Panasonic’s DMC-TZ2 and DMC-TZ3

The Ultimate Companion for All Your Photographic Needs

Panasonic Lumix cameras go from strength to strength with technological advancements designed to offer the ultimate in picture performance and convenience. Panasonic’s new DMC-TZ2 and DMC-TZ3 are the latest members of the award-winning Lumix TZ family of digital cameras, which is renowned for packaging a remarkable 10x optical zoom in a compact, stylish body. To further add to their appeal, the TZ2 and TZ3 go one step further to feature a 28mm wide-angle Leica DC lens (equivalent to 28-280mm on a 35mm film camera) for wide-angle shooting.

More detail in a single frame

The 28mm wide-angle lens opens up a plethera of photographic opportunities, allowing photographers to easily capture a large group of people, or expansive architectural structures and landscapes with dynamic width and rich perspective. The wide-angle lens is particularly helpful in situations where you cannot step back or move away from a subject - ideal for shooting group portraits in a small room for example.

The diminutive size of the 7.2 megapixel DMC-TZ3 and 6.0 megapixel DMC-TZ2 belies the wealth of technological features. Incorporating a powerful 10x optical zoom in such a slim and stylish body is impressive in itself. Add to this the incorporation of Panasonic’s Mega O.I.S that prevents blurring from shaky hands, Intelligent ISO to prevent motion blur, and the high quality, high performance image-processing Venus Engine III to name but a few – and the calibre of these new additions becomes apparent.

The LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens comprises 11 elements in nine groups, including an ED (extra-low dispersion) lens and three aspherical lenses. This advanced lens unit passes Leica’s stringent standards and delivers an exceptional optical performance. To further add to their appeal, the zoom ratio can be extended up to 15x in 3megapixel resolution mode (13.8x for the DMC-TZ2) with minimal deterioration thanks to the Extra Optical Zoom. By using the central part of the CCD, this powerful zooming function allows you to easily capture and magnify distant subjects. Furthermore, in combination with the 4x digital zoom, a zoom factor of up to 60x can be achieved (55x for the DMC-TZ2).

28mm wide angle lens with a difference

Conventional cameras generally use almost the entire CCD area when recording an image, and the angle of view may be altered regardless of the photographer’s intention. The TZ3 and TZ2 however, incorporate a 1/2.35” CCD (1/ 2.33” for TZ2) with a total of 8.50 megapixels (7.39 megapixels for the TZ2). This CCD, which is larger than those in conventional 7 megapixel and 6 megapixel class cameras, can reproduce images shot with the lens set 28mm to 280mm in any of three aspect ratios – 4:3, 3:2 or 16:9 – so you can always capture dynamic, richly expressed shots with wide perspective.

Special moments deserve special attention

Capturing those special moments – whether it’s your child’s first birthday, a family Christmas, spectacular sceneries on holiday or simply a picture of your loved one – are priceless. Panasonic understands this and is committed to ensuring that whatever your shooting situation, your image will be beautifully captured. Having successfully incorporated Mega Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS) into its entire line-up, Panasonic has gone one step further with the 2007 models with the introduction of Intelligent ISO. A common cause of blurry images is the motion blur that can occur when a subject moves as the shot is being taken – particularly common when taking pictures of sports or young children for example. This is where Intelligent ISO Control comes in to its own. This system detects whether the subject is moving and, as necessary raises the ISO setting and shutter speed according to how fast the subject is moving and the light conditions. This happens automatically, so you can effortlessly shoot without the need to adjust the settings every time the conditions change.

Panasonic Lumix offers solutions for both major causes of blurred images – O.I.S when you are moving, and Intelligent ISO Control when the subject is moving. Thanks to Panasonic, you can now take clear and beautiful images in almost all situations.

