Viewfinder (7.5)
The Lumix FZ3 has a small 0.33-inch electronic viewfinder with a diopter adjustment. The diopter is located on the left side of the viewfinder and can be adjusted from -4 to +4, which is quite a wide range. This camera is great for those with a strong visual impairment, who’ll need to shed their glasses to get up close and personal with the viewfinder.

The viewfinder seems oddly placed, as it’s in the far left and top corner of the camera. The viewfinder is also raised and has a rubber eyepiece for comfortable shooting. The EVF/LCD button changes the display from the viewfinder to the LCD screen; both cannot be viewed simultaneously. Both display screens boast through-the-lens viewing, so field coverage is 100 percent.

LCD Screen (6.0)
The FZ3 has a 1.5-inch color LCD with 114,000 pixels. The screen is built out of a polycrystalline material. The EVF/LCD button switches the display from the LCD to the viewfinder. The screen seems a bit dwarfed by the back of the camera. A larger LCD screen could have been included – and would definitely have been appreciated.


Flash (7.0)
The flash on the Panasonic FZ3 must be engaged manually in order to work. Once the Flash button on the side of the flash has been pressed, the following options are available: Auto, Red-eye reduction auto, Forced red-eye reduction, and Slow-sync with red-eye reduction. The pop-up flash has a range of 0.98-15 feet. The flash exposure compensation can be adjusted from +/- 2 EV. The FZ3 does not have an external flash hookup. This is a drawback, but most users of this camera won’t have flash accessories. The larger drawback is that the enormous optical zoom lens blocks the flash when shooting in macro mode.

Zoom Lens (9.0)
Perhaps the best feature of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ3 is the 12x optical zoom lens. The lens measures 4.6-55.2mm, which is equivalent to a massive 35-420mm in 35mm format. There is an additional 4x digital zoom, which most likely will not be needed. The Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens comes with a plastic lens cap that can tether to the neck strap so it won’t get lost. The lens is an all-glass aspherical lens that is controlled with the zoom lever that surrounds the shutter release button. The lens can focus from 2 inches to 3.94 feet in macro mode and 0.98 feet to infinity in normal mode. The FZ3 comes with an optical image stabilization system that keeps pictures clear. The lens can also maintain an f/2.8 aperture rating throughout its entire zoom range. It also offers aperture ratings up to f/8.0. The camera comes with an adapter ring that allows the included petal-shaped lens hood to attach to the camera.