Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 Review
Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 10 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5.5Mb.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 produced images of very good quality during the review period. The 1/2.33 inch, 10.1 megapixel sensor used in the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 produces noise-free images at ISO 100 and 200, with ISO 400 also looking good, although there's slight loss of saturation. ISO 800 shows some quite obvious noise and softening of fine detail, and ISO 16000 is even noisier, although still OK for small prints and web images. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 dealt extremely well with chromatic aberrations, with limited purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and adequate exposure. The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 60 seconds allowing you to capture plenty of light. Anti-shake is a feature that sets this camera apart from its competitors and one that works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range. Macro performance is good, allowing you to focus as close as 3 cms away from the subject. The images were a little soft straight out of the DMC-TZ7 at the default sharpening setting and ideally require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, as you can't change the in-camera setting.
Noise
There are 6 ISO settings available on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.
|
ISO 80 (100% Crop) |
ISO 100 (100% Crop) |
|
|
|
ISO 200 (100% Crop) |
ISO 400 (100% Crop) |
|
|
|
ISO 800 (100% Crop) |
ISO 1600 (100% Crop) |
|
|
Sharpening
Here are two 100% Crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft at the default sharpening setting and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. Unfortunately you can't change the in-camera sharpening level.
|
Original (100% Crop) |
Sharpened (100% Crop) |
|
|
|
|
File Quality
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 has 2 different image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.
| 10M Fine (5.37Mb) (100% Crop) | 10M Normal (2.63Mb) (100% Crop) |
|
|
Chromatic Aberrations
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 handled chromatic aberrations excellently during the review, with very limited purple fringing present around the edges of objects in certain high-contrast situations, as shown in the example below.
|
Example 1 (100% Crop) |
|
Macro
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 offers a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 3cms away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
|
Macro Shot |
100% Crop |
|
|
Flash
The flash settings on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 are Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
|
Forced Off - Wide Angle (25mm) |
Forced On - Wide Angle (25mm) |
|
|
|
Forced Off - Telephoto (300mm) |
Forced On - Telephoto (300mm) |
|
|
And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Flash On or the Auto/Red-eye Reduction settings caused any red-eye.
|
Forced On |
Forced On (100% Crop) |
|
|
|
Auto/Red-eye Reduction |
Auto/Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop) |
|
|
Night
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7's maximum shutter speed is 60 seconds in the Starry Sky Mode scene mode (there are also 15 and 30 second options) and 8 seconds in the Night Scenery mode, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 15 seconds at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like. The camera takes the same amount of time again to apply noise reduction, so for example at the 15 second setting the actual exposure takes 30 seconds.
|
Night Shot |
Night Shot (100% Crop) |
|
|
Anti Shake
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 has an anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here are some 100% crops of the images to show the results. As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper than with anti shake turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.
|
Shutter Speed / Focal Length |
Anti Shake Off (100% Crop) |
Anti Shake On (100% Crop) |
| 1/6th / 25mm | |
|
| 1/4th / 300mm | |
|
Sample Images
This is a selection of sample images from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 camera, which were all taken using the 10 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.
Sample Movie & Video
This is a sample movie at the quality setting of 1280x720 at 25 frames per second. Please note that this 22 second movie is 43Mb in size.
As of February 2025, we are no longer providing full size sample images or videos for download.
Please contact us if you have any feedback on our new policy.
Product Images
|
|
Front of the Camera |
|
|
Front of the Camera / Lens Extended |
|
|
Isometric View |
|
|
Isometric View |
|
|
Rear of the Camera |
|
|
Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed |
|
|
Rear of the Camera / Turned On |
|
|
Rear of the Camera / Main Menu |
|
|
Rear of the Camera / Quick Menu |
|
|
|
|
Rear of the Camera / Video Mode |
|
|
Top of the Camera |
|
|
Bottom of the Camera |
|
|
Side of the Camera |
|
|
Side of the Camera |
|
|
Front of the Camera |
|
|
Front of the Camera |
|
|
Memory Card Slot |
|
|
Battery Compartment |
Conclusion
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 is easy to recommend to anyone looking for a compact, pocketable point-and-shoot camera that takes great photos with the added bonus of HD video. Although the DMC-TZ7 no longer has the travel zoom market to itself, with the likes of Canon, Olympus and Samsung all recently launching rival models, it's still the leader of the pack, mainly thanks to the the new 12x zoom lens and improved video recording. The lens in particular is a real triumph, providing both an ultra-wide 25mm angle of view and a 300mm telephoto setting that really will cover virtually every photographic situation that you'll encounter. The icing on the cake is the apparent lack of distortion at ether end of the range, no mean feat for such a small folded optic. We suspect that Panasonic are performing some behind-the-scenes processing to help out in this department, but who cares when the images looks this good? The inevitable increase from a 9 to 10 megapixel sensor doesn't make any real-world difference and thankfully hasn't come at the expense of image quality, with the TZ7 maintaining similar noise performance as the TZ5 at comparable ISO speeds. I'd be happy to use ISO 100-400 for most photos, with ISO 800 reserved for low-light situations, on a par with most of its main competitors. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 dealt extremely well with chromatic aberrations, macro performance is improved, and the dependable Mega OIS anti-shake system is present and correct.
