Panasonic has announced the latest addition to its mega-zoom line-up; the DMC-FZ30 incorporates an 8MP CCD and an optical image stabiliser.

Panasonic has announced the latest addition to its mega-zoom line-up; the DMC-FZ30 incorporates an 8MP CCD and an optical image stabiliser.
The FZ30 follows the DMC-FZ20 that was released last year. Its newly developed Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens has a focal length equivalent to 35-420mm, which can be controlled using a zooming ring, located on the lens barrel together with a focus ring. A new feature is the Extra Optical Zoom that extends the zoom range, enabling 5MP images to reach a 15.3x optical zoom capability, increasing to 19.1x for 3MP pictures, by utilising the centre of the CCD.
Featuring two modes, the Mega OIS (optical image stabiliser) helps minimise the effects of camera shake, enabling a shutter speed three stops lower to be utilised.
Panasonic claims a best in class 0.01 sec shutter release lag and a dramatic reduction in the start-up time from 5-sec to 0.97sec since the FZ20. This is thanks to the LSI Venus Engine II processor, which is also designed to rectify the effects of chromatic aberration and help produce clearly detailed results.
Images can be composed and previewed on the free angle 2-inch TFT LCD and 235,000 electronic viewfinder, of which the resolution has improved 180% in comparison to the DMC-FZ20.
Exposure modes on the FZ30 are Program AE, Automatic, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and 14 scene modes. New features include an AE lock button and 1-point high-speed auto focus, which reduces the AF time to a quarter of the level of the FZ20. A newly developed CCD enables the FZ30 to capture 30fps VGA movies with increased brightness.
The DMC-FZ30 will be available in September for £549.99. Panasonic has also developed a new conversion lens expanding the focal length to 24.5mm at wide angle and 714mm at telephoto.
Find out more at www.panasonic.co.uk or by calling 08705 357357.


Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 specifications

Dimensions (W x H x D): Approx.140.75 x 85.5 x 138.1 mm ( 5.54 x 3.37 x 5.44 inch)
Weight: Approx. 674 g. (1.49lb) Approx. 740 g with Battery and SD Memory Card (1.63lb)
Camera Effective Pixels: 8.0 Megapixels
Image Sensor: 1/1.8″, 8.32 Mega Total Pixels CCD Primary Color Filter
Optical Zoom: 12 x
Extra Optical Zoom: 4:3 Aspect Ratio: 15.3x for 5Mega, 19.1x for 3Mega, 2Mega, 1Mega, 3:2 Aspect Ratio: 15.3x for 4.5Mega, 19.1x for 2.5Mega, 16:9 Aspect Ratio: 19.1x for 2Mega
Digital Zoom: 2x / 4 x pre-select ( Max. 48 x combined with Optical Zoom without Extra Optical Zoom) (Max. 76.5x combined with Extra Optical Zoom)
Focal Distance: f=7.4-88.8mm (35mm Equiv.: 35-420mm)
Lens: LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT 14 elements in 10 groups(3 Aspherical Lenses / 3 Aspherical surfaces, 1 ED Lens)
Aperture: Wide: F2.8 ? F11 Tele:F3.7 ? F11
Optical Image Stabilizer: MEGA O.I.S. (Mode1 / Mode2)
Conversion lens Compatibility: Yes
Focusing Area: Normal: Wide 30cm/ Tele 200cm ? infinity, Macro: Wide 5cm/Tele 200cm – infinity
AF Metering: 1 point/1 point high speed/3 points high speed/9 points/Spot, Selectable focus area on 1point/1point high speed
Focus AF, AF Macro, MF switchable, Continuous AF ON/OFF, Manual Focus (Ring), One-Shot AF
AF Assist Lamp: Yes
ISO Sensitivity: Auto/80/100/200/400
White Balance: Auto/Daylight/Cloudy/Halogen/Flash/White Set1/2 White Balance Adjustment ( 150K step, -1500 – +1500 K) (except for auto WB)
Exposure: Auto / Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual, Program Shift (P mode) Exposure button
Exposure Compensation: 1/3 EV step, -2 – +2 EV
Backlight Compensation: Yes (at auto mode)
Auto (AE) Bracketing: +/- 1/3 EV -1EV step, 3 frames
Light Metering: Intelligent Multiple/ Center Weighted/ Spot
Scene Mode
Dial: Auto, P(Program) mode, A(AperturePriority) Mode, S(Shutter Priority) Mode, M(Manual) mode, SCN1, SCN2 (Portrait, Sports, Scenery, Night Scenery, Night Portrait, Fireworks, Party, Snow, Self-Portrait, Food, Baby, Soft Skin, Candle, Starry Sky), Moving-image, Playback
Shutter Speed: Program AE / Aperture Priority AE/ Shutter Priority AE : 8 – 1/2000sec, Manual : 60 – 1/2000 sec
Self Timer: 10 sec / 2sec
Auto Review: 1sec/3sec/zoom
Review: 1x / 4x / 8x
Contrast: Low, Standard, High
Picture Adjustment: Sharpness : Low, Standard, High, Saturation : Low, Standard, High
Noise Reduction: Low, Standard, High
Color Effect Mode: Cool, Warm, Black & White, Sepia
Recording Format: Still Image: JPEG(Design rule for Camera File system, based on Exif 2.2 standard), DPOF corresponding, Picture with audio: JPEG (Design rule for Camera File system, based on Exif2.2 standard)+ QuickTime
Motion images: QuickTime Motion JPEG
Recording Image Size: Still Image: 4:3 Aspect Ratio: 3264 x 2448 pixels, 2560 x 1920 pixels, 2048 x 1536 pixels, 1600 x 1200 pixels, 1280 x 960 pixels, 3:2 Aspect Ratio: 3248 x 2160 pixels, 2560 x 1712 pixels, 2048 x 1360 pixels, 16:9 Aspect Ratio: 3072 x 1728 pixels, 1920 x 1080 pixels, Motion Image 4:3 Aspect Ratio: 640 x 480 pixles, 320 x 240 pixels
Image Quality: RAW / TIFF / Fine / Standard
Motion Image: 4:3 Aspect Ratio: 640 x 480 pixels, 320 x 240 pixels 30 fps, 10 fps, Max. recording time depends on Memory Card Capacity
Burst Shooting Mode: Full-Resolution Image, 3 frames/sec or 2 frames/sec
Full-resolution: Max. 9 images (Standard mode), Max 5 images (Fine Mode)
Unlimited consecutive shooting: Yes
Still Image Rec. with Audio: 5 sec
Audio Dubbing: Max. 10sec
Real-time histogram: Yes
Composition Guide line: Yes
Scene Mode Help Screen: Yes
Auto Angle Detection: Yes
Flip Animation: Yes
Built-in-Flash: Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced On/Off
Flash output Adjustment: (1/3EV step, -2 – +2 EV) 0.3 – 7.0m (ISO Auto)
External Flash: Hot Shoe
Viewfinder: 0.44″ Color EVF (235K Pixels), Field of View : approx. 100%
LCD Monitor: 2.0″ Polycrystalline TFT LCD Display (235 K Pixels)
Field of View: approx. 100%
Playback mode: 25-thumbnail display, 16-thumbnail display, 9-thumbnail display, Zoomed playback (16x max.), Image Rotation (except for RAW), Slide show (duration is adjustable, also manual controllable),
Playback of favorite pictures, Resizing (selectable number of pixels), trimming, protection, DPOF print setting
OSD language: Japanese,English,German,French,Italian,Spanish
Recording Media: SD Memory Card, MultiMediaCard
Microphone: Yes
Speaker: Yes
Interface: DC Input, A/V Output (NTSC/PAL), USB Direct Print
PictBridge
Power: Li-ion Battery Pack (7.2V, 730mAh) (Included) Battery Charger/AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC) (Optional)
Battery life (approx.): 280 pictures (CIPA Standard) / 300 pictures (with EVF)
Included Software: LUMIX Simple Viewer, Photo Fun Studio, ArcSoft PhotoBase, ArcSoft PhotoImpression, ArcSoft Panorama Maker
USB Driver: Standard Accessories, Battery Charger, Battery Pack, SD Memory Card (32 MB), Lens Cap, Lens Hood, AV Cable, USB Connection Cable, AC Cable, Strap, CD-ROM