Model Design / Appearance (8.0)
The FZ7 falls into the “SLR-like” category, with a big grip for the right hand, a viewfinder hump, and a large lens barrel on a wide, shallow camera body. It is much smaller, however, than a real DSLR and sleeker than most of the other competing ultra-zoom models. The FZ7 is primarily thick plastic, and it feels and looks that way. We have the shiny “silver” version, and worry that the finish may scuff or scratch. The body of the FZ7 feels solid in the hands – a little squeeze doesn't elicit creaks and groans. However, we noticed that the lens rattles a little when we shake the camera. We didn't shake the camera very hard, so that was an unfortunate surprise.
The shell of the FZ7 is made up of several pieces of plastic, that don't fit together as well as they could. Some seams fit tightly and some have gaps wide enough to slip paper into. That's likely to allow dust inside the camera, and makes our sample look a bit shoddy.
Size / Portability (6.5)
The FZ7 is a mere 4.43 x 2.84 x 3.11 inches when shut off, and weighs 0.68 pounds (around 10.9 oz.). Though we've seen comparably small cameras with long zooms, it's worth remarking that a 35mm setup with the same focal range would weigh many pounds and require a camera bag large enough to hold a cocker spaniel. The FZ7's class of cameras allows users to take a much wider range of photos very casually, without the heavy toting.
The FZ7's poor seals against dust and dirt affect its portability, though. We strongly recommend keeping the FZ7 in a bag or case to protect it from dirt and moisture.
Handling Ability (8.0)
For a small camera, the FZ7 handles very nicely. The texture of the handgrip promotes a secure hold for the right hand, and the non-focusing part of the lens barrel offers a good grip for the left hand. The lens accounts for most of the FZ7's weight, so added support from the left hand will make most users' shoot steadier anyway. The FZ7 is set up for a shoulder strap. Some of us felt that this camera was just barely heavy enough to require a neck strap over a wrist strap, and that the neck strap could ultimately be a nuisance on camera this small. Others felt that the neck strap was fine.
Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (7.5)
The FZ7's buttons are spread apart enough so that even users with large hands will be able to hit them confidently. Joysticks are gaining popularity on digital cameras, and the FZ7's implementation shows how much sense that makes. The joystick allows quick navigation in the functions it controls, including ISO, white balance, file size and quality. Better yet, Panasonic added the joystick and left the four-way controller, so that the FZ7 has the advantages of this control as well.
The FZ7's shutter release has a short range of travel – it doesn't take much movement to activate the autofocus and exposure metering. It takes even less movement for a picture to be taken. That might speed up the camera's response time a little, but we expect that some users will fire the shutter accidentally when they only want to adjust focus.
Menu (7.5)
The FZ7's menus cover Record, Setup and Playback options, with separate menus for Simple mode and Scene mode selection. The menus appear in a large, clear, sanserif font in black against a white background. The active entry appears on a yellow background, and the heading appears on red, green or blue.
Most items are well placed, with the more commonly used items high in the list, and more obscure ones lower down. The menus each have a few screens worth of entries. We like to see the card format option in the Setup menu, which is accessible in both shooting and playback mode on the FZ7 and many other cameras. Unfortunately for us, it's the last item in the Playback menu. Apparently, if list order is anything to go by, Panasonic would rather users “delete all” images through the Playback interface than format their SD cards. We prefer formatting because we swap cards between various brands of cameras, and the delete function doesn't clear away extraneous folders.
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Shooting Menu
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White Balance
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Set for proper color in various kinds of light
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ISO
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Set the sensitivity to light
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Aspect Ratio
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Set the shape of the frame; the choices are 3:2, 4:3 and 16:9
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Pict. Size
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Set the resolution of the image
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Quality
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Set for TIFF, or level of JPEG protection
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Audio Rec.
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Record sound
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Meter mode
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Control how the FZ7 measures exposure
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AF mode
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Control the areas of the frame where the FZ7 focuses
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Continuous AF
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Sets the FZ7 to continue checking focus even after it has focused on something.
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AF Assist lamp
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Enables FZ7 to shine a light to help focus in darkness
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Digital Zoom
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Digital zoom enlarges images, with a significant loss of quality
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Color effect
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Stylize colors
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Picture Adjust
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Control contrast, sharpness, saturation and noise reduction
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Flipbook Animation
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Use to take a sequence of images, and allow the FZ7 to combine them into an animation
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Conversion lens
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Set to allow the FZ7 to function with an auxiliary lens
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Setup
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Clock set
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Set time and date
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Monitor brightness
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Set LCD or viewfinder brightness
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Travel Date
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Set date to display on vacation photos
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Play on LCD
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Have images play back on LCD only, not in the viewfinder
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Power Save
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Set how long the FZ7 will sit before shutting itself off
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Auto Review
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Set interval that images display for review just after they're shot
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MF Assist
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Set how the FZ7 displays manual focus
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Beep
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Set control sounds
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Shutter sound
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Set shutter sound
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Volume
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Adjust volume
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Number reset
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Set how images are numbered
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Settings reset
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Restore factory defaults
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USB mode
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Set to upload images to a computer or to print images directly
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Highlight
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Set to make overexposed areas blink when reviewing images
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Video out
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Set video format to PAL or NTSC
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TV aspect
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Set for regular or widescreen televisions
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MF meter/feet
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Set manual focus scale to show meters or feet
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Scene Menu
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Set behavior of menus when the FZ7 is set to Scene mode
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Language
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Choose language for menus
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The “Simple” setting on the mode dial indicates a nearly complete automatic mode. The regular menu options are hidden, and a bare minimum show up as follows:
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Pict. Mode
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Set image size
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Auto review
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Display image after it's shot
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Beep
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Sound control
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Clock Set
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Set date and time
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A separate menu comes up in Playback mode.
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Playback
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Slide show
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Set to show shot images on LCD or television via A/V output
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Favorite
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Select favorite images for slide show, uploading, printing, etc.
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Rotate Display
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Show vertical images upright on display
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Rotate
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Save vertical images upright
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DPOF
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Print images directly
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Protect
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Prevent images from being deleted
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Audio Dub
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Add sound to saved images
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Resize
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Shrink images to lower resolutions
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Trimming
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Crop unwanted areas from images
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Aspect Convert
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Switch between 4:3, 3:2 or 16:9 formats
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Format
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Delete all data from SD card
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Ease of Use (7.0)
The FZ7's controls are accessible and well implemented. The joystick's functions aren't marked, but given how many there are in shooting mode – ISO, White Balance, Size and Quality – printing them on the camera body probably wasn't practical. The other controls are well marked, and we expect that it won't take long for users to become confident with the FZ7's controls.
We found the special brightness controls for the LCD helpful. They don't make up entirely for its low resolution and narrow angle of view, but implementing them on a better LCD could make for a really useful option.
On the downside, the FZ7's manual is awful. It's poorly organized. The example images are printed very small with a coarse halftone screen, so it's hard to see what they're supposed to illustrate. The edition that we have wasn't completely proofread, and many metric measurements lack the English equivalents – our version says that the camera weights “310 g / 0 oz.”
