Panasonic DMC-FZ7

Reviewed June 2006

Characteristics

The DMC-FZ7's images are captured using a 1/2.5 inch CCD with 6,370,000 pixels, of which 6 million are effective when capturing the maximum image size of 2816 x 2112 pixels.

The sensitivity range of the FZ7 begins at 80 ISO, but can be manually set to 100, 200 or 400 ISO when the camera is set to A, S, or M. With the other modes, an Auto mode is available, allowing the camera to adjust the CCD as necessary to compensate for the available light. Furthermore, with the DMC-FZ7 set to the High Sens. Scene mode, the sensitivity can be set to 800 or 1600 ISO manually, or set to Auto, which allows the camera to set over the same range as needed.

Leica provides the 12X optical zoom lens used on the FZ7. With a focal length of 6 to 72 mm, the zoom is comparable of a 36 to 432 mm on a 35 mm format camera. The lens is composed of 11 elements 8 groups and includes aspherical surfaces to correct curvilinear distortions. Optical stabilization is achieved using Panasonic's own Mega O.I.S., which optically stabilizes the focal point of the lens, making it possible to capture sharper images with less light, or compensate for camera shake at long focal lengths.

Apertures start at f2.8 at the wide angle end of the zoom, closing down to f8 at the telephoto end, while at the telephoto end of the zoom, apertures start at f3.3 and also close down to a maximum of f8.

The lens hood is shaped to prevent flare at all focal lengths, from the wide angle position to the maximum telephoto; and the clip-on lens cover supplied with the camera can be used with the hood adaptor and hood. Moreover, as options, both an MC (Multi-coated) Protector filter, and an ND (Neutral Density) filter, which decreases the light entering the lens by 3f stops, can be attached directly to the hood adaptor.

Shutter speeds with the FZ7 can be as fast as 1/2000 second and as slow as 60 seconds, depending on the shooting mode. And noise reduction is applied to any image captured at a low shutter speed.

In addition to the FZ7's impressive optical zoom, Panasonic offers a cropping function that uses the full 6-megapixel image and crops it to provide the visual effect of an even longer zoom. The result is that up to a 16.5X zoom effect is achievable without any interpolation being used on the image.

As is the case with other recent Panasonic digital cameras, the DMC-FZ7 is able to capture images using any one of 3 aspect ratios:

• 4:3, the aspect ratio that corresponds to standard televisions and computer monitors;
• 3:2, the aspect ratio that corresponds to photo printing papers originally developed for 35 mm film cameras and with sizes such as 4 x 6 and 5 x 7 inches (10 x 15 or 12 x 18 cm) and avoids cropping;
• and 16:9, the aspect ratio of HD televisions, supported not only by the still image mode of the camera, but also by its movie mode.

Taken all together, these 3 aspect ratios allow the FZ7 to capture images at any of 10 sizes, which can be selected in the main capture menu, or by pressing the Joystick straight in to display the Quick menu. Worth noting, on this Panasonic camera, as with some other recent models, image sizes with dimensions less the maximum width that can be captured by the CCD are designated "EZ", indicating that they can be used with the Extended Zoom as explained earlier:

Images can be stored using either one of two file formats:

• JPEG which can be set to either one of two compression levels:
  • Fine: the least compressed format with the highest image quality;
  • Standard, a more compressed format that allows storing more images in a given memory space but at a lower image quality.
    
• TIFF: recorded without any compression and which has a file size of 17.4 MB, written to an SD card in approximately 5 seconds, and which stores a Standard quality JPEG copy of the image as well.

As noted above, these image size and quality settings are set in the capture menus, along with other settings. The menu is composed of 2 main sections, REC and Setup, a configuration it shares with the both the Movie menu and the Playback mode menu, while the Simple Mode menu is more limited (see further). The capture mode menu is displayed when the camera is set to P, A, S, M, or SCN, but not all options are available to all modes:

• White Balance provides the following settings: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Halogen, Flash, White set 1, White set 2, and White Set to set the white point manually and store it in either of the 2 memory locations.
• Sensitivity: Auto, or 80, 100, 200, or 400 ISO. And, when the FZ7 is set to the High Sensitivity Scene mode: Auto, 800 or 1600 ISO.
• Aspect Ratio: 4:3, 3:2, or 16:9 (see above).
• Picture Size (still image modes only) serves to select one the image sizes (see above).

• Quality (still image modes only) sets the image quality (see above)
• Picture Mode (movie mode only): selects the frame size and frame rate (see the Ergonomics section of the review for more information).
• Audio Rec.: On or Off. This option allows recording a 5-second sound bite immediately after an image is captured. Audio recordings are not possible when the camera is set to Burst mode, Auto Bracketing, or with the Starry Night scene mode.

• Metering Mode: (P, S, A, M, Macro and Movie modes only)
  • Multiple meters numerous sections of the frame to decide the exposure parameters.
  • Centre-weighted meters the entire frame and the centre separately, giving the reading obtained at the centre — presumably the area where the subject is located — greater importance than the reading obtained for the rest of the frame.
  • Spot meters the precise centre of the frame and bases the exposure on the reading obtained there exclusively.
  AF Mode serves to set the Auto focus method:
  • 9-area AF: the camera uses all the 9 AF points to focus automatically.
  • 3-area AF High Speed: the camera uses 3 horizontal AF points from which to select the focus point automatically.
  • 1-area AF High Speed: allows the camera to focus quickly on the subject that is in the centre AF point.
  • 1-area AF: the camera focuses on the subject located at the centre AF point .
  • Spot Focusing: concentrates the AF point on a small area precise area at the centre of the frame.

