Panasonic DMC-LZ7 Performance

Average to slightly slow speed for a consumer camera.

The Lumix DMC-LZ7's performance ranges from good to about average to a little slow, depending on what you're doing. Start-up is a little pokey, but not too bad at 2.75 seconds considering the 6x zoom lens. Shutter response is pretty good at both wide angle and telephoto, at 0.84s and 0.59s respectively, though just a teensy bit slow at wide angle. The 3-area and 1-area high-speed AF modes should improve on those numbers, but unfortunately we didn't test those modes. "Prefocusing" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure results in a lag time of only 0.085 second (slower than average, but still fair). Shot-to-shot cycle times are slow, at about 2.61 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, and the camera appears to capture shots continuously in single-shot mode without having to stop and clear the buffer. Continuous mode is sluggish for full resolution files, at 0.70 frames-per-second for over 20 large/fine JPEG frames, though at the smallest resolution things speed up to about 1.54 frames-per-second. The flash takes 4 seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, which is a little above average. Connected to a computer or printer with USB 2.0, download speeds are slower than most cameras these days. Bottom line, the DMC-LZ7 is responsive enough to handle most family photo opportunities, and even some sporting events, but not the fastest on the market.

Battery
Good battery life with NiMH rechargeable batteries, average for alkalines.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ7 uses two AA-type batteries for power, and does not come with alkalines or rechargeables. Although battery life is good with NiMH rechargeable batteries, we strongly recommend keeping a spare set freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings. As always, we strongly recommend you pick up a couple of sets of good-quality NiMH rechargeable batteries and a good-quality charger, as they'll save you many times their cost over the life of the camera.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on either a fresh set of disposable batteries or a fully-charged rechargeable battery as appropriate), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ7 accepts SDHC/SD/MMC memory cards, and includes about 29MB of internal memory.

We strongly recommend buying a large capacity SDHC or SD memory card at least a 1GB card, preferably a 4GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings and video. (Check the shopping link above. Cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)