Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Silver)

I got this camera to replace my Canon SD800. I must say I really love this camera and it has just about everything I need. Here are some features/issues that's important to me.Pros:- 12x optical zoom + intelligent zoom- battery indicator- HD video that can be zoomed while recording. Records video in the current selected mode.- Full manual modes- Wide-angle lens- takes great pictures except in low light.- GPS data - nice to haveCon:- Need special software to process AVCHD video. The PHOTOfunSTUDIO that comes with it is simple to use but could be better. My Window VISTA DVD maker don't work with AVCHD files. I would need to convert it to MPG first but quality degrades.- Zoom motor is noisy. you could hear it in some of the recording.- Low light pics in IA mode are noisy.- purple vertical streak when recording in bright light. This is a problem with CCD cameras but it seems to be more noticeable than my Canon SD800.

Purchased camera about 1 month ago. I carry it in my pocket most places I go. Love that part. I inadvertently dropped the camera on a cement curb. Oh oh I thought now I have done it. I picked the camera up and couldn't see any damage to the case. The camera didn't like it and it malfunctioned for a bit. After 5 minutes of rest, the camera was as good as new...whew! I don't recommend this but my experience is great testimonial to the durability of the camera. The quality of the photos are superb. It has one of the most accurate automatic focus and picture characteristic selection functions I have ever seen.. It is much better than a Canon point and shoot camera that I own. As I expected the picture quality decreases in low lighting situations but is not bad. The 16x optical zoom is a masterpiece. It zooms both slowly and rapidly and makes only a soft click on playback. It does a great job zooming during movie making however, it does take a moment to refocus as you zoom in low light situations. It was one of the major reasons I purchased the camera and I am very pleased with the way it work. I own a Mac and the AVCHD lite movies don't load into iPhoto. However, they do load into iMovie and can be viewed directly from camera to an HDTV. The mpeg movies do load into iPhoto. The quality of the HD movies in both setting is excellent and surprisingly good in low light situations. I do hope Apple will create a fix that will allow HVCHD lite movies to load directly into iPhoto. I leave the camera set on auto and the movies on jpeg settings and am as happy as a clam.I would give it a 7 star rating if I could.

I had a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4S 8.1MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) whose lens cover stopped working. Prior to that the pictures it took, in all conditions, were really good.I replaced it with the ZS7 hoping to have the same, if not better, picture quality. That has not been the case. Has the same great Leica lens as the older model but images are a little more distorted or pixelated on the ZS7. The video quality is far superior to that of the TZ4 and the LCD is much nicer on the ZS7.One area that concerns me is that the camera cannot focus / does not focus at the mid way point of the zoom. around 6x - 8x zoom it simply will not focus. Doesn't matter where I am, how the camera is set, or what the lighting conditions are. The mid way point on the zoom is useless. I have missed many photo opps because of this.The older TZ4 was less complicated but, like I said, it took good pictures 90% of the time on the auto or iA setting. The ZS7 requires a lot more know how and fussing about to get the same picture quality as the older one. Screwing around with the camera can lead to missing a shot. People complain about how long it takes to turn on a camera and be ready for a shot sometimes. Makes me laugh. If you have to turn it on and wait plus get all the settings right you are not really taking advantage of a point & shoot camera. Might as well go for the DSLR at that rate.Sure, I admit that this would have been capable of taking better pictures than the older model thanks to its adjustability but the new image processor gets in the way. The ZS7 still isn't going to give you DSLR quality pics no matter how much you adjust it. Without the option of storing images in the RAW formaat it isn't really worth all the adjustability. Not even close. I think this is meant to fill the gap between point & shoot & DSLR (leaning heavily toward point & shoot in my opinion). Gone is the VIVID color setting from the older model which is sorely missed on the new model. I have found the color reproduction to be much better with Canon & Fuji cameras. Fuji has really fallen off, more & more each year with their image quality - overcomplicating simple designs that, in the past, worked brilianty. The video button on the ZS7 is too easy to hit by accident (took a 2 hour video by accident without even knowing it).After being very disappointed with this camera and its completely useless GPS function and Panasonic's proprietary batteries (genius for them to make money but horrible for the consumer) which run down very quickly in this camera (yes, I turned the GPS off) I cannot recommend this camera to anyone.I did try out the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Black) and found it to be fantastic. Simple, easy to use, great pictures, & at a fraction of the cost ZS7. Video quality is pretty decent too. I gave up some zoom but if you drop the MegaPixels down the zoom increases. 12MP is pushing it for the sensor size on both Lumix cameras. All the manufacturers out there need to stop the MP nonsense and get back to what matters - picture quality.*Update* I did a little more research & it seems that even the professional reviewers agree - older is better when it comes to the ZS7. ([...].). Don't get me wrong here people -I like Panasonic cameras! They had a great design and they changed it - not for the better in my opinion.I also purchased a Canon PowerShot SX130IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3.0-Inch LCD jst before the holiday. The picture quality is a vast improvement nut it has it's downsides as well.Is there a perfect compact camera out there? Maybe, but I haven't come across it yet. I also purchased a Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Silver). Like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Silver) these are two VERY GOOD point and shoot cameras. I think the Canon gives you slightly more manual control but, really, were splitting hairs here. Both cameras give you very good picture quality out of the box while the Canon PowerShot SX130IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3.0-Inch LCD does alright on auto it is capable of some phenominal pictures if you take the time to adjust it properly based on your given situations. While both the ZS7 and SX130IS are considered "compact" I really don't feel either belong in this catagory, especially the Canon SX130IS. Too big, too bulky, too much adjustabilty for the absolute best picture quality (the SX130IS is much less expensive than the ZS7 too). If Panasonic reads these reviews, I implore you to take a step back in order to move forward. What you had in the TZ4 & ZS3 wasn't broken but you fixed it and the image quality suffered. Go back and I'll be happy to give you guys another chance.

I made the mistake of giving Panasonic a second chance. My first panasonic camera stopped working because of a drop of sweat. My new DMC-ZS7 automatic lens shutter won't open or close anymore. The spring or something broke. I notice there are LOTS of people having problems with this lens cover on the camera. When the automotive industry puts out a product with a part that is bad, they replace it. When Panasonic designs a camera, they design it to break so you will have to buy another one. I'll never never NEVER buy Panasonic again.