• Excellent resolution & sharp results
• Good, natural color and excellent exposure
• Superb 12x optical zoom
• Effective image stabilization
• Small and light, but well built
• Comprehensive range of controls
• Very fast operation
• Very fast (and accurate) focus using 'High Speed' option
• Well designed menu system
• Nice handling and improved controls
• Easy to use
• Bright, clear, large LCD screen
• Usable EVF
• Good burst mode and fast card writing
• Autofocus illuminator and generally excellent low light focus
• Powerful flash
• Excellent battery life
• Huge improvement in video performance
• Superb value for money

• Higher than average Noise at ISO 80
• Strong color noise at ISO 200+
• Mild Chromatic aberration and corner softness in macro mode
• Mild vignetting at widest zoom setting / widest aperture
• New LCD is bright, but resolution is lower
• Occasional focus hunting at long end of zoom in low light
• Macro mode pointless - why not a macro button?
• High sensitivity mode results next to useless

Overall conclusion

Over the last few years we've been spoilt - cameras have seen huge leaps in capabilities from one generation to the next, whilst at the same time prices have steadily been falling. I think it's safe to say that for the time being we've got to accept that these 'great leaps forward' are fewer and farther between, and the best we can expect from new models is tweaks and minor face lifts. In this context the FZ7 is a welcome upgrade to an already excellent camera - it offers everything that made the FZ5 so great, and adds a few features, better manual control (via the new joystick) and a refined design. And of course you still get a very reliable image stabilization system and a superb, fast 12x Leica-designed lens.