Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH7 Pro Reviews

On the whole, the FS22 produces pleasing images and the lack of buttons around the back allows for a good-sized display, but the touchscreen can be awkward to operate and the menu system isn't always the most helpful. With over 16MP on its small sensor the camera's issues with image noise also come as little surprise. A decent compact that'll be all the more worthy of purchase once the price drops.

The FH7 was designed for beginners, casual photographers, and snap-shooters who want an easily pocketable point-and-shoot that is capable of consistently capturing excellent images with little or no effort on the part of the shooter. The FH7 almost perfectly meets the needs of that demographic - it is small enough to carry it with you all the time, Panasonic's iAuto mode is absolutely the best auto exposure system in the business, the FH7 is unobtrusive and not intimidating to subjects, noise management is substantially better than average and the FH7's AF system is faster than most of its competition. The FH7 clearly wasn't designed for photographers who want/need/demand some level of personal input into the exposure process, so if you fall into this group (and want an ultra-compact digicam with a 4x zoom) you may find the Canon S95 more to your liking. The FH7's diminutive footprint makes this camera almost ideal for travelers and casual shooters. Here's the bottom line on the FH7: for a hundred and eighty bucks ($150-$160 by the holidays) you'll be hard pressed to do any better than this little point-and-shoot.

It's another worthy camera to put the Panasonic name on the front. It looks good, has a great build quality, is dripping with new technology and innovation and above all takes great pictures. We think that the touch-screen could be a bit more responsive, we found ourselves jabbing at the screen every so often but if you're patient, it works just fine. One thing we did notice is that because of the location of the tripod bush (right at the left side on the bottom), when we put the camera on a tripod, it tended to dig into the plate and therefore was at a slight slant which we had to compensate for. This is a problem with any camera that has a tripod bush in this location, not just the FS22 but it's worth looking out for.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH7 is an inexpensive compact camera that boasts some fun and useful features, and is exceptionally easy to use. It isn't the highest-specified compact on the market by any means, and can't match more expensive models for critical image quality, but it delivers good results reliably and quickly, and overall it is a pleasure to use.

If you are looking for a compact digital camera with a high resolution sensor, the FS22 does not disappoint in terms of image quality. Unfortunately you are restricted as to when you can use an ISO setting higher than ISO1600 and video recording is only 720p with no optical zoom available. The ISO noise performance is good, especially when you consider the large number of pixels available. Overall, the FS22 is a decent camera but there are a wealth of other similar cameras around and it will depend on which features are most appealing as to whether it is the camera for you.