Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 Digital Camera Review

Connectivity
Software (7.5)
The FZ7 comes with ArcSoft PhotoImpression, PhotoBase and Panorama Maker. The software allows organizing, editing, printing and emailing images, as well as stitching images together to create panoramas. PhotoImpression has options for making albums and other kinds of presentations as well. The editing functions are pretty limited – Adobe PhotoShop CS and Photoshop Elements are certainly more flexible and powerful.

Jacks, Ports, Plugs (6.0)
The FZ7 has a port for an external power supply, as well as a jack for either USB 2.0 or analog audio/video out.

Direct Print Options (5.0)
The FZ7 can handle printing independent of a computer via DPOF and PictBridge. It can save print orders on its SD card in DPOF format, or print directly to PictBridge printers via the USB port. The user can select images to print, set the number of copies, and choose whether to add the date to the print. The FZ7 can also set the print size or add borders, and set multi-image pages, with compatible printers.

Battery (6.75)
There's a 7.2 volt lithium-ion battery in the FZ7. You can easily pop it out of the camera and slide it into the included charger. The arrangement worked fine for all our testing. Our general experience is that custom lithium packs such as this one last longer than AA cells – even NiMH rechargeables – in competing cameras.

Memory (3.0)
The FZ7 accepts SD cards, the most popular memory format for compact digital cameras. SD cards are an excellent technology; they're reliable and cheaper than the competing formats.

The FZ7 does not have any internal memory. Some competing cameras do, generally enough to store a few favorite images for slide shows.

Other Features (3.5)
Flipbook setting  - When the FZ7 is set to flipbook, it will combine the series of images shot into a movie. It's an easy way to dabble with animation, and just the sort of extra that makes a compact camera more fun – not more practical or powerful, just more fun.

Poorly organized and designed manual  - The FZ7 manual we received will probably get another round of proofreading before the camera is shipped in volume. At least we sure hope so. Critical information is missing – where measurements in inches and ounces belong, there are zeroes. Worse, it's hard to find the information that is in the book. The example photos are reproduced so small and at such poor resolution, that the reader can only guess at what they are supposed to show. The pages are jammed with text and graphics, and both the index and the table of contents are sloppy. Strictly speaking, it is a noteworthy feature; it’s just not noteworthy for good reasons.

Self-Timer - The Panasonic FZ7 has a self-timer that delays the shot by either 2 or 10 seconds. Users may find the self-timer helpful when they want to take pictures of themselves, or when they're taking long exposures and they want vibrations to die down before the exposure is made.