Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7

photography is a pas time to which i thouroughly enjoy. i have a range of cameras i just cant help to buy a new one and sell the odd one either
i hope you will find this review full of information i have taken the trouble to add this cameras Features: and product specifications at the bottom of this review
Despite a bevy of features - including a 2.5-inch LCD screen, a new wide screen VGA movie mode, and a joystick for controlling manual focus and manual exposure - the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 weighs in at just over half a pound and is small enough to stick in a backpack when traveling. The DMC-FZ7 packs a wealth of features and functions into its compact body, offering everything from fully automatic "Simple" mode to advanced manual control.

LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT Lens with a 12x Optical Zoom
The DMC-FZ7 features a LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT Lens with a remarkable 12x optical zoom, equivalent to a 36 to 432mm lens on a 35mm film camera. A film camera with an optical zoom this powerful would be so big and heavy, you couldn't handle it with one hand. However, the DMC-FZ7 is small, lightweight and easy to handle. It also has Panasonic's Extended Optical Zoom. While causing minimal deterioration by using the center part of the high resolution CCD, this function magnifies the image to give you total zoom power of 16.5x.

Take Hand Movement Out of the Picture
All of us have taken a shot that we thought was focused perfectly, only to have it turn out blurry. The most common cause of this is hand movement. Digital cameras are wonderfully light and compact -- but as a result they can also be hard to hold still.

Even pressing the shutter button can cause the camera to move. And most people use the LCD monitor (with arms outstretched) to frame the shot - great for getting the shot you want, but at the cost of increased hand jitter.

The answer to the hand movement problem? An advanced optical image stabilizing system: MEGA Optical Image Stabilization. This system uses built-in gyro sensors to detect even tiny camera movement, and then shifts a lens in the opposite direction to compensate. The system is completely optical - it does not affect the CCD or image processing - so you get sharp, clear images with minimal degradation. It lets you reduce the shutter speed more than 3 steps below the conventionally accepted hand movement limit (which is calculated as 1 divided by the focal length).

It greatly expands what you can do with a handheld digital camera.
High Sensitivity Mode Helps Reduce Motion Blur
When there's not a lot of light or you're using a slow shutter speed, hand movement isn't the only potential problem. There's also "motion blur" -- the blurring that can result if your subject like children or pets move even a little in low lighting. That must be why they added a High Sensitivity mode3 that allows you to shoot at up to ISO 1600 by using the pixel-mixed readout method, effectively raising the shutter speed. It not only minimizes motion blur, it also lets you take clearer, sharper shots in dim lighting without using a flash.

The picture quality is good enough for printing at the ordinary 4" x 6" (10 x 15 cm) size.
Flexible Manual Focus and Operation - with Your Thumb
The joystick on the back of the camera gives you quick, easy and accurate manual focusing. You can also use the Manual Focus Assist function, which helps you set a perfect focus by magnifying the center of the LCD image and displaying a bar graph of the focal distance and depth of field.

The joystick also makes it easy to manually adjust the exposure. You can set the aperture, shutter speed and focus with your thumb, all while framing the shot on the LCD monitor. Press and hold down the joystick, and you can also instantly change four key settings (white balance, ISO sensitivity, image size, and image quality) while viewing the subject on the monitor. There's no need to switch to the menu screen.

A Large, Bright 2.5" Diagonal LCD with High Angle Mode and In-Line Style EVF
The DMC-FZ7 features a large, 2.5" diagonal LCD and Power LCD function. The pixel-mixed readout method performed by the CCD increases the brightness level of the live image on the LCD, which greatly facilitates shooting in low lighting.

Panasonic's pixel-mixed readout method automatically increases the brightness of the LCD monitor according to the ambient darkness. This enables bright, easy framing of dimly lit scenes that previously would have just faded into darkness.

