Panasonic DMC-FX07

A shame from Panasonic. Very noisy pictures when in real size. Even in reduced preview the quality isn't fair. The picture is horrible, noisy and blurred. The good points there is, don't matter since this camera doesn't do what it should od, take decent pictures.

Heard that Panasonic have brought out another Lumix compact camera - but this time with 10 times optical zoom (rather than 3, like to FX-07) -if I had been looking to buy a digital camera now I might be more tempted by that model than this one as the retail price I've seen them on sale for is similar to the FX-07 I have currently.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX7 digital camera is easy to use, and it produces excellent images at all resolutions. The camera can also take shots in HDTV mode - effectively a panorama image.

Battery life is OK, but is hugely shortened, as you would expect, by regular use of the flash (which is very effective - has a very good range for a camera that can fit in a pocket). However, the battery does recharge pretty quickly. I would recommend trying to get hold of a spare battery though.

There is NO on-board memory. My camera was supplied with a 32MB SD card at time of purchase, which I quickly updated to a 1GB card.

This is an excellent camera, and is highly recommended.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX7 appears to be an undiscovered gem in the world of Digital Photography. It has some wonderful features which allow you to take great photos of pretty much anything. The OIS is a great feature. It compensates for movement of the camera whilst exposing the CCD, which results in much sharper photos, and allows you to take long exposure (up to 1/4 of a sec) shots without a tripod. Many cameras suffer from blurred images due to hand shake, but not this one.

It is well built with high quality components such as the Leica lens, and the whole thing is made out of real metal, not plastic like so many other cameras. It's still looking good after a years use, including outdoors activities and skiing. The LCD display is 2.5" diagonal, filling the whole of the back of the camera, allowing for easy viewing and composing of photographs.

The software and menus are well though out with all functions, and the options are easily accessible. It has a 'simple' mode for pointing and clicking, but it will also let you take photos in snow, in black and white, and has functions like bracketed exposure and multiple focus modes, that let you experiment and ultimately take really great photos.

The downsides:

Battery life is short due to the large LCD display. It will last a days snapping, but only a few hours intense photo shooting, such as at a wedding. You can't plug it into the mains, the battery has to be removed to charge it.

There is no optical viewfinder, which I actually like as a feature, as it allows the camera to be smaller, but it might annoy some.

Overall this is a great camera. It allows me to apply the techniques I learned using film and an SLR camera, but in a much smaller more portable package. It gives great quality prints of up to A4 size, and I love using this bit of kit.