Compared to...

Below you will find a studio comparison between the Panasonic FX7 and the similarly specified Pentax Optio S5i at ISO 400.

Studio scene comparison (@ ISO 400)

• Panasonic DMC-FX7: Program mode, ISO 400, Default Image Parameters,
  Manual white balance, +0.33 EV compensation
   
• Pentax Optio S5i: Program mode, ISO 400, Default Image Parameters,
  Manual white balance, +0.67 EV compensation
   
• Lighting: Two 800W studio lamps with dichroic daylight filters bounced off the ceiling

Panasonic DMC-FX7	Pentax Optio S5i
ISO 400, 1/13 sec, F4.7	ISO 400, 1/10 sec, F4.4
2,186 KB JPEG	3,329 KB JPEG
Noise, std dev: 4.1	Noise, std dev: 3.6

At ISO 400 there's little to choose between the two cameras - both show some noise, but it's a lot better than many similarly-specified competitors, and - in decent light - is not going to seriously mar normal sized prints. I actually prefer the slightly crisper results produced by the FX7 than the less noisy, but less detailed S5i, but there really isn't much in it.