It's well designed, durable, and easy to use. The large display is great. Generally, photos taken outside come out great! Flash and battery are weak.

However, photos taken inside almost always come out grainy. I was sorely disappointed by this. It's so bad that I find myself now looking to replace the camera.

I owned several Canon cameras prior to this and they produced much better images in the -exact same- indoor shooting conditions. No grains.

One of the primary reasons I bought this camera was for its anti-shake technology. It was one of the first consumer point and shoot cameras to have it. It does work but it only takes the edge off. It also seems to increase the grainy factor.

This is a cool camera but I have to recommend that you look elsewhere. It's very disappointing.
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Great little camera, July 12, 2005
Reviewer: A. Wielen "aw"

I just got this camera, I've had several dig cameras before, and I want to name the following pros and cons (please note I will be quick!)

Pros
really small
great big lcd screen
easy to use and set up
great image stabilization
takes good pictures
extremely fast
good flash recovery, about 2 seconds
battery charges in less than two hours

con
battery life is low, much lower than I expected, it can take about 30 or 40 pictures with flash and then it's gone

so, overall that is the only major flaw I find.
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Impressions, July 3, 2005
Reviewer: A. Johnston

The battery life is poor. Don't let this be too distracting, however. A second battery is about the same size as the plastic cases that come with SD cards. It's too bad Panasonic couldn't design a battery that could better handle the large LCD and OIS but I still feel that the extra features are worth it.

Images taken without flash in low light conditions are GRAINY. If you mainly want a fun pocket camera for taking non-invasive shots of people in dimly lit locations without a flash, DON'T buy this camera.

Given decent lighting, the image qualty is really great. The images have a nice, filmic level of contrast right out of the barrel that I usually have to perform minor Photoshopping to achieve with other cameras. Leica optics!

The OIS is amazing. I used an FX7 (as a passenger) in a moving car on a semi-bright day driving over hills and shooting through a dirty windshield (without flash, obviously) and came up with a few traffic shots that really presented well. There was no blur whatsoever even considering the motion of other vehicles captured in the frame.

If you're interested in this camera it should be because you specifically want a super compact and feel that the unique Leica lens and available OIS outweigh the battery and grain problems. Don't compare this to a mid-size camera and don't expect it to produce mid-size results in a cellphone-sized package. It will produce reliable image quality. It will not serve as an all-purpose camera for people seeking semi-pro results.

Artistic photographers looking for a good pocket black-and-white solution for shooting 8x10s (or smaller) should pay particular attention to the FX7. Casual snapshot takers may just as well be better off with one of the Canons.
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One of the best 5 MP digital cameras available, July 3, 2005
Reviewer: John Kwok

I am becoming more and more impressed with Panasonic's Lumix line of digital cameras of which this may be among the best yet. It has a superb Leica-designed lens, fantastic image stabilization feature, and fits comfortably within the palm of my hand. I have seen superlative image quality obtained from this compact camera, that's as good as any I've seen from comparable 5 MP digital cameras, including one of my favorites, the recently discontinued Contax TVS Digital camera. It's really a hard choice between this camera and its 4 MP sibling that I reviewed recently elsewhere here at Amazon.com. Those thinking of acquiring a Leica digital camera should look at the Lumix line first and compare both its prices and features with more expensive, bulkier Leica brand versions.

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