Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7

[ny156uk]

Since there is no 'review' here's mine:

Time owned: 6 months
Most used shooting mode: Macro/Aperture Priority/scene-type shots

Pros:

A big zoom for quite a small camera
Half-way house between Point and shoot and DSLR
Simple menu system
Clean images in good weather/outdoor
Lots of modes to experiment with
Big reviewing screen


Cons:

Manual focus mode I find is difficult to use
low light shots seem a little grainier than I see on other people's cameras
Sometimes modes I change in Shutter-priorty remain once I go into Aperture priority and make it hard if I end up in a 'messed up' setup
Slow upload speeds to computer (compared to Finepix which is also a 6mp camera)


To see shows look at my Flickr-pages, if people want I will try to figure out how to embed photos into the thread to try show off what I think are the best shots i've got from this.

Overview
It's nice having that big zoom at times and I have managed to get a lot of shots that i wouldn't otherwise. For the most part it works as expected and is simple enough to use and has helped me to start thinking more about aperture/shutter/making the move to full manual settings. Having used a friend's camera with a manual 'ring' (is that the term?) I would love to have that feature because it felt much easier to adjust focus in manual-mode compared to the manual-focus on offer.

Having not tried the direct competitors I cannot say for sure, but the price of the camera was very good and whilst not without flaws overally it has been a pleasure to own.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ny156uk

[jamjammo]

glad to see there is someone else with a fine panasonic dmc-fz7.
i just bought mine 2 days ago. so excited.

heading to vegas in January, so ive got a bit to learn before we leave. :)

[beckywithasmile]

That makes 3 of us! I like mine a lot. I've had it for 8 months and like it a lot.
Join the group on flickr if you want more info on it. http://www.flickr.com/groups/fz7/

The flash really frustrated me until I learned how to tone it down (details here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/fz7/discuss/72157594439082473/ ).

That was the biggest trouble with low light photos. Then I figured out the flash.

Macro was a little hard to figure out, but now I like it a lot.

The IS (Image stabilization) is handy and I like that it helps me take better pictures (with a little less wiggle in them).

Take a look at my photos: www.flickr.com/photos/beckywithasmile

[z999]

I have a DMC-FZ5 which is half a generation back. I have it for one year and it's awesome.
if I do a review then I need to post it here or in a new topic?

[googlit]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/118/cameras/310_model_large_6203d9dda7.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/cameras/panasonic/dmc-fz7/)

Check out the usage stats on this camera at flickr (http://www.flickr.com/cameras/panasonic/dmc-fz7/).

[Saralonde]

I have a DMC-FZ5 which is half a generation back. I have it for one year and it's awesome.
if I do a review then I need to post it here or in a new topic?

Post here.

[Torn]

Hi guyz!!! I am also a new owner of DMC-FZ7 just this January and I am still in the process of exploring its functions. I'm glad for this thread and I have seen images of members of this group taken by the same cam I have. Interesting!:)

By the way, its videocam is automatically converted to Quicktime which makes editing impossible! Unless there's a way to edit it-that I still have to know.:(

You can find some of my shots in my personal site (http://biagkensiak.wordpress.com). Thanks!

[beckywithasmile]

Pros
• Love the large zoom
• Quality pictures
• Many different shooting modes
• Can buy add on lenses/filters so you can do more with the camera (this improves the macro greatly)
• In between a slr and point and shoot
• Battery holds a very long charge
• Comes with a lens hood
• LCD has options for high angle (when you need to hold the camera high above your head to get the shot) and bright days (with other cameras it has been hard to see the lcd on these bright days)
• Has option for 3:2 aspect ratio (will print the full photo on 4x6 paper)
• Flash is off unless you turn it on
• Power save – you can set this and all it takes is for you to push the shutter and the camera is back on
• Bigger so it holds more like a slr
• Anti-shake
• Controls easy to use once you figure them out (push in on the joystick to control a lot of things)
• Lots of color modes to shoot in (BW, color, sepia, cool or warm)
• You have to set it to do so, but it focuses way fast
• Can choose your ISO setting
• You can set the too-bright-flash for a lower setting

Cons
• Can’t get too close with macro mode
• No manual focus ring, hard to use joystick to focus
• Fuzzy low light pictures
• Very bright flash
• Simple mode is too simple
• Have to figure out controls

I bought this camera before leaving for Italy when my previous camera broke while in another country. I love this thing. It now goes everywhere with me. Check out my photos on flickr to see what it can do – www.flickr.com/photos/beckywithasmile

[homo_superior]

Not sure why this would be a problem for you. Most digital video editing programs can deal with qt files. Actually, I would be surprised if any of them didn't

What program are you using?

