Slimline

Panasonic has long been a leader in the ultra-zoom category, largely because it has produced cameras that are genuinely pocketable but are also easy to use, feature-rich and offer good performance. Unfortunately, it's taken almost six months since we first experienced the Lumix DMC-TZ7  at Panasonic's Asian Region launch in Singapore for a review camera to become available. That's a pity because this camera has a lot to interest potential buyers.

The latest in the popular 'Travel Zoom' (TZ) line, which was launched early in 2006, the TZ7 and its sibling the TZ6 replace the successful TZ5 and TZ4 models. Interestingly, Panasonic has completely redesigned both cameras to incorporate a new lens and some special features. Both models boast a 12x optical zoom lens and a 10.1-megapixel (effective) image sensor. But the TZ7 has a larger monitor and only the TZ7 can record high-definition video.  

Design and Ergonomics
Despite the re-design, the TZ7 has most of the characteristics of its heritage, including a slim (32.8 mm wide), well-built metal body, retractable lens and large LCD screen. No viewfinder is provided. Build quality is as good as the earlier models, even though it's thinner and lighter than the TZ5, which has a 10x optical zoom lens.

The front panel is dominated by the lens, which is Leica-branded. The lens, which contains elements in groups, extends 20 mm when the camera is switched on and a further 15 mm when it's zoomed right out to the 49.2mm position.

The grip on the TZ7 is straighter than the TZ5 with a narrow, vertical metal bar that doesn't feel as secure as the thicker, rubber-coated grip on the TZ5, although most users should be happy enough with it. Users with large hands may find it inadequate. As on the TZ5, the only other features on the front panel are a tiny LED flash and an AF-assist light that doubles as a self-timer indicator.

Front view of the DMC-TZ7 showing the lens and flash. (Source: Panasonic)


Angled front view with the zoom lens extended showing the AF-assist light in the top right corner of the front panel. (Source: Panasonic)

As well as replacing the single microphone grille with a pair of six-hole grilles on the top panel, Panasonic has also shifted the mode dial on the TZ7 to the grip end of the top panel. This isn't necessarily a good move as we found the mode dial often slipped around to a different position from the one we'd originally set. The more central position was less easily dislodged inadvertently.

Like the TZ5, the TZ7 has six shooting modes. The iAuto, Normal Picture and Clipboard modes are unchanged in the new model. However, the TZ5's Scene 1 and 2 modes have been replaced in the TZ7 by two My Scene modes where frequently-used scene pre-sets can be stored. In addition, the movie mode has been moved to the camera's menu system and replaced by a Scene Mode setting where the complete array of scene presets is located.

The on/off switch and shutter button/zoom lever remain is roughly the same position, where they are easily operated. However, the Easy Zoom button, which was used in the TZ5 to jump straight to maximum zoom, is no longer provided.


A view of the top panel of the TZ7, showing the stereo microphone grilles, power button, shutter button and zoom lever and mode dial. (Source: Panasonic)

Changes to the rear panel design are minimal. The arrow pad and buttons below it (Display and Q. Menu) have been moved down to make space for the new Movie button. The moulding around the Record/Play slider has also been flattened out, leaving the slider slightly proud of the rear panel. The remaining buttons are essentially unchanged from the TZ5.


Rear view showing the large LCD screen and main button controls. (Source: Panasonic)

The main change to the menu system has been the addition of a two-page section devoted to video capture, which site between the four pages of the Record menu and five page Setup menu. This new Motion Picture section lets users select the video recording mode and quality, adjust white balance, AF area and colour mode and switch the Intelligent Exposure, Continuous AF, Digital Zoom and Wind Cut filter on and off.

Overall the menu retains the white background of the previous model. Easy to read and logically arranged, it's a model of its type.

Video
Like the DMC-FT1, which we reviewed in March, the TZ7 supports both SD and HD recording. Support for widescreen video isn't new in the TZ cameras; the TZ5 could also record 16:9 video at 1280 x 720 pixels, using the QuickTime Motion JPEG compression system. This is less efficient (see the table below) than the new AVCHD Lite format used in the TZ7 (and FT1) and, although quality isn't as high as the full 1920 x 1080 pixel high-definition format, it produces video clips that look good on HDTV screens - particularly at the higher bit rates.

Developed jointly by Panasonic and Sony, AVCHD Lite offers 1280 x 720 pixel resolution using a variant of the MPEG-4 codec (H.264). The main purpose of is to provide efficient compression, allowing longer video recordings without loss of image quality. Clips can be played back on Panasonic's Viera HDTV sets by inserting the memory card from the camera in slot on the TV set or connecting the camera via an optional mini-HDMI cable to a Viera Link-equipped TV set or video player. Slideshows of still images can be displayed by either method.

