Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7

[philbirch]

I picked up this little gem a few weeks ago. I paid what I thought it was worth and for my money got a hardly used, mint condition camera with the box, charger and everything - except lens cap. It feels a little plasticky but its so light. About the same weight as my Pentax compact but bigger. It has a useful 12x zoom and a leica lens.

This is my go everywhere digital now. Below are some photos taken at Bury 40's weekend. All at ISO200 unless mentioned.

[philbirch]

Usefully wide lens, image is not great at low light but on cameras 8 years old, thats retty normal. Certainly no worse than my Canon G9

[Stephen]

Certainly good performance, nice shots, and a Leica lens!

[philbirch]

I'm well chuffed! I never thought I'd 'collect' an old digicam. I must do a side by side test with my pentax...

[daveh]

I've got a battered (through much use) FZ20 which came from Japan just after they first came out. It's only 5mp but has a 12x Vario-Elmarit lens (35mm equivalent of 36-432) at f2.8 over the full range. It takes nice photos, but the shutter-lag is something of a pain: recent cameras have improved significantly in this regard.

[philbirch]

Shutter lag was always a problem with compacts and bridge cameras but my FZ7 is definitely faster than most compacts I've owned. Not as fast as the Nikon DSLR but getting there. I think this model was an upgrade to the FZ20 and cheaper. Its nice to use and I love the EVF, its like using a real camera!!

[daveh]

Phil, I don't know for sure, but I think Panasonic had two ranges going on at the same time. TRave Ravehe FZ-5 was out at the same time as the FZ-20. I presume the FZ-7 is a later and upgraded version of the '5' rather than the '20' - and was thus a later and better equipped than the '20'overall. I believe one difference was that one range maintained full aperture throughout the zoom range while the other had a smaller aperture as the focal length increased.

Dave.

[philbirch]

Yes you are quite right. I was basing my assumption on a FZ7 vs FZ20 comparison where the 7 beat the 20 on some points. I dont mind the aperture not being a constant f2.8, f3.3 is only half a stop. Still a nice camera to use. I cant get used to the on/off button where my thumb is. On my Nikon D3100, and my Pentax K10D its at the front where my forefinger naturally rests

[truls]

It seems the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 does a great job, and also the photographer, nice images! A Leica lens.. Is it really a Leica construction, or is it some Sigma/whatever branded Leica? I ask, I have an old Panasonic (2004) with a Leica lens. If it's real Leica, the price should have been a lot higher for these cameras.

[philbirch]

Thanks truls, I don't really care who made the lens, I know its not made in Germany by old fashioned craftsmen. If it has the Leica name on it then I would assume it is up to their standards. However its pretty sharp. The only thing that lets this camera down is the sensor size and the low light noise. But that's common for a camera of its vintage.

[Doug T.]

Hi All!

I've been away for quite some time, and just discovered this thread today.
I found an FZ5 at the local flea market for 20USD. I was so shocked at the price that I didn't even haggle with the seller!
It's like new and was only missing the charger, which I've just ordered. Lucky for me the battery still has a charge and I was able to test it before buying. It's a beautiful little camera, and I'm sure that we'll get along just fine

Doug

[philbirch]

Hi Doug, thanks for commenting on this. My wife has taken a liking to it which is fine. It is pretty light and thats what she likes - and the viewfinder which in her words "makes it a proper camera"

Mine was boxed with the CD, charger and original receipt.

[belgiumreporter]

I've had an DMC- FZ7 way back in 2010, it was a lovely camera and it's ability to close focus even on the extreme end of its (long) focal lenght made it a joy to use on insect photography. Sadly the shutterlag spoiled many of an opportunity as by the time the camera finally made the photo the subject was gone...II traded it in on a nikon p100 wich is a more verstatile camera, but wich hasn't got the rich color rendition of the panasonic. I would advise if you can find one for a good price (and they are around for next to nothing) buy it and enjoy it as even with some drawbacks don't underestimate it's performance !

Here's some pics i've made with the DMC-FZ7

[Stephen]

There's an awful lot of earlier digitals going for a song on Ebay, I had a Fuji 4900z, but it got damaged accidentally, still working but decided to look if there was a replacement, and got a new camera plus cards and an add on lens for £10 including the case! The smartmedia cards alone are worth £50, and the camera returns images that are totally acceptable.It is also truly manual as well, although as usual with most digital bridge cameras the apertures appear "faked" below F8. They simply adjust the exposure on smaller apertures, a common practice.

Stephen.

[Stephen]

I am very intrigued that it can do macro at max focal length, the instructions say there is a special setting. Is this a true optical solution or a digital method?..and does the stabilisation still work on the super macro setting?
The older Fuji is good at macro, but only up to mid zoom..... and it only takes smartmedia cards which are a right pain! I have bid on one on ebay, as a backup to the Fuji.

Sometimes these bridge cameras are handier to use than the Olympus micro 4/3, as the longer zooms are very costly for them. Whilst they take any lens and type, via adaptors, the lens have to be used manually, a pain on macro work, unless locked to a tripod.

Stephen.