The Panasonic Lumix DMC FS7 is a point and shoot, pocket digital camera. It has 10 megapixels and a 4x zoom lens. The amount of zoom can be increased when shooting at lower resolutions to a maximum of 7.1x magnification.

First and foremost the Lumix DMC FS7 offers excellent value for money. It can cope with most photo opportunities and is also relatively easy to use. On top of this you will find a few extra features thrown in for the money.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
The high levels of contrast make this shot a difficult test for any compact digital camera. The Lumix DMC FS7 does very well in a number of key areas. To start with there is plenty of detail showing in the lightest areas of the picture. Colours are accurate with none of the purple tinge I am used to seeing on the blue lines of the boats. Finally the name on the boat on the left hand side of the photo is easy to make out with larger prints. This is impressive as it is in a shady area.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
Colours are strong in this shot with plenty of depth to the blue sky. With much of the scene distant focusing is a challenge, but the Lumix DMC FS7 manages to meet expectations.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
I am happy with the sharpness of this photo. Even as you move away from the centre of the shot the levels of detail remain impressive. Plenty of detail can be seen in the small tree towards the right hand side of the photo.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
The level of sharpness in all my outdoor shots is above average. I also like the fact that focusing retains its sharpness as you move out towards the edges of the photos.

Outdoor Portrait
Although it is fair to say this is the easiest of my test shots I still like the result produced by the Lumix DMC FS7. By using the shady white balance setting I have produced a portrait showing warm colours. Focusing is sharp too.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
There are two main points I look out for when using flash indoors. The first is to make sure the lighting is even and bright enough without blowing away all colour. The second is that the colours retain a natural feel. I think the Lumix DMC FS7 does well on both counts.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
Here the camera manages to keep noise levels under control and bring out more detail in the shot than most cameras manage to do. As with any digital camera you still need a high level of natural light to get a photo without resorting to flash, but you should be able to take window light portraits.

Colours
As with other cameras in this range colours are vivid. In my view they manage to stay within the boundaries and do not become overpowering. You should be able to shoot plenty of colourful scenic photos.

Macro
Panasonic are one of the better brands for close up shots. The camera is able to focus from 5cm and brings out a high level of detail.

ISO 400 and ISO 1600
Whenever you push up the ISO rating there is a compromise in picture quality. This camera manages to keep colours true apart from in darker recesses.

Overall
Picture quality is impressive for a camera with this price tag. You would have to pay quite a bit more to see any significant increase in quality.

Shutter lag times were about standard, although the Lumix DMC FS7 is able to fire off consecutive shots quicker than most digital cameras. A single shot timed 0.42 seconds, with five taking 8.01 seconds. With flash on times were 0.56 seconds and 10.17 seconds for five shots.

To turn the camera on and take the first picture took 3.86 seconds. I would have liked to have seen this time faster.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

This is a fairly typical small, lightweight digital camera. It is available in black, silver, pink and green.

97.0 x 54.4 x 21.7mm

117g

Lithium ion. Panasonic estimates you should be able to take up to 360 shots in between charges.

Panasonic has built 50mb of storage into the Lumix DMC FS7. This is enough space for around 13 photos. You can also use SD and SDHC memory cards.

Click here to save money on SD cards..

Very good. I have always found Panasonic digital cameras easy to use. The fact you can increase the size of the menu text can help to make it easier to read.

Picture quality - simple design - value for money

Start up times could be a bit faster

Other small cameras include the Olympus FE-5000. There are also a number of similar cameras in the Panasonic range. The next step up is the Panasonic Lumix DMC FS15.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC FS7 and other models in this part of the Panasonic range offer some of the best value around. As well as the headline features I like the little additions such as increasing the zoom available at lower resolutions and image stabilisation, as well as general ease of use.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menu

Description:	10 megapixels and a 4x optical zoom lens
Ease of Use:	8
Features:	8
Colour:	8
Macro:	8
Indoors:	9
Value for Money:	9
Style:	9
Movie Mode:	8
Image Quality:	9
Build Quality:	9
Total:	85
Verdict:	There are a lot of points to admire about this camera. It offers good all round photo quality, ease of use and a price tag that gives very good value for money. The design is unfussy, but the camera is not unattractive. This is a very good choice for a mid priced pocket camera.
Review Date:	March 2009
Related Pages:	Panasonic DMC FS7 Specification Panasonic DMC FS7 Sample Images Panasonic DMC FS7 Features
Comparisons:	Panasonic Lumix DMC FS7 vs Sony Cybershot DSC W210

	GBP 99.99
	GBP 109.99
	GBP 119
	GBP 129
	GBP 129.99
	GBP 169.99
Click a flag for prices from other countries:

Camera	Rating
Panasonic DMC FX60	86
Canon IXUS 120 IS	86
Sony DSC TX1	86
Canon IXUS 110 IS	86
Canon IXUS 100 IS	86
Panasonic DMC FS62	85
Samsung ST550	85
Nikon Coolpix S570	85

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Panasonic DMC FS7