Panasonic DMC-FZ7

Reviewed June 2006

Interface & Software

Interface

With the DMC-FZ7 Panasonic continues an interface of the same basic design that has been used on a number of Panasonic cameras over the last couple of years. The interface and the menu system is quite legible and generally easy to understand.

In use, the EVF or the monitor display camera settings superimposed on semi-transparent black blocks that help make the setting, or the icon for the camera setting, stand out over the image coming from the lens. Moreover, alternative presentations are available, including one that places the current settings out of frame on the bottom and right side of the EVF/monitor, but which has the detriment of making the image coming from the lens even smaller.

The menus are presented on different colour backgrounds, a presentation also used by other manufacturers, and which has the benefit of making it easier distinguish one menu from another. Still, the logic behind the design is somewhat diluted by the fact that some options appear as greyed-out in some modes but not others, as evidenced by the various versions of the Setup menu shown below. The Setup menu is intended to contain the most basic settings for the camera, and the fact that it is available from all modes underlies its importance. Yet, options such as TV Aspect and Video Out are only accessible when the camera is set to the Playback mode while, for instance, the selection for distance units, useable only when the manual focus is selected in a capture mode, can be readily changed in all modes.

Aside from this, however, the Setup menu contains the following settings:

• Clock Set: is to set the internal clock and calendar of the FZ7.
• Monitor: serves to adjust the brightness of the EVF or the LCD monitor separately (7 steps).
• Travel Date: allows setting the start date of a trip, and then recording the date on which photos are taken during the trip so they can be printed and identified on the print as from the first day, the second day, the third day etc.
• Play on LCD selects where the image will be displayed first in playback: the LCD monitor, or on the display that is currently active.

• Power Save: sets the time after which the camera automatically shuts down when it is inactive (1, 2, 5 or 10 minutes, or Off).
• Auto Review: displays, or not, the image immediately after capture for a set period of time (1 or 3 secs), or zooms the image 4X after presenting it for 1 second to ascertain sharpness.
• MF Assist controls the type of assistance provided by the camera during Manual Focusing: MF1 enlarges the centre portion of the image; MF2 enlarges the centre portion of the image, and fills the monitor with it.

• Beep offers three settings to control the volume of the sounds produced by the FZ7 during operations: Soft, Loud or Off.
• Shutter: sets the volume of the shutter sound produced by the FZ7, Soft, Loud, or Off.

• Volume: serves to adjust the playback volume for recorded sounds or video clips over 7 levels.
• No. Reset: resets the file numbering system of the camera so that it will restart from 1.
• Reset: returns all options to their original factory settings, but not date/time settings and folder number.
• USB Mode: to select the USB protocol, either PC (to connect to a computer), or PictBridge (to connect to a PictBridge compatible printer and print photos).

• Highlight: On or Off. When On the option causes the potentially overexposed part of a just-captured image to flash on the screen during review.
• Video Out: sets the output video signal to NTSC or PAL.

• TV Aspect: offers a choice of 4:3 or 16:9 so that the camera adjusts its output image to the type of television it is connected to.
• MF m/ft: decides whether distances are shown in imperial or metric.
• Scene Menu: to select if the Scene menu is shown automatically (Auto), or not (Off) when the Mode dial is turned to the SCN position.
• Language to select the interface language: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese or Traditional Chinese.

Panasonic includes a very thorough printed manual with the DMC-FZ7. The manual covers all functions of the camera in detail, and has a logical organization that makes it easy to become familiar with the functions and capabilities of the FZ7.

Software

In North America, a single CD is bundled with the DMC-FZ7. The disc, which has a somewhat clunky interface from which programs to be installed are selected, offers the following:

• Lumix Simple Viewer (see further),
• Photo fun Studio Viewer (see further),
• QuickTime, to view movies,
• USB Driver,
• Acrobat Reader to view the PDF documentation,
• and ArcSoft Photo Suite which includes:
  • Photo Impressions 5,
  • Panorama Maker 3,
  • PhotoBase 4.5.

Lumix Simple Viewer (shown at right) is, as its name indicates, simply an image viewer that can display photos located on the memory card in the camera, or on the computer's hard disk and show the shooting data. The program can also be used to print photos or attach a selected image to an e-mail, using the e-mail client already on the computer.

Before photos can be seen, however, these have to be imported, a process that is slow and not well optimized.

Still, Lumix Simple viewer is able to show the shooting data, and can present images full screen.

Photo Fun Studio Viewer, another program from Panasonic, can only be run if Lumix Simple Viewer is not running. It is a more advanced, more comprehensive viewer and benefits from a better designed interface that is easier to use than the "Simple" Viewer. It, too, can present images in an index view, and can be used to print photos.

However, Photo Impression 5, from ArcSoft, is the only program supplied with the FZ7 that allows making adjustments or editing images.

The program makes it possible to adjust images for brightness, contrast, or sharpness, and can be used to resize or crop photos, adjust their colour tone, or eliminate red-eye. Moreover, it can also be used to add borders or graphics to photos.

The ArcSoft software suite also includes Panorama Maker 3, a program designed to create panoramic images by assembling series of overlapping photos, but regrettably the FZ7 does not offer a Panorama capture mode

The other program included is PhotoBase 4.5, software designed to organize photos and videos,which also offers basic editing capabilities, and which can be used to create web-based photo albums.