This compact digital camera has no direct competitors thanks to its unique wide-angle 10X optical zoom in a compact 1.5" thick body. Although it only operates in point-and-shoot mode, its unique lens makes it one of the most versatile compact cameras currently available. Particularly, there are very few compact digital cameras with lenses wider than 35mm. One such model is the 10 megapixels Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 which starts at 28mm in 16:9 mode and the 9 megapixels Fuji Finepix E900 which starts at 32mm. Note that both these cameras features 4X optical zoom and full-manual controls. The image quality of the Fuji E900 is a good deal better than the Panasonic TZ3 and LX1.

The main problem with the Panasonic TZ3 is its excessive image noise and loss of details as ISO is increased. This leave ISO 100 images looking great and ISO 200 ones looking quite acceptable too. At ISO 400, details start disappearing. However, since the TZ3 features optical stabilization, lower ISO sensitivities can be used for non-moving subjects. By default, the TZ3 produces images with rather dull colors but that can be fixed by changing the color-mode to Vivid. Otherwise, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 has a lot going for it, most notably its speedy performance and accurate white-balance system.

Other than the already mentioned Fuji E900 and LX1, there are a number of excellent compact digital cameras to consider if the TZ3's zoom range is not essential. The Canon Powershot A710 IS has a stabilized 6X optical zoom which starts at 35mm and produces high-quality images, has full manual controls and good battery life running in standard AA batteries. Its non-stabilized counterpart, the 6 megapixels Canon Powershot A700 is also an excellent choice with even longer battery-life for those who primarily photograph still subjects.