Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic DMC-FZ7 6MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

The Panasonic DMC-FZ7 is a very nice upgrade from the DMC-FZ5 it replaced, at a much lower cost! It really is amazing how these electronic devices get better and cheaper in a very short time.

The camera takes great pictures, and is easy to handle. It operates quickly and comes with a lithium ion rechargable battery that is good for around 300 shots, which is more than you'll probably ever need in one outing. [...]. It wasn't made by Panasonic (that battery costs around [...]) but it works identically to the OEM battery. The camera uses SD memory cards which are pretty common today and easy to find.

This camera, like all superzooms, is best when used outdoors. Nature photography, landscapes, and anything where there is plenty of light comes out great. The weakness of cameras with a long zoom range is indoor available light shooting, because the compromises needed in making such a powerful lens in a small package. The lens simply isn't fast enough for indoor, low light or available light shooting. However, if you use the flash this won't be a problem. A tripod would also help. But it should be noted that this problem exists for any superzoom camera, not just this one.

The lens itself is beautiful... Leica designed, and Panasonic built. it provides sharp, well saturated pictures with very little distortion except at the extreme high end of the zoom range. I didn't detect any major purple fringing problem.

Panasonics use a relatively small image sensor, which is needed to keep the camera size and weight down. So, this camera like all Panasonics, is often said to have "High (image) noise over 200 ISO." And this is true, but it is hardly noticable unless you make huge enlargements or shoot over 400 ISO. Also, if you do find any noise, it is easily removed by Photo Shop or Print Shop software. I suspect this problem isn't that easy to engineer out in small sensor cameras, or Panasonic would have done it by now.

Panasonic's OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) system works extremely well. It is built into the lens, and actually moves the elements to compensate for camera shake. This becomes a critical issue for long focal lenght zoom lenses. Note... unlike some manufacturers, Panasonic uses a REAL stabilization system. This isn't a program that merely raises the ISO to increase the shutter speed, but an actual anti-shake correction, just like the high end Canon L series IS lenses have.

Here are the improvements Panasonic made over the FZ5 with this new FZ7:
1. 6MP rather than 5MP
2. 2.5 inch LCD screen rather than 2.0 inch screen
3. Better, longer lasting battery
4. Threaded front lens element to accept filters
5. Better movie resolution (TWICE as good)
6. Lens cap attaches to camera, so it's hard to lose
7. Able to take 16:9 ratio pictures
8. Can shoot above ISO400 (but 800 and 1600 are lower resolution)
9. 60 sec min shutter rather than 8 sec

All for around [...] FZ5 which was only released 11 months before the FZ7!

Overall, this is a great camera that will please any casual shooter or advanced amatuer. It does a lot in a very small package, for a very reasonable price. Pros will be disappointed by it's low light results and noise problems at higher ISO's. But, if you are a professional photographer, you wouldn't even consider one of these cameras. You'd be using a Digital SLR, and hauling around 50 pounds worth of gear!


Given the rapid technological advances made in these cameras, I refuse to spend [...] for a camera that will be obsolete in 3 years. But this little gem was only [...] from Amazon, and will probably be even lower by the time you read this review.

I'd rather buy a new camera every 3 years for that same [...], and get all the latest improvements!

Pluses
- Good Build
- Great Zoom Lens
- Quick poweron and multi shot mode
- Wide screen 848 x 480 (16:9) 30fps video

Minus
- Icons on buttons wore out after 1 week :-(
- Sometimes not able to focus properly in low light/close range

No regrets in purchasing this camera.

This fine little camera just earned a glowing nod in the June, 2006 issue of Popular Photography, for which it was praised for its relatively fast, relatively fixed maximum aperture of f3.3 (35mm equivalent zoom range is 36-432 mm, with the maximum aperture varying from f2.8 to 3.3) at 420mm. Ergonomically it may resemble a digital SLR only in the sense that its controls are easy to reach and use. Like other recent Panasonic Lumix cameras, this one has a superb image stabilization feature for handholding under low light conditions or fast-paced action shots with an equivalent film speed of up to ISO 1600! In plain English, this is the perfect little digital camera for taking pictures under almost every condition imaginable, with an ample power supply from its Lithium battery. The Leica-designed, Panasonic-built zoom lens offers exceptional image quality. I personally like this camera's silver finish, which reminds me a lot of classic 35mm Leica M rangefinder cameras like the Leica M3, M2 and M4. But better yet, this superzoom digital camera isn't as expensive as a Leica M rangefinder camera; surely at its current low price, it's the best bang for the buck with regards to features and image quality.

