At the time I got it, it was the cheapest camera on the market with the best zoom. I did have a little trouble with the zoom sticking, like some other people I see have. I just fiddled around with it and it worked eventually (I think I grabbed the lens when it was trying to go back in, held it and then let go).
I only wish it had more megapixels, and a manual zoom.

Around the time the warranty expired, the zoom stopped working. Or should I say, went nuts. If I try to use the zoom, the lens goes in and out and in and out—even for a while after I turn the camera off. I finally figured out that, for all practical purposes, what I've got is a single focus camera. The troubleshooting guide says I need to return the camera to the factory. I see that as throwing good money after bad. There's the postage and the inability to get an estimate of the cost of repair. I loved this camera while it was working, but not now. If anyone knows how to fix this without sending it to the factory, please let me know.

I shoot a lot of pictures and I play a lot of golf. (type my name in any search engines to see my videos). This little camera is excellent for the price. It is great to shoot stills (and panoramic photos), and, when you need a shoot a video it will do very nicely, too. Great pocket camera!

The Panasonic LZ7 was really my first digital camera (the prior being a Fuiji camera that I borrowed on occasion from my parents). I bought this summer 2007 when it was on sale at Futureshop for little over $300 CDN after taxes. I must admit that the prices now listed are much more reasonable given the camera's performance.

Background:
I've taken this camera on both a europe and egypt trip lasting about two weeks each.

While the LZ7 was by no means a bad experience, I will be focusing my review on the two issues with this camera which bothered me the most.

Battery:
- Convenient - I have always gone for AA cameras due to convenience. If you're like me, and forget to charge your batteries the night before, the LZ7 uses 2 AA batteries which is just great.
- Battery life-sucker - You need to buy special rechargable batteries for this camera cause if you don't, you won't make it even through half the day of clicking. I had to buy batteries half way through my Europe and brought an extra 6 batteries for my two week trip in Egypt in fear I couldn't find a place to recharge or buy batteries.

Trully there is nothing worst than being unable to capture that once-in-a-lifetime shot and you don't want to be caught unprepared because your camera conks out.

Low-light/Night Shots:
During these sitautions, it really a question of luck on how well these pictures well turn out. My trips allowed me to to see the extent of this when visiting museums/galleries/landmarks during the evening/night but which were floodlit where flash was either not allowed or unhelpful. By no means was it disasterous but I frequently found myself fustrated when I compared a camera shot with a friend under the same conditions only to find theirs that much better.

Despite these points don't forget that Panasonic LZ7 is a decent camera with 6x optical zoom, an easy/intitutive menu at a decent 7.2MP. Not to mention that a much reduced price of $200 approx.

If you are looking for a camera for more of a day-to-day use, I do believe this can be an excellent camera where you have easy access to batteries and better controlled lighting. However if you're a traveller like me, you may want to invest in something that lasts longer under dim-lighting circumstances.

I had to choose a replacement cam after my daughter dropped my HP with objectives down and... well... I had to choose another. And I had to choose one I could currently afford.
I had nothing against other cameras, I though they were all good. But when I started using the L7Z, I realized that I had not good cams. I really loved it, besides it does not have all the Leica lenses and accessories built in, the software and the image processing is really superior for its price range. Will choose another Lumix if I had to replace again, and will recommend anyone who asks me.

Needed a camera on short notice when my Power Shot was accidently drowned. The LZ7 is an easy point and shoot that gives great pictures for the money. I do miss a view finder when shooting outside. I use Batteries Plus NMHi AA's with charger and am very pleased with their performance and price.

Excellent camera

I had just got this camera for my birthday after long contemplating which camera to buy. I wanted to find a camera that had high megapixels and an exeptional optical zoom.... ohh and one more thing I had a small budget! After searching the web I finally found this camera and for the the price there really is no better camera

This is my first digital camera - I came from the APS world. It was an excellent selection. It has lots of options, but you do not have to use all of them. I have taken over 300 pictures, and I like the ability to dispose of the less desireable ones. LOTS of features! I really like the AA battery usage. Go Panasonic!

Nice photos. Everyone else summed it up.

Download a free program called Noiseware Community Edition. This is a "one click" photo noise removal program. It is amazing. Compare the same photo at 200%. This will make our inexpensive "point and shoots" provide cleaner photos. Thus, better prints.

I've only had the camera a day, but compared to what I had before this one is excellent! It's nice and compact and takes very vivid, great quality pics. I love all the different scenes you can choose from as well.

I normally don't write reviews, but the Lumix LZ7 is such a great little camera that I just had to share it. It takes extremely sharp and detailed pictures and the compensation for lighting and motion is excellent. My main camera is a Fuji FinePix S2 Pro and the quality of pictures of the LZ7 is right up there.

It is a great little camera for the price and I highly recommend it for its ease of use and quality of pictures. It also has a movie mode which I have not tried yet, but I read that it is excellent.

I found this product easy to use! Ive taken so many nice pictures of my family! I love it!