For beginners or anyone that just wants to "point-n-shoot" there's the Simple exposure mode (the red heart icon on mode dial.) The camera sets almost everything for you, the Simple menu options are shown in the next frame.

Simple menu options:

Pict. Mode - Enlarge, 4x6", E-mail (no image resolutions to confuse the user, just 3 choices: Enlarge for big prints, 4x6" for standard prints or E-mail for 640x480 images)

Auto Review - On or Off

Beep - Camera makes "beep" sounds, Off, Low, High

Clock Set - Set the time and date

Normal mode (the red camera icon on the mode dial) is also an automatic exposure mode but the user has a wide array of menu settings available (see below.) The screen here shows the flash is on auto, image size is 7M, image quality is Fine, the battery level is at 2/3 full, there's room on the SD card for another 271 shots, the image stabilizer is set to Mode 1 (shaking hand icon), and the metering is set to Multiple (default.)

When the shutter is half-pressed and the auto focus is achieved, the AF target brackets in the center turn green (red if AF fails) and a focus confirmation "green dot" is displayed. The shutter speed and aperture will also be displayed.

Normal menu options:

White Balance - Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen or Manual set
Sensitivity - Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1250 ISO equivalent
Aspect Ratio - Choose 4:3, 3:2, or 16:9
Pict. Size - 7M, 5M, 3M, 2M, 1M, 03.M
Quality - JPEG Fine or Standard
Audio REC. - On or Off
Metering mode - Multiple, Center-weighted, or Spot
AF Mode - Select the desired AF-area sensor combination
Burst - Off, High-speed, Low-speed, Unlimited
CONT. AF - On or Off
Stabilizer - Select Mode 1 or 2
AF Assist Lamp - On/Off
Slow Shutter - 1/8-, 1/4-, 1/4- 1-
D. Zoom - Digital zoom option, On or Off
Color Mode - Standard, Natural, Vivid, Cool, Warm, B&W, Sepia
Clock Set - Set the internal Clock

The FUNCtion button pulls up this shortcut menu for making quick changes to Burst, White balance, ISO, Aspect ratio and size/quality settings.

Turn the mode dial to either the SCN1 or SCN2 position to access the scene mode presets. This 2-page menu is displayed, chose from: Portrait, Soft Skin, Self Portrait, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Food, Party, Candle Light, Baby 1 & 2, Pet, Sunset, High Sensitivity, Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Aerial Photo, and Underwater. An explanation of each Scene mode is displayed by depressing the DISPLAY button.

In Intelligent ISO mode, the camera detects the movement of the subject near the center of the screen and then sets the optimal ISO sensitivity and shutter speed according to the movement and the brightness of the subject. You set the Maximum ISO setting that can be used (400, 800, 1250) via the Record menu.

Press the 4-way controller "Down" to enable the Quick Review function to view or delete the last image taken.

Macro (close up) focus mode lets you get as close as 1.64 feet (50cm) wide / 6.56 feet (2m) telephoto to your subject.

Movie mode captures QucikTime video at either 4:3 (640x480 or 320 x 240) or 16:9 (848x480) aspects with audio (the built-in microphone and speaker is located on the top on the camera.) You can also choose a frame rate of 30 or 10 frames per second. The length of capture is limited only by the amount of available memory. Even though the TZ3 does not record sound during movies, the optical zoom may not be used while recording. It can however, be preset before hand.

Movie Capture Capacities

Movie mode recording options:

White Balance - Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Shade, Incandescent, or Manual set
Aspect Ratio - 4:3 or 16:9
Pict. Mode - 4:3 (640x480/320x240), 16:9 (848x480) 30fps or 10fps
Metering mode - Multiple, Center-weighted, or Spot
AF Mode - Select the desired AF-area sensor combination
Stabilizer - Select Mode 1 or 2
CONT. AF - On or Off
AF Assist Lamp - On/Off
D. Zoom - Digital zoom option, On or Off
Color Mode - Standard, Natural, Vivid, Cool, Warm, B&W, Sepia
Clock Set - Set the internal Clock