Had my TS3 for about a week and I have to say it looks snazzy in blue. It has so many features that it is going to take a while to figure them all out. Actually most of the features allow the camera to take better pictures in a wide variety of conditions automatically (iA modes). It is definitely more rugged and ergonomic than the TS1 I lost :(. You do have to be careful how you hold the camera on the left side as a finger could easily block the lens or cover the mic.
I was very happy with my previous TS1 and I can already tell the TS3 it is as good or better in terms of picture quality. I have taken a series of indoor and outdoor shots, with and without flash, macro to full zoom, and overall the sharpness, color and light balance where very good. So far I liked the "intelligent" features like iExposure, iISO and iZoom and decided to leave them on. HD video looks great and the anti-shake works very well while walking with the camera.
GPS, one of the main reasons I bought this camera, is a little tricky. If you turn it on it stays on even when the camera is off so it can keep track of it's position, however I am not sure how the battery will last in this mode? The manual says it will eventually shut off if the camera is not used for an extend amount of time (doesn't state how long that is) or if the battery become to low. If you put it in the airplane mode, the GPS shuts off when you turn of the camera, which will conserve power, but it takes a few minutes to acquire when you turn the camera back on. I am probably going to leave it in the airplane mode but will switch to ON if I plan to take pictures for an extend amount of time so it is ready to go and I am sure for that short of time the drain won't be an issue. In any case it is good to have spare battery charged up in the camera case.
Speaking of cases I also picked up a Lowepro Rezo 30 compact case which fits the TS3 perfectly, and is very well built with an extra pocket that holds pretty much everything I could want including the case strap, extra memory card, USB SD card reader stick, and extra battery very nicely. Highly recommended and a great value. Lastly picked up two Wintec 16GB SDHC Class 10 Flash memory cards. I wanted 32 GB of memory to be able to record video and photos but didn't want to chance having one card in case it died so I bought two 16 GB cards. I am not a fan of Transcend cards from my experience with them on my TS1, so I did some searching and saw all 5 star reviews on every site I found the Wintec card. All I can say is these cards work great! I had no problem recording HD video and they are very fast at pulling off data with my USB2 reader. Add in a lifetime warranty and they are an amazing value!
Update: Be sure you update the camera to the latest firmware. Mine came with V1.0 and Panasonic recently released V1.1 which I installed and it definitely helps GPS acquisition and location handling. 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 (Blue)
For anyone out there looking at the many, many waterproof cameras out on the market these days, I have a few words to say..
I spent ages looking for the best 'rugged' digital camera; photo quality, ruggedness, price, features and warranty. I spent a year, and was always dissapointed with the 1-2 star ratings telling of repeatedly failing water seals. Olympus, sony, pentax, panasonic, canon, they ALL failed to some extent. So, rather than buying a camera I thought would never fail, I went for the one with the best reviews, and LEAST bad reviews. Olympus and sony had just as many 1-star reviews as they did 5-star. THATS OBSURD! panasonic seems to build a quality camera they are proud to back as oppossed to the many ongoing lawsuits with olympus and canon cameras. Among buying the best product, I believe a reliable accident included extended warranty is a MUST for purchases over a few hundred dollars. Manufacturer's warranties rarely cover accidents, and in the case of water leaking, its always YOUR fault, not a malfunction of the camera. SO, get a good warranty. SquareTrade is who I went with, and they do offer a 3-yr coverage with ADH (accident included) for a reasonable price and with shipping to and from included in as little as 5 days!
Now to the camera, I have only had it for a week, and will repost if anything changes, but so far I think the camera is GREAT! i have taken many pictures, explored the different features and can say that it feels and acts like a reliable sturdy camera. It does all it says it can, shoots video in 1080i, etc, and even passed a 10 min water seals test recording underwater. So far so good, I love it, will use it a ton as I teach surf lessons in venice, ca. Come down and surf! Cool color (blue) and good picture quality for a CDC.
hope this helps! - Pentax - Waterproof Camera - Underwater Digital Camera - Shockproof'
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