Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 Review

Almost a year to the day since the introduction of the hugely popular FZ5 (and 4MP sibling the FZ4) - itself an upgrade to the FZ3 - Panasonic has announced its successor, the 6 megapixel DMC-FZ7. As well as a design facelift and an extra megapixel, the FZ7 introduces several handling and performance improvements over the FZ5, not least of which is the inclusion of manual focusing and significantly easier control over exposure settings via a new joystick (as seen on the DMC-LX1).

Major changes / improvements over FZ5

• 6 megapixel sensor
• Larger (2.5-inch) screen (lower resolution, however)
• New joystick control for manual focus and exposure operations
• Brighter LCD and EVF performance in low light
• ISO 800 and 1600 options
• VGA movies
• 16:9 movie mode
• Body redesign

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 vs DMC-FZ5 (feature & specification differences)

	Panasonic DMC-FZ7	Panasonic DMC-FZ5
Sensor	• 1/2.5 " Type CCD • 6.37 million pixels total • 6.0 million effective pixels	• 1/2.5" Type CCD • 5.76 x 4.29 mm (info) • 5.0 million effective pixels
Image sizes (max)	• 2816 x 2112 (4:3) • 2816 x 1880 (3:2) • 2816 x 1584 (16:9)	• 2560 x 1920 (4:3) • 1920 x 1080 (16:9)
Movie Mode	• 640 x 480 (4:3) 30 / 10fps • 320 x 240 (4:3) 30 / 10fps • 848 x 480 (16:9) 30 / 10fps	• 320 x 240 pixels @ 30fps • 320 x 240 pixels @ 10fps
Manual focus	Yes (via joystick)	No
Shutter speed	60 - 1/2000 sec	8 - 1/2000 sec
Shooting modes	• Program AE • Aperture Priority AE • Shutter Priority AE • Manual • Program Shift (P mode) • Simple • Scene • Macro • Portrait • Soft Skin • Sports • Scenery • Night Scenery • Panning • Night Portrait • Fireworks • Party • Food • Candle • Starry Sky • Baby 1 & 2 • Snow	• Program • Aperture Priority • Shutter Priority • Manual • Macro • Portrait • Scenery • Sports • Panning • Fireworks • Party • Snow • Night Portrait • Night Scenery • Simple Mode
Continuous (burst) shooting	• 3 or 2 fps • Max 13 images (JPEG Standard) / 7 images (JPEG Fine)	• 3 fps, up to 4 frames (fine) / 7 frames (standard) • 2 fps (limited only by capacity of card)
Flash range (wide, auto ISO)	Wide 0.3 - 6.0m	0.3m - 4.5m
Sensitivity	• Auto • ISO 80, 100, 200, 400 • High sensitivity mode: ISO 800 / 1600	• Auto • ISO 80,100,200,400
Viewfinder position	Centered, above LCD monitor	Off-center (to left of screen)
LCD monitor	• 2.5" Polycrystalline TFT • 114,000 pixels	• 1.8" TFT • 130,000 pixels
Battery	• Li-ion Battery Pack • 7.2V, 710mAh • (Optional AC adapter)	• CGA-S002A Lithium Ion pack • 7.2V, 680 mAh • (Optional AC adapter)
Battery life	320 shots (CIPA standard)	300 shots (CIPA standard)
Weight (no batt)	310 g	290 g
Dimensions	112.5 x 72.2 x 79 mm (4.43 x 2.84 x 3.11 in)	108 x 68.4 x 84.8mm (4.25 x 2.7 x 3.3in)

DMC-FZ7 specifications

If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).

Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C.

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