Lumix TZ3 Zoom in Video

[Se7enLC]

I know the spec sheets and reviews all say that zoom cannot be used while taking videos. Does that mean that you can't adjust the zoom while taking a video, or that you are stuck at one particular zoom level? I wouldn't mind having to "preset" a zoom level to take a video, but to be limited to only taking closeup videos seems very.... well, limiting. Does anyone have one of these cameras that could check that for me before I make a purchase? Thanks

[John_Reed]

I know the spec sheets and reviews all say that zoom cannot be used while taking videos. Does that mean that you can't adjust the zoom while taking a video, or that you are stuck at one particular zoom level? I wouldn't mind having to "preset" a zoom level to take a video, but to be limited to only taking closeup videos seems very.... well, limiting. Does anyone have one of these cameras that could check that for me before I make a purchase? Thanks
No, it just means you can't zoom DURING the "filming," but you ARE free to zoom between "takes." I think you might even be able to set the zoom at a digital zoom level, though I haven't tried that lately.

[Se7enLC]

Just what I was hoping to hear!

I'll be buying one of these soon. Thanks!

[Albert D. Kallal]

No, it just means you can't zoom DURING the "filming," but you ARE free to zoom between "takes." I think you might even be able to set the zoom at a digital zoom level, though I haven't tried that lately.

Yet that is exactly right you can set the zoom before you start taking the movie.

And yes you can even use digital zoom, so you can start filming with a 20 times zoom….

And, optical stabilization is active during this process.

I can’t say that 40 times in works well when you make a movie, but twenty times is actually quite nice and quite usable

Here is an you tube example of someone using a tz3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cX2o4P9DDU

Obviously the person’s zoomed in, and *then* started the movie.

While youtube reduces the quality quite a bit, the above sample shows some good quality, and shows how well the TZ3 works with that lighting..

Rather amazing….

Albert D. Kallal
Edmonton, Alberta Canada
kallal@msn.com

[photosmarty]

Is this right?

I have the TZ1 which allows me to zoom WHILE filming, did panny really take this feature off the TZ3? I also have it on my FZ50 but obvisouly I can zoom in and out on that with no probs ;)

[Paradox]

I'm guessing that the motors on the TZ3 are too loud and would intrude on the audio of the movie. The FZ50 (Which I have as well) has no focus motors, so noise from them isn't a problem. :)

[Albert D. Kallal]

Is this right?

I have the TZ1 which allows me to zoom WHILE filming, did panny really take this feature off the TZ3? I also have it on my FZ50 but obvisouly I can zoom in and out on that with no probs ;)

Yes, I heard the tz1 can zoom in movie mode. Can you answer if the tz1 zoom is digital only, or can it zoom optical also?

For some reason, both optical and digital zoom cannot be changed during movie making…I don’t really know why this limitation was introduced.

It is minor thing, but it is one thing that was taken away in the tz3 as compared to the tz1.

Albert D. Kallal
Edmonton, Alberta Canada
kallal@msn.com

[David Metsky]

The TZ1 does have optical zoom during movies, it was removed for the TZ3 due to noise from the motors being picked up by the microphone. It's mentioned in the reviews on this site.

[bigrig]

Yeah, that seems like a drastic restriction. Most of the camera manufacturers do it, too.

ISO 3200 noise they'll allow, but noise during a video, oh no! ;)

[klauskausb]

I had the TZ1, liked it a lot, but a camera accident forced me to buy a new one. So I got the TZ3 and was even very happy with the automatic objective shutter (plastic cap on the TZ1).

But I can tell you: I am really missing the zoom option DURING the video. I am doing kitesurfing and there is no way to get good videos without zooming during the video.

So, Albert: Everybody should decide by himself whether this is an important or just a minor restriction.

The camera is great, but I wasn't aware of that minor detail when I bought it. I would have refrained from buying it! And because of the better processor I really thought that it has at least all the features of the TZ1!

I also would not care of background noise out of the zoom Emotors. Any customer can decide that by his own. A firmware upgrade would be appropriate! Panasonic told me that there is no way to change it.

An unsatisfied customer.