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Panasonic Unveils Versatile LUMIX DMC-FZ18,

Panasonic Unveils Versatile LUMIX Digital Camera With 18x Optical Zoom and 28mm Wide-Angle LEICA DC Lens

LUMIX DMC-FZ18, a High-Zoom Camera, Introduces New Intelligent Auto Mode, Featuring Face Detection, Intelligent Scene Selector and Continuous Auto-focus
July 24, 2007: 04:00 AM EST

SECAUCUS, N.J., July 24 /PRNewswire/ — Panasonic today expanded its LUMIX family of digital still cameras with the introduction of the LUMIX DMC-FZ18, an 8.1 Megapixel compact camera with an impressive 18x optical zoom. In addition to a premium 28mm wide-angle LEICA DC lens, the DMC-FX18 joins the LUMIX DMC-FX33 and DMC-FX55 as the first Panasonic digital cameras to offer the revolutionary Intelligent Auto Mode, which include Face Detection, Intelligent Scene Selector and Continuous Auto-focus functions, allowing users to easily capture clear, professional-quality images in any situation or setting.

When this powerful camera, with an optical zoom up to 18x, is put into Intelligent Auto Mode, the multi-faceted functions engage automatically, so there is no need to adjust settings every time conditions change. The DMC- FZ18’s intuitive Intelligent Auto Mode is comprised of:

– Intelligent Scene Selector, which automatically selects the appropriate
scene mode from the most frequently-used modes such as Portrait,
Scenery, Macro, Night Scenery and Night Portrait;
– Face Detection System, which helps the camera to focus, set auto
exposure and detects up to 15 human faces capturing them clearly and
brightly; and
– Continuous Auto-focus, which allows the camera to keep focus on the
subject without having to press the shutter button halfway and allowing
for the best results out of a shutter chance by minimizing the auto-
focus time.

“The Intelligent Auto Mode in the DMC-FZ18 does all the work for you, making photo-taking trouble-free,” noted Alex Fried, National Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. “When taking into account the camera’s 18x optical zoom, which is among the industry’s longest zooms, and then adding 8.1 Megapixels, a 28mm wide-angle lens, MEGA Optical Image Stabilization, and Intelligent Auto Mode, the DMC-FZ18 delivers professional-level photo quality, in a powerful camera packed with advanced features that is still easy to use.”

Similar to the entire 2007 line of LUMIX digital still cameras, the camera sports advanced countermeasures against blurring – the Intelligent Image Stabilization system, which combines MEGA Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.) to compensate for hand-shake and Intelligent ISO Control to detect and adjust for motion blur caused by subject movement.

The LUMIX DMC-FZ18 also is equipped with a 2.5-inch large, high resolution LCD with 207,000 pixels, a 0.44-inch Electric Viewfinder with 188,000 pixels, f/2.8 brightness and is powered by the high-quality, high-performance, Venus Engine III, which boasts shooting at ISO 1600 in normal recording mode.

The DMC-FZ18 has been redesigned to make the camera more stylish and easier to use. The auto focus, auto exposure lock, and Macro buttons are now independent, to allow quick and direct operation, a metal-finished mode dial adds design strength and an enhanced rubber grip makes the camera easier to hold. The redesigned body also incorporates the joystick made popular by the DMC-FZ8 model, which enables a host of settings, such as manual focusing and exposure, to be done quickly and easily.

Other advanced features of the LUMIX DMC-FZ18 include:

– Custom Setting Mode that memorizes your frequent setting patterns for
instance use applied by simply selecting this function on the mode dial.
– 1920 x 1080 pixel photos ideal for full-screen viewing on a wide-screen
HDTV.
– Six auto-focusing methods including: face detection, multi, three-point
high-speed, one-point high-speed, one-point normal-speed, and spot.
With the one-point auto-focus or spot auto-focus method, the auto-
focusing area can be chosen from as many as 11 points with the joystick
or cursor button.
– Advanced Scene Modes provide users more control over some frequently-
used scene modes such as, indoor and outdoor modes when selecting
portrait or sports mode and nature or architecture settings when
selecting portrait mode.
– Bundled SILKYPIX Developer Studio 2.0SE software application for editing
and developing images in the RAW file format.
– 27 MB of built-in memory: Perfect for backing up SDHC/SD Memory Card
recording. *
– Extra Optical Zoom feature extends zoom power to 28.7x at 3 Megapixels.
– Compatibility with large-capacity SDHC memory cards.
– Title Edit Function allows inputting of text and additional picture
information.
– Picture Playback by category: Sorts images into categories such as
portraits, landscapes, nightscapes, events and motion pictures. Also,
allows slideshow playback of images in the same category.
– Optional accessories including a tele-conversion lens, close-up lens, ND
filter, MC protector, lens adaptor, AC adaptor, battery pack, soft case
and camera Bag.
– Available in two colors: silver and black.
– The LUMIX DMC-FZ18 will be available in September 2007 for an MSRP of
$399.95.

