Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 Reviews: Lumix Digital Compact Camera

+ superb photos - movie quality excellent- sound on video better than previous model

- when using video - diificult to initially focus - due to no picture on screen at start

+ It is the best digital compact I have used and produces outstanding pictures easily. I have not explored the deeper settings yet but will experiment whilst on holiday.
It was also much smaller than I expected and the build quality is second to none.
Although I prefer black, the range of colours is an added bonus for the "fashion conscious".
I am a Web Editor for a famous London church and am currently using this camera in preference to my Sony DSLR to produce photos, which of of equal or better quality. The superb zoom is an asset when photographing stained glass windows which are 60 feet away!

- Not quite worked out the MS1 and MS2 option but I will investigate when I have more time.

+ Simply stunning camera. HD video, beautiful photos, looks fantastic and very easy to use due to a FULL auto setting (selects picture type, white balance, flash, just about everything automatically). The LCD display is high res so pin sharp. I upgraded from the TZ3 and it is worth every penny over an already excellent camera.

- Battery life is poor and this is largely due to the huge power the screen takes up. I went away for the weekend and i found myself very cautious about using it - basically taking a photo and immediately switching it off. Even with the eco setting on it doesnt do alot to halt power drainage.
HD video is glorious - but - the auto focus gets confused easily and is slow to respond. It failed to capture some scenes but overall due to it being a compact digital this is a small, if slightly annoying issue.

+ Auto-intelligence modes enables great quality, easy point and shoot photography. Excellent quality with 10M effective pixels and 12 times optical zoom magnification. High resolution video is a good as a decent HD camcorder. An excellent high resolution rear display. Quick and accurate face detection.

- Being picky, the Auto-focus in video recording mode can be a little slow and it would be nice if it was a little less bulky (but I don't know of a smaller camera with all these features!).

+ Brilliant! The zoom is quite incredible for a camera this size, Very easy to use straight from the box. If you cant be bothered with the extra features the automatic modes work very well.
The video is again very good for a camera this size, Great for casual videos without the need for a video camera as well this will do the job!.

- Cost of spare battery. No view finder, in bright sunlight the sceen is hard to read.

+ Briliiant video, good zoom

- Taking good stills takes practice,

+ Easy to use.
Excellent long zoom (up to 85.5x on lower resolution settings with optical, extra optical and digital zoom).
Very fast at previewing photos.

- No viewfinder, can be difficult to use LCD in bright light.

+ Light weight, good to have 12x optical zoom in such a compact camera. easy to change to different settings.

- Can't see the screen in bright sunlight. Sometimes have to take photo blind then look at result. Delay between pressing to take the photo and the time the photo is taken.

+ Everything else, especially wide angle lens and ease to switch to video mode.

- Fails, like nearly all compacts now, to incorporate view finder which makes it difficult to take shots in bright sunlight. Would prefer snapshot button on far right of camera and option wheel (which moves a bit too easily) to the left of it.

+ The HD video capture is superb,as is the pictures.

- None so far!

+ HD VIDEO QUALITY & CLARITY,
PHOTO RESULTS EXCELLENT,
EASE OF USE,

- WHEN SHOOTING VIDEO,SLIGHT BREEZES SOUND LIKE GALE FORCE WINDS DESPITE HAVING THE WIND REDUCTION MODE ACTIVE. MUCH BETTER RESULT IF YOU SLIGHTLY COVER THE MIC WITH A FINGER. NO VEIWFINDER

+ Good build and if you need it to do everything as a point and click then you can. Alternatively if you want your default settings to it then you can set them aswell.

- Only slight negative is that the battery doesn't last as long as it could and very rarely the mode selection button can be caught and the mode switched.

+ Reviewer left no comment

- difficulty in viewing lcd screen in sunlight.had to buy a screen cover to take sunlight pictures.

+ Macro
Zoom

- No view finder

+ big screen fantastic lens producing great photo's superb colours

- a little bit dificult to hold without putting fingers on screen

+ Love the 12 x zoom and the fast picture capture. Have got the hang of the basic functions which is enough to go with for now

- Battery does not last long, had to buy a second one, and it would be better if you could charge battery on the camera, sad you have to buy memory for the camera, and no case for camera.

