

In the box:

DMC-TS3 camera, battery charger, battery pack, brush, AV cable, USB cable, CD ROM.

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excellent camera (August 11, 2011)

Ease of Use		(5/5.0)
Value		(4/5.0)
Performance		(5/5.0)
Overall Rating		(5/5.0)

Reviewed By: James P. - Plains, MT

Just got this camera a week ago and already took it on a backpacking trip in glacier. Between being dropped a time or two, slipping and smacking it on a rock and taking wet pics in rain and under waterfalls, it took abuse very well with no problems. Read several reviews before purchase that said this is the rugged camera to get for picture quality and durability and they were right. I was a bit concerned about how good of pics it would take because of the ruggedness but was not disappointed at all. Crystal clear shots, great panorama feature and even the us video was surprisingly good. Dint play with the gps feature much. A friend of mine had the new pentax waterproof camera and the picture quality dint even begin to compare with this one. I took about 120 photos on full resolution and still had two thirds of my battery left. All in all I am more than happy with my new purchase and the buying experience from vans was excellent, it shopped free to me in 3 days awesome. Pretty much buy all of my electronicsappliances at vans now due to food products and excellent service.

Update (July 22, 2011)

Ease of Use		(4/5.0)
Value		(3/5.0)
Performance		(3/5.0)
Overall Rating		(3/5.0)

Reviewed By: Don Hackett Jr - Pensacola, FL

Initial impressions seemed to have been a bit deceiving. The seals have already failed. After taking about 1k pics, I have a better feel for it. Action shots at a distance are difficult to catch in detail. To be quite honest, I miss my Stylus tough.

Panasonic DMC-TS3D (May 16, 2011)

Ease of Use		(4/5.0)
Value		(5/5.0)
Performance		(5/5.0)
Overall Rating		(5/5.0)

Reviewed By: Don Hackett Jr - Pensacola, FL

Just the basics and a short storyhere. Scroll down for the basics... I purchased the original olympus tough a few years back and was super pleased with it. After 5 years of use, abuse and mad travels, the image quality stared to fade, especially with less than sunny images. I had a wedding coming up and a trip to the Grand Canyon and now was in need of a new camera. The best part was I was trying to wait until GPS was available. TA-DAA... The time was right. My take The Panasonics reviews were overall better than the Olympus sorry Tough. My first weekend with this deal was the wedding weekend. It was dropped several times, passed between probably 10 different people. Great pics, from everyone. Outside in daylight low light, sunset, inside with various lighting in bars..., at the beach, by the pool.... That is the best part of this camera, you dont have to worry about it at all. The GPS is pretty nifty. It has a compass as well. My only REAL complaint is GPS takes forever to refresh and generally destroys the battery life. Its a catch 22. I would rather have it than not though. I bought an extra battery. It wouldnt hurt to have 3 in rotation if you take lots of pics. During the course of my wedding, the after party and brunch the next day, we took about 750 pics, most were good. Another slight complaint for me is the Olympus had a motorized guard that opened and closed. This does not. Time will tell on that one. There are a lot of features that I really havent got around to figuring out yet, so I really cant say how all the modes work. If you have the money, love to travel and take pics in ANY condition, go for it.

Comparison Specifications

Effective pixels: 12.1-megapixels (f/3.3 - f/5.9) / Power Optical Image Stabilization
Memory: 19MB internal memory / SD / SDHC / SDXC
Zoom: 4.6x optical, 4x digital / Extra Optical: 5.7x - 9.1x / Intelligent: 6x
26 still image scene modes / 15 movie scene modes
Flash modes: Auto / Auto red eye reduction / Forced on / Slow sync red eye reduction / Forced off
Continuous shooting mode: 3.7 frames per second
Intelligent Auto Mode: Face recognition/ Optical image stabilization / ISO control / Face detection / Scene selector / Exposure / AF tracking / Red-eye correction / Intelligent Resolution
Viewscreen: 2.7" wide-angle TFT LCD display (230,000 pixels) / Auto Power LCD mode / Power LCD mode
Interface: Mini HDMI / Hi-speed USB 2.0 / DC input / AV output (NTSC)
Image sensor: 1/2.33" / Primary color filter

Additional Specifications

Lens: 28mm Leica DC Vario-Elmar lens (4.9 to 22.8mm, 28 to 128mm @ 35mm equivalent)
Focusing area: Wide: 30cm - infinity / Tele: 30cm - infinity
Auto Focus metering: Face / AF Tracking / Multi (23 point) / 1 point / Spot
Focus: Normal / Macro / Zoom macro / Quick AF / Continuous AF / AF tracking
Color modes: Standard / Vivid / Natural / Black & White / Sepia / Cool / Warm / Happy (iA mode only)
ISO sensitivity: i.ISO / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / High-sensitivity mode: 1600 to 6400
Self timer: 2sec, 10sec
Waterproof to 12m
Shockproof up to 2m
Freezeproof down to -10 C