Unlike the FT1, the TZ7 can record video soundtracks in stereo (Dolby AC3). Interestingly, playback via the camera is monaural, via a nine-hole grille on the rear panel just left of the REC/Play switch. Video can be recorded by selecting the video mode in the menu or simply pressing the Movie button just above the arrow pad. This button is also used to stop video recording.

 
The Movie mode menu.

Sensor and Image Processor
Panasonic has increased the effective resolution of the TZ7 to 10.1 megapixels without changing the size of the imager chip. The company has also replaced the Venus Engine IV processor with the new Venus Engine HD, which uses two CPUs to support the HD motion picture recording and maintain low power consumption.

Like the TZ5, the TZ7 supports three aspect ratio settings for recording still images (see Sample Images section for examples), all of them in JPEG format. Two quality settings are available: Fine and Standard. Compression rates are slightly lower in the TZ7 than the FT1, which promises improved picture quality. Typical file sizes are shown in the table below.

Continuous movie recording is supported for up to 15 minutes - or 2GB. AVCHD Lite video clips are always recorded with a 16:9 aspect ratio, while Motion JPEG clips can be recorded in 16:9 or 4:3 format. Two picture sizes are provided for HD video clips and four for Motion JPEG video clips, all with frame rates of 30 frames/second. Typical recording times are shown in the table below.
 

Video format	Aspect ratio	Picture Mode	Picture size (pixels)	Bit rate	Recording time/2GB card
AVCHD Lite	16:9	SH	1280 x 720	17 Mbps	15 mins
		H	1280 x 720	13 Mbps	20 mins
		L	1280 x 720	9 Mbps	29 mins
Motion JPEG	16:9	HD	1280 x 720	n.a.	8 mins 20 secs
		WVGA	848 x 480	n.a.	20 mins 50 secs
	4:3	VGA	640 x 480	n.a.	21 mins 40 secs
		QVGA	320 x 240	n.a.	60 mins

n.a. = no bit rate provided for Motion JPEG recordings 

Camera Functions
Like its predecessors, the TZ7 comes with a high level of automation, particularly if you choose to shoot with the iAuto mode, which not only controls focusing and exposure but also includes an Intelligent ISO function. In this mode, the only focusing adjustment available is for switching face recognition on and off and setting the camera to register faces (see below).


Camera settings available in the iAuto mode.

When the iAuto mode is selected, auto scene detection is engaged for both stills and video shooting and the camera will identify the scene type from four categories: portrait, scenery, low light and macro. Face Detection is also engaged. The Intelligent ISO function will boost sensitivity when the camera detects low light levels or moving subjects and you can set the top ISO to 400, 800 or 1600. White balance is set automatically in this mode, along with automatic backlight compensation.

The flash will fire automatically, if required - unless you've set it to the Forced Off mode. Multi-pattern metering is set by default in iAuto mode. Image size/aspect ratio settings are also restricted, with three 4:3 sizes available (10M, 5M and 3M) but only one size each in the 3:2 (9.5M) and 16:9 (2M) aspect ratios.   


The first page of settings in the Main menu, available in the Normal Picture mode.

Although the new camera offers plenty of adjustable functions, most of them are only accessible in the Normal Picture mode. The supplied user manual isn't much help in finding what you can and can't adjust as it lacks an index and appears appears to group functions in a non-intuitive manner. This makes it difficult to locate controls that are spread over several sub-menus.

The full array of flash modes (auto, auto/red-eye, forced on, slow synch/red-eye and forced off) is only available in the Normal Picture mode and this mode is the only one providing  access to the full array of autofocusing modes (which are numerous). With these settings you can choose between 11-point and 1-point AF, the latter with a high-speed option plus face detection, AF tracking and spot autofocusing. The face detection system can pick out up to 15 faces in a scene and you can 'tag' up to five faces for storage in the camera's memory so it will 'recognise' them in future.  


Autofocus mode settings.

In addition, the Scene modes (MS1, MS2 and SCN) include a 'Pre AF' setting in the Record menu that initiates autofocusing as soon as the camera is switched on. (Naturally, more power is consumed with this setting.) Three modes are provided: off, Q.AF and C. AF. The former re-adjusts focus when it detects slight blurring while the latter combines focus readjustment with subject tracking, changing the focus when any movement is detected. Both modes operate without the shutter button being pressed.

Similarly, white balance is only adjustable in the Normal Picture mode and some Scene modes, where the camera provides a custom (measurement) setting. You'll need to use this for fluorescent, halogen or flash lighting since no pre-sets are provided for these lighting types.

