iA system accurate. Leica lens very sharp

Short battery life

Excellent pocket camera

Customer Service

Not needed so far.

Similar Products Used:

Leica

12X zoom
easy menu options
feels good in hands
lightweight
6MP
JPG and TIFF

Lens cap not attached by string
Too easy to hit buttons on back of camera
Flash is a a little too strong (reduce flash exposure in menu options)
Not very good at 200 or 400 ISO
Optical quality falls off at high zoom settings, but better than nothing

If all you want is a point and shoot, you can't beat this. It's 2008 now, and I'm sure there are newer models and maybe better options out there, but I have been very happy with this camera for several years now. The 12x zoom is pretty awesome, and the 6MP is adequate for most purposes. Some of the buttons on the back are a little too easy to hit by mistake, but that's no big deal.

If you want a no nonsense, easy to use camera that can take some great shots in most conditions, then this will take care of your needs.

If you are into sports photography, especially indoors, I wouldn't get this camera.

Customer Service

Never had to use customer service. No problems.

* very sharp pictures
* fully manual control if you want to, or totally automatic as pleases you
* very lightweight compared to dslr
* very satisfying zoom range
* manual focusing is possible
* lens hood comes with
* can use filters

* noise maybe but not actually disturbing
* extra conversion lenses to extend the zoom range (which is maybe needed at the wide end) are very expensive (costing half a camera each) and hard to find on the market.

Coming from a pro dslr (which I sold because it was too heavy carying around) I am amazed by the quality pics coming from this 'baby' slr camera. Never would have thought there would be a mini-camera that would satisfy me after being used to pro tools. Pics are very sharp at ISO 80 (not tested higher ISO yet) and OIS does a very good job. The ability of manual focus is a strength on this cam and I use it especially to focus on macro photos. Mostly I shoot Aperture priority but for macro pics I use the 'Macro scene' which gives me a focusing distance of 1 meter at maximum zoom level, bringing insects very close when you can not come close to them. Noise is an issue but as I don't like the noise reduction I put the camera on low noise reduction, so I can do the noise reduction myself using Photoshop. That way I have much more control over the details in my pics. Al settings you need most (which are quite a lot) are only a button away so you don't need to scroll through the hole menu system. The camera comes with a hood and there is the ability to screw filters on it like UV or pol-filter. That all said this camera gives you all the freedom of a dslr in a compact, lightweight and mostly affordable format. No more need to spend lots of money on lenses, no more need to switch lenses and save your back not carrying much weight

Customer Service

no experience with this

Similar Products Used:

* canon eos 20d (much bigger and much more expensive)

The best looking digicam on the market, even with mud on it it looks sexy.
Very easy to operate
Good, friendly, design
Excellent lens
Great results at ISO 80, 100 (unless there are deep shadows or deep blue sky).
Light - hardly notice it taking it on a day-hike
The big zoom
Effective optical image stabilization
No purple fringing at lower zooms, some CA at high zooms.
Great price for what one gets.

limitations of the small sensor (noise in deeper shadows and deeper blue sky)
err...err...trying to think of at least one more
(well, I could say the small EVF, but as this camera is not really, IMHO, meant
for wildlife photography - though it could be used in a pitch - then I can't really
take it as a weakness)

