Strengths: Leica crystal-clear optics, 12x zoom, image stabilization, wide-screen video with sound, large LCD, small battery with long life. Camera is small and light-weight but full-featured.

Weaknesses: No zoom or re-focus while videoing.

Summary: This is a "big" camera in a little body. It takes stunning photos, from fully automatic to manual control. The controls are intuitive for the most part, and easy to reach. A big plus for me was the small battery. I bought an extra on ebay for less than $12. It is small, charges in 2 hours, is easy to install, and outlasts AA batteries by a good margin. Another big plus is the zoom: when recording less than 6MP pictures, the zoom extends beyond 12x because of the way the optics are constructed (14.4x at 4MP, etc.). All in all, this is one of the finest cameras you can buy, especially for the money!

Strengths: Light, simple to use yet lot's of features to grow with. Image stabilization is great. No more out of focus pics.

Weaknesses: None yet.

Summary: My first digital was a Vitar 2.1 and my new Panasonic is light years in improvement. Will take a bit to learn all the tricks of this one. The zoom and lense is a big plus as I take lot's of macro shots of flowers in my Nursery.

Strengths: Great optical image stabalization, very fast and acurate auto focus, useable manual controls, great and effecient menue structure, very responcive controls, no detectable shutter lag

Weaknesses: auto white balance is just ok, no RAW output, soso evf eye cup

Summary: There is a lot of talk about high ISO noise with this camera. I almost didn't buy it for this reason. I have experience with the cannon s3 is and many Nikon and Olympus point and shoots and I can tell you that the difference in detail or noise at high ISO is so small that you need to review pics at 100% to see the difference. The only reason to do this is A: you are bored, B: you make a habit of taking pics way too far away and then cropping them down 90%, C: you intend to enlarge pictures to poster size. If (A) is an issue for you, I don't know what to suggest. If (B) is an issue work on filling the frame with what you want to actually photograph. If (C) is an issue, buy a DSLR, yes they are less convenient and yes it will cost a tun for a DSLR with equivalent quality lens and speed and zoom but if you can afford poster prints money won't be a problem for you! There is simply no small ccd / cmos cameras that come anywhere near the high ISO performance of a DSLR and the difference between small CCD format noise levels is not that great. If you are like most of us most of your pics will end up as 640X480 web pics or 4X6 prints and the solution is simply to shoot at 6 Megapixel and then reduce pic size to the resolution you need. The pics will look terrific at lower resolution / average print size. On the other hand if you are like me, most of your bad pictures are due to bad focus, camera shake, wrong camera settings, missed opportunities, and poor exposure. In all of these areas the FZ7 is head and shoulders above any other camera I have ever used anywhere near this price range. Focus is extremely fast and gets it spot on even in low light low contrast scenes 99% of the time. I have never had this camera display the green "in focus" indicator and chime and not be in focus! In contrast I had the Cannon s3 is wrongly claim focus lock about 25% of the time in difficult focus situations. If you have not used a camera with optical image stabilization before you are in for a real treat! 1/4" second exposures at 35 equiv of 200mm with no camera shake blurring (yes you have to have a steady hand but this is impossible for me with a camera without image stabilization). I Can't count how many great pictures I failed to take because the focus failed to lock on a camera in time to take the shot or the half to full shutter lag allowed the subject to lag right out of the frame!!!!!! Half to full shutter lag is not even detectable on this camera to me and in high speed 1 or 3 spot focus on this camera at wide angles approaches the speed of high end DSLR cameras with ultrasonic expensive lenses, at tele zoom settings it is not as fast but still best in class for a sub 600.00$ camera. Expect focus lock to be about 1/10th of a second in most cases! The menu system on this camera is fairly simple to use and very quick. You don't have to remove your finger from the scroll button to hit enter to select a setting, just click over one more time and the setting is activated or just press the shutter half way once the setting is highlighted and it is activated. Also the camera can display in both the LCD and EVF all of the relevant settings and if you hold down the joystick button for 1 second a quick menu pops up showing current settings of pic size, ISO, metering mode, focus mode, and white balance, you can also change all of these settings from this quick menu from the very joystick your thumb held in to access this menu. The metering is very accurate and does not tend to blow out highlights even in the snow. With other cameras I have frequently had to reach for the EV setting to get proper exposure, with the FZ7 I only reach for this control when I want a night shot to look dark. This camera is more usable and will take more good shots then anything else in it's class that I have used.Bottom line.If you like to play with neat features, all of which can be duplicated with a photo editor anyway get the Cannon s3is, it is a fun little camera and when it does manage to focus and expose propperly does take good pics.If you want a camera that will get the most comments for being a wild design (articulating body), is super compact for a 10x camera, and still takes good pictures get the Nikon coolpix s10But if you want to actually get the most great shots that are not ruined by blur, lag, or wrong settings GET THE Panasonic Lumix FZ7. Yes the high ISO noise is slightly higher then the class competition but to compare apples with apples you would have to compare the noise from the Panasonic with the noise you didn't see with the competition because you didn't get the shot!I bought the FZ7 for my girlfriend but used it for 2 weeks while she was out of town (I bought the FZ50 for myself), and let me tell you, I had a hard time giving it up. If she wasn't so good in... Well I wont go there but safice it to say I miss the FZ7, It is one cool little camera.

