FZ7 - First Impressions (Share them Here)


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airconvent

Senior Member
Apr 12, 2005
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The other thread was so long I think I will start one for people who have bought the camera to share their views.
I got mine yesterday immediately after I found a buyer for my older FZ5. I just checked and found my FZ5 is less than a year old!!! Talk about short life cycle.

Anyway, MS Color was slightly cheaper but as I was in SLS, I bought it from AP.
No free card! sigh....

Anyway, here are my observations :

1. No included 16M Card. its useless but you feel more shiok if they bundle it mah..
2. The camera feels slightly bigger...and heavier.
3. Chassis is rough matt instead of smooth matt. Takes some getting used to.
4. The LCD is bigger but so is the font size too! Also, there is alot of video lag if you
move the camera too fast, something the FZ5 does not have.
5. The flash pop up button is on the left of the camera, so one hand operation to
activate it is no longer possible.
6. Battery is different from FZ5, so no recycling.
7. Hood adapter screws on instead of snaps on like FZ5. So its more secure now.
8. I LOVE the VGA movie mode!! Used it alot on the FZ5 with QVGA only.
But with my 1GB card, it reported only 12 min video possible! Now can display video in
full screen mode on the pc!
9. One photo at 6MP is 2.4 MB! Next lower setting is 4MB..there is no 5MB. Nuts!
10. Hood diameter is 52mm instead of 55mm which means ALL the accessories I had for
the FZ5 cannot be used unless I buy an adapter ring.
11. 6MPixel Photo image does not look or feel any better than the FZ5.
12. All other accessories the same stuff as FZ5 except the software has changed.
13. Menu system a bit more complicated. Will take some getting used to.
14. electronic Manual focus not all that great. I think a mechanical one would have been
much more appreciated.
15. CCD size is 1/2.5", the same size as FZ5 but with 1MP extra. Hence the original specs
that it was 1/2.3" is not true.
16. ISO 800/1600 a bit clumsy to use.

that being said, I thinking of selling off the following (55mm for FZ1, FZ3, FZ5):
HOYA Circ Polariser ($30), HOYA UV Filter ($8), HOYA +4 Lens ($15), Olympus WCON7 lens ($150).....or should I just buy an adapter ring??:)
 

Adapter ring is cheap
selling off all these filters + lens + buying new filters = expensive
 

yup, just get a hoya step up ring. should be about 8-12 dollars. selling all those 55mm stuffs and buying 52mm again = waste alot of $.

anyway since you are stepping up and not down, it wouldn't cast any vignetting unless you stack too much filters on it. on the other hand, without stepping up, u still get vignett if stack too many 52mm filters on.

and yes, u can just put the step up ring there forever
 

unseen said:
Adapter ring is cheap
selling off all these filters + lens + buying new filters = expensive

yea... a good advice from a PRO..
 

unseen said:
Yeah, words of a newbie validated by a PRO..

oi oi... no OT... :nono:

:bsmilie: :bsmilie:
 

k3nn3th03 said:
oi oi... no OT... :nono:

:bsmilie: :bsmilie:
Kena scolded by the PRO liaoz.. :bheart:
:blah:
 

airconvent said:
9. One photo at 6MP is 2.4 MB! Next lower setting is 4MB..there is no 5MB. Nuts!

That is weird.... So what is the other settings?
 

unseen said:
Kena scolded by the PRO liaoz.. :bheart:
:blah:

aiyaaa both of u more pro den me lar. Don argue liao:bsmilie:
 

Airconvent,
just get a step up ring....cheap cheap only
as ExplorerZ mentioned : "anyway since you are stepping up and not down, it wouldn't cast any vignetting unless you stack too much filters on it. on the other hand, without stepping up, u still get vignett if stack too many 52mm filters on."
 

Since I don't have any FZ5 to compare to.
Hmmm just wondering why FZ7 they make it the lens filter not compatible with FZ5 :think:
So far quite happy with FZ7, I love the joystick control easy to access.
12x zoom with 15 seconds exposure still consider very sharp :)
night04.jpg
 

i am also happy with my FZ7. BUT this is only true for shots taken with iso less than 200. i tried to shoot indoors w/o flash but all pics are useless (for me) and the only way is to use flash to get good shots. also used NeatImage but am still not satisfied with the pics.

maybe i am expecting too much.
 

should be ok with iso80 or 100 for indoor, unless you are using zoom or the place you shooting is dimmer than normal. i could get a shutter of around 1/4-1/6 in my house. with help of OIS, still manage to get a few nice shot (with iso80)

and yes, i think you expecting too much from a 1/2.5" sensor :sweatsm:
 

wolf said:
i am also happy with my FZ7. BUT this is only true for shots taken with iso less than 200. i tried to shoot indoors w/o flash but all pics are useless (for me) and the only way is to use flash to get good shots. also used NeatImage but am still not satisfied with the pics.

maybe i am expecting too much.
Is it that bad? My understanding is if they are printed in 4R the images should be ok. Can you post some images to view? Some before Neat image and some after.... Thanks..
 

Some samples on Aspect Ratio.
All taken handheld, 1/6 seconds. My favourite 3:2, all resize no pp

#1 AR 16:9
FZ7-AR16-9.jpg


#2 AR 4:3
FZ7-AR4-3.jpg


#3 AR 3:2
FZ7-AR3-2.jpg
 

Thanks for the comments, all. :)
The picture quality settings are 6M, 4M, 3M, 2M, 1M, 0.3M...no 5M!
Anyway, I have a circ polariser (used once for testing only), a UV filter (for protecting the lens), an Olympus WCON7 (took some sample shots, used at one wedding dinner, loaned to friend for 2 days , otherwise un-used!) , and 4+ filter for macro shots.
Except for the +4 lens, I don't really use the rest, so taking this opportunity to clear inventory. In the end, since the adapter ring is only slightly cheaper than a Hoya +4 lens, I decided to simply buy a new 52mm one instead.
The rest of the stuff was sold off as a package this evening...to the same guy who bought my FZ5! He even bought my 1GB card too since this afternoon, I popped by sls to upgrade to a 2GB. I had to do this as the VGA 3-fps movies really makan space. with 2GB, only enough space for 24min of video!!

btw did you notice their 16:9 shots are actually cropped images? You could have the same effect using a photo editor!
 

Just came back from testing the FZ7. My impressions -

Plus points
Joystick and quick menu is a joy to use!!
Focusing is fast.

Minus points
LCD Screen a bit hard to see in sunlight
Pictures came out a bit dull. Not sure if it is the camera or the overcast weather.
Icons on LCD screen confusing. Need to study the manual.

How did you guys post pictures? I'm thinking of posting some of the photos for review.
 

armadillo said:
you can open an account at http://photobucket.com, then upload your photo, and post the link at clubsnap :)

Thanks a lot. Here goes. Photos resize only, no PS (I'm not that good)

These two pics looks dull. Might be the subjects themselves!
Walk1a.jpg


Building3a.jpg


This macro looks OK
Macro3a.jpg
 

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