You probably know how difficult it is to see an LCD image on a sunny day. When that happens with the DMC-FZ7, simply touch the Power LCD button and the display becomes about 40% brighter for easier viewing on sunny days. The DMC-FZ7 also has the world's first developed High-Angle shooting function, which makes it easier to check the LCD when you're holding the camera high to shoot over a crowd. In addition, the electronic viewfinder and LCD align along the same line of sight to minimize differences in the images you see when framing shots.
Selection of 3 Aspect Ratios

The aspect ratio is easily selectable between 16:9 wide, 3:2 and conventional 4:3 to shoot in the framing aspect that best suits the subjects' composition or the image's purpose of use. You can shoot images in the wide 16:9 format*. Then insert the recorded SD Memory Card into a TV equipped with an SD card slot to view them in perfect, wide-screen size. Some TVs will display the image in stunning high definition.
Fast, Precise Response for a High Zoom Model

Thanks to the multi-task image processing in the Venus Engine™ II LSI, the DMC-FZ7 has a release time lag as low as 0.008 seconds and can fire off up to 13 consecutive shots at a swift 3 frames per second in Standard Mode. It also has Unlimited Consecutive Shooting, so you can keep shooting until the SD Memory Card full. Moreover, the 1-point high-speed AF boasts super-short shutter time lag for a high zoom model, letting you capture decisive moments that happen all of a sudden.

Full Motion Video in Wide screen Format
The FZ7 shoots movies in either standard 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios. In wide screen or normal, it can shoot 30 frames per second for smooth motion, or 10 frames per second for choppy, jerky motion. In 4:3, it shoots in 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 resolutions. The 640 x 480 resolution approximates standard video. In 16:9 the FZ7 shoots only in 848 x 480 resolution, comparable to regular television. The FZ7 records mono sound and the lens cannot zoom while the camera is shooting video.
Features:
· 6-megapixel effective CCD for images up to 2816 x 2112 pixels
· Leica DC-VARIO ELMARIT 12x zoom lens, equivalent to 35-430mm on a 35mm camera
· Optical image stabilization to help prevent camera shake and blurring
· Venus Engine II LSI for robust camera operations
· Mega Burst continuous capture 14 images @ 3 frames per second
· Macro focus with autofocus down to 1.9 inches
· 2.5-inch TFT color LCD monitor
· 16 scene modes including High Sensitivity which boosts ISO to either 800 or 1600; Baby mode records the baby's age down to the month and day according to the preset birthday; and Starry Sky which uses slow shutter speeds to capture the night sky.
· Joystick controlled Manual Focus and Manual Exposure
· Eye level color electronic viewfinder with dioptric adjustment
· Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual and 14 Scene modes
· High Speed and Low Speed Continuous, AE Bracketing and Timelapse modes
· Option to add conversion lenses via adaptor
· Wide-screen VGA (848x480) movie mode for recording at 30fps in 16:9; normal VGA (640x480) movie mode
· QuickTime movies HDTV/VGA 30fps or 10fps w/audio
· Shutter speeds from 1/2000 to 8 seconds (Shutter priority and Manual modes)
· Built-in flash with auto, fill, slow synchro and red-eye reduction modes
· Playback of 1, 9, or 25 images on multi-split screen
· Intelligent Multiple and Spot exposure metering
· TTL Auto White Balance, 5 presets and custom set
· Secure Digital memory card slot, 16MB card included
· Plug-n-Play USB, Mass Storage compliant
· PictBridge Direct-Print compatible
· Li-ion rechargeable battery and rapid charger included
Product Specifications
Camera Effective Pixels 6.0 Megapixels
CCD (Image Sensor) 1/2.5"6.37 Total Megapixel CCD Primary Color Filter
Optical Zoom 12x
Extra Optical Zoom 4:3 Aspect Ratio:14.7x for 4 Mega, 16.5x for 3 Mega, 2 Mega, 1Mega, 0.3 Mega3:2 Aspect Ratio:16.5x for 2.5 Mega16:9 Aspect Ratio:16.5x for 2 Mega
Digital Zoom 4x(Max. 48x combined with Optical Zoom without Extended Optical Zoom)(Max. 66x combined with Extended Optical Zoom)
Focal Length f=6.0-72mm (35mm equivalent: 36-432mm)
Leica DC Vario-Elmarit Lens 11 Elements in 8 Groups(3 Aspherical Lenses/3 Aspherical Surfaces)
Aperture Range Wide: F2.8 - F8Tele: F3.3 - F8
Optical Image Stabilizer MEGA O.I.S. (Mode 1 / Mode 2 )
Focusing Area Normal: Wide 30cm/ Tele 200cm - infinityA/S/M: Wide 5cm/Tele 200cm - infinityMacro, Motion Image, Simple (except for Tele): Wide: 5cm/Tele 200cm - infinityMacro, Motion Image, Simple (Tele Macro Mode): 100cm - infinity
AF Metering 1 point1 point high speed3 points high speed9 pointsSpot
Focus AF/MF SwitchableManual Focus (Joystick)Normal/Macro (Dial)Continuous AF On/Off
AF Assist Lamp Yes
ISO Sensitivity Auto / 80 / 100 / 200 / 400 (High Sensitivity Mode: Auto/800/1600)
Conversion Lens Compatibility Yes
White Balance Auto/Daylight/Cloudy/Halogen/Flash/White Set 1/2White Balance Adjustment(except for Auto WB)
Exposure Program AEAperture Priority AEShutter Priority AEManualProgram Shift (P mode)
Exposure Compensation 1/3 EV Step, ± 2 EV
Backlight Compensation Yes (at simple mode)
Auto Bracketing (AE) +1/3EV-1EV Step, 3 Frames
Light Metering Intelligent Multiple / Center-weighted / Spot
Scene Modes Dial: P(Program) Mode, A(Aperture Priority) Mode, S(Shutter Priority) Mode, M(Manual) Mode, Macro SimpleSCN Mode: Portrait, Sports, Scenery, Night Scenery, Panning, Night Portrait, Fireworks, Party, Snow, High SensitivityMoving Image, Playback
Shutter Speed 8 - 1/2,000 sec.: Program AE, Aperature Priority, Shutter Priority AEManual: 60 - 1/2000 sec.Starry Sky Mode: 15, 30, 60 sec.
Self Timer 10 seconds / 2 seconds
Auto Review 1 sec/3 sec/zoom
Review 1x/4x/8x
Picture Adjustment Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation, Noise Reduction
Color Effect Mode Cool, Warm, Black & White, Sepia
Recording Format Still Image: JPEG (design rule for camera file system), DPOF correspondingStill Image with Audio: JPEG (design rule for camera file system) + QuickTimeMotion Images: QuickTime Motion JPEG
Image Quality TIFF/Fine/Standard
Recording Image Size (Pixels)
4:3 Aspect Ratio (Still Image) 2816 x 21122304 x 17282048 x 15361600 x 12001280 x 960640 x 480
3:2 Aspect Ratio (Still Image) 2816 x 18802048 x 1360
16:9 Aspect Ratio (Still Image) 2816 x 15841920 x 1080
Motion Image (4:3 Aspect Ratio) 640 x 480, 320 x 240
Motion Image (16:9 Aspect Ratio) 848 x 480

