DigiCamReview: Lumicron 521Z3 5 megapixel 3x optical zoom £129

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Lumicron 521Z3 5 megapixel 3x optical zoom £129

Price Watch: The Lumicron 521Z3 - a 5mp, 3x optical zoom digital camera, with a 1.6" TFT screen, is available in Dixon's stores for £129. (Also sold as the Medion MD 40696)

Dixon's also have the CASIO EX-Z3R - a compact 3mp, 3x optical zoom digital camera with a large 2" TFT screen, for £119 - Currys (part of the Dixons group) have the same camera reconditioned for £99.

Jacobs have the Konica Minolta Dimage X20, a compact 2mp, 3x optical zoom digital camera for only £69 in stores.

56 Comments:

At 11:33 AM, December 29, 2004, Anonymous said…

Is this a new make of camera on the market - never heard of Lumicron!
At 7:48 PM, February 05, 2005, Anonymous said…

I have just bought a LUMICRON 521Z3 FOR £99.99 at Dixons. Good value for optical zoom etc. It has a 2 year guarantee from the makers.
There is a built in lens cap which retracts when the camera is switched on and lots of other good features. The catch is that it does not include the memory card, compact flash, which is essential. Will post again when I have tested it.
At 10:23 PM, February 07, 2005, Anonymous said…

hello again. I bought a 32MB compact flash card for £5 and have excellent results from the camera so far, including close-ups and early evening skies. The menu system needs careful study of the manual, but worth it.
At 11:42 PM, February 07, 2005, Joshua said…

Hi, thanks for sharing your findings with us. If you would like to share some photos, I will happily host them on this site so other people can see what the camera is capable of. If you would like to email them to me on goshwa at hotmail dot com I can put them in the gallery. Thanks Joshua Waller
At 7:16 PM, February 18, 2005, Anonymous said…

HI

I have bought one of these camera's. It quality is good. I am imprest for the price - "What you get". I recommend it to any one. Money well spent!
At 10:35 PM, February 25, 2005, Anonymous said…

Yeh bit of a bummer selling a camera without a memory card just bought one last week only comments so far is that the flash is too bright and seems to wash colors out, any ideas how to correct?
will post some pics if anyone wants to show what i mean, otherwise seems an excellent camera for the price!
At 6:39 PM, April 25, 2005, Anonymous said…

I have got a Lumicron Digital Camera. I think it is brilliant. Best camera I have ever had!
At 4:42 PM, May 10, 2005, Anonymous said…

Hi,

I have tried a few digital cameras and this one so far I like the most. And for the price it's packed with good features with excellent results.

The images are sharp and bright, and the macro function is exceptional.

Only Gripe.. Now CF card! & dodgey usb connectivity.

Overall excellent!
At 9:37 PM, July 06, 2005, Anonymous said…

hi, Just bought LUMICRIN 521z3 from pc world for 79.84, 2yrs garantee. the pictures are nice.
At 9:46 PM, July 06, 2005, G.Appiah said…

I bought The LUMICRON DIGITAL CAMERA from PC World for 74.84 pounds.I try it and it is so good with that price, picture quality too is pefect.
At 6:05 PM, September 22, 2005, Anonymous said…

Just bought a Lumicron LDC618z3 from Somerfield for £89.99. 6.36MP, Shutter priority or aperture priority exposure control, visual autofocus, excellent built-in software, Sanyo 6-element-5-group lens, 3* optical zoom, leather case, batteries and charger/discharger included, 4 optional picture sizes up to 2816 by 2112 pixels (6.36MP), 2 year warranty, 5 themes, plus many functions. Really excellent value if you hurry!
At 11:30 PM, September 23, 2005, Anonymous said…

