Hi Chris,
I've had mine now for a better part of 6 months and its a great camera.
After doing some research and seeing the results of what it produced prior to purchasing, it was hard to fault. I also liked the fact it had HD videoing (albeit 720p). Initially it was advertised accidently as 1080p, but HD is not bad.
I can't fault the camera. If you goto various reviews, it generally comes out the winner - its a tough camera to beat.
Pros - well built, option of videoing in HD, great pics for a point and shoot, 12x zoom, press a button to go straight into video mode, ability to zoom whilst videoing, 25mm wide angle lens.
Cons - a little bit weighty.
Not sure if a newer model is coming out as its been around for at least 12 months. I wouldn't be surprised if the next version will have a touch screen capability. This would be a nice feature replacing the need to use the dial to change shooting modes.
Funny thing is that this camera retails around $580-$650. I saw it advertised at a local Retrovision for $487 about 2 months ago and thought it had to be a typo. Not sure of the price now, but should be going down.
I've got mine mated to a Manfrotto 785B tripod and works a treat.
The best price for one of these tripods is DCW in Canterbury NSW.
PS: you can pick up generic batteries on ebay for like $15 as opposed to the real deal of $80 - I have no issues with the no name battery. However be careful when purchasing. Checkout the firmware version of the camera as one version prevents you from using no name batteries. The vendor sent me a new battery to get around the firmware issue. Bit of a rort from Panasonic if you ask me.
Cheers Norm
PS: I've gone thru' a Canon IXUS and Casio Exilim X70. The TZ7 wins hands down.