Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ7K 7.2MP Digital Camera with 6x Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

I was searching for a lighter camera than my Nikon 8700 to do macro photography with, but I wanted decent shots for my online art store. I went to a local store and ran upon a Sony Cyber-Shot T-20...it was so cool looking and it had this super macro mode that really seemed to get in there tight. Only problem is that it was very expensive and the shots were horribly noisy...my 2.3 mega pixel easy share Sony did better than this thing and their image stabalization was a joke...two days later back to the store it went!

I then started searching and found a link about a Lumix camera. That one is no longer made, but I ran into this model/review and was glad to see some consumer shots. I read about the OIS stabilization and did some research at the Panasonic home page. Very few people were disappointed in this camera and it wasn't too expensive. Being the type of person to want it now, I found it at another local store and have since then been shooting test pic after test pic. I took other shots with my Nikon and then this one and compared them. I even did a home printer test. So far it looks like this is a very good macro camera that gets rid of that shaky hand problem you can have and the prints will be at least as good as what I have been getting...still haven't ordered any real prints yet due to time constraints.

Some people say it is too "beefy", but I find it just right. It feels good in your hands, but it isn't as heavy as a pro-sumer and that really helps.

Cons: Zoom pictures don't look that good to me, but then again I'm not sure my Nikon does any better in this area. The instruction book lacks a lot of the stuff that is explained in my Nikon book and I'd like to see more information about the camera and modes in the book in more of a detail fashion. It has a hard time focusing on things at times, no matter what mode you put it in. ISO over 400 is really noisy. It doesn't have an ISO of 50. Forget the high ISO...it even looks bad on the viewfinder. It doesn't really do well without proper lighting. I haven't taken any night shots yet, but pretty much if the flash is off you need a light source on your subject..but this may be true of any camera. Sometimes pictures look a lot better on the viewfinder than they do on your computer. This may be more to do with the whole DPI vs Pixel thing. The camera "captures in 72 DPI" and sometimes in review in Windows it looks noisy, but hopefully this will not be in the print because it will be 300+ dpi and not as big. But really the Sony pictures looked like water colors in all my test shots of that camera! This one does way better.

Pros: Really nice macro pictures for the price of the camera and the OIS really seems to work well to help get you clear pictures...even with one hand...you don't know how many times I got home from a shoot and was disappointed by that camera shake problem from pushing the shutter and then having to stand still while it "takes" the picture...I don't like using a tripod. This camera definately helps in that area. Easy to transport and runs on all sorts of AA batteries.

Bottom line is that this is a great camera for the price and it is a good semi-professional level "back up" camera/vacation camera for close up shots. It seems to do what I need it to do and you can get really close to your subject, which is nice. I just wish the non-macro shots using zoom turned out as good for me. I'll have to do some more testing to see if maybe I just don't have anything good to take a picture of in normal mode...drought kind of killed all my nature shots and the shots inside the house have all been too dark or too full of flash at this point :/

Just be sure not to get over a 2GB SD card if you do get one..this is something that is only on the inside of the package..if you want more than 2GB you have to get the other kind of card it takes or it won't work. My 2GB card at the full high quality setting with little compression will take about 500 shots. I was able to take several days worth of pictures, at least 2-300 shots with the supplied batteries. This was with playing with the settings, turning it on, flash on sometimes, sometimes off, and walking around outside to get pictures with the camera on. Also the first day I used the internal memory only...only about 5 high quality pictures there....and then I'd have to transfer with the cable. So the batteries that I got with it really did last a good while.

If I run into more items to share, I will update the review...otherwise happy picture taking!

Update: I have finally gotten some test prints and the camera detail is amazing. I've gotten better with the zoom feature, but again I still lack a lot of things to do with the zoom. The macro shots are great and very detailed. I printed the picture of the flower I submitted and you could see every hair and pore on the hand. That was just at the Kodak picture machine too. I'm sure when I go through my professional lab the prints will be even better. I purchased rayovack hybrid NiMh batteries for this because I could not find the recommended panasonic. I've been packing it around and using it for about three weeks on the first set of charged batteries...these kinds come charged ready to use and then you can charge them again...so if you need a camera for some weekly shots to pack around with you, this is a real winner. I'm very impressed with the camera for the money. Using the view finder is still kind of hard...I often still put the camera up to my eye before I figure out what is going on...but I still say this is a really good pocket camera and well worth the money. I also seem to sometimes get too close to a subject because I'm used to using the eye viewfinder/flip finder on my Nikon, but the camera stabalization has almost eliminated the out of focus problem from pressing the shutter button. I only had about 5 or 6 out of 100 close up shots of some flowers that were too blurry and part of that was because I got the subject too close to the lens! I'm so glad I found this camera. I haven't been this impressed since I got my Nikon.