The power of the Venus Engine III engine

The DMC-TZ2 and DMC-TZ3 boast Panasonic’s advance image processing Venus Engine III, offering the ability to take 300 pictures (270 for the DMC-TZ3) on a single charge. The TZ3 allows unlimited consecutive shooting up to the capacity of the 12.7MB built-in memory or the SD memory card. This engine, the brain of a digital camera, boasts outstanding response time with a 0.006 second shutter release time (the time taken between pressing the button on the camera and the photo being taken) and a shutter interval of approximately 0.5 seconds , thus enabling easy capture of spur-of-the- moment shots. In the burst shooting mode, it is possible to shoot at three frames per second in full resolution . Both models also allow unlimited consecutive shooting - so you can continue taking shots until the SDHC/SD memory card is full.

Noise reduction is also greatly improved, with picture noise removed in stages during image processing. Critical noise is analysed, and chromatic and luminance noise are reduced separately. The chromatic noise, which has greater effect on picture quality, is then selectively suppressed, resulting in clearer images.

Bright and beautiful motion pictures

Not only can you capture beautiful still images – these new models also record stunning wide aspect VGA (848 x 480) motion images at 30 frames per second. This enables you to view them on a widescreen television in a true widescreen aspect ratio. Perfect for skiing holidays for example you can showcase your skiing talents in full 16:9 glory on your widescreen television to your family and friends.

The DMC-TZ3 also offers an exceptional function that lets you select and display thumbnails of nine sequential frames from a motion image. This would be useful, for example, to analyse the way you swing a golf club or tennis racquet.

The perfect travel companion boasting 20 scene modes

The Lumix TZ2 and TZ3’s 20 scene modes allow you to effectively capture your travelling experience, wherever you go. The ‘aerial’ mode assists with shooting through aeroplane windows, and once you reach your destination, the new ‘beach’ mode is ideal for taking photos in strong sunlight. Used with a separately available marine case boasting a water-resistance of up to 40m deep, the ‘underwater’ mode helps produce spectacular underwater shots, even at depths where there is no sunlight.

Travellers further benefit from the useful ‘Travel Date Setting’ which, once you have preset the date of your departure, records and displays the images in chronological order of your trip. The ‘World Time Setting’ is also useful as it allows you to set the time and date of 74 locations across the world. In addition, the new ‘Clipboard’ function lets you use the camera to hold an retrieve useful information on the trip. For example, you can quickly and easily take pictures of a map or train schedule, and view them when needed. In addition, the DMC-TZ3 benefits from a 3inch LCD screen (2.5inch for the TZ2) – so you can playback two photos at the same time and compare them.

Perfect for all occasions, the small DMC-TZ2 and DMC-TZ3 offer a wealth of features and effortlessly slip into your pocket ensuring you are ready for any photographic occasion. Available from May 2007. For further information, please visit www.panasonic.co.uk

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ2 & DMC-TZ3 specifications

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Introducing the World’s Slimmest Digital Camera with 28mm Wide-Angle Lens

Panasonic’s DMC-FX30

Panasonic prides itself on being at the forefront of technology and the introduction of the DMC-FX30, the world’s slimmest digital camera with 28mm wide-angle lens, is a case in point. The perfect camera that fits into any lifestyle, the ultra slim FX30 offers sophistication in technology and style, whilst remaining inherently easy to use.

The bigger picture with the LEICA DC wide angle lens

This new lens allows photographers to easily capture a large group of people, or expansive architectural structures and landscapes with dynamic width and rich perspective. The lens part of the DMC-FX30 comprises of seven elements in six groups, including five lenses with six aspherical surfaces to generate high optical performance. The zoom ratio can be extended up to 5.3x in 3megapixel resolution mode with minimal deterioration thanks to the Extra Optical Zoom. By using the central part of the CCD, this powerful zooming function allows you to easily capture and magnify distant subjects.

Blurred images are a thing of the past thanks to Panasonic!

