Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(278)
4 star:		(87)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

To get the best photos, you obviously need an SLR and some great lenses. Hmm. Well, I have an SLR and some great lenses, but I tend to leave them at home when I go on a trip.
So I bought this TZ7 to take with me when I can't be bothered to take my SLR, which is nearly all the time. The TZ7 is small enough to go in a jacket pocket, or to hang unobtrusively from your belt. But is it good enough for anyone used to the quality of an SLR?
For me it is good enough, as long as you adjust your expectations. Which you have to do when you have such a small camera with a 25 to 300 zoom. Try getting a 25 to 300 zoom for an SLR! Even more amazing is that it's a very decently sharp lens. It's a little bit less than razor sharp at the extremes of the zoom range, but almost all my shots came out nice and sharp (but not too sharp, meaning the camera isn't over-processing things).
So the lens is good, and since the lens is the TZ7's party piece, that's a good thing.
Next on the list of killer features is HD video. This is 720p video, not `full' HD, but what do you expect? The great thing is that you can use the optical zoom while taking video, which is rare in these cameras. It zooms slowly so the noise of the zoom isn't picked up by the microphone but works very well. You get stereo sound too, and the quality of the sound is way ahead of any camera like this I've tried before. You might think that you wouldn't get proper stereo with microphones so close together, but it does a decent impersonation of it. Videos look pretty good, with the image stabiliser smoothing things out even at full zoom. Hold it carefully and it looks like you're using a tripod. You will need a decent computer and graphics card to play HD video though, or a compatible HD TV. You may need to buy an HDMI cable since you don't get one in the box.
The next great thing is the LCD. It has 460,000 pixels and looks fantastic. It even brightens and dims automatically depending on the ambient light, and you can see it from any angle, so Panasonic's 'high angle mode' is no longer necessary.
If you know what you're doing you can use the good smattering of `manual' features to good effect. I'm not talking about changing the aperture or shutter speed, but you can adjust exposure compensation, bracketing, white balance, ISO etc. You can set auto ISO to not go higher than 400 or 800, which is useful since things look less than great above ISO400.
If you can't be bothered with all that, set the mode dial to iA (intelligent auto) and leave everything to the camera. It works remarkably well, and you'll see the symbol change in the top corner of the LCD to tell you what scene it thinks you're taking. It even automatically goes into macro mode when set to iA.
But I use mine mostly in standard mode, and I keep the ISO to 80 for the very best results.
One of the best things about the TZ7 is the superb auto exposure system that gets the exposure spot on in an amazing variety of challenging situations that would completely fool my other cameras. Reliable auto-exposure, top-notch image stabilisation, really quick and accurate autofocus, a great LCD... these are the things that give you the confidence to pack the TZ7 as your only camera on a trip.
There must be downsides though... mustn't there? Not many, to be honest, unless you expect the unreasonable, like good performance at ISO1600, or in very low light. The TZ7 doesn't overcome the laws of physics.
But minor niggles for me are that there's a physical switch between record and playback mode, so unlike some cameras, you can't just half-press the shutter to get to record mode if you're in playback mode. Also, I'd prefer to have the metering options in the quick menu, which is otherwise very useful for changing settings. Face recognition I think is little more than a gimmick and one I couldn't get to work reliably. Face detection works very well though.
Actually, there is one other thing, and it's the battery. The TZ7 uses a battery with a Panasonic microchip in it. If you want a spare battery, and you probably will, since battery life is just average (HD video seems to sap battery life quite quickly), you'll have to buy a proper Panasonic one, and they're quite expensive. Third party batteries won't work, at least for now. I nearly knocked off the fifth star because of this.
But the bottom line is that the TZ7 captures sharp, well-exposed images pretty much all the time with the minimum of fuss. I like mine very much indeed.

I've had this camera a week...and it's brilliant.

Picture quality is fantastic - photos are sharp and vibrant.

For pointing and shooting, the camera is the best I've had by far - it has an Intelligent Auto-Mode which is great at detecting what you're photographing and adjusting the settings automatically. This means you don't have to go changing settings from "portrait" to "night scene" to "macro" etc - it's all done for you in an instant. Of course, if you want manual control, you can have it, and even save your favourite settings for quick access. AF tracking is a useful feature too - press the button half way and the camera will lock onto the subject and keep it in focus..even if the subject subsequently moves. This is great for taking pictures of kids and animals.

