Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 Digital Camera Review

Viewfinder (5.25)
The FZ7's electronic viewfinder window is small and has low-resolution at 114,000 pixels. The small window dictates that the view won't be magnified by much, so the view is not good enough to use with the FZ7's manual focus function, and it's not as good for playback as the LCD. It may be more useful than the LCD in bright sun, but we don't expect many users to prefer it otherwise. Logic suggests that it uses less power than the LCD.

LCD Screen (6.5)
The FZ7's LCD screen is 2.5 inches, which is typically a very useful size. Unfortunately, it has only 114,000 pixels and this poor resolution is a limitation for focusing and reviewing images. We also found the angle of view limited when the LCD is in normal mode. Panasonic has tried to compensate for the poor angle of view by adding an overhead mode, which boosts the brightness of the LCD so much that it's completely washed out when viewed straight on. It is, however, remarkably clear when viewed from below. The LCD has a regular boost mode, which brightens it for use on a sunny day at the beach, or in other bright circumstances.

Flash (7.5)
The FZ7's flash pops up directly above the lens, which is ideal for horizontal shots: the subjects' shadows will fall directly behind them, and be hidden. Panasonic says it can shoot light out to 6 meters, or 19.65 feet, at wide angle and 5.4 meters, or 17.7 feet, at telephoto. Our test shots look a little underexposed at that range, but they are still usable. We noted significant light falloff in the wide angle flash shots. The corners of the image are darker than the center. That's not a big problem for snapshots of people, but could be distracting in shots of artwork or rooms, or anything requiring even lighting. The pop-up mechanism is solidly built and swings from a single axis, which should be more durable than the more complex slide-and-pivot arrangements on some other cameras.

The flash can fire at shutter speeds throughout the camera's regular range of 1 to 1/2000 of a second, and the FZ7 offers flash exposure compensation of up to 2 stops above or below the metered output. It can be set in 1/3-stop increments.

Lens (8.75)
The DC Vario-Elmarit 6-72mm zoom is a Leica-approved optic lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 at wide angle and f /3.3 at telephoto. It's a big advantage that the lens only loses about half a stop of speed throughout the zoom range; it means that the FZ7 will have better low light capabilities than cameras with slower lenses. That benefits focusing as well as exposure, because the through-the-lens focusing sensor has more light to work with. The lens has an angle of view equivalent to a 36-432mm lens on a 35mm camera, for an impressive 12x range.

Long zooms typically show two problems: color fringing and barrel distortion. The Vario-Elmarit lens has better than average color correction, and does not show fringing at wide angle or telephoto. At wide angle, the lens showed significant barrel distortion, curving straight lines along the edges of the frame. The effect is noticeable in typical snapshots users might take with the FZ7. The distortion issue does not extend to the other focal lengths.