Panasonic announced four new compact digital cameras today, including their latest pocket superzoom, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7. Last year the pocket superzoom digital camera category really took off. Previously, Panasonic’s TZ-Series owned the space and they really staked their claim last January when they announced the Lumix ZS3 / TZ7, which had a longer, wider zoom lens and AVCHD Lite video. I think I recommended that camera to more people than any other in 2009. After that, Fujifilm, Canon and Casio jumped on the bandwagon; announcing pocket-sized cameras with 10x zooms. Here we are one year later and Panasonic does it again. The new Panasonic Lumix ZS7 is everything the ZS3 was and then some.
The foundation of the Panasonic Lumix ZS7 is pretty much the same as the ZS3 – they did increase the resolution from 10 to 12 megapixels but the ZS7 has the same super-wide 12x zoom lens and the same great 720p AVCHD Lite video. Why mess with something that works so well? Instead of changing the obvious stuff, Panasonic basically took a great camera and made it better. There are a lot of additions and changes if you want to comb through the press release, but here’s what I think is most important:
- Faster auto focus and 0.006 second shutter-lag
- Manual exposure controls
- New Intelligent Resolution processing engine
- Built-in GPS
Improved Speed
Faster auto focus and reduced shutter-lag are huge. These are the specs that regular people complain about all the time. When you try to take a picture of your dog but the camera doesn’t respond fast enough, that’s slow shutter-lag. And everyone knows how hard it is to get a sharp action photo of the kids playing soccer or your buddy on his snowboard with a point-and-shoot. You can do it if you plan the shot but how many people actually want to waste a bunch of time setting up a shot with a point-and-shoot camera? It’s called a “point-and-shoot,” damnit! You want to be able to whip it out of your pocket, push the button and move on. That’s not actually how these things work, though. Using proper technique will always improve your results. But having a quicker more accurate camera won’t hurt, either. I think point-and-shoot auto focus and shutter-lag should have been improved years ago. Better late than never, though. Better auto focus and less shutter-lag will improve the success rate of average folks more than increased resolution and big LCDs ever did or will.
Image Quality
I’ve never been really impressed with the image quality of Panasonic compact digital cameras and last year’s ZS3 JPEGs had the watercolory look I’ve come to expect. Panasonic in-camera noise reduction hides the noise but it also softens details like trees in a landscape. I don’t think Panasonic really needed to increase the resolution on the ZS7. I would have preferred to see the new Intelligent Resolution processing applied to the old 10-megapixel sensor images. I’ll have to see for myself to see if the image quality has actually been improved. It could be a wash since the usual cost of increased resolution is more noise. Even if that is the case, the ZS7 will still be a sweet camera. My bottom line evaluation of the ZS3′s image quality was that I wished it was better, but the camera features and flexibility were so good that I was happy to trade a little image quality for such a powerful little camera.
Built-In GPS
The ZS7′s new built-in GPS feature falls into the category of “neat” for me. It’s not something I’ve been waiting or asking for in a camera. I know there are people who will be excited about the GPS and it definitely ads to the cool gadget factor. But GPS isn’t gonna help anyone make better photos or videos. It will allow you to tag photos and videos with GPS coordinates and that will make them easier to search and share, though.
Manual Exposure Control
The addition of manual exposure controls is a very nice upgrade for the ZS7. I was happy enough with the point-and-shoot nature of previous Panasonic pocket superzoom cameras – exposure compensation was there for fine-tuning and the Panasonic iA Intelligent Auto mode works really well. However, I almost always choose the aperture and shutter speed on my own when I’m shooting with a digital SLR. So it will be nice to have that option now with the ZS7.
Conclusion
I few years ago I was really wanting and pushing for point-and-shoot digital cameras with DSLR image quality and performance. Last year, the Panasonic ZS3 started to make me think differently. Now I am more interested in a camera that fits in my pocket and offers solid image quality along with powerful features and flexibility – a pocket superzoom. With the ZS7, Panasonic took an already great camera and tweaked it in just the right places to make it even better. Of course, I have to hedge a little – before I can really pass judgment I need to get one in my hands and see how it performs in the real world.
Along with the ZS7, Panasonic is also introducing the Lumix ZS5. The ZS5 has the same lens and sensor as the ZS7 but it has a smaller 2.7-inch LCD, it doesn’t have the GPS feature and it uses Motion JPEG video instead of AVCHD Lite. Pricing and availability for the Panasonic Lumix ZS7 and ZS5 have not been announced yet. We’ll let you know when they are.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 and DMC-ZS5 Press Release
Related Content:
All Panasonic User Reviews
All Digital Camera User Reviews
Digital Cameras Forum
Panasonic News & Articles
Panasonic Web Site
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 Photos
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5 Photos
This is the one I’ve been waiting for Panasonic to release. I had a TZ3 for a while, it was a great size, took good videos and photos. I had a hard time getting used to taking photos with the screen and really missed manual controls. I ended up giving it to my parents.
After using my G9 the last few years, I am finally able to use the screen to compose photographs(the G9s viewfinder points a completely different direction than the lens is pointing). So now that Panny has finally included manual controls and improved an already very good design in many areas it’s time for me to give it another try. Now if they’ll only include RAW capture….
I’m with you, EOSThree. In addition to RAW, I’d also like it to be waterproof. That would be*the* ultimate pocket camera!
Yeah, didn’t think of waterproof. Waterproof and RAW, then it would be the ultimate. I’ve always been a Canonite, but their superzoom offering is a little disappointing compared to the Panasonic. What? no zoom during movie mode?…unforgivable.
i’m right there with you on the RAW option. i have a tz3 and zs3, i don’t have the zs7 because i didn’t realize they had a new model until just recently so will probably wait until next year’s model since we’re halfway there already. and there are at least four people in my sphere of influence who have one model of this line of another because of my recommendation. this is a great compact camera and the addition of RAW would make it the perfect compact camera for the serious hobbyist/amateur/traveller/”i carry my camera everywhere” (or would if it were small enough) types who just wants something that’ll fit in a pocket or handbag.
waterproofing cameras with this much zoom is probably impossible. but, there is an underwater option in the form of a marine case, which lets you take the camera into deeper water than merely “waterproofing” (which is really only water safeguarding). this is quite possible the only affordable option for divers who want great pics without a big, bulky rig.
so, are you listening, panasonic??? make yourself really stand out in the moderately priced compact camera crowd…give us RAW and a way to use filters. and keep the marine case at least through the next model because i’m gonna be on a buyin’ spree…
the other option i’d like to see (in addition to RAW) is a super wide angle if it can be done without making the camera any larger., say 18mm, and way to use filters. if there were a way to use filters, then maybe the superwide angle could be an adapter.
p.s. just want to add that first paragraph should specify…”something powerful enough to support creativity and experimentation that will fit in a pocket or handbag.”
I’ve got the waterproof housing for the old TZ3 and it worked wonderfully. Been really loving this line of cameras from Panasonic. My friend bought the TZ5, and then gave that one to his mother when he bought this camera.
zs-7 has marginally less resolution than the zs-3, but since the zs-3 was a class-leading camera, the zs-7 is still among the very best in this class of sub-$350 camera in terms of resolution.
You can see side-by-side comparisons of the zs-7, zs-3, and all other cameras (e.g. Canon S95) at :
http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM
Check the ISO1600 images and compare the zs-3 and zs-7 to all other cameras – both are great cameras, but the zs-3 is a little greater…
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