Video recording is in high definition, and the little I've used it, I'm very impressed with the results. The picture is sharp and colours are accurate. Sound is recorded in stereo. You can record in either AVCHD mode or JPEG.

The camera is sturdy and feels/looks expensive. The screen is fantastic and I've had no problem viewing it in bright conditions (it has no optical view finder). The lens is absolutely superb. Everyone has raved about the 12x optical zoom, but I've found the 25mm wide end of the lens equally impressive - you really can get close to your subjects and still have them all fit in the photo.

There have been some well published criticisms of the TZ7. In my experience they seem largely unfounded. Battery life is quite acceptable: the manual states that you can take about 300 photos per charge but my first charge only managed 150 photos. However, I was doing a lot of experimenting - changing modes, zooming in and out, recording video etc. You should, therefore get at least three or four days of intensive use out of the camera between charges (so long as you're taking photos and not filming). One criticism I would agree with is the price of a spare battery - £40 for a genuine Panasonic! This is very steep, but really is an essential purchase so should be factored in before you buy the camera.

The most telling criticism of the TZ7 has been about the mode dial. Reviewers have reported that it is annoyingly loose and is constantly being knocked out of position. The dial on mine, however, is firm and there is absolutely no danger of it being moved accidentally either by my finger or when putting it in / removing it from a case. In fact the discrepancy between the reviews and my experience is so extreme I can only assume that Panasonic has modified the camera recently.

One feature that sounded great but has been a little disappointing is facial recognition. This allows you to register faces - they are then recognized by the camera and the settings automatically optimised to ensure that they are in focus /correctly exposed. Their name also appears on the screen. I've registered my children but the camera confuses them with one another. True, the manual does warn that the similarity of siblings faces may cause this problem but it's still slightly disapointing when the camera mistakes my five year old daughter for my two year old son!

My advice: If you want a compact digital camera and are prepared to pay that bit extra, buy the TZ7. For the price it's an absolutely steal, but remember to add on the extra battery and a 4gig SDHC card...

As I'm sure a lot of you will have seen the Gadget shows review of the Panasonic Lumix TZ7 vs the Fuji F200EXR.

I just bought my TZ7 2 weeks ago, and a friend at work has the F200EXR, so I thought I'd do a direct comparison shot for shot. I left both camera's in full auto (Intelligent Auto and EXR Auto). After taking a series of identical shots with both I can honestly say the difference is very small. I would say the EXR sensor is superior and produces slightly more natural looking photo, as the F200EXR generally uses its flash far less. But in contrast some shots the Panasonic might overexpose, the Fuji would under expose making a very dark shot. A close call between them it really is, but the Fuji just beats the Panasonic on image quality, but it is minor, probably more pronounced in low light conditions.

If you could marry the sensors from the Fuji and the Panasonic's other features you'd have one brilliant camera.

The tough choice comes with the other features, for the £40 or so extra you pay for the Panasonic, you get 12x zoon, over a 5x and this really does make a big difference on distance shots. Just taking a shot of a horse in a field the other day, I could zoom to having it in full shot, as opposed to a distant figure taking a quarter of the shot.

The other feature, Video, was the biggest easily comparable difference between the two, the Panasonic just walks all over the Fuji. Comparing two video's side by side, take simultaneously, the Fuji is grainy and a far lower resolution and quality, whereas the Panasonic is sharp, high res and superior in every aspect. Plus you can zoom in the video, big bonus, the Fuji was totally unresponsive when trying to zoom mid video.

To answer a lot of concerns about loose dials, battery life etc. I bought mine from Amazon 2 weeks ago in late August 09, it came with the firmware 1.2. They've obviously fixed the dial now, it clicks into position fine, I can see how in the past it may have been easily knocked, but its fine now.

The battery is good for about 300 shots, I'd say that's accurate, I took 80 shots yesterday, 20 today, and a short video and its dropped one third, it was still showing full after the 80 shots. I have bought a spare myself for day trips out with lots of video in mind. It seems better after its been used for a few charges than the first time it was fully charged.

The zoom can be a little sensitive and takes a bit to get used to the fast zoom speed, but its ok.

Why 4 stars, well it would take a lot to get 5 stars, I still find I need to take 2 shots of things to make sure I get the best photo possible, intelligent auto is good, but it overly uses the flash. If it doesn't pick up a scene it can be best to switch to scene mode and choose the correct one for a good shot. The Fuji was slightly better in that respect, detecting the scene correctly. All in all a great camera, highly recommended, but there's room for improvement.

