Weekend review roundup: DMC-FZ7

Jay Savage — 2006-04-22T17:31:00+00:00

We reported earlier in the week that PCMag gave the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 and editor's choice ward. Other people have been giving it high marks, too. Here's the rundown:

LetsGoDigital: a powerful combination; guarantees high quality images and suits a large group of users. Despite its user-friendliness and low entry-level, the camera will certainly not limit or confine those who wish to expand their basic knowledge of photography, and are keen to experiment a little more.

Imaging Resource: Like other recent members of the line, the FZ7 combines good image quality, responsive handling, and very effective optical image stabilization in a very attractively-priced digital camera. Its range of exposure control and image adjustments will be appealing to experienced users, while its ease of use in Program and its various Scene modes make it approachable for even rank beginners.

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 gets PCMag Editor's Choice

Jay Savage — 2006-04-20T10:19:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews, Panasonic

In their review yesterday, PC Magazine gave the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 a solid four stars and named it their Editor's Choice for budget superzooms, making it the third Lumix FZ to hold that title. I tend to agree with their assessment, especially given the sub-$400 price, but it's important to remember that the category is budget superzooms. With noticeably--although apparently not crippling--shutter lag; slight purple fringing around highlights and a somewhat finicky LCD, this is a solidly consumer camera, form factor and 12x f/2.8 zoom notwithstanding. With that in mind, the 3.3 sec. start-up time is acceptable and the 1.6 sec. recycle time and 1500 line resolution are well above average for a moderately priced 6MP camera. Color and clarity are both good, barrel distortion at 6mm is very slight, controls are well designed (curing a personal peeve I've had with Panasonic in the past), the built-in flash seems well-designed, and image stabilization is excellent.

Sounds like a winner to me.

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Weekend review roundup: DMC-FZ7

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 gets PCMag Editor's Choice