DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS

Panasonic DMC-FZ7 Digital Camera Introduction

New Compact Panasonic Digital Still camera Features Optical Image Stabilization and 12x Optical Zoom

SECAUCUS, NJ (January 23, 2006) -- Panasonic introduces the latest addition to its celebrated Lumix(TM) digital camera line with the new, six-megapixel DMC-FZ7. This compact camera features a Leica DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens system, powerful 12x optical zoom (equivalent to 36mm to 432mm on a 35mm film camera lens) with aperture of F2.8 to 3.3, and Panasonic's MEGA Optical Image Stabilizer.

This compact, feature-packed model is Panasonic's most "anti-blur" camera ever, addressing the two major causes of blurred images: hand movement and subject movement. The DMC-FZ7 incorporates Panasonic's acclaimed MEGA Optical Image Stabilization technology, which uses a gyrosensor to detect and compensate for hand movement by shifting internal lens elements. It is a true optical system; the image is not electronically processed so there is minimal degradation and exceptional picture quality. MEGA OIS is especially important when utilizing the 12x optical zoom of the DMC-FZ7. At the greatest zoom, even the smallest hand movement could ruin the shot. With MEGA OIS, the image remains steady.

Additionally, the new DMC-FZ7 features a new High Sensitivity Mode which suppresses blur caused by quickly or unpredictably moving subjects, especially when shooting indoors with fast shutter speeds. The MEGA O.I.S. feature and High Sensitivity Mode allow the user to shoot with a maximum ISO 1600 setting.

"Panasonic's Optical Image Stabilizer technology used with this new High Sensitivity Mode dramatically helps consumers at all skill levels capture great shots," said Monica Helmer, marketing manager for Panasonic's Optical Group. "Everything about the DMC-FZ7 is designed to allow anyone to get high-quality results, whether composing a macro shot or catching the action on the fly."

The DMC-FZ7 packs a wealth of advanced technology and easy-to-use features in a sleek, compact package. It is equipped with both automatic and manual controls that meet the needs of prosumers and beginners alike.

Panasonic's LSI Venus Engine II handles image processing, LCD functions, and writing to the memory card simultaneously, making the DMC-FZ7 incredibly responsive with an industry-leading release time lag of 0.008 seconds minimum and shutter interval of approx. 0.5 seconds(1) minimum. The LSI also enables lightning-fast consecutive shooting capability, capturing sequential shots at a rate of up to 3 frames per second at full resolution(2). An unlimited(3) consecutive shooting function allows the user to take photos in succession until the memory card is full. The LSI also improves horizontal, vertical and diagonal resolution.

Users may choose from selectable AF settings. In addition to the 9-point, 3-point high speed, 1-point normal speed and Spot autofocus, the DMC-FZ7 can be set to 1-point high-speed autofocus. This setting nearly eliminates the time lag that often occurs with high-magnification zoom shots, letting users capture those great, spontaneous moments. An AF Assist Lamp provides extra lighting as a focusing aid for slightly dark situations where AF focusing would ordinarily be difficult.

The DMC-FZ7 also includes a new, large 710 mAh battery to help extend the amount of pictures taken on one charge; 16 scene modes; 4x digital zoom; color viewfinder; 2.5-inch LCD monitor; and normal (640 x 480) and wide (848 x 480) VGA motion image recording. Optional accessories include ND filters, AC adaptor, MC protector, close-up lens, wide conversion lens and tele conversion lens.

The DMC-FZ7 is scheduled for March delivery and will have a suggested retail price of $399.95.

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U.K. Press Release
New Digital Camera DMC-FZ7 Combines 12x Optical Zoom with MEGA O.I.S. in a Compact Body.

Panasonic is introducing the incoming LUMIX model 6.0-megapixel DMC-FZ7 with MEGA O.I.S., Optical Image Stabilizer that compensates the hand-shake, incorporating a 12x optical zoom (equivalent to 36mm to 432mm on a 35mm film camera) LEICA DC lens.

Differing from the FZ30 with manual focus ring and manual zoom ring, which was already released and highly evaluated by consumers, the FZ7 is more compact and easy to carry while preserving the same powerful zoom capability and manual controllability. It is the heir to the 5.0-megapixel DMC-FZ5, but enhanced not only with the total number of pixels but also with other innovative technical improvements such as incorporation of joystick which allows easy manual control on focusing in addition to the manual exposure setting. The 1.8-Inch LCD monitor for FZ5 has become large as 2.5-Inch for FZ7 gaining much brightness even in the low-lit situations thanks to the pixel-mixed readout method performed at the CCD. Furthermore, the adoption of 710 mAh big battery extends the battery life realizing 320 pictures shooting per a single charge. Last but not least, the FZ7 gains the High Sensitivity mode* for one of the new scene modes that allows shooting at Max. ISO 1600 setting as another anti-blurring measure in addition to the MEGA O.I.S.

