Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 Reviews: Lumix Digital Compact Camera

+ Very simple to use, small enough to fit in a pocket if necessary.

- A bit slow when there is a need to take several pictures rapidly.

+ 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.

+ 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.

+ 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.

+ 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

+ 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.

+ 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

+ 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.

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

- Pointless mode dial is not well built

+ 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.

+ 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.

+ 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.

+ Intelligent Auto system works very well!

- A little more control over individual settings like exposure time would be nice!

+ Starry sky setting, zoom, decent HD video

- Nightime shots outdoor...really bad.

+ > Good Image/Video Quality.
> Able to use as point and shoot in iA (smart) mode mostly. Good performance with in dark, indoor settings too.
> Lot of pre-set options for fireworks, scenery,.... And the two user settable dials can be customized/set as per user preferences.
> All standard things viz. Face Reco, Anti Motion....etc. built-in.
> Quick Menu is good (once you understand the various icons/settings)
> Dedicated buttons for video, playback besides the dials.
> Best of all the 12X zoom option.

- > When trying to take photos in Portrait mode, most of the time one ends up hitting the video button mode.
>Still requires some planning ahead -> It's best if you pre-program the two user-overridable dial modes earlier. For e.g. if I know I am going to take the fireworks, party photos best I set/configure those before going to the event.
> Still not a fools/dummies camera. You need to do settings ahead of time althought not too often. (So, there is a learning curve)