I completely switched from film to digital six months ago when I purchased this digicam, with a 2GB SD card (the maximum it takes). Since then I took several hundred pictures.
I was completely amazed to see the quality of the pictures easily beat the 35mm film equipment I had (though I didn't have any high-end lenses), especially sharpness. Though there are limits to this better look, courtesy of the small, 1/2.5, sensor: blue sky comes slightly noisy (the deeper blue it is, the more noisy it gets) and if the picture is more contrasty, the deep shadows appear as black blotches; depending on the light conditions, even lighter shadows can appear noisy (for example, I was taking pictures of sunrises - the orange clouds came up great, but the gray clouds were noisy). All this is at the lowest ISO 80. At ISO 200 more noise appears in shadows, and at ISO 400 it gets very noticeable. Noise at ISO 80 in deeper shadows and blue sky, and ISO 200 in shadows is not a big deal in normal day-to-day size prints - one would have to strain to see it, though it shows up quite noticeably when displayed on the screen at higher magnifications (or cropping). It all depends on the light. I took some pictures at ISO 400 when the lighting wasn't too contrasty and couldn't see any noise at all at normal viewing sizes. Another time I took a test picture of a picknick table in a forest. It was heavy overcast, so the light wasn't great. I could hand-hold it, thanks to the great optical image stabilizer. At ISO 200 the deeper shadows were noticeably noisy and at ISO 400 the pic would be unusable for showing it to other people.
Again, all this is due to the small sensor. I also took several pictures with long exposures, up to 25 seconds. The results were good - on normal, 4x6 print one would have to look very closely to see the slight noise.

The lens is simply amazing, there is nothing else to say about it.

I set my FZ7 to saturated colour, so I get velvian look (or maybe velvia on stereoids?). At normal, default colour settings I find the colours accurate,
pleasing, though I like the extra zing of saturation, though some detail may be
lost. If you would like to see a few sample pics, please visit:
www.photo.net/photos/alight

There is no CA (purple fringing) in lower zooms that I can see, even when zooming in on my LCD (computer) screen. Higher zooms show some CA.


Controlling this digicam is a breeze. The command dial spins easily, and everything has a great, good-build quality feel (it's also made in Japan). The menu system is very easy to navigate (for most functions without even looking at the manual) and graphically it looks great.
I mostly shoot in aperture priority, so after setting the dial to "A" I then can use the small joystick on the back to nudge the aperture values up or down. Very easy and I can do it without looking at the camera. So it is with exposure compensation - I can do it blindfolded. Even though ISO and picture quality are adjusted through the menu system (rather than having dedicated buttons), it's easy to do with just a few clicks. No big deal.

The large LCD screen (2.5 in) is OK, though it could use more pixels. In bright daylight I usually switch to the electronic viewfinder. It displays all the info as the big LCD and is OK to use for landscapes and other big objects. However, due to its small size, it's basically unusable for smaller things like animals (unless it's a black dog on snow) and forget about seeing birds through it. One day I was trying to take a picture of a hawk sitting on a branch not too far away. Even with the 12x zoom I had a hard time aiming the camera when using the EVF.

As I take pictures of nature (and trees don't run around too much), I find the responsiveness of the digicam more than sufficient. It turns on pretty fast. If you forget to take the lens cap off when turning it on, it will display on the LCD that you should do so, and doesn't make a big deal out of it (menaing no screetching sounds, no grinding of gears).
The flash pops up with the press of a button and then it takes a couple of secs to charge. It's not very powerful (obviously), but it seems to do a good job. I just tested it a few times. I think my vacuum cleaner liked its portrait very much (it was wagging the hose with pleasure).

Oh, and there is the lens adaptor. It's probably made of aluminum, and it seem like one could chop wood with it. As it has a weird size (I think 55mm), I had to get a step-up ring to 58mm to use my C-P filter on it.

I have my FZ7 set to the highest quality jpeg setting and can take about 650 pics on the 2GB SD card. The camera writes to it quickly. I never tried timing it (for that are measurebator websites), but it never hindered my picture taking. Long exposure pictures take longer to write: 1 second of writing per 1 second of exposure.
For an amateur shooter like I the lithium-ion battery lasts plenty long - the most pictures I took in a day was very close to 100 and the battery gauge went down by a third. The battery fully charges in under two hours in the included charger.
I'm very grateful this digicam has li-ion battery. My previous digicam used Ni-Cd, and I never knew when the juice would run out and the digicam "die".
With this one the battery gauge works well - no surprises.
Both, the battery and the SD card, share the same spring loaded cover on the bottom of the camera. The cover slides sideways, pops up and stays up. The battery has a small, well-designed, latch so it doesn't fall out when you open the cover. The SD card slot is also spring-loaded, so it's easy to take the card out.

