Panasonic has been a quiet leader in compact camera production. One of their most well received models is the Panasonic Lumix ZS7. Discover the 5 things you need to know before buying one.
Before you buy your Panasonic Lumix ZS7 digital camera,
there are a few things you need to consider. No, make that 5 things to consider.
The first issue before getting into this amazing camera from Panasonic is to give you peace of mind about NOT selecting a Canon or Nikon compact digital camera. Even though they are the front runners in sales, it does not mean that they are the only ones who make great digital cameras. In fact, Panasonic has been a leader in the digital compact market for a few years now. They have not done it with the pomp and flair of Canon and Nikon, but their quality and performance has been equal or better in some models.
My passion for
Panasonic Lumix ZS7 is based on personal experience. You see, I recently purchased one for my own use. I have been a long-time digital SLR owner, and I still contend that they are superior to point and shoot cameras in terms of image quality, but that is not an issue up for discussion. Practically everyone will admit that it is true. The simple fact that the sensor size of a DSLR is far bigger than that of a compact digital, and this fact alone makes it nearly impossible for a compact to out-perform a DSLR.
I felt it necessary to explain that because many of my articles are about Digital SLRs. So, now that we are straight about that little item, we can discuss the Panasonic Lumix ZS7.
Number one reason that makes this camera special is Ease Of Use. The very idea of a "point and shoot" camera is that you want something easy to use. Your idea of taking a picture does not include selecting the best settings and messing with dials and buttons. This little Panasonic will fill the bill.
The second thing that makes the ZS7 a great camera is Image Quality. As already mentioned, the quality is not the same as a digital SLR, but it is considered excellent by many experts whose business is to evaluate such things. Actually, the engineers are finding new ways to improve image quality with every release. The ZS7 is ahead of the pack. This is one area where I am very critical, and this Panasonic has surprised me with nearly every photo I have taken. Image quality is much better than I anticipated. If you take your pictures at the highest resolution, you can make prints as large as 16 by 22 inches. And if you choose the right printer, you can have them blown up as wall murals.
Third reason to buy is something called Intelligent Auto. I absolutely LOVE this feature. Intelligent Auto is really intelligent. It's as if the camera has a brain. The camera automatically selects the right settings for you, including ISO, shutter speed, and everything else to make the picture come out perfect (almost every time). How the camera knows it's a people picture as opposed to a landscape, I have no idea, and I don't care. It is nothing short of ... well, magical. It gets the lighting right at night, too. Intelligent Auto is not totally auto, which is really nice, too. You can turn off the flash and still have the camera in the Intelligent Auto mode. "Flash Off" gives really natural light. Did I say that I love this feature?
Fourth is the Super Zoom lens. By Super Zoom, we are talking about a 12x zoom factor. That equates to 25mm - 300mm. I did a little test in the snow to see how well this works with respect to image quality at 300mm. Standing in the same place, I took two photos. The first was at the 25mm wide angle setting, and the second was the same object zoomed all the way to 300mm (12x). To my surprise, they both had very good quality. I also took the same picture with my Canon Digital SLR, and I was still impressed. While the images with the Canon were slightly better, I was sufficiently pleased with the Panasonic performance. The quality of the lens can't be questioned, since it is made by Leica, a very highly respected lens maker.
Fifth and finally is Price. My reason for buying included finding an excellent camera that was small enough to carry everywhere and not have to haul my entire camera bag with all my gadgets and camera widgets. I can carry the ZS7 anywhere and everywhere in a pocket. The price was only about $250. I feel that is very reasonable for what I got in this camera.
I highly recommend the Panasonic Lumix ZS7.