• Continuous AF (C-AF): On or Off. When On, the time required to focus is reduced as the camera adjusts the focus continuously, but the battery is depleted faster.
• AF Assist Lamp: On or Off. Controls the AF assist lamp, which automatically illuminates the subject when the ambient light is too low to allow the AF to function reliably.
• Digital Zoom: controls whether or not the 2X or 4X digital zoom is available. The zoom crops the central portion of the image and interpolates it to the selected image size, which lowers the image quality.

• Colour Effect controls the colour tone of the image (P, A, S, M, Macro and Movie modes only):
  • Cool shifts the image towards blue tones,
  • Warm shifts the image towards red tones,
  • B&W records the image in black and white, and
  • Sepia captures a sepia coloured photo.

• Picture Adjustment (P, A, S, M, and Macro modes only) serves to modify:
  • Contrast: High, Low or Standard.
  • Sharpness: High, Low or Standard.
  • Saturation: High, Low or Standard.
  • Noise Reduction: High, Low or Standard.

• Flip Animation: allows creating a 20-second video clip by automatically assembling up to 100 images at either 5 or 10 frames per second.
• Conversion serves to let the camera know when a conversion lens is mounted onto the DMW-LA2 optional lens adaptor:
  • Wide angle (DMW-LW55) 0.7X.
  • Telephoto Conversion Lens (DMW-LT55) 1.7X.

With the FZ7 set to the Simple Mode — the point-and-shoot mode — the menu is considerably shorter, containing only four options, three of which originate from the Setup menu:

• Picture Mode: selects the image size, basing the selection on what the image will be used for:
  • Enlarge uses the maximum image size, suitable for an 8 x 10 print.
  • 4 x 6 /10 x 15 for standard prints.
  • E-Mail: to send as an e-mail attachment.
  Auto Review: On or Off, decides whether or not an image is shown on the monitor/EVF immediately post-capture.
• Beep: controls the beeps produced by the camera.

• Clock Set: serves to set the time and date on the FZ7.

Set to the Playback mode, the FZ7's menu maintains the same general appearance, and also provides an access to the Setup menu (see the Interface and Software section of the review for the contents of the Setup menu):

• Slide Show: can be set to show all images on the card, or only those that have been set as favourites [] (see the next option). The on-screen time of images can be selected (1, 2, 3, 5 secs. or Manual, but only with the display of favourites) and any sound associated with an image can be cut off if desired.
• Favourite: gives the option to mark some images as favourites, which adds the symbol [] to the images, and makes it possible to erase all images but favourites; or view only favourite images in a slide show.
• Rotate Disp.: (On or Off), makes it possible to automatically see pictures that have been shot vertically, or which have been rotated, with the correct orientation.

• Rotate: serves to rotate a photo 90° to the left or right.
• DPOF Print: serves to select images for printing on a DPOF compliant printer, a printing service, or when the FZ7 is connected directly to PictBridge compliant printer. Worth noting, when the FZ7 is connected directly to a PictBridge printer, the camera displays a menu from which the type of print to make can be selected.
• Protect: allows selecting images and tagging them to prevent an accidental erasure.

• Audio Dub.: makes it possible to add a voice annotation lasting up to 10 seconds to any image except those recorded using the TIFF format.
• Resize: serves to resize any image, with the exception of TIFF images, to a lower resolution so as to store more images on the card.
• Trimming: allows re-framing an image and saving the cropped version either with the same file name, overwriting the original, or as a new image. Images with sound attached cannot be trimmed.
• Aspect Conversion: images taken in 16:9 format can be converted to 3:2 or 4:3 format for printing.
• Format: formats the memory card.

The DMC-FZ7 is normally supplied with a Lithium ion battery (Panasonic CGR-S006A) and a charger (Panasonic DE-993B); the charger takes about 2 hours to fully recharge the battery. The battery is rated at approximately 160 minutes or 320 photos between charges.

The FZ7 is also compatible with SD (Secure Digital) and MMC (MultiMedia) memory cards, but capturing movies is indicated in the manual as requiring the use of an SD card.

The memory card slot is located underneath the camera, next to the battery compartment, and is protected by the same door. The FZ7 is retailed with a small 16 MB SD card, which limits the number of images that can be captured at any one time. The acquisition of a greater capacity SD card should be considered as necessary when the camera is purchased.

The table below provides the approximate number of images that can be stored with the 16MB card provided with the camera, and with an inexpensive 1GB card.

16 MB SD Card:

1 GB SD Card:

Movie Recording Time:

Two external connections are available on the DMC-FZ7, both of which are located on the lower left side of the camera.

The upper connection has a dual function, serving for both USB (2.0 Full Speed) and A/V Out (audio/video), either NTSC or PAL as determined in the Setup menu. Both cables, USB and A/V, are supplied with the camera.

The lower connection is for DC-In, and is intended for use with the optional DMW-AC7 AC adaptor, making it possible to run the camera using household current.