the competition in point and shoot camera 's
Does the video and pictures extremely sharp?
If Canon were to ever be nervous about the competition in point and shoot camera's, they are likely crapping themselves at this moment.  I've owned 5 of the past Canon digital elph's (the most recent the SD790is), and I just returned the Canon SD940is.  I am blown away by the panasonic ZS3!  It does everything the Canon does, and more.  First, the response time of the camera is excellent:  shutter lag is minimal, autofocus is very quick, flash recharge times are quick as well.  I felt the Canon 940 was inferior to even the 790 in shutter lag and autofocus (I was missing shots waiting for the camera to fix on the subject).  The Panasonic has more pleasing photo quality, albeit slightly softer than the Canon.  Colors are more vibrant on the Panasonic, as is overall tone.  I feel like I don't have to mess with the image on the Panasonic like I did with the Canon.  Overall, a great point and shoot.Now for the true differentiating feature.....  This camera doubles as an excellent video camera.  I am blown away by the quality of the video captured in the AVCHD-lite format.  Even in low light situations, the video blows away any other point and shoot, and rivals the super compact $1000 Sony TG-5.  Where it surpasses the TG-5 is in the optical stabilization; the Panasonic shows far less handshake than the TG-5 (which is a huge issue for these ultra compact video cameras).  Finally, there is a point and shoot camera that can capture excellent video for those times where you don't want to drag along a larger video camera.  I own the Sony CX-12 AVCHD camcorder, and the Panasonic is not in the same league as that camcorder.  However, playing the files I shot with the Panasonic on western digital's WDTV via HDMI, video looks fantastic: sharp, vibrant colors with smooth panning.  I would not feel bad trading the portability of the Panasonic, and leaving the Sony camcorder at home (unless I was on a trip to Ireland or something of the like).  The video is truly remarkable for the size of the camera.Also worth noting; Panasonic was very smart to include HD motion JPEG as an option for video recording.  So if AVCHD-lite isn't your thing, you can capture HD video footage in the mp4 quicktime format.  I will say, however, the video is cleaner and smoother when shot in AVCHD-lite.Overall, for the cost of the camera, you cannot go wrong.  It is an excellent point and shoot with very responsive shooting times, and a great portable HD camcorder to boot.  I never thought I would own (or like) a Panasonic camera!Pros:Wide angle lenseExcellent image stabilizationExcellent AVCHD-lite video cameraExcellent shooting timesGreat battery lifeFull Zoom ability while video recordingCons:LCD screen resolution not the crispest I've seenSome images could use sharpeningMenu system a bit cumbersomeLarger than most point and shootsManual exposure in video mode would be nice 