Personally I would stick with my TZ7 over the F200EXR, but it depends on your priorities.

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 having switched to a pocket sized Samsung L310W for a year(yuck, don't even go there) from a Canon Powershot I previously owned, I wanted a 'proper' camera again.

I did my research and read the reviews and it was fairly close between this and the Canon Powershot SX200 IS, but the reviews slightly favoured the Lumix TZ7. I must admit I had my reservations on a number of points including:

1. No viewfinder (not a huge deal as the Canon doesn't have one either)
2. Battery life
3. Mode dial moving about
4. Picture quality - 10MP versus the 12MP on the Canon.

I opted for the Lumix in the end as 'www.photographyblog.com' gave it five stars as the best in its class.

Now to address the concerns I had.

1. I took this out in bright sunshine the day after I bought it, and it coped really well with no viewfinder, I was able to see the screen clearly from all angles.

2. I wasn't out long enough to properly test the battery (couple of hours) but it coped well with lots of picture and video taking during the couple of hours I was out and the camera was on almost constantly. I may invest in a spare battery anyway, as I like to have one I can just pop in while the other is on charge.

3. I had the camera in my pocket without a cover/case and it was in and out of my pocket at least a dozen times, and the dial didn't move once. Nor did the video button on the back get accidentally pressed on/off. I presume therefore that they have fixed this minor fault.

4. I haven't compared picture quality directly with the Canon, but I am delighted with the quality of the photos. I have only used it on the Intelligent Auto setting and haven't played about with any of the controls yet (or read the user manual), so was really just using it as a 'point and shoot' camera. I was really pleased with the quality of the zoomed in pics as well and also the action photos (I used my dogs as subjects, which are notoriously difficult to capture good motion pics of).

I love the HD video on this - the quality of the video is brilliant and the button on the back is much better/easier than having to move the mode dial around to 'video' position. I have seen criticism that the zoom is slow to work in video mode, and it is. However, the reason for this may well be that you don't get as much blurring as the camera autofocuses on whatever you are zooming in on - because it's done gradually the picture remains clearer, so overall I see this as a plus rather than a minus.

I have to give this camera five stars, it has overcome every reservation I had and is just superb. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Apologies as this is more a warning than a review - full review to come once I've had the camera for longer.

This camera now ships with firmware version 1.2. In this version Panasonic have prevented users from using 3rd party batteries. This means you will have to spend £40 on Panasonic branded batteries, as opposed to £20 for what used to be compatible batteries. A very bad move by Panasonic I feel!

I've used many compact cameras since they were first available, and this is by far my favourite. I've mostly used Panasonic as they are generally very good, though some are significantly better than others. This is undoubtedly the best I have used. The optical zoom range is terrific - 25mm is a good wide-angle, and 300mm is an excellent telephoto. The fact that it can deliver pin-sharp pictures at all focal lengths between speaks volumes for the quality of the lens.

The electronics and metering are outstanding and would put many a top-end SLR to shame. The anti-camera-shake works brilliantly so even when pushing your luck with high magnification in low light, it does a great job of producing a well exposed and steady image. The metering is remarkably good, and even in very tricky lighting conditions produces well exposed images that bring out all the detail in the subject. I would say it does a better job of exposing pictures correctly than my Nikon DSLR - and that is pretty hot in its own right.

There are a wide range of different exposure modes for dealing with different scenarios (action, beach, fireworks etc). It even lets you programme your 2 favourite as quick-dial modes on the upper control knob. Speaking of which, there have been comments that this is too loose. I have to say that on my camera it is fine and I was a bit surprised what all the fuss is about. It takes a reasonable amount of pressure to turn it, and it is by no means loose. It can get knocked from position if you are squeezing it into a tight case or pocket, but in general use I think it is good. You just get into the habit of checking it before you start taking photos, which frankly you should do anyway. I mostly use the Intelligent Auto mode, because it genuinely is just that - intelligent and automatic - you get great shots without worrying about what settings to use.

The still image quality is amazing, really very impressive indeed. Having a sharp lens + good metering + good sensor gives very credible results. Possibly not up with the latest SLRs, but truly outstanding for the sort of camera that you actually do take with you and use to capture those priceless memories. I have used it in very contrasty sunlight, and even on a floodlit sports-field at night where the arc-lamps would normally throw the metering into disarray, and it always does a great job of making the subject look good.

