Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7

I was going travelling and needed a new camera for all my holiday snaps.
After hours of reading reviews I opted for the Panasonic Lumix TZ7 as this one seemed to have everything I wanted and wasnt horribly expensive.
The camera isnt as attractive as many others on the market as it's bulkier with a large lense, but the aesthetics were not a deal breaker for me.

The main attraction for me with this camera was the fact it can shoot high definition videos. They are crystal clear but you can hear the whirring of the lense zooming in and out which does spoil it slightly. Taking photos in dark surroundings can turn out blurry too which isnt ideal if wanting to use your camera on a night out.
The reviews had made a big song and dance about how incredible the quality is so I felt slightly mislead, as although it's a pretty good camera there are things that really let it down.

Changing the settings on this camera are relatively easy but you will need to fiddle about a bit and read through the instruction booklet.
As the camera is 10.1 megapixels, it's good for those who want to print large photos. Smaller photos often do yield better results overall though and have the advantage of taking up less space on the memory card.

The camera also has an impressive 12x optical zoom which means it can pick up on intricate detail from a long distance. The battery life usually lasts for about 9 hours after a full charge and the camera comes with a USB cable to transfer photos and videos on to your computer. It doesnt come with a camera case though but I managed to find a good quality leather one on ebay for £5.
There is a CD included too that provides features for editing and organising your photos.

I bought mine from Ebay for £115 but I think it retails for about £150 from most other places. Shop around though and you will get a good deal like me.

This camera has good points and bad points so it wont suit everyone. It takes fantastic, detailed photos during the daylight but blurry ones at night time and the zoom makes a racket during video filming.

Technical details:

25 mm ultra wide-angle 12x optical zoom LEICA DC lens in compact body
HD movie recording in AVCHD lite with Dolby stereo digital creator
Advanced intelligent auto mode with face recognition and movie iA mode
3.0 inch, 460,000-dot high-resolution intelligent LCD with wide-viewing angle
Venus Engine HD with HDMI Compatibility and VIERA Link