This camera has met all expectations. Here are a few highlights.

1) Noise - the big problem reported by many Panasonic users is noise. I've found that keeping the camera set to 100 ISO is fine for reducing noise in general outdoor conditions. Indoors, there is some noise when using the flash or not, but it is not a show-stopper -- especially if you're planning on printing mostly 4x6 prints.

2) Size/Build - the camera is a bit bulky. It's nice for those of us with bigger hands. It won't fit in your pocket, but it's small enough to easily fit in a bag. It also feels a lot sturdier than most other compact digital cameras.

3) Zoom/OIS - The 6x zoom works really well in conjunction with image stabilization. I get sharper 6x 7.2 MP pictures than when I was taking 3x 3 MP pictures with a Canon PowerShot.
Another benefit of the zoom is that the camera has a larger-than-average lens (to let in enough light for zoom shots, I imagine). This is nice because it lets more light in for all pictures, which means you don't need the flash as much. I've even been able to take 6x zoom pictures in dusk lighting at 100ISO that come out reasonably noise-free!

4) Battery life - Battery life is good. Use NiMH; there's no good reason to use non-rechargeable batteries.

5) The video is very good. This camera (LZ7) records sound, but it's little brother (LZ6) does not, saving you $20 or $30, but making it essentially useless as a video camera (unless you love overdubbing).

6) Saturation - a few other reviews have alluded to this. The colours produced by this camera are very vivid and striking.

Overall, this is a very nice 7 MP 6x zoom camera. It's cheap enough to be "entry-level", appears to be fairly durable, has good video, and very good zoom and image stabilization!

I am not a fan of Panasonic, but one day that changed my mind.
I bought this camera for myself to replace my Fuji S5000 which is a great camera but only 3.2 MP.
I was first a little concerned it write speed and between shots. My Fuji is very fast and responsive. But I was amazed how LUMIX can do. I set the resolution to its max 7.2 MP, HQ, change image preview off so as to test this feature. I put a 1 GB 60x SD card in it. The lag time between each shot is under a second! The image quality is very good, almost comparable to those pros.

Pros:
Fast start, Fast focus, supper fast write images.
Very easy to use if you use Simple mode and still get very decent pictures.
Stabilizer is amazing as I have compared with Canon optical stabilizer, Olympus digital stabilizer, Samsung anti shaking mechanism. This is the best.
EZ (Easy Zoom) works great, it is actually 9x optical zoom if you shoot 5MP and below.
Easy menu to set up. Func key is a good companion.
The on-off switch is really good thing, you know the status of your camera right away. It is off or it is in sleep.
Video works well. It has sound. I took a 2 minute on the highway recording cars passed by and the noice. Very vivid.
I see people commented its bulky size, but I think it is really a Pro because it holds 2 AA batteries plus 6X optical zoom in its little pocket-able body.

Cons.
No direct adjust shuttle speed, even it claims to range from 60 to 1/2000, but you have to be in different screen modes in order to get lower speed. Any low-speed under 1 second is almost impossible to set by yourself. You have take whatever the screen mode gives you.
The I-mode is really unnecessary feature, which stays for intelligent, but if you use it, it usually set to higher ISO sensitivity and faster speed. I understand doing so would reduce shaky pictures, but the picture notice is really increased as compare to standard or normal mode. Not worth it!
ISO above 400 has noticable noice. Above 800 unbearable.

I bought this camera primarily for the 848x480, 30fps video (with audio) capability. I also like the 16 x 9 native pixel layout. The video does indeed look very good. It's also inexpensive. The drawbacks to the camera are:

1) It isn't very compact. It does fit in my pocket, as I bought it for a pocket camera, however it's pretty bulky and heavy. From pictures online it's hard to tell.

