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43 of 45 found the following review helpful:
 Great small cameraNov 28, 2004
By Hide Harashima
Before I bought this camera, I used one of the tiny Casio Exilim cameras. My biggest complaint about the small digital cameras are that the small size makes it easy to shake and therefore take blurry images. With the Panasonic DMC-FX7, its still a small camera but with the image stabilization, pictures are very sharp. Initially, I thought it would bother me that there's no optical viewfinder, but I don't notice it at all now.
pros:
- huge 2.5" screen
- image stabilization works and takes sharp pictures
- small form factor
- 5.0 megapixels
- uses SD cards (a 1GB card is about $70 or less now)
- solid construction (feels solid and metal finish is high quality)
cons:
- weak flash (which is common to many small digital cameras)
- more expensive than other cameras
- battery life is OK. (I'd get an extra battery if you're taking this camera with you on vacation)
- no optical viewfinder (but as mentioned, it's not an issue for me)
overall I love this camera for the size and the quality of pictures it takes!
59 of 64 found the following review helpful:
SO much better than Sony's DSC-T1Nov 08, 2004
By J. Wang
"jjintegrated"
I bought this camera after much research. It is superior to its Sony counterpart T-1 in almost every way:
+It is about 50 g lighter than the T-1, which is quite substantial. It weighs no more than my cell phone when I put it in my pocket.
+Image stabilization!
+The material the camera is made of is better looking than the dull T-1.
+Cheap memory cards, it uses SD cards, not the Sony Memory Sticks, which is 1/2 the price of the Memory Sticks
+It's NOT SONY!
+LCD screen is bigger than the T-1
+Cheaper batteries than the Sony T1
One thing I have to warn you though, the movie mode spits out .mov files, which is only compatible with Apple QuickTime. Personally, I much prefer the .avi format other cameras offer, but it's a worthy tradeoff, I never use the video mode anyways.
Overall, I highly recommend this camera, I've gotten countless "oohs and ahhs" from people, which is more than I can say about the Sony T1, as way too many people have that.
23 of 23 found the following review helpful:
ImpressionsJul 04, 2005
By A. Johnston
The battery life is poor. Don't let this be too distracting, however. A second battery is about the same size as the plastic cases that come with SD cards. It's too bad Panasonic couldn't design a battery that could better handle the large LCD and OIS but I still feel that the extra features are worth it.
Images taken without flash in low light conditions are GRAINY. If you mainly want a fun pocket camera for taking non-invasive shots of people in dimly lit locations without a flash, DON'T buy this camera.
Given decent lighting, the image qualty is really great. The images have a nice, filmic level of contrast right out of the barrel that I usually have to perform minor Photoshopping to achieve with other cameras. Leica optics!
The OIS is amazing. I used an FX7 (as a passenger) in a moving car on a semi-bright day driving over hills and shooting through a dirty windshield (without flash, obviously) and came up with a few traffic shots that really presented well. There was no blur whatsoever even considering the motion of other vehicles captured in the frame.
If you're interested in this camera it should be because you specifically want a super compact and feel that the unique Leica lens and available OIS outweigh the battery and grain problems. Don't compare this to a mid-size camera and don't expect it to produce mid-size results in a cellphone-sized package. It will produce reliable image quality. It will not serve as an all-purpose camera for people seeking semi-pro results.
Artistic photographers looking for a good pocket black-and-white solution for shooting 8x10s (or smaller) should pay particular attention to the FX7. Casual snapshot takers may just as well be better off with one of the Canons.
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
Not all compact digital cameras are the same: Leica LensDec 08, 2005
By fotofan
I agree with a lot of the things already said in the reviews, but just wanted to add that this is a great compact one to have as back-up to your more heavy duty digital or 35mm camera. I have always been a huge fan of Leica and the lens on the panasonic lumix models just can't be beat. Other manufacturers like Canon or Nikon may make smaller, cooler looking digital cameras, but the picture quality cannot be matched. I had a Panasonic Lumix DC40 (discontinued now) for a couple of years before buying this one, and knew the lens contributed a lot to the quality of my photos. When I began shopping for a more compact model, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get one with Leica lens. Plus the image stablization system is unique to this line. For most people, 3 to 4 MB is plenty for picture quality but having 5 MB didn't hurt, of course. I compared this to Casio Exilim Z-50, which is also a good compact camera for average shoppers - took pictures of the same object and compared color, texture, depth, etc. - and you can tell clearly that Panasonic takes a more true-to-life, three dimensional colors. People often describe this as a negative factor, saying that Panasonic's color is less than vivid, but I would say this is because we are too familiar with electronically adjusted color schemes. In other words, Panasonic colors are what they are in nature. You can see more texture and depth to them because they are not overly saturated.
20 of 21 found the following review helpful:
An Almost-Perfect Digital Camera For The PocketJan 05, 2005
By Jeffrey D. Doan
I have this camera for over a week now, and have tested it out quite well to feel good enough to recommend it.
I won't go into details that others have already covered, but what I consider useful.
I did spend a lot of time comparing the picture quality of various ultra-compact cameras including Sony DSC-T1, Canon SD300, Pentax Optio S5i, Casio Exilim EX-Z55, and Panasonic DMC-FX7. These are pictures posted by the professional reviewers at steves-digicams.com, dcresource.com, dpreview.com, and megapixel.net.
Based on my personal judgement, the pictures taken by the FX7 are almost-always sharper, and have more details, which is what I consider the most important quality I look for in a camera.
The Image Stabilizer feature does help, even though it may not help much in low-lighting condition.
The battery life is short, but since I've been getting a minimum of 60 max-resolution shots (all with flash) per full charge. I consider that good enough for my need. I do have a spare battery (bought from a guy with id "imode technology" on eBay) with me all the time, though.
I also use an ultra compact case Tamrac 5686, which fits the camera just fine while still have a small pocket for the spare battery and/or spare SD card.
For SD card, I use a Sandisk Ultra II 512MB due to its speed.
Anyway, I'm keeping my FX7 as I'm quite happy with its looks, quality, and performance.
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