As in other Panasonic digicams, the MEGA O.I.S. stabilisation system provides two modes. Mode 1 engages stabilisation continuously (at the expense of battery power) while Mode 2 only engages stabilisation when the shutter button is pressed. You can also turn stabilisation off when you mount the camera on a tripod - if you wish to conserve battery power.

All these functions are accessed by pressing the Menu/Set button in the centre of the arrow pad. The items displayed depend on the shooting mode selected. If you've set the mode to iAuto, you can only adjust the picture size/aspect ratio, burst and colour modes and turn face recognition on and off. In the Normal Picture mode, functions like image size and quality, aspect ratio, sensitivity, white balance, AF and metering modes, Intelligent Exposure, continuous shooting, digital zoom, colour mode, stabilisation settings, minimum shutter speed, audio recording and AF assist lamp settings can be adjusted via the Record pages.

Some of these settings can also be changed in the Motion Picture and Scene modes, although the adjustable functions depend on which mode is set. The Motion Picture pages contain settings for the recording format (AVCHD Lite or Motion JPEG), quality (bit rate and picture size), white balance, AF modes, Intelligent Exposure, digital zoom and colour mode. It also provides a wind cut filter for reducing the effect of wind on the
soundtrack of video clips.

The Setup menu pages include clock, world time and travel date settings; beep and shutter sound adjustments, monitor brightness levels, guide line and histogram superimposition and auto review and power-off settings. File numbering, USB and video out (PAL/NTSC) and video out settings as well as the reset and Viera Link controls are also located here. You can also choose how scene mode icons are presented, format the memory (internal or card) and select interface languages here as well as viewing a demonstration of the camera's jitter detection system.

Scene pre-sets cover the standard Panasonic range, including two portrait modes (one labelled Soft Skin), a self-portrait mode and a new Transform mode that lets you make a subject slimmer or broader. There are also two Baby modes and a Pet mode where you can register the subject's name and birth date.

A Panorama Assist mode makes it easy to take a series of images to combine into a panorama shot, while checking the degree of overlap between adjacent shots. Unlike some digicams, which combine the shots in-camera, images captured in this mode must be stitched together in ArcSoft Panorama Maker software, which is supplied on the CD that comes with the camera.

Other Scene modes include High-sensitivity, High-speed burst, Flash burst, Starry Sky (for long exposures) and an Underwater mode plus 'Pin Hole' and 'Film Grain' special effects. The High-speed burst mode contains two setting: image priority and speed priority. Unfortunately, if you want to use shutter speeds longer than one second you must swap to the Starry Sky mode, which offers three exposure times: 15, 30 and 60 seconds. You can't set exposure times in between these steps and you can't adjust ISO settings in this mode. Noise reduction processing (dark-frame subtraction) is applied by default.

You can use some Scene menu pre-sets directly for video recording by pressing the motion picture button while other pre-sets will be matched to certain pre-set modes. For example, the two Baby modes will be matched with Portrait mode while the three Night modes (including Starry Sky) default to low light mode. The high-speed and flash burst, Fireworks, Panorama Assist and Pet modes become normal motion picture mode for movie capture. 

Playback and Software
There's no quick review button on the TZ7; to enter playback mode you must move the slider in the top right corner of the rear panel down to the play setting. This displays the last image taken on the LCD screen. However, all the standard playback functions are supported. The playback menu provides four options (five if you have tagged any images as Favourites): Normal Play, Slide Show, Mode Play and Category Play.


Moving the slider to the Play position displays the last shot taken and users can opt to have shooting data overlaid on the image.

Playback zoom.

In the Normal Play mode you can view single images; rotate, resize and crop images; see a calendar view and zoom in on shots with up to 16x magnification in 2x zoom steps. Aspect ratio conversion is also provided. Images can be protected, tagged for DPOF printing and viewed as slideshows with background music and effects. Four music backgrounds are provided: Natural, Slow, Swing and Urban - or you can turn this function off and simply view your shots.

A Mode Play sub-menu lets you choose between playing just still images or just movies and you can opt for either AVCHD movie clips or Motion JPEGs. There's also a Category playback setting that will display all shots taken with a selected Scene pre-set or movie mode.


Category playback with some of the Portrait options.

The TZ7 also includes a Levelling function for straightening off-kilter horizons and a Title Edit setting that lets you add titles to shots taken in certain places or on specific dates.


The Levelling function lets you straighten pictures in playback mode. A grid overlay is provided
 for guidance.