Strengths: Great zoom, ergonomically convenient, lots of manual settings, very good image stabalizing system.

Weaknesses: No zoom available for vidoes, but the videos are very clear and nice to see.

Summary: This camera is definitely one of the best cameras in the market. It was one of the featured cameras of the year (2006) in PC Magazine's list of cameras. I have used this camera for about 4 months now and I am happy to choose this camera above all the point and shoot cameras. Right now my brother is visiting me from India and he loves this camera and is going to take it with him. I'll buy another one very shortly. In short I like this camera a lot

Strengths: Great optics, image stabilization, super zoom, easy manual overrides to maximize creative control.

Weaknesses: No hotshoe, fixed view screen.

Summary: I'm a professional photographer (travel, food and wine photography for magazines and books) and this is by far the best digital camera I've ever owned (and I've owned 7). It's totally intuitive, easy to make adjustments to ISO speed, image quality (jpeg, tiff or raw), exposure etc. Since the view screen can be difficult to see in bright sunlight, you can instead use the view finder to review your shots and also see all of the menu selections through the view finder. It also comes with several preset modes.The Leica optics are superb. It's light. I can't think of a better camera for the traveler.

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Summary: I made a choice between these two best in class by my opinion cameras. Panasonic Pros: Perfectly stabilized 12x Leica optics Excellent postprocessing (combined with Leica optics) makes pictures impressively sharp Nice by default and controlled image saturation One of the best in class weight (Non AA-size accu makes camera less flexible but significantly lighter) you have to choose what is more important for you Big (2.5") bright LCD-screen (resolution not so good as FZ-5 but much better at whole). From very good to excellent shutter lag time Impressive dynamic range of pictures Panasonic Cons: Noise at high ISO speeds (Just do not use ISO 200 and higher. At ISO 80 & 100 you can make good shots even at a dim light condition Video taken with awful 8-bit soundConclusion If you want to take perfect pictures with from-beginner-to-average photographer experience FZ-7 is the best in class choice! If taking movies is as important for you as taking pictures Canon S3 IS will be best balanced choice for you. Canon photos are not so impressive but still very good. Video is perfect (if you use high speed SD-card) uncompressed with zoom and nice high quality sound. I would like to buy Canon S3 IS to take movies but I cannot sacrifice with perfect Panasonic image quality so I bought PanasonicP.S. Recently I used Minolta Z3, Canon S1 IS, Canon A520, Panasonic FZ-5

Strengths: Picture quality, the lens and zoom, the mega O.I.S., the soft skin portrait mode, the control lay out and the list goes on and on as I am getting used to it.

Weaknesses: Standard exposure level.