Normally, when shooting with high zoom, shooting indoor or nighttime when shutter speeds tends to slow, even a slight hand-shake would be a critical problem. However, LUMIX MEGA O.I.S. solves these problems enabling you to easily take clear, beautiful pictures with no deterioration of image quality even in such situations.

In addition, the FZ7 allows shooting with max. ISO 1600 setting in the newly incorporated High Sensitivity mode*, which suppresses blur caused by the movement of subjects such as baby and pets especially indoors by shooting with fast shutter speeds.Thus, the hand-shake and the movement of the subject, both the major causes of the blurred picture, are compensated with MEGA O.I.S. and High Sensitivity mode* to help you to take clear and beautiful picture in various situations.

The engine, or the brain, driving high picture quality and quick response of the camera is once again the leading-edge image processing LSI Venus Engine II. It corrects the chromatic aberration that tends to occur at edges especially in telephoto shooting and peripheral vignetting to render a beautiful image in detail. An industry-leading release time lag of 0.008 sec minimum and shutter interval of approx. 0.5 sec** minimum, allowing you to precisely capture your target subject. Whats more, consecutive shooting performance boasts the capability of sequential shots at a rate of Max. three frames per sec at full resolution***. An unlimited**** consecutive shooting function allows you to take photos in succession until the memory card is full. The DMC-FZ7 is the exclusive model in the point that has high optical performance supported by O.I.S. even including the good manual controllability with joystick, offering nonexclusive users, from the very beginners to the professional photographers, a-step-above enjoyment of photography. *Resolution significantly decreases in High Sensitivity mode. ** Not including the time for AF. *** Max. thirteen images in standard mode / seven images in fine mode. ****The speed of the consecutive shooting varies depending on the memory card. The number of recordable picture depends on the memory card size, battery life, picture size, and compression.

1. A Remarkable 12x Optical Zoom LEICA DC Lens in a Compact Body
   The LUMIX DMC-FZ7 digital camera is equipped with 6.0 megapixel CCD and LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens offering 12x optical zoom (equivalent to 36mm to 432mm on a 35mm film camera) with aperture of F2.8 to F3.3. The combination of three aspherical lenses, the crystallization of Panasonic?s optics technology, generates high optical performance while preserving the compactness of the unit. The zoom ratio can be extended up to 16.5x in the 3-Megapixel recording thanks to the Extra Optical Zoom function with minimal deterioration, by intentionally using the center part of the CCD. The zoom range can be totally extended to 66x when combined with 4x digital zoom.

2. MEGA O.I.S. The Essential Feature for Digital Cameras and the High Sensitivity Mode to Freeze the Moving Subject
   MEGA O.I.S.(Optical Image Stabilizer), that Panasonic thinks it indispensable for all digital cameras, is subsumed under LUMIX all line-up. Now this hand-shake correction system, which accompanies no deterioration of image quality, is appreciated by the users of the world and positively getting to be the standard of digital camera photography. Every slight hand-shake movement is detected accurately with the sampling frequency at 4,000 times per second and will be compensated to render clear, sharp images. It also features two corrective modes, Mode 1 and Mode 2. Mode 1 constantly detects and follows movements and continuously compensates for them. In contrast, in Mode 2, the O.I.S. lens suppresses hand-shake only at the moment the shutter button is pressed. In this mode, the lens can move in all directions at the moment to maximize its effect, and higher-resolution image can be taken by capturing the image as close as to the center of the lens. In consequence, since MEGA O.I.S. enables a beautiful picture shot without blurring at slower shutter speeds of more than 3 steps compared to the conventional models without O.I.S. You can enjoy shooting subjects at a distance with powerful zoom as well as shooting under low-lit condition when shutter speeds tends to slow, without worrying about the blur. It is surprisingly easy for you to take clear, beautiful pictures of telephoto close-up, indoor portrait or illuminated scenery at night.

3. Quick Response and High Quality Image Processing LSI: The Venus Engine ll
   The engine, the brain of digital camera, driving high picture quality and quick response of the camera is once again the leading-edge image processing LSI Venus Engine II. The Venus Engine II gains precise imaging process which adds the luminance signal extracted only from the G pixels upon detecting the horizontal / vertical lines in the image. This results in the improvement of the horizontal and vertical resolution by more than 10% compared with the former Venus Engine, while maintaining the 50% improvement in the diagonal resolution. The multi-task image processing LSI realizes outstanding response of industry-leading release time lag of 0.008 sec minimum and a shutter interval of approx. 0.5 sec* for achieving more stress-free operation. It also boasts high consecutive shooting performance, providing shooting at Max. three frames per sec at full resolution**. The Unlimited*** Consecutive Shooting function allows limit-free consecutive shooting up to the capacity of the memory card. * Not including the time for AF. ** Max. thirteen images in standard mode / seven images in fine mode. ***The speed of the consecutive shooting varies depending on the memory card. The number of recordable picture depends on the memory card size, battery life, picture size, and compression.