Perhaps the last thing to mention is the look of the digicam. Without any doubt this is the most elegant design of all digicams. It has nice, flowing, clean lines, and uncluttered design. It looks like a baby dSLR (really sexy baby dSLR).

I do have one criticism, though it maybe local to my FZ7. At zooms over 6x the contrast goes weird - a gray cast settles over the picture and the colours go wacky. This is most noticeable with distant objects. When zooming in on something closer, it's not visible. I posted a question on a forum regarding this, one photographer replied with posting his super-zoomed picture, that also had some contrast issue, though it was still very usable. Mine are not useable at all.
Panasonic offers one year warranty on FZ7, but after three month the owner has to cover the labour costs. I don't feel like spending perhaps a hundred bucks on a 500 dollar digicam. Fortunately, I take mainly landscape pics, so I stay mostly within 3x zoom and the results are excellent.

I haven't tested the movie feature, yet, but can take up to 22 minutes of good quality (so other reviews elsewhere say) video on the 2GB SD card.

To wrap it up, this digicam is an excellent choice for an amateur that doesn't chase birds and other wildlife too much. Except for the noted limitations due to
the small sensor, this camera does a great job and the quality of the pics is excellent under normal outdoor light.

If you buy this digicam, also get (well, I recommend) the Panasonic tailor-made cover for it. It's well designed and works well protecting the camera even in light rain, and is guess what...yes, also sexy.

Customer Service

Sent an email question to Panasonic regarding my camera's contrast issue (at high zooms), they replied quickly recommending the closes service provider (the camera is under one-year warranty, but after three months the owner pays for the labour).

Similar Products Used:

Olympus Camedia C3040z (made in 2001)

The zoom is amazing, I'm a zoom freak, I like to stand far away from a subject and bring it close to me. The price is out of this world, you could spend twice as much on a camera, and it wouldn't have the quality of this gem. I try to take a bad picture, and its difficult.

I've had trouble using this camera at night at sporting events, at a baseball or football game, the lights at the stadium ruin the pictures I try to take of the players. I'm not an expert user, so this could be my fault and not the camera's. The camera is also a tad bulky. But the zoom makes up for it, and you get used to the size after awhile.

My friend owns this camera, and I've used it several times. The zoom is amazing, and for the price it takes excellent pictures. It is a little bulky, but I would still give it a 5 out of 5.

Customer Service

My friend owns this camera, and he never contacted Customer Service, because he never had a problem.

Similar Products Used:

I haven't used any cameras that compare to this one.

great lens
good image quality
decent value
durability
battery longevity

noise is a valid concern
definitely not waterproof

I was not expecting much from this camera, but I came away quite impressed with its performance and durability. Images tend to be noisy, but at ISO 80, its not a major issue. Even outdoor twilight flash images at ISO 200 were not noisy to the point of distraction. I am confident that 6 X 8 inch images will look very good. Metering seemed to be well within the tolerances of much more expensive cameras. I recorded all images at the higest quality JPEG seting available; I experienced almost no problems with blown highlights.

The camera handles beautifully, especially for folks like me who have smaller hands. The camera has the ergonomics of a much larger DSLR. The camera is very light, but has a feeling of solidity that makes it seem a high quality tool. Image quality seems best at the wide end of the zoom range, and begins to suffer around 3X to 4X (telephoto freaks may want another camera). The wide end suits my needs perfectly because my photographic vision exists entirely in the 28-100 range; the FZ7 has equivalent focal lengths in its 12X zoom range from 36-432. The LCD is bright and contrasty, and the power LCD feature brightens the screen enough to be useful in full noonday sunlight on the beach. The electronic viewfinder (EVF), albeit tiny, is useful and really quite impressive! It is a welcome addition in very brightly backlighted situations, and in almost any other circumstance that prefers a dedicated, enclosed viewfinder. The flash, when used with care and regard for its inherent limitations, is another useful feature of the FZ7, producing surprisingly little red-eye. Battery longevity on a single charge is very impressive, easily offering a full day of shooting with heavy LCD and light to moderate flash usage. I frequently photographed from 9 a.m. (I was on vacation - gimme a break) to midnight and beyond on a single charge.