+ Very good quality images. The camera is extremely smart - makes adjustments automatically to ensure you get the best result - so long as it is set to do this automatically of course. In practice, I find that pictures taken in poor light and of moving subjects are excellent without having to spend much time correcting images on the pc with photo software.

- The catch is slightly flimsy on the cover for the memory card slot - hasn't caused any problems however. I had read other reviews saying the same but I took the chance and I am happy with the product.

+ superb video quality easy to use

- lack of manual functionality

+ Amazing colour processing, sturdy build quality. Cool face recognition.

- No PASM mode = no manual control over shutter speed & aperture. Mode dial design is a little weird.

+ The main reasons for choosing this camera were the X12 optical lens and very wide focal range. I like the large and clear LCD display

- Although not really a bad point, I miss the viewfinder. And some way of coping with very bright sun on the display would be an improvement.

+ For a compact this is a great all rounder and is as good as they get.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Compact, excellant zoom and picture quality

- A lot of features to get used to. It closes itself down, which would be good if it also turned itself off as well. Remember to turn it off yourself the battery didn't take long to go flat.

+ it does what is described in the manual, I like the image quality, perfect for the better quality snapshots . Video is good, the mode dial should be better, it changes too easily.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ So easy to use and the quality of the zoom and HD recordings is increddible for being a camera. No need for a seperate Camcorder with this Panasonic

- Struggling to find any at present!

+ This is an excellent, well featured camera. the intelligent auto feature works very well - picking scene modes to suit the occasion. very easy to use - so many clever features - like zoom resume and focus tracking. highly recommended - bought as result of a review - you will not be disappointed!

- nothing I have found yet!

+ Photo quality, ease of use in intelligent mode,

- no viewfinder,

+ Ia is very good for point and shoot and the screen definition is as good as they come.
Menu easy to work through.

- Difficult to view screen in bright sunlight due to reflections.

+ Good build quality.

- Colour not good. Not clear on full zoom. Silly dial, very difficult to select camera modes.

+ Picture quality excellent for a compact camera.

- Tendancy for mode dial to move whilst handling camera

+ Video, optisch zoom, quick menu button

- Images with noise, to big files in relation with the image quality

+ Superior quality camera for a compact (reflected in price). Quality of video especially important to me.

- I haven't had a problem with nudging the dial as others have experienced. Took a bit of experimenting with video formats to download and be compatible with a Mac.

+ Phenominal zoom for such a small camera.
Very nice, large LCD.
Picture quality excellent (to an ametur eye at least).
HD video with stereo audio and use of zoom during recording.

- Slightly heavy.
Not much to hold when taking a picture, must be careful not to cover the flash and/or AF sensor

+ Good size LCD monitor. Very easy to use as Intelligent Auto does it all for you, but for photographic enthusiasts they can still use their choice of settings. Good solid build. Photos are really good quality.
Cant comment on the motion picture yet as I havent really tried it out.

- I would have liked a viewfinder as it is hard to see the LCD in bright sunlight.

+ Very well built, effective for all at this price.
A compact all automatic, that's what i wanted and it's good to.

- Little problems with button's position : run video record or power on by accident, specially when out of the pocket.
With time, learnt the good way of taking it.

+ Powerful zoom without loss of picture clarity. Excellent, large, clear viewing panel on rear. Auto settings work brilliantly and give superb pictures in a variety of circumstances. Sturdily made. Battery life excellent.

- Selection wheel on the top can be knocked round when putting camera down etc., because it is next to the edge of the camera body, so you need to check what setting it is on each time you go to use it

+ Beautiful pictures. Ease of use

- Clunky options wheel. Also it is easy to knock the wheel out of position.

+ Excellent lens - fantastic wide angle and really long zoom. Great modes on the camera - Intelligent Auto does most of what you need and the scene selection mode has a scene for just about every occasion. Video quality is excellent which is a big bonus. I use an SLR most of the time and this is a really big step forward for compact cameras!

- Nothing major - the mode dial could be a bit stiffer as sometimes it changes mode too easily.

+ Its idiot proof with so many easily accessible functions.Picture quality is fantastic

- Does not come with a case as standard.

+ Takes detailed pictures, looks good as is generally easy to use. Can be used as point and click with auto setting or has manual control, if required. Good zoom and takes HD movies, if required. Overall, pleased with purchase.

- Mode dial on top moves at times during transit, so you have to put back in place. Flimsy door mechanism catch to battery and card compartment.