The DMC-TZ7's video mode may offer the same 720p, 1280x720 pixel resolution as the TZ5, but Panasonic have made some real advances here. The new AVCHD Lite mode almost doubles the recording time in HD quality compared with Motion JPEG, although 3rd-party software support for playback and editing is patchy to say the least. You can still use the very effective 720p Motion JPEG mode though if you want to edit your video. There are also big improvements in sound quality, with much less background noise and the ability to clearly make out individual voices, even in a crowd. You can use the zoom lens during recording, although this is tempered somewhat by the slow zoom speed and awkward continuous auto-focusing, with the subject often being blurred before becoming sharp again as the camera tries to refocus. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 is definitely not a replacement for a dedicated HD video camcorder, but it undoubtedly provides some of the best HD movies that we've seen from a compact camera, making it perfect for more casual users. The HDMI port makes it easy to connect the TZ7 to a HD TV, although we would have liked to see a suitable cable included in the box.
In summary, the DMC-TZ7 is the best travel-zoom camera yet. Even the annoyingly loose Shooting Mode dial and slightly higher launch price don't detract too much from what is simply a fantastic camera. One of the best compacts of 2008 just got even better...
| Ratings (out of 5) | |
|---|---|
| Design | 4.5 |
| Features | 5 |
| Ease-of-use | 5 |
| Image quality | 4.5 |
| Value for money | 4.5 |
Review Roundup
Reviews of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 from around the web.
cameralabs.com »
Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-TZ7 (or ZS3 as it’s known in North America) is a 10.1 Megapixel compact with a detailed 3in screen, HD video recording and a 12x optically-stabilised zoom. Launched in January 2009, exactly one year after the best-selling Lumix TZ5, the new model further enhances Panasonic’s enormously popular travel-zoom line. The core premise of its predecessors remains the same though: packing a flexible super-zoom lens range into a pocketable compact camera.
Read the full review »
trustedreviews.com »
The list is impressive: it has a new compact 12x zoom image-stabilised Leica lens with a maximum aperture of f/3.3-f/4.9 and a focal length range equivalent to 25-300mm, an impressively sharp 3.0-inch 460,000 dot wide-view LCD monitor, a dual-processor Venus Engine HD, and most significantly is has 1280 x 720 pixel HD video recording with stereo sound and full optical zoom capability. It uses the advanced AVCHD Lite recording system, a video encoding format designed for solid-state camcorders. The TZ6 is very similar, but lacks the HD video mode and has a smaller 2.7-inch 230k monitor.
Read the full review »
dcresource.com »
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 ($399) is the follow-up to the extremely popular DMC-TZ5. I was a big fan of the TZ5, which put a 10X zoom lens, a beautiful 3-inch LCD, and HD movie recording into a small package. I've "sold" a few friends on it, and they absolutely love it. The DMC-ZS3 takes everything that was great about the TZ5 and improves upon it. You get a wider, more powerful zoom lens, a new image processor, improved face detection, and an HD movie mode. And that's on top of all the other great features that haven't changed, which I'll cover throughout this article!
