Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 Digital Camera (Silver)

The DMC-FZ50 features a 10.1-megapixel high resolution CCD provides smooth color gradations and highly detailed images with which you'll be able to print photo quality images up to print sizes of 20x30."

The Leica DC Vario-Elmarit Lens provides a 12x Zoom equivalent to 35mm - 420mm focal length with a 35 mm film camera. The lens unit is comprised of fourteen elements in ten groups including three aspherical lenses and an ED lens; all these are incorporated to generate low distortion and high optical performance while preserving the compactness of the unit. The Extra Optical Zoom of the DMC-FZ50 is made possible by using the center part of the 10.1-megapixel high resolution CCD, and further extends the powerful 12x optical zoom to up to 21.4x for 3-megapixel image recording.

The MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) system compensates for handshake - the major cause of blurred images. Every slight hand-shake movement is detected accurately with the sampling frequency at 4,000 times per second and is compensated to render clear, sharp images. In addition, movement of the subject, the other major cause of blurred images, is suppressed by Intelligent ISO Control (I.I.C.) and available ISO1600 high sensitivity recording capabilities. The incorporation of I.I.C. allows the automatic adjustment of the ISO setting and shutter speed that best suits the situation by analyzing the speed of subject movement. If the subject is moving, the ISO setting would automatically rise to allow a higher shutter speed. On the other hand, if the subject is still and no movement is detected, you can take beautiful natural images with a low ISO setting.

The DMC-FZ50 camera utilizes the Venus Engine III Image Processing LSI to realize high sensitivity recording. The noise reduction system is greatly improved by removing noise at the processing stages in series. First, critical noise is roughly undraped and the chromatic noise and the luminance noise are separated to respectively go through the supplemental noise reduction process so that the remaining noise is appropriately minimized. Furthermore With its multi-task image processing capability, the Venus Engine III also boasts outstanding response time with a shutter release time lag of as short as 0.009 seconds and a shutter interval of 0.8 seconds. Together with the fast startup time of approx. 0.7 seconds, the quick response of DMC-FZ50 enables easy capture of those spur-of-the-moment shots. Another benefit of the efficient Venus Engine III is long battery life - sufficient to shoot approximately 360 pictures (CIPA Standard) on a single charge.

The DMC-FZ50 is equipped with two rings on the lens barrel that provide manual control of zooming and focusing, thereby allowing quick and fine control that cannot be achieved with button or lever operation. This kind of analog control is highly valued by high-end users not only for its precise controllability but also for the feeling of traditional manual operation that would be found on film cameras. Furthermore, with the two dials located under the index finger and the thumb, you can easily compensate the exposure directly in addition to adjusting the shutter speed and the aperture smoothly and naturally. The Function Button serves as a shortcut for commonly used settings such as recording image size, light metering, AF area, white balance, and ISO sensitivity, allowing them to be set easily.

The 2.0-inch flip-out high resolution LCD is adjustable to 180 degrees both vertically and horizontally. This assists in smooth shooting even when using high- and low-angle shooting positions. The pixel mixed readout method performed at the CCD achieves high sensitivity to offer sufficient brightness for easy shooting even in low-lit situations, while the Power LCD function boosts the brightness level by 40% to secure clear view even in sunny outdoors. The DMC-FZ50 is also equipped with a high resolution EVF to encourage active shooting.

The AF mode can be selected according to the shooting situation: 9-point, 3-point high speed, 1-point high speed, 1-point normal speed and Spot. In the 1-point and 1-point high speed AF mode, the AF area is selectable from the nine focusing areas with the joystick to best fit the composition of the subjects. Also, the AF assist lamp helps quick, accurate focusing in situations where focusing is difficult due to the lack of light.

In addition to standard VGA (640x480 at 30 fps) motion image recording, the DMC-FZ50 also records stunning full-size movies in wide-aspect VGA (848x480 at 30 fps). Shooting is one thing but viewing is another, and you will be suitably impressed by the 16:9 moving image when it is displayed on a wide screen TV. In addition, the brightness level of these motion images is also enhanced as a result of the pixel mixed readout method performed by the CCD, and zooming while recording motion images is also possible with the manual zoom ring.

With fifteen Scene Modes, the DMC-FZ50 can assist the user in a wide range of photographic situations. Furthermore, the "High Sensitivity" mode, made possible by the pixel-mixed readout method by the CCD, is ideal for shooting moving subjects clearly without blurring by providing sensitivity as high as ISO3200.

With PictBridge direct printing, users can make prints by just connecting the DMC-FZ50 camera to a PictBridge -compatible printer via included USB cable. The Direct Print mode is easily accessible via the mode dial so that you can easily access the print control features

The DMC-FZ50 includes a host of editing software including ArcSoft PhotoImpression, and ArcSoft Panorama Maker in addition to the USB Driver, Lumix Simple Viewer, and Photo Fun Studio. To edit and develop RAW files, SILKYPIX Developer Studio 2.0SE software is included so you can freely adjust various setting such as exposure, or white balance, and take maximum advantage of the RAW file format.