The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55 Digital Camera has an ultra slim body - yet it contains a professional quality 3.6x wide angle zoom lens that is equivalent to a 28-100mm lens in 35mm terms permitting you to easily capture a large group of people, or expansive architectural structures and landscapes with dynamic width and rich perspective. The telephoto end of the camera's zoom can also be extended an additional 5.7x (when shooting 3 megapixels or less) with minimal loss of image quality thanks to the Extra Optical Zoom feature.

The top quality Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens also provides an ingenious combination of two anti blur systems (MEGA O.I.S and Intelligent ISO control), ensuring that you'll get consistently sharp and bright images, regardless of the shooting situation. Furthermore, the Venus Engine III advanced image-processing engine can record at a sensitivity setting as a high as ISO 1250, providing fast camera functioning, and keeps power usage down so you can keep shooting pictures all day.

The DMC-FX55 has a bright, high resolution LCD display that measures 3.0" diagonally so you can easily frame your shots and then review and share your pictures with family and friends. Furthermore, the camera's controls are very intuitive with a logical mode dial, a one-touch function button to quickly access commonly used menu selections, and a slew of scene modes for getting the best possible exposure, without the need to manually adjust all of the camera settings. In addition, the camera is extremely energy efficient, so the included lithium-ion battery can provide 280 shots on a single charge.

• 8.1 Megapixel Resolution

With a resolution of 8.1 Megapixels, you'll be able to produce high resolution images that can yield photo quality 20 x 30" prints. The camera also has resolution options that are available in three different aspect ratios - 16:9 for displaying on a wide screen monitor or TV, 3:2 for making standard photo album prints, and 4:3 for more traditional image dimensions common in picture frames.

• 3.6x Optical Zoom Wide-angle Lens

The DMC-FX55 is equipped with an impressive wide angle Leica DC Vario-Elmarit Lens (28 - 100mm equivalent) with a fast aperture (f/2.8-5.6) that incorporates five aspherical lenses, including Extra High Refractive Index Aspherical Lens (EA Lens). The 28mm wide-angle capability lets you easily capture large groups of people indoors or expansive architectural structures and scenes with dynamic width and rich perspective.

• Slim & Stylish Design

The DMC-FX55 is a remarkably slim and super-stylish camera that features a distinctive finish. Its cool design and light weight make it easy to take with you everywhere you go, just like a fashion accessory, for even more photographic fun.

• Intelligent Image Stabilizer

Image blur is commonly caused by either movement of the camera or movement of the subject. Camera movement is corrected with the MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization) feature which uses built-in gyro-sensors to detect the smallest camera movement and instantaneously shifts a lens element in the opposite direction to compensate, giving you sharp, clear images without deterioration. Motion blur - caused when a subject moves as the shot is being taken - is minimized with Intelligent ISO Control. This system actually detects whether the subject is moving and automatically adjusts the ISO setting and shutter speed to minimize the motion blur effect while maintaining good exposure. Additionally, a Blur Indicator lets you confirm that the camera is precisely detecting hand-shake and motion blur separately.

• High Sensitivity with Intelligent ISO Control

The High Sensitivity mode increases the equivalent ISO sensitivity range of the camera to an incredible ISO 1600-6400 - making it possible to take sharp, blur-free shots of active children or pets even in indoor settings with limited light, or without a flash. The Intelligent ISO uses advanced subject-motion detection circuitry to sense when your subject is moving and raises the camera's ISO sensitivity and shutter speed settings accordingly. This suppresses motion blur and also makes it easy to shoot scenes with fast moving action.

• Face Detection for Superb Portraits

The Face Detection function can detect up to 15 faces in a scene then automatically adjust the camera settings to make sure faces appear well-lit and in focus. This advanced technology will even automatically readjust the settings if the positions of the subjects change while you are framing the shot.

