Panasonic Lumix TZ7/ZS3 with u/w case DMW-MCTZ7 HD VIDEO test results

[jschert]

after a lot of comparison and reading this post I got the Pana ZS3 for Christmas (thanks, honey). Now, anybody know where the housing is available, not on backorder, in the US?

After reading this great thread, I was ready to buy the ZS3 until I encountered the same problem. There's nowhere I can find online in the US with the housing in-stock.

In researching some alternatives in case the Panasonic housing becomes hard to get, I came across the Sony DSC-WX1 camera and the MPK-WEB housing. Does anyone have any experience with this combo? The MPK-WEB housing is a bit less expensive, while the camera itself is a bit more expensive than the ZS3.

The Sony has a faster lens at the wide end (f/2.4 vs f/3.3), but of course uses overpriced Memory Sticks instead of SDHC. The Sony records 720p in MP4 and is limited to a 30 minute, 2gb file. I guess that's not a con if you don't want to work with AVCHD. Thoughts?

 

[Blůę §pacε]

I had a REALLY tough time trying to find this camera housing in time for Christmas and my dive trip which is scheduled for Jan 10th-17th. Panasonic informed me that they underestimated the demand for this product in the US and apologized. Most of the on-line retailers I called stated that they weren't expecting the housing to ship until mid February. All the UK websites charge an arm and a leg for the housing and then (*if they ship to the US) you have to add the astronomical shipping cost.

I bought mine from JP-Stop, a top rated ebay seller located in Konami Japan. There's no discount on the price... but he does offer FREE shipping to the states (4-6 business days) and accepts ONLY Pay-pal payment form which is the fastest, easiest, and safest way. You also have 14 days from the time you receive the package to return the item if there are any defects.

Bad news is that if you don't already have a Pay-pal account (paypal.com), it takes 3-5 business days for pay-pal to verify your address and bank account info before you can make an on-line purchase. After that it really is a piece of cake. BTW... ebay is a Pay-pal company and they're located in Omaha, NE (right down the street from where I live) just in case you've never heard of them. I can vouch for them.

Using Pay-pal, I received an immediate response from JP-Stop (as well as Pay-pal) that my payment had been received and that the order would be processed ASAP. The housing showed up at my door (certified mail, USPS) 5 business days later in perfect condition.

Here's the link to the ebay item:
eBay

*Or just go to ebay and search for DMW-MCTZ7 and look for the seller JP-Stop.

Please let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[Blůę §pacε]

Let me try adding the link again...
http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-DMW-MC...item414aa9c798

 

[Blůę §pacε]

Panasonic DMW-MCTZ7 Case Lumix DMC-TZ7 ZS3 TZ6 ZS1 - eBay (item 280425514904 end time Jan-16-10 22:43:33 PST)

 

[song]

Panasonic DMW-MCTZ7 Case Lumix DMC-TZ7 ZS3 TZ6 ZS1 - eBay (item 280425514904 end time Jan-16-10 22:43:33 PST)

Thanks. Yeah! Just ordered it. Even with a bit of delay I should have 6 weeks to play with it before I can get in the water. Next I need to shop for spare batteries. Any good sources?

BTW saw another eBay seller in Japan that had 7 housings. Price was a little better but add $15 S&H, don't know what their turnaround & shipping time is.

 

[Oside Jimc]

I bought mine from JP-Stop, a top rated ebay seller located in Konami Japan. There's no discount on the price... but he does offer FREE shipping to the states (4-6 business days) and accepts ONLY Pay-pal payment form which is the fastest, easiest, and safest way. You also have 14 days from the time you receive the package to return the item if there are any defects.

Bad news is that if you don't already have a Pay-pal account (paypal.com), it takes 3-5 business days for pay-pal to verify your address and bank account info before you can make an on-line purchase. After that it really is a piece of cake. BTW... ebay is a Pay-pal company and they're located in Omaha, NE (right down the street from where I live) just in case you've never heard of them. I can vouch for them.

I bought mine from jp-stop as well, purchased 12/26, arrived in CA on 12/31, I was quite impressed.

 

[cbuck1962]

Got the camera ordered and a case from JP stop.
Will CLass 6 SDHC cards work on this camera?

 

[rab1412000]

Got the camera ordered and a case from JP stop.
Will CLass 6 SDHC cards work on this camera?

i use class6 and highly recommend this type of sdhc especially if you want to shoot avchd vids.

 

[Scuba-junky]

Has anyone heard if Panasonic is going to announce the successor to the ZS1 this month? I was just wondering what improvements they might make to it.

 

[Scuba-junky]

Oops, I should have sakd ZS3 not ZS1.