Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ7
Digital Camera Review
Mar 09, 2007
- By Tom Warhol
The 7.2-megapixel Lumix DMC-LZ7 is one of Panasonic’s latest entries into the point-and-shoot market. Retailing for $199.00, the LZ7 features a 6x optical zoom lens and an Easy Zoom button that quickly brings the lens to the 6x point. An additional press of the button expands the zoom to 9x but reduces the image size to 3 megapixels. The LZ7 packs in a 2.5” LCD with a resolution of 115,000 pixels. As with all of the new cameras in Panasonic’s Lumix line, the LZ7 includes Intelligent Image Stabilization, a new feature that incorporates Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and Intelligent ISO Control that adjusts ISO for subject movement in low light conditions. The new Lumix cameras also incorporate a Venus Engine III processor, which was formerly only available in their higher end cameras.
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Testing / Performance Expectations
Without our lab testing, true performance assessment is not possible, but our first look on the show floor at PMA 2007 yielded some good results. The lens is a Lumix DC Vario. While not the same Leica lens that many of the other Lumix models sport, it still yielded moderately sharp images for a point-and-shoot. No color fringing or barrel distortion was readily evident on the preproduction model we looked at. Typical edge distortion was noticeable at the wide-angle though.
Start-up was quick but write-speed seemed slow. Burst rate was not listed in the specs, but Panasonic floor personnel stated that it is about three frames per second, which seemed accurate. We'll explore its true performance capabilities further once we have a full production model in our labs.
