Introduction

The new LZ series from Panasonic offer a compact body, four or five megapixels connected to an all-new 6x optical stabilized zoom lens. The LZ's new lens provides 37 - 222 mm equivalent with a maximum aperture of F2.8 to F4.5. The LZ1 has a four megapixel CCD and a silver body, the LZ2 a five megapixel CCD and black body. If these two cameras can live up to their spec then they should offer a killer combination of compactness, resolution, zoom and stabilization.

Panasonic: New compact digicam's

SECAUCUS, NJ (February 8, 2005) Never miss a photo opportunity again, even if you don?t have an SD memory card on hand. Panasonic?s new DMC-LZ1 and DMC-LZ2 Lumix? cameras feature 14 megabytes of built-in memory to capture those spontaneous moments.
The 4-megapixel DMC-LZ1 and 5-megapixel DMC-LZ2 feature a DC VARIO lens with 6x optical zoom (equivalent to 37mm to 222mm on a 35mm film camera lens), with capability of up to 24x magnification when combined with the 4x digital zoom, and MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer). Panasonic?s MEGA Optical Image Stabilizer automatically detects and optically compensates for hand movement.
?When using a small, lightweight camera such as these, zooming in can accentuate every little movement of the hand,? said Monica Helmer, Marketing Manager for Panasonic. ?That?s why Panasonic incorporates its MEGA O.I.S into every Lumix camera. It enables you to take clear, distortion-free pictures, even ultra-telephoto or macro shots of distant or moving subjects, or shots taken in low lighting conditions.?
The new models have a large 2.0 inch TRM (Transmissive with Micro Reflective) crystal-clear LCD display which is extremely easy to view, even outdoors on bright, sunny days. Even with the optical 6x zoom lens unit, the cameras? body size is as compact as an ordinary AA-battery operated 3x optical zoom camera.
Panasonic?s Venus Engine Plus image processing LSI provides high quality and quick response with low energy consumption. In addition to a consecutive shooting function that allows users to take 4 (DMC-LZ1) or 3 (DMC-LZ2) frames per second at full resolution, the newly developed Venus Engine Plus enables unlimited* consecutive shooting. Successive shots can be taken until the memory card or build-in memory reaches capacity.
Auto angle detection, a new feature, records whether an image was taken horizontally or vertically and displays it accordingly, whether viewed on the camera?s LCD or on a connected TV.
Other features include Burst Shooting Mode, four spot focusing modes, Simple Mode for automatic settings, built-in flash and more.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1 and DMC-LZ2 run on two AA size batteries, and come equipped with Panasonic?s new, super-powerful Oxyride Extreme Power batteries.
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. (NYSE: MC) and the hub of Panasonic's U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Information about Panasonic products is available at www.panasonic.com. Additional company information for journalists is available at www.panasonic.com/pressroom or through the company?s toll-free fax-back system at 888-734-7490.
* Consecutive shooting speed varies depending on the memory card or built-in memory. The number of recordable picture depends on the memory card and built-in memory size, battery life, picture size and compression.
Lumix DMC-LZ1/LZ2 availabity in March for $249/$299