The thing is, i went through a few (3) point & shoot cameras, which were always with me. The pocket lint, dust, and rough treatment were to much for them. So I decided I would look for a more rugged model. The Lumix DMC TS2 (the model previous to this one) I had was fantastic. Took great pics, and had all the features i need. I lost that (Fell out of my pocket during a long bike ride...) and I needed to replace it. I looked at all of the water/dust proof cameras out there, and was down to 2 choices, the Sony TX10, and the DMC TS3 (these seem to be the only real heavy hitters in the water/dustproof genre) . When side by side the pics looked pretty comparable, and they both have high res video, etc they seem pretty alike. There are a few features that sony has (like the sweeping panorama for instance) that is nicer than the Lumix "line up your last shot with this one" method, but nothing that was a must-have.
The 2 reasons I went with the TS3 are this: 1) the Sony has a sliding cover, which gets stuff (sand for instance) caught under it,or in its hinges, leading to potential breakage, while the Lumix has everything internal, and nothing moves or opens to the outside except a locking door... And 2) The capacitive touch screen of the sony renders it useless when it gets wet, where the Lumix is completely controlled by push buttons on the top or side of the screen. In the few years i had the Lumix TS2 I rarely used it underwater, but frequently used it in dirty places, dusty places and had it in my pocket often. So in that the dustproofing was more important than the waterproofing.
When reading reviews, a few people were knocking the picture quality, and compare it to SLR style cameras. This is not that camera, and never will be. The selling point of this camera is that you can take it virtually anywhere, and any time. Try comparing pictures taken in a dust storm or under water with your SLR, and the TS3 will win every time. It is a take anywhere, use any time camera.
It is not THAT great at an art camera, but it does take decent pictures (I mean artistically here), not just snapshots - especially if you learn how to adjust the settings to your needs (this means reading the manual, guys I am looking at you). But if your looking for great art cameras, your looking at a much higher price tag regardless. I find the pictures to be more than adequate for my needs. You can print them at 8x10 and have no idea that it was a digital not film image. The composition of the picture, the lighting, the angles are on you. The focal length is limited, but that's to be expected.
In other regards, this camera has an amazing battery length. I have a spare (as you always should...) And went to England for 2 weeks. I took around 1000 pictures and about 1/2 hour of video, and still only needed to change the battery once (to my spare). The camera is ready to take pics (from off to a shot) quickly. the shutter response seems pretty quick. The video looks great. The quick menus are something I am getting used to (they were not on the TS2) but though limited on what you are 'allowed' to adjust there (As opposed to going in to the in depth menus from another button), they are useful. It is ergonomic for me, and I have huge hands. I think the placement of the buttons is intuitive (except i do not like the new placement of the zoom controls), and easy to use on the fly. The mic picks up sound quite well, and the video is crisp and defined (though I doubt any block buster films will be recorded on one any time soon). The focus tracking is good at following my baby around.
Again not the best P&S for the money. Not even comparable to a SLR camera. But if your looking for something rugged, to take *well above* average shots any where, any time, and not having to worry about the elements ruining your investment, I feel this camera would suit your needs perfectly.