Read the full review »
Specifications
Optics |
|
|---|---|
| Camera Effective Pixels | 10.1 Megapixels |
| Sensor Size / Total Pixels / Filter | 1/2.33-inch / 12.7 Total Megapixels / Primary Colour Filter |
| Aperture | F3.3 - 4.9 / Iris Diaphragm (F3.3 - 6.3 (W) / F4.9 - 6.3 (T)) |
| Optical Zoom | 12x |
| Focal Length | f=4.1-49.2mm (25-300mm in 35mm equiv.) |
| Extra Optical Zoom (EZ) | 14.3x (4:3 / 7M), 17.1x (4:3 / 5M), 21.4x (under 3M) |
| Lens | LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR / 10 elements in 8 groups / (2 Aspherical Lenses / 3 Aspherical surfaces, 2 ED lens) |
| 2-Speed Zoom | Yes |
| Optical Image Stabilizer | MEGA O.I.S. (Auto / Mode1 / Mode2) |
| Digital Zoom | 4x / ( Max. 48.0 x combined with Optical Zoom without Extra Optical Zoom ) / (Max.85.5x combined with Extra Optical Zoom) |
| Focusing Area | Normal: Wide 50cm/ Tele 200cm - infinity / Macro / Intelligent AUTO / Clipboard : Wide 3cm / Max 200cm / Tele 100cm - infinity |
| Focus Range Display | Yes |
| AF Assist Lamp | Yes |
| Focus | Normal / Macro, Continuous AF (On / Off), AF Tracking (On / Off), Quick AF (On / Off) |
| AF Metering | Face / AF Tracking / Multi (11pt) / 1pt HS / 1pt / Spot |
| Shutter Speed | 8-1/2000 sec (Selectable minimum shutter speed) / Starry Sky Mode : 15, 30, 60sec. |
Recording |
|
|---|---|
| Face Recognition | Photo |
| Optical Image Stabilizer | Photo & Movie |
| Intelligent ISO Control | Photo |
| Face Detection | Photo & Movie |
| Intelligent Scene Selector | Photo (Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Macro), & Movie (Portrait, Scenery, Low Light, Macro) |
| Intelligent Exposure | Photo & Movie |
| AF Tracking | Photo |
| Digital Red Eye Correction | Photo |
| File Format | Still Image: JPEG (DCF / Exif2.21) / Image with Audio: JPEG (DCF / Exif2.21) + QuickTime / Motion picture: AVCHD Lite, QuickTime Motion JPEG |
| AVCHD Lite REC | NTSC / PAL (Depends on Region) |
| Mode Switch | [Recording] / [Playback] |
| One-Touch Movie Button | Yes |
| Mode Dial | Intelligent AUTO, Normal Picture, MySCN1, MySCN2, SCN, Clipboard |
| Still Picture Scene Mode | Portrait, Soft Skin, Transform, Self-Portrait, Scenery, Panorama Assist, Sports, Night Portrait, / Night Scenery, Food, Party, Candle Light, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Sunset, High sensitivity, / Hi-Speed Burst (Image Priority / Speed Priority), Flash Burst, Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, / Aerial photo, Pinhole, Film Grain, Underwater |
| Movie Scene Mode | Portrait, Soft Skin, Transform, Self-Portrait, Scenery, Low Light, / Food, Party, Candle Light, Sunset, Beach, Snow, Aerial, Pinhole, Film Grain, Underwater, High Sensitivity / (Activated by selecting Still Picture Scene Mode then pressing movie button. Still Picture Scene Modes without corresponding Movie Scene Mode is recorded in Normal Mode) |
| Continuous Shooting Mode | Full-Resolution Image, 2.3 frames/sec Max. 5 images (Standard mode), Max 3 images (Fine Mode) / High-speed Burst Mode: approx. 6.0 frames/sec (image priority) approx. 10 frames/sec (speed priority) (recorded in 3M for 4:3, 2.5M for 3:2, 2M for 16:9) |
| Unlimited consecutive shooting | 1.8 frames/sec |
| Motion Picture Recording | [4:3] VGA: 640 x 480 pixels, 30fps (Motion JPEG) QVGA: 320 x 240 pixels, 30 fps (Motion JPEG) / [16:9] WVGA: 848 x 480 pixels, 30 fps (Motion JPEG) / [HD Movie] 1280x720, NTSC Mode: NTSC model: 60p(CCD output is 30p) / PAL model: 50p(CCD output is 25p) (AVCHD Lite, SH: 17Mbps / H:13Mbps / L:9Mbps ) / 30fps (Motion JPEG) |
| Exposure | Program AE |
| Exposure Compensation | 1/3 EV step, +/-2 EV |
| Backlight Compensation | Yes (only in Intelligent AUTO mode) |
| Auto (AE) Bracketing | '+/- 1/3 EV ~1EV step, 3 frames |
| Multi-Aspect | Yes |
| Light Metering | Intelligent Multiple/ Center Weighted/ Spot |
| ISO Sensitivity | Auto / 80 / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 High Sensitivity (ISO 1600-6400) |
