Panasonic DMC-TZ3

Launch price £300.00

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Stuff says

A multi-talented, versatile compact with great zoom and handy wide-angle talents. Picture quality isn’t top notch, but otherwise the TZ3 is a top alternative to a bridge camera

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Last year's TZ1 was something rarer than a steak tartare at a vegan convention - a compact camera with a detail plucking 10x optical zoom lens which could still just about call itself pocket-sized.

With its successor, Panasonic's gone one better and come up with something we can safely say is unique - a 10x zooming compact, with a 28mm wide angle.

Granted, neither is unique on its own – take Sony’s new 10x zooming H3 or Kodak's ultra wide V570 – but both together? Sorry, only Ricoh’s wide-angle Caplio R6 comes close, and that maxes out at 7.1x zoom. So no pressure Panasonic, but in the super zooming, super wide category, you’re our only hope.

Slim pickings
We were immediately pleased to see the TZ3 had lost a few pounds from its slightly porky successor. The new design passes the jean pocket test – just – but we’re still talking an unsightly bulge in the trouser department.

Round the back is a large 3in display that acts as the only viewfinder. It can be customised to use the whole screen, or only a portion with the remainder blacked out to display the type of info you’d see in a DSLR’s viewfinder.