Having always used SLR's I don't know about noise issues compared to FZ7.Yes there is more noise than with a D70 or D200 which are the only digital cameras that I have to judge the FZ8 against but I expected no more with a smaller sensor and 7 mega-pixels.Shooting RAW and with a little processing there is no problem,shooting JPEG with high noise reduction is not good,shooting JPEG with low noise reduction and a little computer work is good.
The noise is really not too bad up to A4 size and only really shows at 100% viewing.
Hope this helps,I bought this camera as a light weight sustitute for my SLR's but having used it for a couple of weeks I am sure it is going to occupy a far higher place in my camera use than originally planned