+ Fantastic camera which you can pick up and use simply or use the many features to make your photos better than ever before.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ Easy to use , HD video capability ,Panasonic Quality

- No case
Image transfer slow via PIC Bridge need to use USB card reader

+ Very good X12 zoom. Image quality excellent. Image stability good.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ I like panasonic cameras they are sturdy, reliable and produce excellent photographs

- I think overall its a little expensive for what features it has in comparance to say tz6 (Which is not that much different and cheaper) also Dial on top of camera always moves when taking in/out of camera case, and when you want to take picture in a hurry screen tells you "dial not in correct position" other than that i think its an excellent camera

+ really easy to use, great features, superb quality images and video

- Reviewer left no comment

+ HD video & sound quality is excellent. Loads of features to discover.

- None I know of.

+ This camera is easy to set up and use and has all the features I require

- none found yet

+ Excellent easy to use with AI turned on just point and shot; also great to be able to see results on large three inch screen

- Lack of guidance from Panasonic on card capacityies and likely configurations

+ The Camera is just excellent, Its such a great all rounder.

- Not enough user instructions on functions and what they do.

+ Reviewer left no comment

- to easy to push buttons on the back

+ Image quality
easy to use
build quality
Panasonic had done it again with the DMC, wither you are an amateur or professional photographer this provides everything you require. With the zoom capability while filming a video if HD you can reduce what you have to carry around in a convience excellent pirece of kit. It did look at the Canon sx200 is, however this did not meet the all round quality of the Panasonic DMC0-TZ7

- As yet not found any real bad points which would put anybody of seriouly considering this model again any of the competition.

+ Great quality photos and video.
Very easy to use

- No view finder

+ Lens
Screen
capabilities

- zoom control - fiddly to operate and difficult to avoid "overshoots"

+ Image quality for still images and HD video is excellent, great shots at full zoom thanks to the optical image stabilizer.

- Camera case would have been better in metal, fear that the battery cover will break off at some point.

+ Great zoom, video is good

- Selector wheel easily moves to wrong position

+ the ability to shoot HD movies is amazing

- The mode dial moves when the camera is put in your bag or is easily moved to the incorrect poison my mistake, a small flaw in an otherwise fine camera

+ Quality of image, easy to switch between stills and video, compact , good lens excellent rear screen

- slightly confusing menu system, mode dial is too easy to know out of position, limited connectivity , flash not great.

+ Easy to use. Great results.

- Could have been made a bit stronger, It feels a bit fragile.
Mode selector switch can be moved accidently to easily.

+ Small compact, easy to use as in intelegent mode, it will do what the big cameras will do

- Easy to move mode selector

+ Excellent zoom facility. Size of the camera is good for fitting into pockets and the buttons are not too small for the larger male fingers.

- Still miss not having a viewfinder (much easier in snow conditions), would prefer a rocker button for zooming/windangle and would prefer the button that you press for taking the photo to change place with the feature button.

+ GOOD QUALITY VIDEO AND STILL IMAGES
SOLID FEEL

- LENS COVER COULD GET DAMAGED EASILY

+ Excellent zoom but also 25mm wide angle.
Intelligent auto feature which will select best settings.
Easy to use.
Small size considering features, will easily fit in shirt pocket.
Burst picture setting which will take 3 pictures in quick succession ideal for moving subject eg dog.
Battery life seems good considering lack of separate viewfinder and having to use 3inch screen instead.
Huge array of user changeable settings.
2 user defined picture modes.

- No separate viewfinder, have to use 3 inch screen, have seen some reviews which say this can be a problem in bright sunlight but i have not had this problem yet.

+ 12x optical zoom, picture quality,

- zoom difficult to control,acts to quickly

+ Telephoto lens excellent, menu's easy to navigate.

- Vidio record button can be pressed accidently but you soon learn to keep your thumb away from it.

+ Great camera.. solid build.. plenty of features.. excellent pictures... just taken loads of pics at the grand canyon with great results.... Also best video i've seen on a compact... Only complaint if you can call it one is slow zoom during video recording.... Buy one.. you won't be disappointed.

- Reviewer left no comment

+ extremely easy to use step by step instructions fantastic focus and beach scene facility gave mouthwatering capture that made you feel you were still there

- would have expected carrycase in with price

+ Wonderful lens; bright screen,for such a complex camera , its ease of use.

