The TZ7 is a good all-rounder. With a splendid 12x Optical Zoom, a variety of picture modes, and two formats for High Definition Video, this is the perfect camera for your travels. It's very easy to use. Stereo mics give excellent sound reproduction, and although there's no viewfinder, the clarity of the screen and contrast more than compensates. The only thing I did struggle with photographing was a volcano erupting by night - but we were fairly distant on a ship at the time - you'd have needed a physically huge camera to have captured glowing lava on the side of a mountain anyway.
For videoing, I tend to favour using the AVCHD Lite, but beware; not all photo/video software on computers supports this format - if in doubt, use the other format Motion JPEG. Fortunately, iPhoto on the mac has recently begun support AVCHD Lite.
To get the most out of this camera, add a fast high capacity SD card.