Yeah,I bought the 618z3 too. Spec is huge with manual facilities too. Looks fantastic VFM but remember, it doesn't come with a memory card. It eats batteries though - i tried it with normal AA's before the supplied rechargeables were charged. Got about ten minutes worth of tinkering and half a dozen max res photos. Obviously the rechargeables will do better. Had mixed results so far - but i'm still learning. You do get a bit of purple fringing (outdoor high contrast) and indoor photos in lowish light with the flash seem to be a little over-exposed. But hey, we are talking seriously cheap piece of kit. I'm hoping to do comparisons with a high quality 4mp 'name make' costing > £160. I'll post here again with comments
At 12:30 AM, September 24, 2005, Joshua said…

Thanks, anonymous, if you would like any help hosting sample photos, or if you'd like to write a reader review for publication on this site, then please get in touch by emailing me.
At 7:21 PM, September 26, 2005, Anonymous said…

got a 618z3 from kwik save,fab camera at 89.99,ok my mates might knock it(not being a sony,cannon....)but hey look at the price,good lens and plenty of options to keep you busy,only problem(if it is one)do i have to buy and extra power ack so i can run it off the mains,the other power supply for the charger doesnt fit.........GREAT CAMERA!!!
At 10:40 AM, September 27, 2005, Anonymous said…

I bought a 618Z3 in Somerfield for £90 does can anyone help with a supplier for an ac adapter
At 4:19 PM, September 29, 2005, Anonymous said…

Hi can anyone guide me if its worth buying Lumicron LDC618z3 from Somerfield...i also want to know whether there is slot so that i can insert a memory card of my own...please reply soon...so that i can go for it before it finishes...thank you
At 10:35 AM, September 30, 2005, Anonymous said…

Hi,
I bought the LDC-618Z3 camera from somerfield. but don't have any SD cards... So, I bought a 512 MB HI-SPEED SD card from my memory which i got at around 21 quid including postage... but when I insert this card into the camera, I get "Card Error"... can any one guide me to exactly which card I need for this camera !!!
Thanks in Advance...
At 1:54 PM, September 30, 2005, Anonymous said…

buy the camera,well worth the money,its a little on the large side and the flash can be too bright at times but you have a wealth of options to change.Its A bargain.....cheers.
At 2:41 PM, October 02, 2005, Anonymous said…

Hello again.
i posted earlier re the 618Z3 and indicated that I would compare it with a 4MP 'Name Make'. Now these are only my views..and i'm not a professional photographer! I compared it to a Canon 4MP camera (which is perhaps a little unfair although the Canon is 'last years model' and can be E-bayed for £135). The resolution of the Lumicron appears to be lower even though it is quoted as 6.3MP. The flash is a little bright for close indoors. The colour balance is excellent in almost all lighting conditions (destroys the Canon approching dusk). It is slow to power on and there is a significant shutter lag. Colour saturation is a little low which tends to give an unremarkable photo but natural (the Canon oversaturates which gives it more impact). Tried it at the next lower resolution to give a more direct comparison, and in general the Canon blows it away (except for lowish light levels). The Canon is a third more expensive but produces crisper images, shocking colour balance in some lighting conditions, is quick and good indoors (Display gainup is excellent). If you're not too critical, the Lumicron is fine as a general point and shoot camera.
At 2:35 PM, October 05, 2005, Anonymous said…

Like a lot of people I bought the Lumicron LDC 618Z3 from Somerfields. Not a bad camera BUT! when I take a flash picture indoors the pictures come out with a blue hue. There is not much other colour apart from the blue tinge. What am I doing wrong.If I take a picture ouitside then no problem, all the colours of the rainbow. Any advice or help would be appreciated.p
At 2:38 PM, October 05, 2005, Anonymous said…

Flash Card Update
I bought a FUJI 512Mb SD card from Argos £39.99 works fine in mine
At 6:30 PM, October 05, 2005, Anonymous said…

I love this camera,it never fails to amaze me.
At 11:03 PM, October 05, 2005, Anonymous said…