The durabilty of the camera turned out to be rather impressive, too! At the beach it stayed - often just covered by a towel or t-shirt - in a cane beach bag which was not all that tightly sealed against the elements. Sand found its way onto the camera, but never became a problem. The camera got a thorough wipe-down after each trip to the sand and surf. I took the camera on a high speed "Sea Rocket" boat ride in strong winds. Everything and everybody on the boat got absolutely drenched, including the FZ7. I had been on the boat a few years previous to this trip, but that ride was not very wet. The FZ7 malfunctioned for awhile, falling into a different mode from what was set, but the images would still display. Then the images failed to play back. Within 24 hours of the boat ride the FZ7 had dried out and was again - and still is - functioning properly. The images downloaded without a problem from the camera to the laptop.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 will never serve as a primary photographic tool for the serious shooter. It isn't meant to do so. It is a very worthy consideration for anyone looking for an everyday camera useful for capturing those unexpected slice-of-life moments. Had the FZ7 not survived the dousing - which was admittedly, even if unexpectedly, abusive treatment - I would not hesitate to purchase another.

I highly recommend this camera for anyone considering a digital point-and- shoot.

Customer Service

not yet needed

Similar Products Used:

Canon PowerShot S-80

Fast Leica lens, from 36 to 430+ mm.
Image stabliization that works pretty well.
Large 2.5" LCD on back; with high-angle (overheading shooting) and daylight "boost".
Easy-to-use, menu-driven options.
Decent image quality at iso 80.
TIFF + JPEG shooting option.
Fairly affordable compared to other compact superzooms.

Unacceptable image quality at iso 200 and higher (too much noise)... unless all you do is print 4x6 or use images on website. I want to be able to print at least 5x7!
Very lightweight and very small -- hard to steady by hand, unless you have small fingers/hands.
Macro and low-light focusing can be tricky.
No hot shoe for external flash.
Did I mention the noise problem at anything but the lowest iso setting (80)...?

A nice little superzoom, but I've been spoiled by performance of digital SLRs and so can't recommend it; except as a nice backup "toy" to a real SLR. It's simply too light and plastic-laden to inspire much confidence. That being said, under the right conditions it can deliver some impressive images. And it might be a nice point-and-shoot product for many folks not into more serious photography.

I wound up returning mine to buydig.com. I've been spoiled by my Pentax ist DS, even if I do have to save up to purchase the occasional new lens.

Customer Service

Customer service is generally excellent through buydig.com (returns/accessories; delivery time);
never used Panasonic's customer service.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic dmc FZ20
Canon powershot S2 IS
Pentax ist DS

pics quality and ease to use.small and compact size helps.best price, leica lens is best.

no hotshoe.pana really missed this feature.

ive just bought this new dmc fz7 in black for 344$ from beach camera plus free shipping.this is my 3rd fz, my others are fz15-20, that said enough about panasonic fz series, i love them very much..i dont think any camera out there in its range and price can beat it, with its leica ois from 36-432mm, its totally awesome, images are very sharp, colors are neutral and bright.. this fz7 is a smallest size in it fz series..i use it with raynox .72x wide and 1.54x tele adapter, it can gives me from 25-665mm at f2.8 to f3.3.a very useful cam indeed. its deff an all in one cam, for those who tired of carrying a big bag of gears with them, in my opinion most of its images can outdo most biggger dslr cam out there.so, why pay thousand of dollars for?, buy this cam and you be very happy.highly recommended, my bro also bought the fz30, and hes happy with it too..now pana has started a dslr too, the l1 is coming, and the top notch lc1 is dropping in price too..in all im very happy with pana dmc fzs..for that reasons, i have sold all my canon and olympus dslr gears to replaced with fzs..i dont complain about a little things on cam, all i need is the final products, and fz7 can gives me amazing images. cant beat it, buy it!!

Customer Service

none so far.

Similar Products Used:

canon g5.i sold canon 300d and olympus e300 to raplaced with fzs.