Digital Trends

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 May 30th, 2006 | by David Elrich

Performance

The DMC-FZ7 is ready to go in less than two seconds as the lens barrel extends and then you're good to go. I typically start in Auto then move into manual adjustments. At the outset I noticed something strange. Almost every digicam with a mode dial has a green camera icon or an “Auto” indication. Not this Panasonic. For some bizarre reason a red heart is the auto setting. Other cameras use the heart to save favorites. Memo to Panasonic engineers: change the red heart to a green camera icon and be like the rest of the world.

This little hiccup aside, the camera was fairly responsive in the “heart” mode. You literally cannot change important settings other than image size and, as the manual states, it's for beginners. Turning the dial to P for Program AE opens up a much wider photographic world where you can make adjustments until your nails wear down, if that's your thing.

One of the best features of this mega zoom edition is Mega O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization). In fact it's found on all new Panasonic digicams. The system uses a physical system to adjust for camera movement instead of electronic circuitry, eliminating any potential picture degradation. There are three settings available: off, mode 1 and mode 2. In mode 1 the stabilizer is constantly engaged. With mode 2, O.I.S. kicks in when you depress the shutter. Both work well. In the red Heart setting, the camera is in mode 1, basically eliminating the off chance a tyro might turn the O.I.S. off.

The importance of image stabilization for a mega zoom camera cannot be overestimated. When you zoom all the way to 12x (432mm) every little shake and twitch will show up in your photos. Unless you're using a tripod, blurry shots are a given. Not so with O.I.S. Shooting some New York skyscrapers from wide to full telephoto quickly proved this. With O.I.S. engaged, steeples were tack sharp; with it off there were blurs. And even if just drink decaf coffee, blur will happen. With O.I.S. you can sip a few double espressos (high-test) and still get sharp photos.

Adjusting the camera is very simple with well-designed onscreen menus. I liked the LCD brightness options. By pressing the LCD key on the back you have an option for Power LCD to brighten the overall screen. A unique setting is “High Angle” that lets you hold the camera above your head and the screen is viewable. Nice thinking there. Even though the screen could have more pixels, I had no problems under a variety of conditions including strong sunlight.

Although the camera is point-and-shoot with the Heart mode there are a number of other options including over a dozen Scene settings. One even lets you push the ISO to 1600. The results are as you'd expect—awful--with blizzards of noise. Still it's an option—even though a bad one—for taking shots in available light. You're better off just popping open the flash.

Click here for sample images

Image Courtesy of Panasonic