Summary: Well, this is an amazing camera.I have upgraded from a standard compact camera wanting better quality, additional manual control and more zoom...Living in Greenland is like living in a photographers wonderland, amazing sceneries in a rough and truly breathtaking nature. I did a thorough research and decided that the FZ7 were what suited my needs the best. I have not been disappointed so far. I have shot like 2-300 pictures in various conditions and I am still learning to use it.One thing I found out is that my ability to use it, is what creates the quality, It is sure to make bad and blurry shots, but as I am getting used to the manual controls the pictures keeps improving in quality.Features worth mentioning:The zoom - it is fast and has a great range, I am using optical zoom only.The soft skin portrait mode - This camera shoots amazing portraits.The mega OIS - this image stabilizer really does work wonders when using the zoomThe control layout - well thought over controls, especially the joystick is a charm.The price - Great picture quality and full manual control at this price, just great:DOnly down side so far is as mentioned the auto exposure level. pictures are generally over exposured. It might be the extremely bright sunlight in Greenland, as it is far brighter than what I have seen in Europe. Setting it to a lower level seems to solve it though...All in all, it is a great camera totally satisfying my needs and it has plenty of room for me grow with it.Action shots is one of the things I have to work with, tried catching one f our airplanes approaching during landing, I got it, but quality is not too good. But I think that is my lack of abilities more than the camera.I would recommend it to anyone wanting more from their camera and I do think that amateur pros should be satisfied with it tooGo buy it!

Strengths: So far, I can't find many strengths, except that it does have many features and options for shooting. The major weakness outweighs the strengths.

Weaknesses: The biggest weakness I have discovered in my use of this camera is the low quality of the photos. The color is not very vivid and accurate (no it's not my printer), it's the camera (i've checked).

Summary: This camera has one huge flaw - the quality of the photos is very low. My old camera (Olympus 2.1MP camera) took much higher quality, vivid, accurate color photos in the auto/simple mode than this Panasonic does in it's simple (and other modes). I took some indoor photos of my daughter and they were so bland that I had to set the printer to a higher color saturation just to get them to not look so blah. They, along with the outdoor photos I took look very washed out. I am very disappointed in this camera.

Strengths: 1) The 12x zoom is incredible! 2) Two levels of image stabilitation extremely helpful 3) Battery life good 4) Very large LCD screen

Weaknesses: 1) LCD a little hard to see in bright outdoors, but EVF available 2) Lens cover not built in to camera 3) "Simple mode" is TOO simple, doesn't always give great pictures

Summary: I bought this camera because it got really great reviews through www.dcresource.com. I also have a friend who has this camera, and she too gave it an excellent review. Upon first using this camera, I was a bit confused. I used the "simple mode", since I'm used to using the auto mode on my older Sony point and shoot, however simple mode is pretty useless, I have a hard time getting good pictures. Instead, I use the Program AE mode with the image stablization, which works really well. Make sure to use the flash though in lower light, indoors or at night. A nice function, you can tweak the power of the flash very easily so the flash is not so bright if you're up close indoors to your subject. Pictures turn out really sharp and clear, color is great. Focus and shutter speed is really fast especially in well lite conditions, much faster than my Sony DCS-V1. I take pictures at my kids soccer games outdoors, and having the 12x zoom is a huge help compared to the 4x I had before. And with the quick shutter speed, I'm a very happy camper! After getting used to this camera, I don't regret having purchased it at all, now that I understand how to use it properly. Huge bang for your buck on this camera.

Strengths: a) 12x optical (36-432mm 1:2.8-3.3) zoom lens by Leica. b) Huge 2.5? LCD screen. c) Mega OIS anti-shake device.

Weaknesses: a) Noise at high ISO speeds. b) Shutter lag time using a 40x SD memory card. c) Lower resolution LCD screen than predecessor. d) Manual flash activation.