2) Low light performance is poor. My other pocket cameras that shoot 30fps video with sound, namely the Nikon 5200, and the Canon A620 and SD series both do much better with low light shots in stills and video. The pixelation is noticeable even beyond normal JPG artifacts.

3) The wide angle is not very wide. I didn't realize how much I used the widest angle of the other cameras until I started using the Lumix. It has a pretty good zoom, but not wide. I take photos of people at tables occasionally using the ever popular "wine glass" tripod, and I simply can't get more than one person's face in any one shot with the Lumix lens.

In my view it's a specialty camera. If I don't want to bring my DV camera and want some good video it works well, especially with a decent amount of light. As for an overall pocket camera, I'll be carrying a canon SD 600 for it's small form factor.

I have possessed the DMC LZ7 digital camera for about 3 months and this is my first camera ever. I am an amateur photographer and photography has become one of my latest hobby. Based on my modest experience, here is what I think about it:

PROS:

+ Good image quality. You can adjust the settings of your camera to adapt to external conditions, like lighting, sunshine etc. Some good pictures I have taken by specifically adjusting such settings include an aerial picture (from an airplane traveling at 500+ mph) and sunrise, and in all case, I was very happy about the image quality. The scenery mode allows you to get the best pictures ranging from protraits to pictures of starry sky, going through pictures of candles, snow etc. The camera also compensates for factors jitter (unwanted motion of the camera), background light etc. in order to output the best picture.

+ The menus of the camera are pretty easy to navigate with.

+ Compared to many other cameras I've looked into before deciding on this one, the DMC-LZ7 has a 6x optical zoom, which you'll find cooler than a 3x optical zoom, although I realize that a 3x optical zoom might be sufficient for most of us. I consider a maximum optical zoom of 6x to be a bonus of the DMZ-LZ7.

+ For MOST situations (see the 2nd con below) that amateur (and pros alike) will encounter, you can just point and shoot with the DMZ-LZ7 and get good results. That is, in these common situations like your friend's birthday, you don't necessarily have to adjust for background light, white balance etc. Beginners will find this camera easy to use, once they learn its basics.

+ The manual that comes with the camera is clearly laid out and very detailed.

+ I've not tried the motion picture feature a lot. All I can say is that I find it ok, and recorded video comes with sound. Camera comes with a cable which you can connect directly to your TV and which enables you to view your pictures and videos on your TV screen. If you are looking for better motion pictures, you might want to buy a video camera specifically - this one is mainly for still photos.

+ It's not that heavy. To give you a rough idea, its maximum weight does not exceed that of 3 mobile phones.

+ It fits in my pockets.

+ You can buy optional accessories like carrying case, camera stand, ac adapter etc.

+ Comes with software which, by the look of the software manual, looks pretty easy to use. I have not tried the software in depth. What you need to know is that the software helps you process the image, resize it, prints the date on it etc. I am guessing that nearly all digital cams on the market come with similar software.


CONS:

- The optional camera case does NOT fit in my pockets. My pockets have the same size as those in 31 X 32 jeans. Oh well, who cares about this? The carrying case has its own belt clip. Some people might find the camera bulky for that reason, but I really don't. (I bought the hard case for the DMZ-LZ7 on amazon.com and I recommend it too.)

- There's a lot to learn!!! If you really want to get the best quality pics for various situations like fast action sports events, pictures of fireworks, etc, you really need to spend time learning how to use this camera. And this means going through its manual well. I would advise people to read the manual and try the various stuffs in it, and then go through the manual again after they gain some experience with the camera (after a few months or one year maybe).

I am mentioning this because it is not fair to blame the DMC LZ7 for poor quality pics if you've not mastered it. I believe the same applies to any digital camera on the market. However, as mentioned above, the scenery mode contains different pre-set parameters which you can use to obtain a great picture of your dog catching a frisby in mid-air, and other things which upto now, you'd have thought only professionals could do (although I think a professional can do a slightly better job than amateurs!).

Bottom Line:

I recommend it. For its price, the DMC LZ7 is a more than a good deal. Even if there may be better and more costly cams on the market, I am sure that the DMC LZ7 is not very far behind these cams in matters of technology. A perfect digital camera would cost you $ 1000+. I have yet to find a reason to be disappointed with my purchase.