By Leonard Goh
24/06/2009
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/digitalcameras/0,39005881,44503103p,00.htm

Earlier this year, Panasonic announced the Lumix DMC-TZ7 along with five other shooters at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) tradeshow in January. The compact megazoom TZ7 succeeds the TZ15, and features an upgraded zoom range and HD video encoding which enthusiasts will appreciate. However, Panasonic faces stiff competition from other brands such as Canon, Olympus and Samsung which have similar offerings. Can the TZ7 hold its own against its rivals? Let's find out.

Design

Aesthetically, the TZ7 is easily distinguishable from its predecessor. Not only is it slimmer and lighter than the TZ15, it is also smaller in size. We certainly like the design of the new long-zoom Lumix--the front of the shooter is uncluttered and features only a large lens barrel and the flash.


The TZ7 feels solid in our hands and the slight bulge on the right serves as a decent handgrip. However, we noticed that Panasonic has removed the vertical rubber strip found on the TZ15 and replaced it with a thin line of metal instead. While the new implementation serves aesthetic purposes, we would have preferred the rubber version as it provides a better grip on the point-and-shoot.

The top houses a stereo microphone, power switch, shutter/zoom control and mode dial. One thing to note about the mode dial is that it turns 360 degrees, and the snapper will refuse to take pictures if it is not in an appropriate position. Shutterbugs who have used a Lumix point-and-shoot will be familiar with the layout of the controls on the back of the TZ7. There is the playback/shooting mode switch near the thumb rest and directly below is a dedicated movie-recording button. The four-way navigation pad not only lets you scroll through menus, it also makes adjustments to exposure compensation, self-timer, flash and focusing modes.

Besides the usual black, silver and blue, the TZ7 is also available in red color.

Features

Panasonic's TZ-series of Lumix cameras has established itself with consumers as the camera to go for if they want a compact long zoom shooter. However, its title is threatened by similar snappers such as the Canon PowerShot SX200 IS, Olympus Mju 9000 and Samsung WB550. Here's a quick comparison chart between the TZ7 and its competition.

Specifications/model	Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7	Canon PowerShot SX200 IS	Samsung WB550
Sensor resolution	10 megapixels	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Dimension/weight	103.3 x 59.6 x 32.8mm/229g	103.0 x 60.5 x 37.6mm/220g	105 x 61.4 x 37.2mm/219g
LCD size	3-inch	3-inch	3-inch
Zoom/focal length	12x optical/25-300mm	12x optical/28-336mm	10x optical/24-240mm
Max. video resolution	1,280 x 720 pixels at 30fps	1,280 x 720 pixels at 30fps	1,280 x 720 pixels at 30fps
Image stabilizer	Optical (via lens)	Optical (via lens)	Optical (via lens)
Memory media	Internal and SD/SDHC card	SD/SDHC card	Internal and SD/SDHC card
Related links		Review	Overview

The TZ7 appears to compete head-on with the Canon and Samsung point-and-shoots. However, one advantage the SX200 IS and WB550 have over the Lumix is that they offer manual exposure control, a feature which will appeal to enthusiasts. That said, the TZ7's 25mm lens with 12x optical zoom is a big draw, especially for consumers looking for a compact camera to bring along on travels.

A new feature Panasonic introduced earlier this year is AVCHD compression HD video recording. When we tested this on the rugged Lumix DMC-FT1, capturing clips in this format produced an uncommon .mts file which QuickTime and Windows Media Player were not able to playback. But you can use the bundled software, PhotofunStudio, to view and edit the recordings. If you're not comfortable with the new file format, there is an option to use Motion JPEG encoding instead, but take note that this setting churns out bigger files.

What we also like about the TZ7 is that it is able to zoom during video recording, and you can activate continuous autofocus in the menu so your homemade movies will stay sharp.

As with other Lumix cameras, the TZ7 comes with the intelligent Auto (iA) mode which analyzes the scene to determine the best possible shot setting. There are also two My Scene Modes on the mode dial, and you can pre-assign two commonly used Scene modes to them. There is also advanced face recognition which lets you register up to six profiles in the shooter. Exposure priority will then be given to these people when the camera detects them in future shots.

Performance

The TZ7's performance is promising. Although the startup time and shutter lag measured an average of 2 seconds and 0.1 second, respectively, its burst mode is impressive. One thing to note is that the Lumix has four different continuous shooting options. For the normal burst mode, the camera will snap at 3 frames per second (fps) for 1 second. In Unlimited mode, the TZ7 will first fire off at 3fps, then slow down to 1fps for as long as you hold down the shutter button. In the Hi-Speed Burst scene mode, you can choose between image and speed priority at 3-megapixel resolution tops. The former can freeze action shots at 5fps, while speed priority gives you 10fps.

The exposure meter on the TZ7 worked well in our tests, too. When faced with a high-contrast scene, the shooter managed to gauge the correct settings to reproduce maximum details in both shadow and highlight regions.

The shooter's optical image stabilizer system was efficient in reducing motion blur when we shot at the long end of the lens or in dimly lit environments. We could snap pictures at 1/8 second in a dark cafe, and on a sunny day take shots with the lens fully extended without any noticeable blur caused by hand shake.

Image Quality

The TZ7 delivers very good image quality which we felt surpassed those from Olympus and perhaps even Canon, which is well-known for its good picture standard. We based our comparisons at ISO 400 and could tell that the TZ7 produced richer colors and more refined edges. However, detail retention on the Lumix was on par with the SX200 IS--both models couldn't eke out fine lines and were plagued by mild noise when we pushed the sensitivity beyond ISO 400.

In our Lab tests, the Panasonic camera fared relatively well. The camera has an ISO range of 80 to 1,600 and delivered decent images up to ISO 400. If you're desperate, ISO 800 works, too, but at the expense of sacrificing details. As with most point-and-shoots, the TZ7 produced smudgy-looking snaps when we bumped the ISO to 1,600.

What we like about this Lumix is its color reproduction. The tones were saturated but didn't look overly processed. More often than not, the pictures we took had more contrast and looked livelier than the actual scene. While purists may cry foul at the additional processing that the snapper applies to colors, we felt the pictures looked good and we didn't have to tweak these on the computer.

Conclusion

The TZ7 is a very decent long-zoom compact and certainly has lived up to its predecessor's good reputation. However, the lack of manual exposure controls puts this shooter at a disadvantage against the competition. But the upside is that the Lumix delivers good picture quality and that alone puts it at the top of our chart.