Movies can be recorded up to 720p HD resolution in either AVCHD Lite or Motion JPEG. AVCHD Lite has three quality settings to choose from: SH at 17Mbps, H at 13Mbps, and L at 9Mbps. You do get use of the zoom lens and optical image stabilization while recording and there is continuous AF, too. The zoom movement is picked up by the stereo mic on top, but it's fairly quiet. There is a wind-cut filter, too, but its help is negligible. For output to an HDTV there's a Mini-HDMI jack on the right side as well as a proprietary USB/AV port.
Shooting performance is pretty average for its class, though its shutter lag is a bit long. The camera starts up and captures a shot in 2.3 seconds. The shot-to-shot time is 2.1 seconds without the flash. Use the flash and you're waiting an average of 4.5 seconds between shots. The shutter lag in bright conditions--how quickly the camera captures an image after the shutter-release button is pressed--is 0.6 second in bright conditions and 1 second in dim lighting. Those aren't great numbers if you're trying to shoot a moving subject. On the upside, the full-resolution continuous burst mode captures at a quick 1.7 frames per second.
The photo quality from the ZS7 is very good to excellent with the understanding that this is a compact camera--regardless of its features and price. Photos at ISO 80 and 100 are great; they're sharp with nice color and fine detail. Jump to ISO 200 and subjects get slightly softer and less detailed, but photos are still very good. At ISO 400 noise starts creating color issues including yellow blotching, though detail remains good. Going up to ISO 800, photos get pretty bad; they're soft and yellowy with visible noise. Forget about ISO 1,600 unless you're shooting in black and white or simply must capture a photo regardless of the results. In other words, if you're looking for great low-light photo quality or if you typically do a lot of heavy cropping, the ZS7 will disappoint.
The camera's new processing engine--Venus HD II--brings with it an Intelligent Resolution (IR) feature that automatically detects outlines, detailed texture areas, and soft gradation areas and performs "optimum signal processes" to each area. Think of it as smart sharpening that improves textures and makes subjects sharper and clearer. The results were generally very good, though occasionally shots appeared oversharpened and crunchy, especially when used in conjunction with the Intelligent Zoom. The Intelligent Zoom is a digital zoom that extends the range of the optical zoom from 12x to 16x by cropping in on the center of the frame. It then applies IR to improve the shot. The outcome is a better digital zoom, but it's still not great; fine if you really need to get a little closer, but not something you'd want to rely on.
Panasonic keeps both barrel distortion at the camera's wide end and pincushion distortion at the telephoto end under control. There was no purple fringing immediately visible in test shots, either. As long as you're shooting at ISOs below 400, colors are just shy of accurate and overall rich and pleasing. Exposure is also very good, though there is some highlight clipping.
Video quality is good, on par with a pocket minicamcorder. However, with the ZS7 you get that zoom. Plus, many of the scene modes work for movies including Pin Hole, Film Grain, and High Dynamic. Just select the mode while in photo mode and press record.
Panasonic makes excellent compact megazooms and the Lumix DMC-ZS7 is certainly one of them. Its manual controls, ample feature set, and 12x zoom, wide-angle lens make it very flexible. The GPS is a nice addition, too, especially for frequent travelers. The biggest issue is the high-ISO photo quality, which will be a deal-breaker for a lot of people. But, if you're doing most of your shooting outside or indoors in good lighting, the ZS7 is capable of turning out some very nice pictures.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
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(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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