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This Item  Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3 12.1 MP Rugged/Waterproof Digital Camera with 4.6x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD - Red |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $399.99 | -9% $499.99 List: $549.99 | -26% $39.99 List: $53.99 | $534.95 | $624.95 | $599.00 |
| Delivery | Get it May 22 - 31 | Get it as soon as Monday, May 13 | Get it as soon as Monday, May 13 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 9 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 9 | Get it as soon as Monday, May 13 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Image stabilization | ||||||
| Zoom | ||||||
| Easy to use | ||||||
| Picture quality | ||||||
| Sold By | EnviroCycle | Amazon.com | Yuruida | Web Offers | Electronics Basket | Kellards |
| display type | LCD | LCD | LCD | — | LCD | other |
| display size | 2.7 inches | 3 inches | — | 3 inches | — | 5 centimeters |
| lens type | zoom | Macro | — | — | — | 100° Wide Angle Lens |
| zoom type | Optical Zoom | Optical Zoom | Digital Zoom | Optical Zoom | Optical Zoom | — |
| shooting modes | — | Movie, Auto, Manual | Automatic | Underwater | Underwater | Time-Lapse, Underwater, Manual |
| connectivity tech | USB | Wi-Fi, Micro HDMI, Micro USB, Bluetooth | USB | Wi-Fi | USB | Wi-Fi |
| video resolution | FHD 1080p | 2160p | 1080p | 2160p | — | other |
Reviews with images
Impressed but not so waterproof
*** 7 Months Later ***Still going strong. The minor salt water incursion has not affected anything, except my willingness to take the camera below a few feet depth. Never tried to return it as there's nothing wrong. All functions working well, no new problems. Have traveled all over the place with the camera just thrown in my backpack, and it doesn't seem to mind at all. The GPS has proved to be weak compared to my iPhone or outdoors GPS unit, but with a good sky view it works well.*** Update to first part (which appears below)***After a week's vacation...Took the TS3 to the Caribbean for various activities on the beach, in the water, and on land. I'm still impressed with the image quality and overall performance. Video is very nice too. I took it along on two beach trips, just into the water but not at any depth, with the accompanying sand and dirt. Followed the prescribed rinse / dry / seal cleaning with the included brush and no problems.BUT, then I went snorkeling with it to depths of 15 - 20 feet (half the rated level) for about 45 minutes. Got great stills and videos that live up to the claims. Upon returning to the boat I took the camera to the head and soaked / lightly rinsed followed by shaking off excess moisture and drying. When I tried to use it about 10 mins later the screen started to flash and it would not take photos. I immediately opened the door with it positioned down so any liquid would drain away from the battery / card, and found a drop or two of water in there that had gotten onto the USB / Video connectors; there was visible corrosion. I blotted up the drops, removed the battery and SD card,and closed it up. On returning to my room a couple of hours later I carefully swiped off the contacts with a slightly moistened piece of stiff paper, which removed the visible corrosion. After an hour of drying with the door open, the camera again works fine. No water had penetrated to the battery or SD contacts or into the bulk of the camera, but just the same this was not what I expected. Thus I docked a star from my rating.I will attempt a warranty repair / replace, but I don't think I'll take it below a foot or so of depth after this experience (which is similar to others have reported here). Even though I followed the instructions it failed anyway.*** Original Review ***Only had it for 24 hours, but I wanted to write down my initial impressions. I purchased the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3 and a Transcend 16 GB Class 10 SDHC card to replace my older Nikon Coolpix S560 point and shoot purchased in 2008. Well, no comparison really. The technology has advanced considerably in the 3 years since I got the Nikon. I paid just about the same for the Nikon in 2008 as for the TS3. For a quick comparison, I took the same composition on both cameras, flash and without flash, and the TS3 comes out light years ahead in resolution, color quality, lack of fringing and jpeg side effects, etc., let alone the video, location features, and many more. So, onward to the new camera, old one goes off to auction somewhere or maybe I'll give it to my daughter.Played with the TS3 a little taking shots and videos of the dogs, just to get the feel of it. The user interface is similar to the Nikon and many other cameras of this type, so I had no problems learning the basics. I haven't dunked it in the pool yet; that will wait for the next warm weather water opportunity. But I did take it on a hike today to test the GPS and Intelligent Auto mode. For the most part GPS was pretty accurate. I took along my 'real' outdoors GPS receiver that I know is accurate to less than 10 feet or so, and then compared the GPS metadata in the pictures by plotting waypoints for each picture overlaid on the GPS track of the 3-mile or so hike with my spouse and our dogs. She took the pictures and turned the camera off and on a few times, with the GPS set to 'always on.' Most of the 20 or so photos were spot on, but one came out positioned about 50 feet northeast of the track. Then the GPS seemed to stop working, and the last few jumped to a single point about 15 miles southeast of the true position. Not sure what happened there; nothing different about tree cover or clouds, and the outdoors receiver continued to work. Could have been related to turning the camera off long enough for the GPS to deactivate, and then not waiting long enough after powering back on to get a good fix. We didn't look at the displayed GPS status so it's hard to say. Next time I'll try to pay more attention. Anyway, GPS seems to work very well when it was working and properly initialized.Intelligent Auto mode had no problem switching to macro mode when close to some mushrooms, and the rest of the photos of medium to long-range objects were fine. The flash functioned well on macro and normal shots. Overall exposure was accurate, although underexposed by ~ 1/2 stop. Auto white balance was correct for the overcast day.Leaving GPS on almost all the time, taking about 50 photos (maybe 40% flash) and around 10 mins of HD video, the battery is less than half used.Overall I'm very satisfied with the DMC-TS3 performance. Next challenge -- using it underwater or in other adverse conditions where I wouldn't dare take my SLR. Oh, now I need to find a vacation...