I've just bought the LDC-618Z3 from Somerfield for £89. Couldn't get it to power on with ANY regular AA batteries that I tried. It works fine with batteries supplied, and other rechargeables I have tested, but they don't last long. Also works fine with an Impact SD 128MB card I had to hand. Bit concerned over build quality, especially the battery cover (which I guess I'll be accessing frequently judging by the short battery life). Noticed the bright flash. But otherwise it seems reasonably fast for the money (my last 'budget' camera was far slower) great value, and I'll stick with it for now.
At 5:06 PM, October 10, 2005, Anonymous said…

Lovin my Lumicron, however, only complaint is shutter lag which makes it difficult to capture subject, any way that shutter lag can be reduced?
At 6:02 PM, October 11, 2005, Anonymous said…

" any way that shutter lag can be reduced?"

That seems to be the problem with 'unbranded' cameras. That and short battery life and, sometimes, dead pixels on the CCD (sensor). I'm sure there are one or two genuine bargains, but my advice is usually to buy a known make with a reputation to protect.

A camera with a fast shutter response is well worth paying for, IMHO (remember that old-fashioned film cameras have no lag at all!) and there some good digicams available for the around £100. I'd recommend the HP507, Canon A510 and any Nikon...
At 6:21 AM, October 18, 2005, Anonymous said…

I bought a Lumicron 618z3 last month and cannot get it linked to the computer after installing all the software supplied with the camera. I have emailed there help line twice, but they have chose not to answer. Worst mob I have ever dealt with. So much for customer relations. £90 down the Swanny
At 12:01 PM, October 19, 2005, Anonymous said…

For all the reasons described previously I took mine back to Somerfields under their 28 day returns policy and got a full cash refund. The manager said that he had a good few of them returned. In a nutshell a housebrick would take better pictures.
At 5:55 PM, November 25, 2005, Anonymous said…

The Lumicron is recognised as a drive in Explorer. You must be expecting all sorts of bells and whistles to start up. Personally I prefer this to my Nikon, which opens up all manner of software and transfers pictures I don't want transferred onto my HD. Had some excellent results so far. the colors are "natural", but if you want saturated colors (I don't), you can use your image software to enhance. Nothing to complain about at all at this price. Love the supplied leather case, and the control you have over exposure and focus.
At 6:38 PM, December 09, 2005, Anonymous said…

Please, please,can anyone help. I have lost the metal casing which houses the batter for recharging my Lumicron-4013 Digital Camera. If anyone knows of where I can get a replacement casing, or complete charger I would be eternally grateful.
Kind regards from Bonnie Scotland.
At 10:05 PM, December 30, 2005, Anonymous said…

hi can anyone help me i got a lumicron ldc-618z3 from summerfields. i only started using at christmas i have taken some nice pics went to used it today and all i can see throught the view finder is lines and more lines please help
At 4:44 PM, January 05, 2006, Anonymous said…

I'm also happy with my Somerfield sourced Lumicron 621.
Experimenting with the flash I found I got the best colour balance with the white balance set to 'cloudy'! Also, setting flash to 'fill in' tends to tone it down a bit.
Hope this helps.
At 6:33 PM, January 15, 2006, Anonymous said…

I got an LDC-618Z3 from Somerfield at the weekend for £49.99. Pleased with it and at that price you can't grumble. Noticed batteries don't tend to last long, plus I couldn't get the AC adaptor to work (even though it says it will). Been and taken lots of photos and a short video with it today.
At 2:56 PM, January 18, 2006, Anonymous said…

Just bought one myself - £49.99 you cant complain.