Burst Shooting Mode Full-resolution image:Standard Mode: Up to 13 images at 3 or 2 frames/sec.Fine Mode: Up to 7 images
Unlimited Consecutive Shooting Yes
Still Image Recording with Audio 5 seconds
Audio Dubbing Max. 10 seconds
Real-time Histograms Yes
Composition Guide Lines Yes
Built-in Memory No
Built-in Flash Mode Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction,Slow Sync./Red-eye ReductionForced On/OffWide: 0.3 - 6.0m (ISO Auto)Tele: 0.3 - 5.4m (ISO Auto)
Viewfinder 0.33" diagonal Color EVF (114k pixels)Field of view: approx. 100%
LCD Monitor 2.5" Diagonal Polycrystalline TFT LCD Display (114k pixels, Transflective Type)Field of view: approx. 100%Power LCD Mode, High Angle LCD Mode
Playback Mode 25 or 9-Thumbnail DisplayCalendar Display, Zoomed Playback (16x max)Image RotationSlide ShowFavorite PicturesResizingTrimming, ProtectionDPOF Print Setting
OSD Language English, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese (Traditional), German, Italian, French
Recording Media SD Memory CardMultimedia Card
Microphone Yes
Speaker Yes
Interface DC Input, Video Output (NTSC/PAL), USB
Direct Print PictBridge
Color Black
Power Supply Lithium-ion Battery Pack (7.2V, 710 mAh)(Included)AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC)(Optional)
Batter Life Up to 320 pictures (CIPA Standard)Up to 340 pictures with EVF
Dimensions (H x W x D)2.84'' x 4.43'' x 3.11''
Weight 0.68 lbs