- For its price and what it aims to do I really can't think of anything bad. Caontrary to my expectations in the light of slight criticism in the camera press, I think the battery life is very good and the mode selection button is not easy to accidentally turn. In three weeks of travelling on holiday when my camera was in constant use the button had only accidentally turned a couple of times.

+ image quality is amazing if given time to focus and assess the scene correctly

- Pointless mode dial is not well built

+ Super Zoom, good quality pictures in low light. Good high quality video in HD. Easy to use.

- Does not record video on budget SD cards. But then you would by high quality SD cards for this camera for both video an photo.

+ Image quality, build quality, video quality, multi function camera, small weight, zoom

- battery capacity, short written instructions

+ An outstanding point and shoot camera with a hugely flexible optical range. A variety of excellent features with the ability to shoot HD video footage make it a complete bargain. Picture quality is almost on a par with my digital SLR.

- Battery life and price of replacement/spare battery. Other than that, I really can't fault this fantastic little camera.

+ Image quality is excellent and the large LCD screen gives a very clear picture. The 12x zoom and wide angle were the main reasons I went for the TZ7, however I was blown away with the video and sound capabilities so much so I left my video camera at home on a recent holiday. The software supplied makes organising and editing easy.

- Only two negative points, one is the location of the mode dial, it’s too easy to accidently change mode when handling. The other is the wide angle, perfect for close group shots but stay way from long shots of buildings as they all turn into the leaning tour of Pisa.

+ Picture quality and Zoom amazing!

- In strong sunlight it can be difficult to see the screen.

+ easy to use and navigate, with 16gb memory card it will do all your holiday photos and vids. quality of pictures and videos is fab

- spare panasonic battery expensive, time required to write to dvd from computer.

+ I found this camera very easy to use its picture quality is brilliant my previous camera was a canon powershot S5, which i didnt like, too complicated for me. The feature i find really good is the fast shutter speed which allows you to take picture after picutre great for catching those precious moments of your children, some cameras take so long after taking a picutre that the moment has passed before the camera is ready again. very very happy

- Not keen on the leather case, it looks nice but when on you wear it on your belt the magnet fastening tends to pop undone go for the zip case.

+ Easy to use, good big screen, nice picture quality

- bit more expensive than other comparible cameras but think it was worth it

+ very good images, optical zoom on video, 12xs zoom & wide angle

- no veiw finder or manual controls

+ good all round camera +video and size to carry about

- expensive battery replacement and you can not get a good third party
replacement so you are stuck with having to get original at a ridiculous price

+ great screen image.Excellent video and easy operation with dedicated push operation.Great zoom lens also wide angle for larger angle shots.Sound quality also very good.Digital zoom also v. good.

- Battery life could be better.

+ Its very easy to get great photos everytime using the IA functionality. Build quality is very good and confident it would never break if dropped. Zoom is great, I used it in Egypt and got lots of up close photos of monumnets event thought the focus point was very far away.

- Although I rarely need it, the functionality to manually tweak photo settings would be great. This is very much a point and click camera for people who have no idea about cameras.

+ Small;easily handled;clear LCD screen; good quality pictures and clear menus.

- Full opticaol zoom only available in intelligent mode.

+ easy to use, quality of images, HD movies with zoom useable, excellent zoom range

- slightly heavier, but due to zoom range, acceptable. Zoom not that smooth, tends to overshoot when the switch is pressed.

+ Excellent pictures. Excellent Movies. Great screen. Superb build. Easy to use.

- Battery life could be better.

+ High quality, crisp, true colour photos. 10x optical zoom and wide lense are ideal for most photography. Easy to use just point and shoot.

- Sometimes a small(but noticeable) time lag between pressing button and photo actually being taken when in Intelligent Auto mode.
Accompanying software is not that great. Canon download software far superior.

+ Fantastic zoom, really clear screen, long battery life, easy to use

- Strap doesn't have a 'toggle' to tighten it up around your wrist, no view finder for use on sunny days, can't use the flash when 'burst' setting is active

+ Wide angle lens, powerful zoom. Good colours & exposure metering (to my very amateur eye !)

- Video recording difficult to manage with a one handed operation - fiddly small button. Mode selector button poorly placed and too easy to inadvertently change the position as it rotates with a very slight pressure - needs a firmer operation for this rarely used button. A little heavy.