I'm not a newcomer to digital photography. My first camera was a little Nikon 100 that was not bad for its day, but would be about equivalent to a cell phone camera today. From there, I graduated to a 2.1 mp Fujipix that took very decent pictures until I dropped it on cement in Croatia. (It still takes decent pictures, but the lens cover is a tad floppy.) My companion had a 3.1 mp Canon that was tiny enough to put in a pocket easily, which seemed like a good idea. I bought a similar sized Konica/Minolta that took great pictures, but many of them included parts of my fingers that got in front of the lens. My companion's Canon just suddenly died, so I gave her my K/M which was really more her size. I'm a large person, and my ham hands needed something more substantial.
I started looking at digital slr's, but the added cost and the added inconvenience of carrying around a bunch of specialty lenses turned me off. For about half the price all the major brand names offered 6+ mp cameras with lenses that were eqiuvalent to 35-400mm lenses in 35mm cameras. Reviews on all seemed flattering, so choosing was hard. I cut Canon because I had heard other people complain about sudden death in their cameras. Among the others, I let price guide me, and the Lumix was the least expensive by about $25
My first real test of the camera came last month on a trip through the Southwest. The results are amazing. I'm 75 years old, with hands no longer as steady as they once were, and I took a number of hand-held 12x telephoto shots that are razor sharp. Panasonic's stabilizer is unbelieveably efficient. I've had a couple of photos professionally printed as 8"x10"s, and the results are as good as anything I've ever done with my old Minolta slr film camera.
One concern I had to begin with was the rechargeable lithium battery. Carrying a recharger seemed more inconvenient than replacement AA batteries, especially since I do a lot of travel in Europe where everything requires a voltage converter. Not to worry; after more than 180 shots the battery still reads fully charged.
I notice from the offerings in Amazon that Lumix has an updated version, the DMC-F27K that seems to be the same camera but with an additional 1.2 mp. If that makes a difference to you, go for it. I'd rather take the additional $25 cost and put it toward a 2 gig memory stick. Great pictures (with no finger parts), simple operation with almost unlimited options, incredible stablization, Panasonic quality electronics, and Leica glass -- what's not to like?

Price and Battery Life: 5 star
I bought this camera from Amazon for a very good price. A few days thereafter, Amazon lowered the price on this camera, and I got some more discount! The camera comes with a rechargeable battery (with recharger) - which I find more useful than having to replace 4AA batteries (some other cameras require). I have had this camera for more than 2 weeks now, and have recharged the battery for every 200-300 pictures. I did notice that taking more pictures at night or indoor that require flash - would consume the battery faster - but then what other camera does not. I wanted a black camera - to look professional. This camera comes with 16Mb Memory Card, so I bought a 1Gig Memory Card from Radioshack for $24.

Shooting Modes: 4.5 star
The camera has a lot of modes - and I have tried every one of them - I must say - the modes are there for a reason. i.e. if you know exactly what type of picture you are trying to take - better switch to that mode - and you will be impressed with the picture this camera takes compared to the default mode. I think this is where this camera probably comes second to Cannon S3 (12x OZ w/ 6MP). But then this camera sells for almost $100 less than a Cannon S3. Also don't buy a Cannon S2, but this one. I have found the Program AE mode very useful, in this mode I could use the joystick next to the LCD to override settings manually, e.g. increase/decrease aperture. This camera also has a built in optical image stabilization - which works slightly different compared to Cannon's. I noticed that the image stabilization is good at lower optical zooms. i.e. closer to 12x or particularly in digital zoom - this camera will appear to shake a lot in LCD/view finder - so theerfore use a tripod. An interesting observation - if you are taking a picture at very high zoom, most likely you are going to need to do a lot of focus - and typically tripod is always recommended.

Picture Quality: 4.5 star
Unless you are a professional photographer or someone who shoots pictures to print to A4 or larger prints - common man would not have any complaints with the niose at high ISO (>200) or shooting indoors in auto mode (i.e. high sensitivity mode). So before buying this camera I did a lot of research, especially at dpreview.com and also found comments by other user at Amazon.com useful..where also it was mentioned about more noise by all Panasonic cameras at high ISOs. So here is what I found useful to get around the inherent more noise: use noise reduction software or use lower ISO (i.e. ISO 100 indoors); I have not seen issues with noise when shooting outdoors even at high ISOs - provided plenty abmient light.

Finally, I suggest reading the manual before starting to shoot pictures. Unlike Cannon, Panasonic cameras require knowing how the camera works before you can make the best.