Panasonic is the first manufacturer to have successfully incorporated Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS) into its compact cameras – a feature strongly appreciated worldwide and now considered to be a standard requirement of photography. O.I.S minimizes the jitter from shaky hands that causes many photos to look blurred by shifting the O.I.S lens unit to keep the optical axis aligned straight against the CCD, to ensure images are captured with supreme clarity and sharpness.

While hand-shake is the single biggest cause of blurry images, it is not the only one. Another problem is the motion blur that can occur when a subject moves as the shot is being taken – particularly common when taking pictures of sports or young children for example. This is where Intelligent ISO Control comes in. This system detects whether the subject is moving and, as necessary raises the ISO setting and shutter speed according to how fast the subject is moving and the light conditions. This happens automatically, so you can effortlessly shoot without the need to adjust the settings every time the conditions change.

Panasonic Lumix offers solutions for both major causes of blurred images – O.I.S when you are moving, and Intelligent ISO Control when the subject is moving. Thanks to Panasonic, you can now take clear and beautiful images in various situations.

The Venus Engine III

The DMC-FX30 features the Venus Engine III, Panasonic’s advanced image-processing engine that can record at a sensitivity setting as a high as ISO 1250 at full resolution. Noise reduction is also greatly improved, with picture noise removed in stages during image processing. Critical noise is analysed, and chromatic and luminance noise are reduced separately. The chromatic noise, which has greater effect on picture quality, is then selectively suppressed, resulting in clearer images.

Spontaneous moments can easily be captured thanks to a 1.8 second start up time and a 0.005 second shutter release time lag (the time between pressing the button on the camera and the photo being taken). Additionally, the burst shooting mode boasts the capability of sequential shots at a rate of 3 frames per second at full resolution . The unlimited consecutive shooting function allows you to take photos in succession up to the capacity of the memory card or built in memory.

As easy as LCD

The LCD is a pivotal part of the camera and as such Panasonic has paid particular attention to ensure you can effortlessly capture and playback your pictures. The DMC-FX30 boasts a 207K pixel high resolution, 2.5” large LCD. The mixed-pixel readout method performed by the CCD automatically increases the brightness level of the live image on the LCD, which greatly facilitates shooting in low situations.

Panasonic is the first manufacturer to offer the new High Angle LCD function to a digital still camera LCD. This new mode makes the FX30’s LCD display extremely easy to view from low angles, for example, when holding the camera up high to take pictures over a crowd. The difficulties faced when shooting in bright outdoors situations are also overcome by the Power LCD function, which boosts the backlighting of the LCD by 40%.

So fast, so easy - Auto Focus

The DMC-FX30 really will work hard to ensure you capture every moment important to you. The various AF methods can be selected according to the shooting environment and the position of the subject: 5 point, 3 point high-speed, 1-point high speed, 1-point normal-speed and spot. Panasonic has also included an Auto Focus assist lamp, providing further assistance in low light situations where focusing can be difficult.

A camera that works with you

The slim and stylish DMC-FX30 features approximately 27MB of built-in memory, which can save the day should you happen to fill up or forget your memory card. It also accepts large-capacity SDHC memory cards, giving users more flexibility in shooting and recording.

The FX30 boasts a wide variety of scene modes, including the newly introduced pet mode which allows users to set the birthday of their pet, so as with the baby mode, the pets’ age is automatically recorded onto the image. Now you can see the exact age of your pet in each photo. The DMC-FX30 is also perfect for underwater photography, for use with the Marine case (available separately), thanks to the ‘underwater’ mode. Panasonic offers twenty-one modes to enhance your pictures –portrait, soft skin, scenery, sport, night portrait, night scenery, self portrait, food, party, candle, fireworks, starry sky, beach, aerial photo, snow, high sensitivity, baby1, baby2, underwater, sunset and pet mode.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX30, the world’s slimmest digital camera with 28mm wide-angle lens, is superior in technology and superior in style. Available in March. For further information, please visit www.panasonic.co.uk/lumix

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX30 specifications

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