Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 (Lumix DMC-TZ10)

Opinion: The camera is not perfect, but in my opinion one of, or maybe THE best compact camera in the world today when it comes to overall functionality.

PROS:
* Excellent 12x zoom range.
* 25 mm wide angle (35 mm eqv.), even @16:9.
* HD video (1280x720/30p).
* HD-video format selectable: .mov or AVCHD Lite
* Full optical zoom range (+digital) during video recording.
* Continuous focus during video recording.
* Very good macro (@25 mm).
* GPS.
* Individual face recognition (yes, it works!)
* SDXC compatible (at least 64 GB, probably 2 TB)
* Program + Manual settings (P A S M).
* Stereo audio recording.
* Flat and compact, considered 25-300 mm zoom range.
* 4:3, 3:2 or 16:9 with approx. SAME DIAGONAL field of view, even at max wide angle.
* Bracketing.
* Full body rubber grip (but only if brown colour.)
* Bright screen (Choose able through Menus)
CONS:
* Series function at max resolution not good: Only 3 frames in a row and 2.3 fps (usually slower!) Max 5 frames series at higher compression. However, much longer and faster series @3 Mpix res.
* Screen blacks out for 1-2 sec. before video recording starts.
* 4:3 video only in 640x480 (why not 960x720 or something? 4:3 video is interesting when you want maximum vertical field of view.)
* GPS does not record altitude. (This would have been interesting when walking at mountain summits.)
* Face recognition remembers "only" 6 individual faces. (I know a lot more than 6 people!)
* No RAW.
* Lens casts a very prominent flash shadow over half the image at macro.
* Bracketing only 3 frames series limited to +-1 EV.
* Internal memory only 15 MB.
* Not very good battery capacity. And GPS is battery thirsty!

HOPEFULLY, LUMIX ZS9/TZ12(?) WILL ALSO HAVE:
(Most of those functions may be found at other consumer cameras today)
* 1920x1080/24~30p and 1280x720/48~60p HD video.
* 4:3 video @1024x768/24~30p mov.
* High speed video at low res (300 fps @QVGA.)
* High speed still shooting at full res (at least 10-20 fps.)
* Time lapse (selectable 1 sec ~ 1 hour frame interval)
* 3~7 frames series bracketing at 1/3~2 EV steps (for HDR).
... AND PERHAPS ALSO:
* GPS with map.
* Miniature flash at lens tip for macro photo.
* Flash shoe.
* Camera body with optional camouflage colour.
* Possible to update firmware, map info etc.
* Bulb.
* Touch screen.
Other info:

* GPS usually locks within 2-3 minutes when pressing "update" outdoor. Indoor may take an hour or more to lock, or may be impossible. Camera memory contains half a million place names worldwide. That's good, but of course often insufficient, especially in rural areas. Coordinates are stored within EXIF-file with 1/100th of an arc second precision (about 1 feet), but actual precision seems to be about 10-20 m horizontally (unfortunately, no vertical position is recorded.)

Opinion: I bought this as a travel camera you could put in your pocket in locations where a
Nikon D700 with GPS and attached flash would attract the wrong sort of attention.
Naturally, coming from this base, low light performance was disappointing. Fewer
pixels with better low light performance would be fine by me.
Again coming from the same base, flash is a real disappointment. It needs a flash
shoe. But this is no DSLR and to be fair for what it is and what it costs, it is a good
camera.
I know the foibles of GPS and with this knowledge I can easily use the GPS on this
and get accurate results.
Remember to check your settings before use as they can change in your bag/pocket.

Opinion: I purchased this camera to replace my Canon A710 IS. I really love the 25mm equivalent wide angle, it makes it really easy to fit a panorama or a group of people into the frame. The 12X zoom is also very convenient, it has good image stabilization and decent picture quality at the the farthest focal length

I stick to Program or Manual mode, I don't really care for the scene modes because some of them only offer auto white balance and other auto-only settings.

Auto-focus is fairly quick, although I'm disappointed that there's no manual focus. There are tons of auto-focus modes, like face-recognition and 11-point AF.

I like that you can set a maximum ISO. I usually use ISO 100 for all of my pictures so I can't comment on high ISO images. For low light, I always use a tripod and slow shutter speed and the images turn out pretty good.

The iContrast feature is very convenient in high contrast situations like a bright sky and a dark shadow. It lets you choose from 3 settings to get the right midtones.

Opinion: I got this camera as soon as it became available. Packed with a plethora of features in a very compact and at the same time ergonomic body, this camera can be a real treat in almost every respect. I was somehow surprised by the plastic body as opposed to the metallic body featured by the previous TZ cameras. However, I realised that a plastic body may be necessary for the GPS, to avoid the magnetic shielding.

PRO
- almost perfect zoom range
- very compact size
- excellent lens/image quality
- very easy to use
- very good display even in the strongest sunshine (the brightness can be adapted to the exterior light)
- sturdy construction

CON
- switch lever for playback/record (you can miss a shot if you forget the lever in the playback position)
- button for shooting movie clips is hard to feel and press
- proprietary battery that costs a fortune (I really hate this one as I consider it like blackmail; it almost prevented me from buying the camera)
- plastic body
- no mini USB connection
- average image processing