Will report on my findings later !
At 9:12 PM, January 18, 2006, magnapix said…

Hi I have just bought a Lumicron LDC-618Z3, From Somerfield. It was reduced down to £49.99. I 5think I got the last one because the add was gone one hour later. It was an offer to good to miss so haven't actually used the camera yet, but will report back later when I have taken it for a test run. See how it compares with my Nikon D70.
At 10:32 PM, February 07, 2006, Anonymous said…

I got an LDC-618Z3 from Somerfield for £49.99. Great. But images very underexposed in flash mode.
At 10:38 PM, February 13, 2006, Anonymous said…

Got a 618z3 for 50quid, cheap, but not a bargain. It is easy enough to use and has all the features i want but it's crippled by REALLY bad shutter lag and REALLY poor battery life, the flash washes everything out too. All in all i'd say pick up a 4/5mp 'branded' camera for a few more quid, it's worth spending the extra cash.
At 10:39 PM, February 13, 2006, Anonymous said…

Got a 618z3 for 50quid, cheap, but not a bargain. It is easy enough to use and has all the features i want but it's crippled by REALLY bad shutter lag and REALLY poor battery life, the flash washes everything out too. All in all i'd say pick up a 4/5mp 'branded' camera for a few more quid, it's worth spending the extra cash.
At 6:21 PM, March 02, 2006, Anonymous said…

I have recently bought a Lumicron LDC-618Z3 from Sommerfield for £45.00. I got a discount as my daughter works for them. I have used the camera and taken 6 photo's and one short video but my memory card says FULL. Surely I should be able to take more photo's than this. I would have downloaded the photo's onto my pc but even that doesn't work. Can anyone help please.
At 7:04 PM, March 02, 2006, Joshua said…

Hi Anon, you will need to buy another memory card for it. The one's that come with most cameras are tiny and only fit about 8 photos - as you've found out. If you get one you can use a memory card reader in order to make copying the photos to your computer much easier. Have a look at the Questions and Answers Section for more information.
At 4:29 PM, March 03, 2006, Dave said…

I too was lucky enough to purchase the Lumicron 618Z3 from Somerfields for £49.99p. and in my opinion it is superb value. I have found no faults whatsoever with it - it takes perfect photos and videos and they download to my Tiny computer with no problems at all. Yes, the 32MB SD card is a bit small - but that's all you get with a lot more expensive cameras. I bought a 256MB memory card for £13.99 and I am very well satisfied all round.
Well Done Somerfields!!
Dave
At 8:31 AM, March 04, 2006, Dave said…

PS From Dave.
I spent about two hours reading the instruction manual - it's all in there. I agree that there is a small shutter delay - but, in my experience, this is common with digital cameras.
Dave
At 2:49 PM, March 05, 2006, Dave said…

PPS from Dave!!
Make your batteries last longer. - Turn down the brightness of your LCD screen. This applies with all digital cameras.
Dave
At 12:05 PM, March 06, 2006, Anonymous said…

Once upon a time I was an Industrial and Architectural photographer, using whole-plate (8.5"x6.5") film and 5"x4". 2.25" and 35mm was something I'd rarely touch. After I retired, I began to use 35mm and was amazed by what I'd been missing for all of my career, but earlier this year I walked into Somerfield's and bought a Lumicron LDC-618Z3 for the bargain price of £49.99 - and now I'm hooked on Digital.
Yes, shutter speed is slow, but a hell of a lot faster than the old lens cap off, count 4 seconds, lens cap on type of exposures from the 1960s! and for the majority of non-moving subjects, any delay is not really relevant.
I'm really thrilled with all of the functions the camera has (especially for the price) and don't find either the length of life of the AA rechargeable batteries or the provided SD card to be insurmountable (I switch off the screen and use the viewfinder - this saves lots of battery, and I also bought a 256MB card for £17 from Staples)
The image resolution is absolutely marvellous at 6.3mp and 800% enlargements on my computer screen still mean that I'm able to easily read print on magazines, labels etc (35mm eat-your-heart-out for the same ISO rating.
Only 'problem' I currently have is trying to discover which alternative my Lumicron is compatible with, for my Computer doesn't list that make, although it does have loads of other makes (Casio, Canon, Sony, etc etc) - anyone know the answer to that?
Anyway, all in all, I would most certainly recommend this camera to anyone (although if you like doing close ups, I would recommend either being young with a steady hand, or, if you're like me at nearly 60, use a tripod!!!)
John
At 8:08 AM, March 07, 2006, Dave said…

