Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic Lumix TZ7 Digital Camera - Black (10.1MP, 12x Optical Zoom) 3.0 inch LCD

I recently bought a TZ7 in my continual mission to find a good hybrid camera.

I have always loved Canon cameras and when I found the TX1 it was very close to being my perfect camera... it was only let down by a small screen, poor flash and a narrow lens. So I had a Canon Ixus 870 for its wide lens and great photo quality.

Earlier this year I tried the following cameras:

- Panasonic TZ5 - Great concept but poor video sound and the Ai mode was not always brilliant - Preferred the Canon.
- Sony T500 - promised so much and the video quality was amazing but it was only 5x zoom and had really bad low light noise on photos.
- Sony TG3 - Well built but expensive and photo quality was really poor.
- Canon Ixus 100 - Great little camera with great video and photos but limited due to the 3x zoom and narrow lens.
- Canon SX200 - So much potential but slightly too big, silly pop up flash and you can't zoom in movies.

So finally I have come to the TZ7. So far I have been really impressed by the camera. The sound quality on movies is a big step forward and the intelligent auto is a big step forward. The 25mm lens is stunning and really ads a different dimension. The video quality is very good but I do find it slightly grainy even in good light but I think I am probably analysing it too much.

So, I am now finally ready to part with my Canon combo and just use the TZ7. So far it's been a great camera and it really is getting close to my perfect hybrid.

In my opinion it could be improved and I'm sure it will when technology allows:

- Lens flare and purple banging in videos could be better.
- The sound, although better, could still be improved to Canon/Sony standards.
- A slight reduction is size would be awesome but it is still a great size camera
- A dedicated play button in place of the play/rec slider button would be good.

These are only small points as overall this camera is an excellent purchase.

I am happy to answer any questions on this camera.

I purchased this camera from a local shop, paying just a few more pounds than Amazon (couldn't wait for the delivery).I have owned several digital cameras, and still use a Nikon DSLR with a few lenses. But their are times when you just need to have a portable pocket camera for family photos and holiday snaps. This camera is fantastic ! The lens is excellent ! One small problem is the battery.....I have searched the internet for hours trying to find a spare battery but with no joy. The battery seems expensive, and also elusive. I think that perhaps Panasonic can't keep up with the demand.Give it a few months and they should be obtainable.I will still give the camera 5 stars because it's great !

This camera is the most impressive walkabout camera I have come across in quite a few years of using digitals. I have a Ricoh, Canon, HP, Minolta and TZ3 digitals as well as a couple of Canon DSLR's and none of the non DSLR's come even close to what this camera can achieve, and it beats the lot for all round portability and `handiness'. It does everything and does it very well.

The video capture is 1st rate and plays back crystal clear. The various picture taking options cover all the bases and I'm totally impressed with the `intelligent auto'. Even the digital zoom is not the total disaster that they normally are.

Nothing more to say, think I've finally found the ultimate `grab and go' camera - for this year at any rate

After 5 or 6 years of having a superb pentax 5MP camera i decided to upgrade. The 2 main things that appealed to me about this camera were the huge optical zoom (12x) in a compact camera and the HD video recording.

Both are great, the zoom is superb and as smooth as you want it to be, can be easily controlled to go as slowly or as fast as you like.

The HD video is extrememly good, the purists out there will say its not great but for a compact digital camera its more than you would hope for, it records at 720p, so not true HD and comparing to some other 720p videos it isn't as good, but for those small clips when you're out and about it more than does the job.

There are too many features to mention here, but the Ia (intellegant Auto) from what I have used of it so far, is a great mode, no need to tell the camera you're taking pics of a landscape, or close up etc, it does it for you.

There is also the option to manually set your modes, from underwater (aquarium photography) to Panoramic settings to Snow scenes to 16:9 wideangle mode, it covers almost all!

The image quality is great and for an everyday/holiday snaps user it more than does the job.

The camera itself, I think, looks great, easily fits into your shirt or trouser pocket, albeit larger than a lot of others on the market, but you are getting a lot of camera.

The price is possibly a tad steep but will no doubt come down, but if you're looking for a camera which pretty much does it all, look no further.

i have owned digital cameras for some years now, my other Panasonic models are the LX2 and the TZ3. I also own traditional film SLR but have not been swayed towards digital SLR yet, and this is a camera that is not going to change that decision!

i have only 2 major criticisms of this camera. firstly there is no manual mode, for focus or aperture/shutter settings (but my lx2 gives me that) and secondly it has a dedicated (not AA/AAA etc.) battery. That means you have to buy a couple of spares because if you are as prolific as I am with pictures, you'll take about 120-150 before you've flattened the battery from full charge.

this is a slim and lightweight camera, and squashing a 25mm to 300mm OPTICAL lens into that package is pretty amazing. at my preferred 3:2 ratio even at 300mm i have a 9.5MP picture, native should I choose. at the widest angle there is a little distortion (curving inwards) and this is most apparent if you are using a stitching program to glue together several landscape pictures but providing the overlap gives some room for manoeuvre. in single shots you may be able to see it in the lines of buildings but also in a way its quite an 'arty' effect used on TV very often to enhance the wide angle view, so some may even think its another benefit!

at 300mm it is relatively hard to keep it steady when used hand held, but the picture stabilization if very effective and even at relatively slow shutter speeds i have had some remarkable results. the digital zoom is quite effective too, it works far better in bight light and low ISO (which you can override).

so the question has to be, why should i carry around with me an SLR with a bag full of lenses, and when i find something i need a picture of, faff about swapping lenses, to get what may only be a marginal improvement what this can deliver in a single slim package?

i have to put up with autofocus, also mostly letting the camera take control of the aperture and speed, you can adjust the +/- EV quite effectively and using the slow shutter limit you can force a faster shutter, using the ISO settings you can force more of an exposure.

having said that the automatic is pretty good, the face detection is ok, not 100% (but you can train it!) autofocus gets it right even though glass, white balance is very good, and the compromise between the ISO and the exposure is actually pretty good with all things taken into consideration. it is geared towards hand held use so while some of the quality factors drop a little, it is the aim to produce a relatively sharp image, and it does that very well.

i have used some of the picture modes to good effect, starry sky works an up to 60 second exposure of a clear night sky works well, night scenery also pushes the camera to do a good job with low light dusk and night street scenes. useful here is the 10 second or 2 second timed release which is instead of a cable release.

hunt out reviews on this camera if you need any more convincing but this is for me a landmark bit of camera kit that is such an all-rounder i do not feel i need to carry anything else. as great as it is to get good pictures, the more complex the attempts to capture that photo means you spend less time looking at it with the naked eye, and more time lugging equipment and setting things up when this camera can do what i believe is more than an adequate job.

this is the point and shoot that will capture that moment in less than the time it takes to decide which SLR setting is best for the moment that just passed!