• Intelligent Auto Technology with Intelligent Scene Detection

Just turn the dial to "iA" and say good-bye to complicated settings. The camera will not only help eliminate blurring from hand-shake or subject movement, but it will also initialize the Face Detection system to detect up to 15 faces and automatically select the focus, exposure and scene modes for the best results. The Intelligent Scene Selector will sense the ambient conditions and automatically select either the Scenery, Portrait, Macro, Night Portrait or Night Scenery mode accordingly. With the camera choosing the settings for you, you'll get beautiful results every time you shoot, no matter what the scene or subject. In fact, the Intelligent Auto Mode automatically begins focusing even before you press the shutter button, so you'll never miss a great shot.

• Super-Fast Shutter Response and Consecutive Shooting

The DMC-FX55 is fast and responsive - thanks to the Venus Engine III processor. The camera has an extremely fast shutter release time lag of 0.005 second, so you won't miss that "perfect" moment, while the time between shots is also very quick at 0.5 seconds (without flash). The Venus Engine III also enables high ISO to minimize motion blur and take pictures under low lighting without the need for a mood-killing flash. Furthermore, the advanced processor enables fast, and unlimited continuous shooting at a rate of 3 frames per second - an incredibly useful feature when shooting sports or other fast paced events.

• Versatile Auto Focus Options

Choose from five focus methods to match the shooting conditions of your subject. The 5-point AF prevents the camera from mistakenly focusing on the area between two subjects in a vertical composition, 3-point high-speed AF has the same advantage as the 5-pint AF but allows the AF system to function much more rapid, 1-point high-speed AF further reduces the AF time, 1-point AF eliminates screen freeze while maintaining particularly fast AF, and finally Spot AF keys the focus to a small area within the frame for extremely accurate focus on a single subject.

• Mode Dial & Mode Position Display

Using the Mode Dial on the camera activates the mode position display consisting of animated icons that are displayed on the camera's LCD - making it easy to find the mode you want. This single, easy-to-understand mode dial lets you easily switch between shooting, viewing, and printing.

• Easy-to-use Scene Modes

The DMC-FX55 has 20 scene modes to provide the best overall image quality for common shooting situations, such as Portrait, Sports, Scenery, Night Scenery, and more. It is easy to select the best scene mode thanks to the Scene Mode list display and help screen, which shows the description of each mode on the LCD monitor, and animated moving icons make mode selection even easier and more fun.

• Record High Quality Moving Images

Record beautiful full-size QuickTime Motion JPEG movies in 16:9 Wide VGA format at 30 fps or 10 fps with enhanced picture quality and brightness, and it can also shoot standard VGA and QVGA resolution for home use or e-mail/web applications. The length of recording time depends on the capacity of the SD/SDHC Memory Card (Up to 2 GB per motion image recording).

• Function Button for Quick and Easy Setting Adjustment

The Function Button provides a shortcut to frequently used menu settings - this single button lets you turn consecutive shooting on/off, make white balance adjustments, set the ISO sensitivity and image size, and select the compression format, while you continue to view your subject on the LCD.

• Built-in and Expandable Memory

The camera includes 27MB of built-in memory, and the memory capacity can be expanded dramatically with Secure digital (SD) or Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) memory cards. You can also copy images from a memory card or PC to the built-in memory, and view them on the LCD anytime you like.

• Extra Large 3.0" High-resolution LCD

The DMC-FX55 features a 3.0" diagonal high-resolution (230,000 pixels) LCD monitor which is surprisingly large for such a compact camera. This high-quality, display makes it easy to see your subject, and when shooting outdoors on a sunny day, press the Power LCD button to boost the backlighting by about 40% for easier visibility. The High Angle Mode improves viewability from a low angle, such as when shooting over a crowd. The display also provides many shooting assist features such as guide lines for better image framing and a histogram function to check exposure on the fly.

• Extended Battery Life

Incorporating the latest lithium-ion battery and the Venus Engine processor that consumes less power than previous processors, the DMC-FX55 provides impressive battery life so you can take approximately 280 pictures on a charge.

• Direct Printing Capability

Simply connect the DMC-FX55 to a PictBridge compatible printer with the included USB cable, engage the direct print feature, and print directly - without the need for a computer The direct print feature allows you to select all images or just the images you like best, and even make multiple copies to share with family and friends.