Dave again
Does anyone know how you adjust the focus when you select "manual" focus on the focus menu?
I've emailed Lumicron but have not, so far, received a reply
Dave
At 9:05 PM, March 14, 2006, Anonymous said…

hi, just but the ldc 618z3 and only got the quick guide instructions in the box. Anyone got the full ones or can tell me where to find em, I would be tres grateful.
At 10:47 AM, March 15, 2006, Dave said…

Dear anonymous
There should have been a CD included in the box - there is a driver for older computers on it + a vid and a pic processor sofdtware (not much good) + what you are looking for - users manual - but don't print it off - it's 86 pages!!.
However, it's pretty easy to learn how it works by just practising.
Let me know if you want any help
Dave
At 9:29 AM, April 03, 2006, Canny Scotsman said…

I bought a lumicron 618z3 from sommerfields' It was only £25.
I think it may be a customers' return.
Probably returned for one of the following reasons:
No internal memory = additional purchase necessary.
Very basic manual.
Successful Flash pics require perseverance.
Poor battery performance.
etc.

Thanks for the bargain.

I got a 6Mp 3x optical zoom digicam complete with batteries, charger, usb/av link, mains adaptor, case, bought a 512mb sd card

Grand total £38

C'mon that's a bargain....Surely
At 9:36 AM, April 03, 2006, Canny Scotsman said…

Oh aye and if you buy some re-chargeable batteries, and charge them at work, you'll never run short of power.
At 7:10 AM, April 04, 2006, Dave said…

I remember an old saying.
"Nothing is a bargain just because it's cheap"
But I'm more than happy with the bargain I got with the Lumicron camera at £49.99 from Somerfields.
Dave
At 4:29 PM, May 07, 2006, Anonymous said…

I have just bought a LUMICRON 6168z3..its..OK...but no mater what i try i cant get the photos on to any of my pc's
I have xp and 98 ..tried soft wear cd ..xp is detecting and does not need driver but wont let me up load....its only letting me select scanner ...when i rty other soft were progs. it does not recodnise format H.e.l.p
At 9:56 AM, May 08, 2006, dave said…

When you go into 'my computer' do you get 'removable disc'? - if so, click on it. If you don't see 'removable disc' then possibly your connecting lead is duff.
I bought a card reader - I think it was from www.w2w.com - pretty cheap - I also bought a 256mb SD card from them.
Dave
dave
At 1:45 PM, November 29, 2006, Bob Kiff Harpenden said…

I also bought an LDC618Z3 from Somerfield for £90.00 their ad said itwas a saving of £70 on the Argo price, this was in September 2005 (no SD card though).
It now requires repair under the two year warranty.
I phoned the helpline 0870-766-8418 21 times since the 6th November 2006 'been lucky' enough to leave messages twice the other nineteen times the mail box was full - had no answer yet.
I wrote a letter to their PO Box number in Hemel Hempstead on 19th November 2006,today - 29th November I have just received it back from the Royal Mail stating the addressee has gone away. Does anyone know where the help line or address is hiding now?
I also wrote to Somerfield the same day still awaiting a reply.
At 10:32 AM, December 28, 2006, Dave said…

Anonymous
Try emailing them. I had a couple of queries and they were most helpful
At 7:23 PM, April 02, 2007, Anonymous said…

Do you have the manual for this camera - LUMICRON LDC618z3

If so would you like to e-mail, fax or post me a copy please. I will pay £5.00 for it.

Thanks

My e-mail address is andrewkitney1973@btinternet.com
- fax is 0207 215 1350

thanks

andrew

Andrew Kitney
April 2007
At 3:45 PM, April 15, 2007, Anonymous said…

hi i just bought this digital camera and when i put my memory card in it the digital camera says "memory card error" what does this mean???? it is frustrating me!
At 6:44 PM, June 26, 2008, Anonymous said…

i bought a lumicron ldc 521z3 used it once now the lense wont come out when turned on