4. Joystick-operated Intuitive Manual Control
   The FZ7 offers manual focus and manual exposure, and both are adjustable with an independent omni directional joystick. When you focus in the Manual Focus mode, not only the focus distance but also the DOF (depth of field) according to the zoom range and aperture is displayed. A MF assist function enlarges the center of the image to make focusing easier. Both features contribute to easy and comfortable manual focus. A joystick was incorporated to facilitate operational ease and thereby get the best technical advantage of functions offered by the camera easily. You can quickly shortcut to frequently used variables containing white balance adjustment, ISO setting, image size setting and compression format just by pressing and holding down the joystick, even while monitoring a subject on the LCD. Shutter speed extends up to 60 sec at slowest in Manual Exposure mode and adjustable from 1/2000 to 60 sec for wider ranging shooting opportunities.

5. Bright 2.5-Inch large LCD with High Angle LCD Function
   Compared to the previous FZ5, the LCD for FZ7 becomes larger to be easy-to-see 2.5-inch. Thanks to the pixel-mixed readout method performed at CCD, the sensitivity is greatly increased to offer brightness on the live image displayed on LCD, allowing you to enjoy comfortable shooting even in low-lit situations. The 2.5-inch large LCD makes the display extremely easy to view from bottom angle with the High Angle LCD function, for example, when taking photos raising a hand upward to shoot the subject over the crowd. This option can be set instantly by the independent button*. The Power LCD function also supports clear view even in sunny outdoor by offering brightness of 40% up. The newly incorporated large LCD allows the display of images even in tiny thumbnail size. Playback of 9 and 25 is possible on a multi-split screen in addition to the normal 1 frame playback. In the playback mode, you can recall the images sorted by the date of recording as you look back the diary thanks to the newly installed Calendar Display mode. In addition, the EVF is newly located in vertical line with the lens barrel to offer more comfortable monitoring when shooting through viewfinder. *The button also performs as display setting.

6. The Industry-leading Short AF Time for a High Zoom Model and Wide VGA Motion Image Recording
   An AF method can be selected according to the shooting situation and subjects? position: 9-point, 3-point high-speed, 1 point high-speed, 1-point normal-speed and Spot. Notably, 1 point high-speed AF boasts industry-leading short shutter time lag for a high zoom model promoting quick and smooth operation. Although screen-freeze in high-speed AF is now minimized, if you take the picture of subject with fast movement, you can select 1 point normal-speed AF which does not have any screen-freeze while focusing. The pixel-mixed readout method performed at the CCD makes it possible to record beautiful full-size movies in Wide VGA (848x480) size at 30 fps especially good for viewing on wide-screen TV in addition to the normal VGA (640x480), while the predecessor FZ5 records QVGA. Much higher luminous signals are provided by the pixel-mixed readout method, the picture quality is enhanced not only in size but also in the brightness level of the image.

7. Rich Options to Meet Wide-Ranging Users Needs
   The large and powerful battery fits in the FZ7 resulting in the extension of battery life enabling the shooting of 320 images per single charge. The FZ7 contains total of sixteen scene modes* to assist your shooting according to the wide-ranging situations. Our unique mode ?Baby?, allows easy growth recording in which the baby?s time of age according to the preset birthday would be automatically recorded onto the image. This mode has already been incorporated in other recent LUMIX series and favored and now doubled for FZ7 so that you can set two birthdays to apply to two children?s records of growth. ?Starry sky? helps you capture the beautiful star-filled night sky by securing shutter speeds as slow as max. 60 sec. Plus, Tele-Macro function allows shooting the subject in the Macro mode as close as 100 cm at tele end giving a soft-focused background to make the subject stands out.

8. Further Expandability with Enriched Accessory Lineup
   You can enjoy more creative shooting by combining with various accessories sold separately with FZ7. The 1.7x tele conversion lens (734mm on a 35mm film camera) and the 0.7x wide conversion lens (25.2mm on a 35mm film camera), either can be applied by attaching the lens adaptor between the camera unit and the conversion lens. It is also possible shooting through close-up lens, ND filter and MC protector as appropriate. -DMW-LT55 Tele Conversion Lens* -DMW-LW55 Wide Conversion Lens* -DMW-LC55 Close-up Lens* -DMW-LND55 ND Filter* -DMW-LND52 ND Filter -DMW-LMC55 MC Protector* -DMW-LMC52 MC Protector -DMW-LA2 Lens Adaptor -DMW-AC7 AC Adaptor -CGR-S006 Lithium-Ion Battery (710 mAh) *Requires Lens Adaptor (DMW-LA2) for attachment

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