Summary: Now that I have spent a few days torture testing this camera, I believe the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 is the perfectly optimized camera for the intermediate photographer. It has many of the features of a digital SLR with the portability of a point-and-shoot camera. It has SLR-like characteristics such as high quality optics that may be of use in telephoto and macro work, control over exposure, aperture, and speed, and the ability to use 52mm adapter rings. On the other hand, at only 5 inches by 4.5 inches by 3 inches (fully dressed with the hood in storage position), this camera represents a package light enough to be worn around the neck all day without feeling heavy, and small enough to be hidden in a hip pouch or large coat pocket while wandering around a newly discovered city. The picture resolution reflects this optimization as well; at 6 megapixels, the resolution is high enough to tinker with in Photoshop and to enlarge a bit, while keeping file storage sizes down. You may even be able get away with some copy stand work, but leave the large format prints to the 8-9 megapixel outfits.The Mega OIS anti-shake technology allows one to make the best use of the superb Leica optics and the large screen allows one to really get an idea of how the final photo looks. I particularly like the histogram that evaluates the exposure of the image. I would rate this camera as one appropriate for a photographer of intermediate skill. While it does have a beginner setting that allows for simple point and shoot capabilities, spending some time with the detailed owner?s manual pays off; the range of manual settings allows the intermediate photographer to really control many aspects of the photographic image (such as stepping up in f-stops to get artistic short focus ranges).Research done prior to purchasing this camera identified the weaknesses mentioned above. Firstly there is a really noticeable lag time when using the supplied 16MB 40x SD card. This isn?t the camera?s fault, however, the purchaser may do well to get a 1 GB high speed 133x write SD card to fully make use of this camera?s speed. Secondly while the forerunner, DMC-FZ5 came with a higher resolution LCD screen, I have not been able to notice any practical shortcomings with this change. I found the LCD screen bright, big and useful in all but the sunniest of days (at which point I switch to the electronic view finder). Thirdly, the manual flash activation is annoying. However, it?s a small enough detail that I?ve just grown to accept: You have to push the flash pop-up button every time you think you may need it. Finally, the biggest concern that I had in purchasing this camera is the noise at high ISO settings. While all CCD cameras begin to show noise when the gain in the CCD sensitivity is turned up (analogous to increasing the ISO in film cameras) it was reported that it was particularly visible in this system. I have included two images of a cream colored board at a distance of one foot lit by only a small night light about 5 feet away (both were taken with an aperture of F2.8 and a shutter speed of 1.3 seconds). The photo with a sensitivity of ISO 80 was darker and lightened in photoshop to show the smooth pixel values. The photo at ISO 400 was not touched up at all. It shows a mottled pattern that the pros describe as noise. Having forced the manual settings to the worst possible setting, I think this level of noise is still pretty bad. However, I find the realistic noise levels in my everyday photography in natural light and with a flash using the automatic program setting to be nowhere near this bad ever.The bottom line: this is a nice light little camera with big camera features that is well worth the price I paid ($326). It has a nicely balanced set of features optimized ideally for an intermediate skill level photographer who needs a reliable, easy to tote camera.

Strengths: Vibrant pictures with 6MP resolution,Awesome optical zoom (can be extended upto 16.5x),Very compact size,Lots of manual controls,Good flash range,Great battery life

Weaknesses: Noisy at higher sensitivities (beyond ISO 200), but who careswhen you get true life pictures at ISO 80 and 100.

Summary: I got this camera from Butterfly photo for $330. Initially I was reluctant to buy a Panasonic camera and was more inclined towards a canon. But after seeing its compact size compared with the bulky and much heavier Canon S2 IS, I decided for this one. And I think I have made an excellent decision.The photos are great(both indoors and outdoors, day or night). 12x optical zoom is so awesome. In fact you can extend it till 16.5x at lower mega pixels. Image stabilisation really works. I took a photo of the Statue of Liberty with full 12x optical zoom and it was so great. Loads of manual features to play around. Uses SD card (1GB recommended) Battery life is awesome. I took 300 + photos with a single charge and it still had life in it. The 2.5" LCD screen is cool; you also get the colour viewfinder. The manual flash is great and with good range.Overall a great product from Panasonic.

