Award-winning Panasonic Camera Offers a Full Slate of Features

Recently, the Lumix line of Panasonic digital cameras has gotten a lot of attention from viewers. One – the Lumix DMC-FZ7 – was recently named an American Photo “Best Buy” and a 2006 “Editor's Choice” by both American Photo and PC magazines. The DMC-FZ7 features a Leica 12x (36 – 432mm in 35mm terms) zoom lens, a 6 MP image sensor, Panasonic's MEGA Optical Image Stabilization, the option of full manual exposure control and the ability to save shots as either JPEG or TIFF files. MEGA OIS enables hand-held shots at up to three full stops slower than without stabilization. A second feature, High Sensitivity mode, helps reduce blur from subject movement at slow shutter speeds by moving the effective ISO to 1600. Combined, the two features give the DMC-FZ7 a low-light advantage over most super-zooms. One other feature that photo buffs will appreciate is manual focus capability with Manual Focus Assist. MFA enlarges the central portion of the viewfinder image, to ease accurate focusing.