| Aspect Ratio | 4:3 / 3:2 / 16:9 |
| Still Picture Recording | [4:3] 3648 x 2736 (10M) / 3072 x 2304 (7M EZ) / 2560 x 1920 (5M EZ) / 2048 x 1536 (3M EZ) / 1600 x 1200 (2M EZ) / 640 x 480 (0.3M EZ) / [3:2] 3776 x 2520 (9.5M) / 3168x2112 (6.5M EZ? / 2656x1768 (4.5M EZ) / 2112x1408 (3M EZ) / 2048 x 1360 (2.5M EZ) / [16:9] 3968 x 2232 (9M) / 3328x1872 (6M EZ) / 2784x1568 (4.5M EZ) / 2208x1248 ?2.5M EZ) / 1920 x 1080 (2M EZ) |
| Image Quality | Fine / Standard |
| White Balance | Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Halogen / White Set / White Balance Adjustment (±10steps, except for auto set) / (Selectable at Portrait, Soft Skin, Transform, Self-Portrait, Sports, Baby, Pet, High Sensitivity, Highspeed Burst, Pinhole, Panorama Assist mode? |
| Quick Menu | Yes |
| Colour Mode | Standard, Natural, Vivid, Black & White, Sepia, Cool, Warm |
| Still Image with Audio Recording | 5 sec |
| Audio Dubbing | Max. 10sec |
| Real-time histogram | Yes |
| Composition Guide line | Yes (2 patterns) |
| Auto Review | 1sec, 2sec, Hold, Zoom |
| Review | Yes |
| Easy Zoom / Zoom Resume | No / Yes |
| Optical Zoom in Motion Picture | Yes |
| Zoom Macro | Yes |
| Orientation Detector | Yes |
| Scene Mode Help Screen | Yes |
| Self Timer | 2sec / 10sec |
| Focus Icon Select | Yes (in Face Recognition only) |
Playback |
|
|---|---|
| Playback Mode | Normal Playback, Slideshow, Mode Playback, Category Playback, Favourites Playback |
| Thumbnails / Zoomed Playback | 12,30-thumbnails / Max 16x |
| Calender Display / Dual-Image Playback | Yes / No |
| Set Favorites / Rotate Image | Yes / No |
| Playback Still Images with Audio | Yes |
| Playback Motion Picture | Yes (Motion JPEG / AVCHD Lite) |
| Slideshow Mode | All / Still Images Only / Motion Picture Only / Favourites / Category / BGM Effect (Natural / Slow / Swing / Urban / OFF) |
| Show Histogram | Yes |
| Delete Image | Single / Multi / All / All except Favourites |
| DPOF Print Setting / Set Protection | Yes / Yes |
| Resize / Trim / Aspect Conv. / Leveling | Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes |
| Copy / Title Edit/ Text Stamp | Yes / Yes / Yes |
| PictBridge Support | Single / Multi / All / Favourites / DPOF |
Setup |
|
|---|---|
| OSD language | Japanese, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish |
| Viera Link | Yes |
| HDMI Output | Video: Auto / 1080i / 720p / 576p (PAL) / 480p (NTSC) Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo Creator |
| Movie REC Guide | Yes |
| Wind-Cut in Motion Picture | Yes |
| Travel Date / World Time | Yes / Yes |
Others |
|
|---|---|
| LCD Monitor | 3.0" TFT LCD Display (460K dots) / Field of View : approx. 100%, Wide Viewing Angle / AUTO Power LCD mode, Power LCD mode |
| Built-in-Flash | Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off 0.6 - 5.3m (Wide/ISO Auto), 1.0 - 3.6m (Tele/ISO Auto) |
| Recording Media | Built-in Memory, SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, MultiMediaCard (Still image only) |
| Built-in-Memory | approx. 40MB |
| Microphone / Speaker | Stereo / Yes |
| Interface | miniHDMI, USB2.0 High speed / AV Output (NTSC/PAL or NTSC only) / DC Input (requires optional Multi Conversion Adapter) |
General |
|
|---|---|
| Power | ID-Security Li-ion Battery Pack (3.6V, 895mAh) (Included) / AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC) (Optional) |
| Battery life (approx.) | 300 pictures (CIPA Standard) |
| Included Software | PHOTOfunSTUDIO v3.0 HD Edition / ArcSoft (MediaImpression / Panorama Maker) / USB Driver, QuickTime |
| Standard Accessories | Battery Charger, Battery Pack, Battery Case / AV Cable, USB Connection Cable, AC Cable / Hand Strap, CD-ROM |
| Dimensions(W x H x D) | 103.3 x 59.6 x 32.8 mm (4.07 x 2.35 x 1.29 in) |
| Weight | Approx. 206g (0.45 lb) Approx. 229g with Battery and SD Memory Card (0.50 lb) |
Loading comments…