Flash performance is good - it seems very quick to charge up, so less likelihood of missing that shot.

Video quality. The video feature on this camera is far more than a gimmick, it's a great facility for capturing good quality video that will suit most users needs. It isn't quite in the league of a dedicated video camera, and no the resultant videos are not on a par with a blue-ray HD video either. However, you do get a very decent video, perhaps a little contrasty, but even under very tricky lighting, it delivers surprisingly good results. For family videos, it's perfect, and again - the sheer portability of it and its ability to cope really well in poor light means you will end up using it more and capturing those magic moments.

Downsides - really not too many of these. There is a price for all the electrical wizadry and highly effective stabilisation, it does get through the battery relatively quickly. However, to be fair, so far it looks as though the battery warning is just a bit more honest than some other cameras. As the charge diminishes, it shows as a reducing battery level. However unlike some other models where the battery is on its last legs as soon as it shows up as getting low, on this one you still seem to have a decent amount of life left in it and I haven't (yet!) actually run out of power. That being said, once I realised that this was such a good camera and that I was going to be relying on it a lot, I did buy the extra battery to provide more confidence.

All too often, you buy into the manufacturers sales blurb about sharp lenses, clever exposure systems and wizzy anti-camera-shake technology, but ultimately the camera disappoints because the photos just aren't up to scratch. Nothing could be further from the truth here. I'm genuinely delighted with this camera. I had high expectations and it has far exceeded them. I have been taking videos and photos in conditions that would never produce decent results on a normal camera, yet this one does a great job. The bottom line is that it is a compact camera that you can take anywhere, and yet it will give you superb photos and very good video in even the most difficult conditions. It is well worth the money and frankly I am seriously considering blowing the dust of my largely unused SLR and video-camera, selling them and just sticking to the TZ7. I can't recommend this too highly - a terrific portable camera and video.

Overall this camera is excellent as a point a shoot camera especially if you use some of the manual or scene setting features. Slightly disappointing battery life as many reviews gave this excellent lifetime but you will typically need to charge the battery after a day of use (50-100 pictures). The other recommendation is not to use the Intelligent Auto for indoor shots - switch to manual and set white balance.
But other than that the camera has produced some excellent photos.
One other comment - for the HD video, you will need a computer capable of running HD software (generally 2GB memory, Dual core processor...)

I've used this for a couple of weeks now, and I'd rate it excellent. The 'intelligent auto' is superb and makes it the best 'point and shoot' camera I've used, and yet the semi-auto functions give it good flexibilty. The image stabilisation works amazingly well - I got a perfectly sharp photo of a heron, taken in overcast conditions about 100 yds away at full 12x zoom: no camera shake visible at all, even blown up to the limit of resolution. The only negative thing about this camera is that you'll need to buy a spare battery because (presumably due to all that computing power) the usage time between charges isn't that good. A minor quibble - it doesn't come with any kind of carrying case.

I won't write War and Peace about this item like some contributors.

Good Points:
1. Focus in INSTANT and RELIABLE
2. Video quality is OUTSTANDING
3. Lens is great - very WIDE (with unavoidable distortion) with a huge range of focal lengths
4. Anti-shake is fantastic (though it kills the battery - see below).
5. The screen is VERY BRIGHT (but again, kills the battery)

Bad Points:
1. Battery life is APPALLING - if you are going out and taking a days photos, take a spare battery with you - I had to buy another. I can't put into words how shockingly bad it is.
2. The MODE dial at the top of the camera is constantly being knocked leaving you in the wrong preset.
3. Flash exposures are POOR and the flash mode button requires you to cycle through the flash modes and then press another button to select each one - crazy, slow and out of the ark. The fill-flash mode isn't as good as my 5 year old Canon which I had to use to get nice flash shots of my daughter's birthday party.
4. The zoom control is a bit hit and miss and coarse in operation.
5. There is a simple push control on the back of the camera to cycle between Photo and Video Mode - this also gets knocked and puts you in the wrong setting - REALLY IRRITATING. Considering how relatively rare will be your use of video, this button should be out of the way.

All in all, this is an outstanding camera, in many respects but it does have flaws.

The quality of results it can produce are excellent but I can tell you that's it's little foibles do get to you from the moment you first use it and don't become any more appealing over time.

I'm keeping mine because of the spec which is quite simply unequalled on any other camera but I can't say I love it because of the drawbacks that reduce its appeal more than you would think.