A look at Panasonic's brilliant new shooters

MELBOURNE, Australia – Panasonic pulled out all the stops when it unveiled no less than 19 advanced and feature-packed digital cameras and camcorders in this beautiful city down under.

While other international launches would have us sitting down listening to presentation after presentation, Panasonic set the Asia-Pacific/Oceania press up on a literally eye-opening photography workshop with no less than noted Australian photographer Ken Duncan.

And it was no simple location shoot around our Sofitel Melbourne Hotel’s periphery.

They brought us – each with bagfuls of Panasonic’s latest Lumix cameras – to shoot Melbourne’s cityscapes with a cruise along the picturesque Yarra River, from the breathtakingly high 88th story Skydeck of Eureka Tower, to a lovely beach shoot with two sexy “sheilas,” and to the highlight of the event: an unforgettable night inside the iconic Rod Laver Arena to witness the semifinals of the Australian Open.

The new Lumix cameras include the Photo/Movie Hybrid Tough DMC-TS2, a successor to the Lumix series’ first camera geared for active outdoor use, the DMC-TS1.

Featuring AVCHD Lite HD movie recording capability, the new 14.1-megapixel TS2 is dustproof, waterproof to 10 meters, shockproof against a two-meter drop, and even freeze-proof to -10 degrees Celsius. It boasts a 28-mm wide-angle Leica lens.

Two other new Lumix cameras are the compact and versatile 14.1-MP DMC-ZR3 with 25-mm ultra-wide angle lens and powerful 8x optical zoom and the 12.1-MP Photo/Movie Hybrid super-zoom (12x) DMC-ZS7 with 25-mm ultra-wide-angle Leica DC lens and built-in Global Positioning System (GPS).

With GPS, the ZS7 not only records the latitude and longitude of a location, but also displays the location information real-time while shooting or playing back the images.

On the entry-level side, Panasonic unveiled a couple of stylish and easy-to-use 4x optical zoom point-and-shooters, the 12.1-MP DMC-F3 and the 10.1-MP DMC-F2, both with Auto Scene Mode.

Those who prefer higher resolution performance with simple operation (thanks to advanced Intelligent Auto mode) would do well to go for the 28-mm wide-angle 5x optical zoom lens-equipped 14.1-MP DMC-FH3 and 12.1-MP DMC-FH1.

Dressed in a brushed metal-finished panel, the slim and sleek FH3 and FH1 take great snapshots with ease, even for beginners.

Two more new Lumix cameras are the 14.1-MP DMC-FH22 and FH20. The FH series of cameras, a sister line of the Lumix’s popular FX series, are equipped with 28-mm wide-angle lenses with 8x optical zoom.

The FH22 comes with a three-inch touch-screen Intelligent LCD while the FH20 features a 2.7-inch Intelligent LCD. A novel feature in the FH22/FH20 is high-definition (HD) movie-recording capability in 720p motion jpeg at a smooth 30 frames per second (fps).

Users can not only view the movie on a computer but also burn the movie or turn photos into an MPEG2 file slideshow on DVD for viewing on TV – or even upload it on YouTube – via the bundled PHOTOfunSTUDIO 5.0 software.

Last but not least are the ultra-slim 14.1-MP Lumix DMC-FP3, FP2 and 12.1-MP DMC-FP1. The lens cover of the new FP series is not only for lens protection but also serves as a power switch of the camera.

Like their FH siblings, the new FP models also boast HD recording and playback at 720p resolution. The FP3 adds a three-inch touch-screen resolution to its generous array of features.

On the video side, Panasonic unveiled a trio of high-full-HD camcorders – the HS60, TM60, and SD60.

These new compact camcorders boast 1920 x 1080 resolution – the highest standard in today’s HD camcorder market – as well as 35.7mm wide-angle lens and new Intelligent Zoom with a total of 35x zooming power.

Like their Lumix still camera siblings, the new camcorders also boast POWER O.I.S. to ensure clear shots by minimizing the effect that even a slight hand shake has on zoom shots and the blurring that happens when shooting while walking.

They also have Face Recognition in the iA function that recognizes the registered faces of subjects and automatically optimizes the focus and exposure for them.

The hybrid-type HS60 records onto its 120GB HDD and an SDXC, SDHC or SD memory card. The twin-memory TM60 records onto its 16GB built-in memory and an SDXC, SDHC or SD card, and the SD60 records onto an SDXC, SDHC or SD card.

Even greater camcorder firepower comes from these four new Panasonic models: the SDR-H85 HDD camcorder, the SDR-T55/T50 twin-memory camcorder, and the SDR-S50 SD card camcorder.

These new compact camcorders are filled with features, starting with the new Enhanced Optical Zoom for powerful, 78x ultra-zoom shooting, and a new Active mode for the Advanced O.I.S. that suppresses blur and produces clear images even when zooming or walking.

The 33-mm wide-angle setting helps fit everything in one shot while the new AF/AE Tracking function “locks on” and automatically tracks the subject to capture beautiful images every time.

All camcorders record media onto an SDXC, SDHC or SD card. The SDR-H85 can also store data onto its 80GB HDD while the SDR-T50 and T55 can record onto their 4GB/8GB built-in memory.