* 1 MB = 1 million bytes. Usable capacity will be less.

About Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company

Based in Secaucus, N.J., Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company is a Division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. and the hub of Panasonic’s U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. In its commitment to provide consumers with extensive imaging resources, Panasonic LUMIX established the Digital Photo Academy, a series of nationwide workshops designed to instruct consumers how to optimize the features on their digital cameras and produce high-quality photos. Panasonic is honored to support OUR PLACE – The World’s Heritage, a project that will create the world’s largest photographic collection of UNESCO World Heritage sites, with acclaimed photographers exclusively using LUMIX digital cameras to capture all images. Information about Panasonic LUMIX digital still cameras and its affiliated programs is available at www.panasonic.com/dsc.

DMC-FZ18 Specifications
Colors: Silver and Black

DMC-FZ18

Dimensions Approx. 117.6 x 75.3 x 88.2 mm (4.63 x 2.96 x 3.47 inch)
(Wx H x D)

Weight Approx. 360g. (0.79lb)
Approx. 407g with Battery and SD Memory Card (0.90lb)

Camera 8.1 Mega pixels
Effective
Pixels

Image Sensor 1/2.5″, 8.32 Mega Total Pixels CCD
Primary Color Filter

Optical Zoom 18 x

Extra Optical 4:3 Aspect Ratio: 23x for 5Mega, 28.7x for 3Mega, 2Mega,
Zoom 0.3Mega
3:2 Aspect Ratio: 23x for 4.5Mega, 28.7x for 2.5Mega
16:9 Aspect Ratio: 23x for 3.5Mega, 28.7x for 2Mega

Digital Zoom 4 x
(Max. 72 x combined with Optical Zoom without Extra
Optical Zoom)
(Max. 115x combined with Extra Optical Zoom)

Focal Length f=4.6-82.8mm (35mm Equiv.: 28-504mm)

Lens LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT
11 elements in 8 groups
(3 Aspherical Lenses / 4 Aspherical surfaces)

Aperture Wide: F2.8 – F8.0 Tele:F4.2 – F8.0

Optical Image MEGA O.I.S. (Mode1 / Mode2)
Stabilizer

Conversion Yes
lens
Compatibility

Focusing Area P / A / S / M / Intelligent AUTO / Motion Picture : Normal:
Wide 30cm/ Tele 200cm – infinity
Macro: Wide 1cm/ Tele (approx. 6x-11x) 200cm – infinity
Tele Macro (approx. 12x – 18x) : 100cm – infinity

AF Metering Face / 1-point / 1-point high speed / 3-point high speed /
Multi-point / Spot

Focus AF-Macro On/Off, AF/MF Switchable, Manual Focus(Joystick),
One Shot AF, Continuous AF On/Off

AF/AE Lock Yes

AF Assist Lamp Yes

ISO Auto /100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1250 / 1600
Sensitivity (High Sensitivity Mode : Auto(1600 – 6400) )

White Balance Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Halogen / Flash / White
Set1/2
White Balance Adjustment (2-axis adjustable, +/- 9steps
each)
(Selectable at Portrait(Normal, Soft Skin, Creative),
Sports(Normal, Creative), Baby, Pet and High Sensitivity
mode)

Exposure Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE,
Manual, Program Shift(Program AE mode)

Exposure 1/3 EV step, +/-2 EV
Compensation
Backlight Yes (at Intelligent AUTO mode)
Compensation
Auto (AE) +/- 1/3 EV ~1EV step, 3 frames
Bracketing
Light Metering Intelligent Multiple/ Center Weighted/ Spot
Scene Mode Dial: Playback, Intelligent AUTO, P(Program) mode,
A(AperturePriority) mode, S(Shutter Priority) mode,
M(Manual) mode, Custom, Portrait mode, Scenery mode,
Sports mode, Night Portrait mode

SCN ( Food, Party, Candle Light, Sunset, High Sensitivity,
Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Panning, Starry Sky,

Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Aerial photo)
Motion Picture, Print

Advanced Scene Portrait mode : Normal, Soft Skin, Outdoor, Indoor,
Mode Creative
Scenery mode : Normal, Nature, Architecture, Creative
Sports mode : Normal, Outdoor, Indoor, Creative
Night Portrait : Night Portrait, Night Scenery,
Illuminations, Creative

Shutter Speed Program AE : 1-1/2000 sec
Aperture Priority AE / Shutter Priority AE : 8-1/2000 sec
Manual : 60-1/2000sec.
Starry Sky Mode : 15, 30, 60sec
Self Timer 2sec / 10sec / 10sec/3images
Auto Review 1sec, 3sec, Zoom
Review 1x / 4x / 8x

Contrast +/-2steps

Picture Sharpness +/-2steps
Adjustment Saturation +/-2steps
Noise Reduction +/-2steps

