firstreesjohn said:
This will be long, but I sense you're looking for "details."
After weeks of research, I purchased the FZ7 back in May. The manual, while informative, is anything but an easy read, so I went searching for a plain-English tutor. One book schooled me, quickly, delightfully and painlessly: PCPhoto Digital Zoom Camera Handbook, by Rob Sheppard (a Lark Photography Book). List = $19.95. That buddy is soooo informative that it ought to come with every advanced digicam purchase! It only took me a day or two to become completely comfortable with the FZ7 controls. Super convenient, in the way the controls are laid out, so you can tweak the exposure as desired, QUICKLY, in the field!
Actually, everything about this camera is convenient and qualitative. Leica makes killer lenses, and one graces the FZ7. The LCD is clear, so you can actually see the shot you're about to take ( prefer to use the viewfinder). If there's bright sun, I just turn my back to it so I can better view the display.
You can easily magnify the image in Playback Mode, to check for sharpness. You can also crop in camera, maneuvering to the precise part of the image desired, with the option to save or discard the original.
With the built-in stabilization, much more frequently than not, you'll be looking at magnificently razor sharp pics, full of natural color and detail--- even when cropped in/out camera.
The battery charger is a fold-out-- you can just pull open the plug (it's recessed into the charger body initially), insert battery, then insert the charger into the wall. No cord! You really can get close to 300 shots per charge, depending on LCD usage, etc. I bought a non-Panasonic 2d battery, which works fine.
The rapid shoot mode works great, and speed of card appears irrelevant (read: a cheap SD card will suffice). You can quickly change image quality (JPEG- large or small vs TIFF; 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 or .3mb jpeg) on the fly, via the same button which will also change ISO (auto, 80, 100, 200, 400) and white balance mode-- all one button access/changes. You can optionally use 800 or 1600 ISO, via High Sensitivity Mode, which is accessed via the rotating wheel (Mode Dial) atop the camera:
-- Auto
-- Program
-- Aperture Priority
-- Shutter Speed Priority
-- Manual
-- Macro
-- Movie
-- Scenery
---- portrait
---- soft skin
---- scenery
---- sports
---- night portrait
---- night scenery
---- panning
---- food
---- party
---- candle light
---- fireworks
---- starry sky
---- baby 1
---- baby 2
---- snow
---- high sensitivity
Thankfully, each of the above options includes a little "i". A click will tell you the basics per mode, in plain-English, to help you choose the best mode for the situation. Again, extremely easy and QUICK to make such selections.
I have multiple feeder stations in my backyard, with various water features. I typically sit near my sliding glass patio door, and shoot up a storm (using spot meter, so the glass doesn't interfere with focusing). I use raw alcohol and a squeegee to keep the glass super clean. After hearing a couple of thuds (no lingering harm, thank goodness), I grabbed some black construction paper from the dollar store, and created a few hanging hawk silhouettes. (
http://snipurl.com/vg21 (pdf file)). Pics look the same as if I were standing in the yard. I attribute that to the Leica lens itself, a marvel!
While the 12 zoom gives a reach, in practical terms, of 432mm, I was still seeing way too many specks-in-the-grass out in the field. That prompted purchase of the DMW-LT55, Pansonic's 1.7x teleconverter especially for the FZ7. If you use the Menu to turn on Teleconversion, when you turn on the camera with the tc attached, the system will auto-zoom to its new max for you-- quickly. ... You multiply 432mm x 1.7, yielding a new reach of 734mm. Out and about, you still may not get close enough to yield full-frame pics, but the beauty of the FZ7 is that you can crop like mad, and still have an excellent picture, with one caveat.
FZ7 has 100, 200, & 400 ISO; and, 800 and 1600 in High Sensitivity Mode. The 100 and 200 pics are great out-da-box, and depending on lighting, I can live with the vast majority of 1600 and 3200 shots-- a little soft, but at least I got the shot. But that 400 ISO is, well, pityful, IF used in low light without flash or underexposed, then cropped. The noise is so bad that even noise reduction apps may not salvage the pic. The trick here is to restrict usage of 400 ISO to good light scenarios, where you're using it solely to get higher shutter speed (freeze flying/moving birds, withOUT blur). If you see some noise post crop, Noise Ninja or one of its competitors will definitely help. Incidentally, even the low-light "ugh!" 400 ISO pics are good enough to assist bird i.d.'s--- took one of a hawk high and far away in a neighbor's tree, out my rain-stained Living Room window on a miserably cloudy day. Cropped, I could make out enough of the back and tail to pinpoint it-- RedTailed hawk, a life bird for me (yeaaa!!)
Note: that noise issue is common among all digicams... I later bought a Minolta 5D dSLR, focused on killing noise issues. It did, but to get anywhere near the reach of the FZ7, for shooting bird pics, I'd have to invest another grand in a quality/fast zoom lens, minimum.The shutter click was so loud it chased away the birds; with the FZ7, I can turn off the shutter sound. The dSLR controls weren't as convenient at the FZ7. And, with the exception of high ISO/low-light pics, there wasn't enough of a diff to rationalize the $$$ involved. Short version: I returned it for a full refund.
Bottom-line: I truly appreciate the FZ7, more so now than ever. If I had to do all over it again, I'd change one thing: I'd have purchased it the minute it hit the streets!
Tip for US folks: There's a $19 CaseLogic bag at Walmart's which fits beautifully, even with teleconverter attached. The width of the bag is roughly 10 1/2 inches, exclusive of side pockets. Padded. Small lens size pocket on both sides (i.e., circular polarizer). Long tri-compartment pocket on the back-- good for field book and narrow items. Medium size pocket on front, good for compact binoculars. Nicely padded wide shoulder strap. Good padded top carry-it mechanism as well. Black, with blue trim.