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2011
Color: BlueVerified Purchase
The first camera arrived within two days and worked perfectly until I needed to download the video to my MAC. The USB did not work. Amazon shipped a replacement and it arrived the same day (two days later) that I was able to get the old one shipped! Works perfectly. Downloading pictures is easy to iPhoto but video has to be downloaded to iMovie and that takes longer than our other camera (iPhoto takes care of both pictures and video with that one).
I have already used it under water in the local YMCA pool and it worked great, both pictures and video. The quality was much better than the $10 disposables. We have taken it to the zoo and a couple of Fairs. I was never concerned about dirt, moisture or getting it knocked. It has worked as expected in all conditions.
Remember that it's not a $1000 camera and that there are limitations to the rugged design. Its picture quality is no better than a camera half its price. It's bulkier and a little heavier than most digital cameras; but nothing that causes problems. You are limited with distance with the flash. Remember the limitations and there are no problems.
The GPS is a little slow locating itself. Recommendation: Take a minute whenever you arrive somewhere to get the GPS set asap. Don't wait until you want to take a picture! The battery has lasted about a day of regular use and the GPS permanently on. With it staying on it locates itself far quicker.
We are going on a cruise in a few weeks and I will update this review if needed; so far this is a highly recommended camera that will do more and take more abuse than most of us will do with it!
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August 2012 Update:
The camera greatly surpassed our hopes for the cruise and we came back with some great shots. The waterproof feature held up in surf, snorkeling as well as dust and rain. We have taken it to Charleston beaches several times and it recently survived waves and sand castle building (in the sand) without any issues. Everyone is impressed with what we expose this camera to. Still highly recommended. The GPS is great and the battery lasts better than any other electronic device we've owned, several days of on and off use. Hard to quantify because it will depend on how long you leave it on, use the zoom, preview pictures as you take them etc.
I have already used it under water in the local YMCA pool and it worked great, both pictures and video. The quality was much better than the $10 disposables. We have taken it to the zoo and a couple of Fairs. I was never concerned about dirt, moisture or getting it knocked. It has worked as expected in all conditions.
Remember that it's not a $1000 camera and that there are limitations to the rugged design. Its picture quality is no better than a camera half its price. It's bulkier and a little heavier than most digital cameras; but nothing that causes problems. You are limited with distance with the flash. Remember the limitations and there are no problems.
The GPS is a little slow locating itself. Recommendation: Take a minute whenever you arrive somewhere to get the GPS set asap. Don't wait until you want to take a picture! The battery has lasted about a day of regular use and the GPS permanently on. With it staying on it locates itself far quicker.
We are going on a cruise in a few weeks and I will update this review if needed; so far this is a highly recommended camera that will do more and take more abuse than most of us will do with it!
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August 2012 Update:
The camera greatly surpassed our hopes for the cruise and we came back with some great shots. The waterproof feature held up in surf, snorkeling as well as dust and rain. We have taken it to Charleston beaches several times and it recently survived waves and sand castle building (in the sand) without any issues. Everyone is impressed with what we expose this camera to. Still highly recommended. The GPS is great and the battery lasts better than any other electronic device we've owned, several days of on and off use. Hard to quantify because it will depend on how long you leave it on, use the zoom, preview pictures as you take them etc.
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