Strengths: faster focusing,bigger LCD, better control layout

Weaknesses: manual focus doesn't get closer than 3'

Summary: I upgraded from a FZ3 (which I like very much) for the resolution (twice as many pixels) and the manual focusing. I like the bigger LCD and the better arrangement of the controls (now all the controls can be reached without taking my eye off the EVF, and the manual exposure can be accessed by the joystick). The auto-focus seems to be an improvement over the FZ3. The manual focus feature is not as useful as I thought since the auto-focus is so good (and fast), and it doesn't get closer than 3', while the auto-focus will get you much closer. Sometimes I miss the constant f2.8 I get with the FZ3 because any time you zoom, even a little bit off the widest setting, you automatically get reduced to f3.3. But all in all, these are minor annoyances. It's a great machine, and a big improvement over the FZ3.

Strengths: Its a one of the powerfull camera amoung the others available in the market. Size, clarity,power , zoom everything is excellent which makes a different among others models available in the market.

Weaknesses: lake of printer bridge functionality,little problem while attaching external lense as due to nonstandard size of ring.

Summary: Overall I can say that this is the best camera among its class in terms of price, functionality and size. opt zoom and digital zoom makes your picture more clear and closer.

Strengths: Good pictures, 12x with 6 meg, Uses SD card, I have made several pictures with the zoom extended fully and the pictures were beautiful with absolutly no blur. The camera has a fast response.

Weaknesses: electric view finder not what I expected, Can't find lithium battery locally, LDC poor resolution, You have to manually open the flash.

Summary: I think it is a good camera Flash quit working within 8 days of purchase, but store gave me a new camera.- will see if I have problems again. If you are traveling and the battery goes dead, you can't find a replacement. This is a real minus with lithium batteries, and particularly when Panasonic designs the battery just for one or two models of their cameras. Next time I buy a camera, I will buy one that uses AA or rechargeable AA's. Hopefully Panasonic will design one that uses AA's.

Strengths: Small and light compared to competitive cameras, 12X zoom ratio, excellent lens, long flash range, movie capability

Weaknesses: Image noise can be fairly high, especially at higher ISO speeds, no hot shoe, low resolution view screen, no MPEG4 videos.

Summary: This is a great camera! I had been searching for months through all of the usual manufacturers for a light weight, relatively small, very high image quality camera for taking on an overseas trip. I wanted a camera that could take extremely high quality photos, but not require precious space and weight.I was also looking for flexibility. The trip will have opportunities for wonderful landscape scenes, close ups of flowers, even tighter close ups of flower parts and insects and ceremonies happening inside buildings (and thus dark.) This combination presents an almost impossible challenge and I was having little to no success until Panasonic introduced the FZ7.I had considered many alternatives, but many involve carrying an additional telephoto lens (compared to the FZ7's impressive 432mm equivalent telephoto capability), always needing to carry a tripod (compared to the FZ7's optical image stabilization -- which can squeeze a few extra f-stops of handheld capability), needing an external flash (compared to the FZ7's quite long flash range), and a separate movie camera to capture those special "action" moments (versus the FZ7's capability of up to 848 x 480, 30 fps movie clips.) Even with the FZ7's 432mm telephoto, one can add even more zoom with lens adapters. There are several things I have learned that the manual and advertisements do not mention: (1) It appears the FZ7 can use up to a 2GB SD card. It will accept a 4GB card, but it only shows about 2GB of photo space. Some other cameras refuse to use a 4GB card at all! (2) I thought one needed the "LA2" adapter to add additional telephoto, macro or wide angle lens adapters. This is only true for Panasonic lens adapters! The camera comes with a 52mm extension (for the lens hood) which I have been using for filters or other lens adapters from other manufacturers.Overall, I have been very pleased with the FZ7. It appears to be almost exactly what I was looking for in a "semi professional" camera. It is not as tiny as the ultra small cameras (like the Casio Exilims), but far smaller, lighter and more flexible than any digital SLRs I have found.