This function can also be used to edit names from the Baby and Pet Scene modes. Text input is via an alpha-numeric display on the LCD monitor, using the arrow pad buttons. Alternatively, the Text Stamp function lets you add dates or titles to pictures, which are re-saved as 3M or smaller files. Saved files can't be edited subsequently.


The Text Stamp options.

The supplied software disk contains Panasonic's standard applications: PhotoFun Studio 3.0 HD edition, ArcSoft Panorama Maker and the USB driver (v. 1.0) for the camera. QuickTime is also provided for playing the Motion JPEG video clips. We've already covered these applications in our review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT1.

Performance
Our subjective assessments of image quality showed the review camera to be at least as good as the TZ15 - and slightly better than the FT1. This is probably due to the lens as the sensors in both cameras are similar. In adequate lighting the test camera proved capable of producing sharp, colourful still images with little evidence of over-saturation and few visible artefacts.

Increasing the megapixel count in the new model appeared to have little effect on dynamic range or overall resolution - although resolution declined sharply at the highest ISO settings. Image noise was negligible at ISO settings between 80 and 200 but started to become visible at ISO 400, regardless of the exposure time. By ISO 800 noise was quite visible and obvious with very little magnification. The graph below shows the results of Photo Review's Imatest tests at the camera's selectable ISO  settings.

 
Imatest showed resolution to be marginally below expectations and revealed some edge softening across the focal length range we tested. Best results were obtained at a focal length of 7.9mm. The graph below shows the results of Photo Review's tests.

We found no evidence of coloured fringing in outdoor shots taken in contrasty conditions. This was confirmed by Imatest testing which showed lateral chromatic aberration to be consistently low across the focal lengths we tested. The graph below shows the results of Photo Review's tests. (The red line marks the border between 'negligible' and 'low' CA.)

The autofocusing system was fast and accurate under most lighting conditions, with a little hunting occurring in very low light levels. Exposure metering was generally accurate, particularly when the iExposure setting was switched on. The image stabilisation system also provide both effective and useful, allowing us to use shutter speeds as slow as 1.8 second with the wide-angle setting and 1/20 second at full optical zoom.
As with the FT1, shooting at night was difficult because you have very little control over key settings. We used the Starry Sky scene mode to record a 60-second shot at ISO 80 after dark but had to swap to the High Sensitivity mode in order to shoot with ISO 6400 sensitivity.

The ISO 80 shot was noise-free and almost free of false colour artefacts. The ISO 6400 shot was severely noise-affected and resolution was noticeably reduced. We would advise caution when using the High Sensitivity mode.

With flash, noise levels were much lower with high sensitivity settings - although the highest ISO setting was restricted to 1600. It was possible to make acceptable A5 sized prints from shots taken at ISO 1600. The flash required an ISO setting of 200 before it could illuminate an average-sized room. However, exposures were even from ISO 400 to ISO 1600.

In auto white balance mode, the review camera failed to totally remove the colour casts of either incandescent or fluorescent lighting - although it performed better than many digicams with the former and only a residual green cast remained with fluorescent lights. There's no pre-set for fluorescent lighting and only a halogen setting for incandescent and neither provided full colour correction in our tests. However, manual measurement corrected both colour casts completely and delivered natural colours under both types of lights.

Close-up capabilities were generally good and the camera proved capable of rendering difficult hues like magenta and purple (plus in-between hues) with close-to-natural accuracy. However, some sharpness was lost at the closest camera-to-subject distance (3 cm). Digital zoom shots were also less artefact-affected than average and usable at small output sizes. Lens distortion was virtually negligible, with only slight barrel distortion visible at the 4.1mm focal length setting.

Video quality was as good as we recorded with the FT1 - provided light levels were relatively high. In dim lighting, resolution was reduced in HD clips, making them only a little sharper and more detailed than clips shot in SD mode. However, autofocusing was slow in movie mode - as was the zooming speed. Audio quality was acceptable in the HD mode but the stereo microphones failed to provide good separation of the sound channels. Sound quality was relatively poor with SD clips.

Our timing tests were carried out with a 2GB Panasonic Class 6 SDHC card to assess typical performance levels. The test camera took approximately 1.6 seconds to power up and extend its lens. Capture lag times depended on the AF mode selected, with the High-speed AF setting producing average lag times of 0.3 seconds and the other modes averaging 0.5 second delays.

Pre-focusing reduced lag times to an average of 0.1 seconds. For single-frame capture of Large/Fine JPEG images, it took 2.9 seconds, on average, to process each image file. Shot-to-shot delays averaged 1.6 seconds without flash and 2.3 seconds with.
Burst mode performance depended on the setting used, although processing times for bursts averaged roughly two seconds, regardless of the capture mode. When the high-speed burst mode was selected via the menu system and the camera was set on iAuto or Normal mode, the review camera recorded three Large/Fine JPEGs at intervals of just over 0.4 seconds.