Color Effect Black & White, Sepia, Cool, Warm
Mode

Recording Still Image: JPEG(Design rule for Camera File system,
Format based on Exif 2.21 standard), DPOF compatible
image with audio: JPEG (Design rule for Camera File
system, based on Exif 2.21 standard)+ QuickTime
Motion picture: QuickTime Motion JPEG

Recording Still Image: 4:3 Aspect Ratio: 3264 x 2448 pixels, 2560 x
Image Size 1920 pixels, 2048 x 1536 pixels,
1600 x 1200 pixels , 640 x 480 pixels
3:2 Aspect Ratio: 3264 x 2176 pixels , 2560 x 1712 pixels,
2048 x 1360 pixels
16:9 Aspect Ratio: 3264 x 1840 pixels, 2560 x 1440 pixels,
1920 x 1080 pixels

Image Quality Fine / Standard / RAW / RAW+ JPEG

Motion Picture 4:3 Aspect Ratio: 640 x 480 pixels, 320 x 240 pixels 30
fps, 10 fps
16:9 Aspect Ratio: 848 x 480 pixels 30 fps, 10 fps

Burst Shooting Full-Resolution Image, 3 frames/sec Max. 7 images
Mode (Standard mode), Max 4 images (Fine Mode)

Unlimited Yes
consecutive
shooting

Still Image 5 sec
Rec. with
Audio

Audio Dubbing Max. 10sec

Real-time Yes
histogram
Composition Yes (2 patterns)
Guide line
Built-in- approx. 27MB
Memory
Scene Mode Yes
Help Screen

Auto Angle Yes
Detection

Flip Animation Yes
Travel Date / Yes / Yes
World Time
Title Edit Yes

Text Stamp / Yes / Yes
Date Stamp
Built-in-Flash Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye
Reduction, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
Flash output Adjustment (1/3EV step, -2 – +2 EV)
0.3 – 6.0m (Wide/ISO Auto), 1.0 – 4.0m (Tele/ISO Auto)

Viewfinder 0.44″ Color EVF (188K Pixels),Field of View : approx. 100%

LCD Monitor 2.5″ Polycrystalline TFT LCD Display (207K Pixels)
Field of View : approx. 100%
Auto Power LCD mode, Power LCD mode, High angle mode

Playback mode 25-thumbnail display, 9-thumbnail display, calendar
display, zoomed playback (16x max.),
Playback of favorite pictures, Creating still pictures
from a motion picture
Category Playback (playback and slideshow of pictures in
category)
Slide show (duration is adjustable, also manual
controllable), image rotation
Resizing (selectable number of pixels), trimming,
protection, aspect conv. DPOF print setting
OSD language English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish,
Czech, Hungarian, Russian, Chinese(Traditional),
Chinese(Simplified), Netherlandic, Thai, Korean, Turkish,
Portuguese, Arabic, Persian, Japanese

Recording Built-in Memory, SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card,
Media MultiMediaCard
Microphone Yes
Speaker Yes
Direct Print PictBridge
Interface DC Input, AV Output (NTSC/PAL), USB
Power Li-ion Battery Pack (7.2V, 710mAh) (Included)
AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC) (Optional)
Battery life 400 pictures (CIPA Standard) / 400 pictures (with EVF)
(approx.)
Included LUMIX Simple Viewer, PhotofunStudio -viewer-
Software SILKYPIX Developer Studio 2.1SE
ArcSoft MediaImpression, ArcSoft PanoramaMaker
USB Driver

Standard Battery Charger, Battery Pack, Lens Cap, Lens Hood, Lens
Accessories Hood Adaptor, AV Cable, USB Connection Cable
AC Cable, Strap, CD-ROM

*1. Shooting conditions: 23.C with 50% humidity; LCD on; using the enclosed SD Memory Card; starting to shoot 30 seconds after turning on the power; shooting once every 30 seconds with the flash in full operation for every other shot; changing the zoom setting from telephoto to wide, or wide to telephoto, for each shot; and temporarily turning the power off after each 10 shots (long enough to lower the battery temperature).

*Some accessories are not available in some countries.

*The use of recorded or printed materials that are protected by copyright for any purpose other than personal enjoyment is prohibited, as it would infringe upon the rights of the copyright holder.

*Leica is a registered trademark of Leica Microsystems IR GmbH.

*The LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lenses are manufactured using measurement instruments and quality assurance systems that have been certified by Leica Camera AG based on the company’s quality standards.

*All other company and product names are trademarks of their respective corporations.

*QuickTime and the QuickTime logo are used under license. QuickTime is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries.

*This unit is compatible with both SD Memory cards and SDHC Memory cards. You can only use SDHC Memory cards on devices that are compatible with them. You cannot use SDHC Memory cards on devices that are only compatible with SD Memory cards. (When using a SDHC Memory card on another device, be sure to read the operating instructions for that device.)




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