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| Click photo to see more shots of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX100. |
Panasonic has introduced a compact 12.2-megapixel point-and-shoot camera with a wide-angle 3.6x zoom lens. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX100 sports an optically stabilized Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens with an f/2.8-5.6 maximum aperture and a 28mm-100mm (35mm camera equivalent) focal-length range, as well as a 207,000-pixel, 2.5-inch LCD. The camera uses Panasonic's Venus Engine III processor to boost shooting speed and performance. Panasonic is also touting the FX100's built-in flash, which it claims has a reach of up to 16 meters; presumably that's at higher ISO settings.
The FX100 doesn't provide manual or priority exposure control, but it does give the photographer plenty of flexibility in programmed and fully automatic shooting modes. There are 21 scene modes, including a high-sensitivity option that uses settings between ISO 1600 and 6400. The camera's automatic shutter speed range runs from 1/2000 to 8 seconds, with 15-, 30-, and 60-second speeds selectable via the Starry Sky Mode.
Autobracketing, spot and center-weighted metering, and a live histogram are available, along with five autofocus modes, from spot to nine-point. Contrast, saturation, sharpness, and noise reduction are all adjustable, and white balance can be fine-tuned to +/-10 steps. The camera also has an Intelligent Image Stabilization feature that combines optical stabilization with an ISO boost to reduce blur from both camera shake and moving subjects.
For high-speed shooting and movie capture, there's a 2fps photo mode that captures at full resolution, an 8fps mode for taking an unlimited series of 2-megapixel shots, and a Motion JPEG video mode that shoots at 30-, 15-, or 10fps. Photos can also be annotated with voice recordings. The FX100 can capture 4:3 and 16:9 images in both photo and video modes, as well as 3:2 shots in photo mode only.
The FX100 will be available with silver and black finishes in July 2007 for a suggested retail price of $399.95.
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