Post here.

[Griggs]

I'm a pretty noob photographer and I'm enjoying my Lumix FZ7!

The main problem I have is getting blur when using the zoom. I also have seen some of the noise you read about with this camera, the noise seems to only come in during low light or night shots.

But all in all I love the camera and want to learn more and more about it.

I've looked at a couple Flickr photos some of you have and I see some GREAT pictures! I'm wondering if any of you are using any additional lenses, I see there is a wide angle lens and a telephoto lens.

[higabyte]

i think the noise is common with the panasonic lumix's. I bought the FZ50 and was completely unsatisfied with all the graininess in the pictures even at low iso's, I ended up returning it... =( I really loved that camera for the most part though, it took excellent videos. I think the video quality was better than the image quality.. lol

[Amigone201]

i think the noise is common with the panasonic lumix's. I bought the FZ50 and was completely unsatisfied with all the graininess in the pictures even at low iso's, I ended up returning it... =( I really loved that camera for the most part though, it took excellent videos. I think the video quality was better than the image quality.. lol

I'm looking to upgrade, and I've been VERY impressed by the DMC-FZ7. The only thing that scares me is this night noise business. Is it so bad that it's a dealbreaker?

I've been looking at the sample photos on Flickr here (http://flickr.com/cameras/panasonic/dmc-fz7/), and they all look absolutely stunning. Even the night shots look good, so obviously, it's not impossible to take a good one with the FZ7.

I'm also investigating the Canon S3 IS. I saw it's shots on Flickr, which were also beautiful, but I'm leaning away from it because it takes a NI-MH battery, and Li-Ions are superior in just about every way.

I also wanted to investigate the Kodak z712, because it has all the features I want, including the Li-Ion battery. The only problem is, the overall picture quality is not all that great. (http://flickr.com/cameras/kodak/z712_is_zoom/)

Any words of wisdom, folks?

[vbsytp]

Wisdom lies within Fz8 ...

[Sime™]

Was toying with the idea of one of the lumix' too... but now that the Ixus960 is headed my way... i'm thinking I MIGHT STAY WITH CANON!.......yeah baby!!... :)

[bostonwolf]

If you are taking pictures in good light, the noise is not an issue. However the Lumix does not have the low-light ability of a DSLR (nor should it at that price.)

I've never understood how people buy a Lumix and complain about the noise. It's not like it's a secret.

[Amigone201]

If you are taking pictures in good light, the noise is not an issue. However the Lumix does not have the low-light ability of a DSLR (nor should it at that price.)Yeah, I didn't expect it to shoot like a Mark III, but with every review complaining about the night noise, I'm inclined to think it's worse than in comparable competitors. Is it? And if so, do you recommend a similar camera more?

I've never understood how people buy a Lumix and complain about the noise. It's not like it's a secret.So, is this unique to the Lumixes? Because every time I try to fire a night shot with my Kodak point-and-shoot, I end up with more grain than a glass of Metamucil.

Wisdom lies within Fz8 ...You know, as brief and cryptic as this post is, it actually does seem to be pretty good advice. I've seen the FZ8 on sale on the Net for as cheap or cheaper than the FZ7. From reading the CNet review, the FZ8 seems a marked improvement over its predecessor.

This is something well-worth looking into, I must say. Thanks!

[magote]

I have been quite happy with my FZ7. I am not an expert on cameras, but the reason I bought this camera over other brands was because you can choose to shoot in a 2:3 ratio which other point and shoots don´t offer, the rechargable battery, and the Leica lens. The only problem i have had is with focusing in macro mode. sometimes the light indicates it is focused, but the photo cames out blurry.
magote

[krob]

Thank you everyone for posting on the Fz7. I have had mine for over a year and am just starting to use the other buttons (you know beyond macro and simple). I am taking a class and have lots of difficulty trying to get the photos write using the semi-manual features primarily because I find the whole ISO, Apeture, Shutter, F-stop jargon extremely confusing. Everyone in my class has a Nikkon or Cannon, so there is no real help with how to use my Panasonic. Anyway, I am glad to know that some of the problems I have had (i.e. low light photos or blur when too close) are natural to the camera and not due to me [well not entirely:)].
Thanks