Steve'sDigicams

amytude · May 30, 2009, 11:16 AM

Hope this isn't too dumb a question. I bit the bullet last night & ordered the above digicam. My current digicams are a bit older & aren't SDHC compatible. I'm not clear on the new video format of this camera (although I do realize it will store more in less space). I do want to be able to use this for an upcoming vacation, but can transfer the photos every day. I do have a $35 in rewards from Best Buy. I don't want to spend over $100. I did do a board search before I posted but couldn't find anything specific. Would 8GB be adequate/too much for my needs? TIA for any guidance.

Amy

gweempose · May 30, 2009, 12:57 PM

Amy,

I just picked up a ZS3 yesterday. It's an awesome camera, and you're going to love it. One thing to be aware of is that certain high capacity/high speed memory cards can cause a strange beeping noise to be heard when shooting video. I believe it has something to do with the power that some of the faster cards draw when writing to the card. I had a brand new SanDisk 16GB Extreme III card that I specifically bought to use in this camera. Unfortunately, this card exhibits the beeping problem. At first I thought the camera might be broken, but I did some research online and discovered that others were experiencing the same thing. It appears to be a design flaw in the camera. The good news is that other cards are completely immune to this issue. For example, I switched to a SanDisk 16GB Ultra II card, and the beeping is gone.

My advice to you is to avoid the Extreme III cards. They're probably overkill for this camera anyway. A good Class 4 card such as the SanDisk Ultra II should be sufficient. If you do feel like you want a faster card, others have had good luck with the Transcend Class 6 cards. As far as capacity goes, it all depends on how you will be using the camera. If you plan on taking mostly stills, an 8GB card should be fine. On the other hand, if you will be shooting a lot of HD video, I would go for a 16GB card.

I hope this information helps. I sure wish I had this knowledge prior to purchasing the expensive Extreme III card from Amazon. Good luck, and enjoy your new camera!

amytude · Jun 2, 2009, 1:11 PM

Thanks--went ahead & bought the 16GB Ultra II. I can't wait to get my camera...supposed to arrive tomorrow, but the waiting is killing me!

Bluerapids · Jun 7, 2009, 10:18 PM

Where can you get the Panasonic ZS3 in the states? I can't find it on-line. Is there a real camera store that has these for sale?

coopr · Jun 20, 2009, 2:15 PM

I was hoping to use a Eye-Fi SD card to allow wireless uploads - but sadly this thread http://forums.eye.fi/viewtopic.php?f...it=AVCHD#p4847 suggests the Eye-Fi cards are too slow for HD video?!

I'm going to try a Transcend card instead, at least until Eye-Fi releases a faster card.

TwoGlassEyes · Jun 25, 2009, 11:23 PM

Bluerapids, I bought mine directly from panasonic.com. The site said it was backordered until July, but I ordered mine on 6/17 and it arrived today, 6/25. I couldn't find one in a store either (not even a display), but unless it's really important for you to get a feel for holding this, go through panasonic.com.

coopr · Jul 1, 2009, 10:32 PM

I've got my Panasonic ZS3 and have so far tried two SD cards with it - both have worked well for HD video:

Patriot Memory 8GB Class 6

Transcend 16GB Class 6

May 30, 2009, 11:16 AM	#1
amytude Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 179	Best SD card for panasonic ZS3? Hope this isn't too dumb a question. I bit the bullet last night & ordered the above digicam. My current digicams are a bit older & aren't SDHC compatible. I'm not clear on the new video format of this camera (although I do realize it will store more in less space). I do want to be able to use this for an upcoming vacation, but can transfer the photos every day. I do have a $35 in rewards from Best Buy. I don't want to spend over $100. I did do a board search before I posted but couldn't find anything specific. Would 8GB be adequate/too much for my needs? TIA for any guidance. Amy

Jun 25, 2009, 11:23 PM	#6
TwoGlassEyes Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 4	Bluerapids, I bought mine directly from panasonic.com. The site said it was backordered until July, but I ordered mine on 6/17 and it arrived today, 6/25. I couldn't find one in a store either (not even a display), but unless it's really important for you to get a feel for holding this, go through panasonic.com. Last edited by TwoGlassEyes; Jun 25, 2009 at 11:45 PM.

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May 30, 2009, 12:57 PM	#2
gweempose Junior Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Northbrook, IL Posts: 4	Amy, I just picked up a ZS3 yesterday. It's an awesome camera, and you're going to love it. One thing to be aware of is that certain high capacity/high speed memory cards can cause a strange beeping noise to be heard when shooting video. I believe it has something to do with the power that some of the faster cards draw when writing to the card. I had a brand new SanDisk 16GB Extreme III card that I specifically bought to use in this camera. Unfortunately, this card exhibits the beeping problem. At first I thought the camera might be broken, but I did some research online and discovered that others were experiencing the same thing. It appears to be a design flaw in the camera. The good news is that other cards are completely immune to this issue. For example, I switched to a SanDisk 16GB Ultra II card, and the beeping is gone. My advice to you is to avoid the Extreme III cards. They're probably overkill for this camera anyway. A good Class 4 card such as the SanDisk Ultra II should be sufficient. If you do feel like you want a faster card, others have had good luck with the Transcend Class 6 cards. As far as capacity goes, it all depends on how you will be using the camera. If you plan on taking mostly stills, an 8GB card should be fine. On the other hand, if you will be shooting a lot of HD video, I would go for a 16GB card. I hope this information helps. I sure wish I had this knowledge prior to purchasing the expensive Extreme III card from Amazon. Good luck, and enjoy your new camera!

Jun 2, 2009, 1:11 PM	#3
amytude Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 179	Thanks--went ahead & bought the 16GB Ultra II. I can't wait to get my camera...supposed to arrive tomorrow, but the waiting is killing me!

Jun 7, 2009, 10:18 PM	#4
Bluerapids Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 11	Where can you get the Panasonic ZS3 in the states? I can't find it on-line. Is there a real camera store that has these for sale?

Jun 20, 2009, 2:15 PM	#5
coopr Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 2	I was hoping to use a Eye-Fi SD card to allow wireless uploads - but sadly this thread http://forums.eye.fi/viewtopic.php?f...it=AVCHD#p4847 suggests the Eye-Fi cards are too slow for HD video?! I'm going to try a Transcend card instead, at least until Eye-Fi releases a faster card.

Jul 1, 2009, 10:32 PM	#7
coopr Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 2	I've got my Panasonic ZS3 and have so far tried two SD cards with it - both have worked well for HD video: Patriot Memory 8GB Class 6 Transcend 16GB Class 6