Digital Trends

With warm weather breaking out all over, wanderlust is infecting the country. And what better way to document your travels than with a potent 12x mega-zoom digicam that bring subjects in your face—for better or worse. Canon, Panasonic and Sony are the major players in this category with very popular 12x zoom cameras such as the new Canon 6MP Powershot S3 IS ($499), the 6-megapixel Sony Cybershot DSC-H2 ($399) and the 7.2MP -H5 for $499 as well as Panasonic's 8MP DMC-FZ30 ($649). Along with mega zooms these cameras have optical image stabilization—not electronic—in order to reduce image shake when taking extreme telephoto images or shooting in low light. The two features pack a powerful one-two punch and separate them from other super zoom cameras. It's no wonder prices hold on these digicams compared to most other models that seem to drop in price every other day. For the record Kodak also has a 12x mega zoom but the P850 ($399) has a 5MP imager and uses electronic image stabilization, not optical. The 6-megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 is the company's newest mega zoom and we definitely wanted to try it, especially after our uneven experiences with its larger sibling, the FZ30. After charging the battery and loading a card, we hit the road...