Swapping to 'Free' burst mode, reduced the capture rate to approximately 1.8 frames/second but allowed us to keep recording until the memory was full. Processing was completed approximately two seconds after the last shot.

Selecting the High-speed burst mode in the Scene menu reduced the highest capture size to 3-megapixels but provided much faster capture rates. When Speed priority was set, we recorded 10 frames averaging 528 KB in size in 1.1 seconds while in Image priority mode,  image sizes were approximately 650KB and it took 1.7 seconds to record 10 frames.  

Buy this camera if:
- You're looking for a pocketable superzoom digicam that can record good-looking stills and HD video clips with stereo sound.
- You want good wide-angle coverage and competent image stabilisation for shooting both video and still pictures.
- You can live with high levels of automation.

Don't buy this camera if:
- You require PASM shooting modes.
- You want to shoot raw files (the TZ7 can't).
- You want high burst capacity at high resolution.
 - You require colour accuracy with auto white balance. 

IMATEST GRAPHS

SAMPLE IMAGES

Auto white balance with incandescent lighting.

Auto white balance with fluorescent lighting.

Close-up (4.1mm focal length, ISO 80, 1/50 second at f/3.3)

Digital zoom (49.2mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/80 second at f/4.9)

Wide-angle (4.1mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/500 second at f/4)

Telephoto (49.2mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/60 second at f/4.9)

4:3 aspect ratio (22.5mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/20 second at f/4.5)


3:2 aspect ratio (22.5mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/20 second at f/4.5)


16:9 aspect ratio (22.5mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/20 second at f/4.5)


Long exposure using the Starry Sky scene mode (13.7mm focal length, ISO 80, 60 seconds at f/3.4)

Night shot with the High Sensitivity mode (13.7mm focal length, ISO 6400, 1 second at f/3.4)

Flash exposure at ISO 100 (24.1mm focal length, 1/40 second at f/4.5)

Flash exposure at ISO 1600 (24.1mm focal length, 1/40 second at f/4.5)

Skin tones (22.5mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/320 second at f/4.5)  

49.2mm focal length, ISO 800, 1/250 second at f/4.9 

Still frame from video clip recorded in HD mode in poor lighting.


Still frame from video clip recorded in SD mode.

Image sensor: 6.13 x 4.6mm CCD with 12.7 million photosites (10.1 megapixels effective)
Lens:  Lumix DC Vario Elmar 4.1-49.2mm f/3.3-6.3 lens (25-300mm in 35mm format)
Zoom ratio: 12x optical, up to 4x digital
Image formats: Stills – JPEG Exif 2.21); Movies – AVCHD Lite, QuickTime Motion JPEG
Image Sizes: Stills – 4:3 ratio: 3648 x 2736, 3072 x 2304, 2560 x 1920, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 3:2 ratio: 3648 x 2432, 3072 x 2048, 2560 x 1712, 2048 x 1360, 16:9 ratio: 3648 x 2056, 3072 x 1728, 2560 x 1440, 1920 x 1080; Movies – HD: 1280 x 720 at 50p; SD: 848 x 480, 640 x 480, 320 x 240 all at 30 fps
Shutter speed range: 8-1/2000 sec. (15, 30, 60 sec. in Starry Sky mode)
Self-timer: 2 or 10 second delay
Image Stabilisation: Mega O.I.S.
Exposure Compensation: +/- 2EV in 1/3 EV steps
Focus system/range: TTL AF with Normal/Macro, Continuous AF On/Off, Quick AF On/Off, AF Tracking; range 50 cm to infinity; macro to 3 cm
Exposure metering/control: Intelligent Multiple, Spot (Spot Mode), Centre-Weighted
Shooting modes: Program AE plus
ISO range: Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 (ISO 1600-6400 in High Sensitivity mode)
White balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen, White Set, White Balance Adjustment: ±10 steps (except Auto)
Flash modes/range (ISO auto): Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced On/Off; range
Sequence shooting: Full Resolution Image, 2.3 frames/sec, Max. 5 frames (Standard Mode) 3 frames (Fine Mode)
Storage Media: SD/SDHC cards
Viewfinder: No
LCD monitor: 3-inch low-temperature polycrystalline TFT LCD with 460,800 dots
Power supply:  ID-Security Lithium-ion Battery Pack (3.6V, 950mAh) CIPA  rated for 300 shots/charge
Dimensions (wxhxd): 103.3 x 59.6 x 32.8 mm
Weight: 206 grams (without battery and card)