Is it worth it to use the ZS3 as a UW camera?

[rab1412000]

I did see it change once. Odd, it seem to have changed in the middle of a scene. Must have been a delayed reaction.

Yup it does that especially during shallower dives. I don't know if it's a delayed response or maybe I focused on a lighter colored subject hence the switch.
It can be annoying at times. But really a small price to pay for such excellent video quality.

Sent from my samsung galaxy s2 using tapatalk

 

[froggie01]

Aaaaa

 

[froggie01]

panasonic is a video company first and foremost and it definitely shows in their cameras.
ive been using the zs3 since it came out in 2009 and it definitely takes better videos then photos in low light situations such as underwater.
it will sometimes focus of foreground objects such as the sediment in some parts of my video above, but this happens rarely. here is an example of the camera focusing better, and on macro subjects.

[video=vimeo;26504162]http://vimeo.com/26504162[/video]

you are bending the sea fan or someone else is doing it for you so you can take a better shot at the pigmy sea horse: not a good idea, you should never touch anything underwater. Imagine if every diver did the same, and there are lots of them going to Anilao.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

The camera shot pretty good video, but the housing is a lightweight. When I got the housing, I thought oh-oh, single o-ring....and what do you know, after using the camera underwater and changing the battery for the first time, I started seeing water in the housing in the middle of the following dive. So there goes the camera, after only a few dives and opening the housing once. Never had that issue with my Oly C5050's PT-015 with its dual o-ring in my many many years of diving with it.

 

[stargost]

The zs3 is a terrible uw camera. For still, you don’t have manual, so it’s very difficult to use a strobe efficiently. It’s diffuser is too small, and still backscatter. It focus speed is really slow, and macro mode doesn’t work well uw.
For video, its uw mode is very red and needs to be adjusted all the time. Same, it is slow. Also quality is not that great with acvhd lite
The pana housing is not very good quality. It doesn’t go below 40m, and after a year, some switch will stuck below 25/30m

Now … it is a less than 500$ total system and from that angle is absolutely unbeatable. Also been using it for almost 3 years and love it. Thinking about an upgrade for several reason, but anything significantly better will cost 5x min, and will be much larger.

It is an outstanding entry P&S underwater system, especially for video. With some external light (sola, or HD with diffuser) you can actually get decent still.

I think now the zs10 would be the same and offer manual + 720p60 for same low price.

 

[rab1412000]

you are bending the sea fan or someone else is doing it for you so you can take a better shot at the pigmy sea horse: not a good idea, you should never touch anything underwater. Imagine if every diver did the same, and there are lots of them going to Anilao.

i totally agree. for the record, i wasnt the one touching it, and i make it a pint not to. i promptly asked the guide to cease holding the fan and you will see in my next shot that i just videod it as is.
i am a staunch believer in having the most minimum of marine life impact while diving

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

anyone moved on from the ZS3 and want to get rid of the camera? Mine flooded after 1 time in the housing (after battery change) and thought it would be easier to replace the camera instead of getting a new camera & housing. I use it for video only so the latest and greatest megapixel is of no relevance. I thought I just post here instead of WTB in classified..until when I can't find anymore with it.

 

[froggie01]

i totally agree. for the record, i wasnt the one touching it, and i make it a pint not to. i promptly asked the guide to cease holding the fan and you will see in my next shot that i just videod it as is.
i am a staunch believer in having the most minimum of marine life impact while diving

Hi,
Glad to hear that. I just checked some more of your videos and I like them a lot. I own a TZ10 and I have to discard most of my videos because they move too much. I have 70 dives and good buoyancy control but even with little current often struggle to make a still video. I've tried holding onto a rock as well but even then it appears shaky. You're not holding your camera close to your chest or anything? The only means I've found of keeping still so far was resting the camera on a sandy bottom or a rock, not always feasible.
I wonder then if the TZ10 video quality is less than that of the ZS3/TZ7? Certainly the so called stabilisation doesn't seem to make a difference to me unless I don't know how to use it; I believe it is automatic. As for pictures, I find you can make pretty good ones with the TZ10 but since it is a wide angle camera you have to get really close to your subjects to make good ones and use the macro and macro zoom settings.
I visited a shop selling underwater cameras recently, they recommend an olympus camera on which you can change the wet lenses macro and wide easily. Those would stick onto the arms of the strobe as well. Apparently these cameras have a bigger sensor and lots of bulky dslr users are now switching to these more compact models.

 

[Calinectes]

This camera can do a decent job if you learn to play with it's settings to compensate for lack of some manual features. I also find that the TTL on my ys-01 doesn't work with this camera so I also set manual strobe output. Here's one of my favorites i've taken with the setup.......

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

This camera can do a decent job if you learn to play with it's settings to compensate for lack of some manual features. I also find that the TTL on my ys-01 doesn't work with this camera so I also set manual strobe output. Here's one of my favorites i've taken with the setup.......

That's strange, I tried my YS-01 for some quick and dirty test above water and it seems to light up the scene fine. I will only be using this camera for video underwater and maybe some shots w/o flash, so it will not be the end of the world for me.