Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 with Super-Powerful 18x Zoom Lens

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 is designed with a high-powered zoom packed into a compact body. The Panasonic DMC-FZ28 features a 27mm wide-angle Leica DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens with an 18x optical zoom.

Panasonic introduces Lumix FZ28 - a compact wide-angle, super-zoom camera that offers both uncommon convenience and exceptional creative freedom. Everybody will find the versatile Panasonic FZ28 a perfect answer to their needs. The 27mm wide-angle feature is ideal for both broad landscapes and tight indoor shots, letting photographers capture a wider view. The 10.1-megapixel resolution allows photos to be greatly enlarged while still retaining outstanding detail, or edited by trimming and enlarging parts of the photo to print.

For image processing, the Panasonic DMC-FZ28 features the high-speed, high-performance, Venus Engine IV. Thanks to the Venus IV, the Panasonic FZ28 can snap off consecutive shots at a fast max.13 frames per second for subjects with fast motion in High Speed Burst Shooting mode. In High Sensitivity mode, the Panasonic Lumix FZ28 can capture stunning photos with sensitivity up to ISO 6400 in extremely low lit situations. The engine allows the Panasonic FZ28 to shoot up to 450 photos (CIPA) on a single battery charge thanks to improvements in power efficiency.

Panasonic’s iA (intelligent auto) mode, which makes it easy for anyone to take beautiful photos, has been further enhanced for new Lumix cameras to be released in this fall, and so as for the Panasonic FZ28. The newly added AF Tracking function automatically tracks the subject once the AF has been set even if the subject moves around, making it easier to capture sharp, well-focused photos of decisive moments. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 continually monitors the light source and automatically activates the backlight compensation function if it detects that the light source is behind the subject. Face detection accuracy has also been increased, allowing continuous AF/AE adjustment even if a face moves or turns sideways to the camera. The Intelligent Exposure function helps capture natural-looking, true-to-life images by suppressing blocked shadows and blown highlights.

The Face Detection function can find up to 15 faces in the frame and adjusts the focus and exposure to capture them clearly and in sharp focus. Face detection accuracy has been increased in the FZ28 to now provide continuous adjustment of the focus and exposure even if the face is turned sideways to the camera. Combined with AF Tracking, Face Detection helps users capture special moments, including the fleeting expressions on the faces of active children. Plus, with the Panasonic Lumix FZ28, the red-eye effect can be digitally corrected automatically when it occurs due to the use the flash. Intelligent Exposure suppresses blocked shadows and blown highlights to capture images that look natural and true-to-life. It now features an automatic backlight compensation function that activates whenever the camera detects that the light source is behind the subject. This is useful when the effect of Intelligent Exposure is not enough due to the strong backlighting.

The Panasonic DMC-FZ28 packages a 27mm wide angle Leica DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens with F2.8-4.4 brightness and powerful 18x optical zoom (equivalent to 27-486mm on a 35mm film camera) together with a 10.1-megapixel CCD into a compact body. The lens unit comprises of 11 elements in 8 groups, including 3 aspherical lenses and 2 ED lenses. Notably 2 ED lenses minimize the chromatic aberration that is likely to occur in telephoto images. This set of lenses secure picture quality high enough to pass Leica's stringent standards and delivers exceptional optical performance. With the long zoom range from 27mm to 486mm, equivalent to 18x, the Panasonic DMC-FZ28 can be the best suitable camera to take expansive scenery with dynamic perspective and a close-up of a distant subject, having the appealing angle of view.

The Panasonic FZ28 features a new Close-up mode that provides optimal settings for shooting flowers or other small objects with fine detail. By selecting Aperture Priority in Close-up mode, the user can capture a close-up shot against a soft-focused background for an even more impressive result. With the new modes in the Panasonic Lumix FZ28 has a total of 37 modes the photographer can choose from to capture images exactly the way he or she sees them. Not only in normal Scene mode but also in Advanced Scene mode, the user can see the effects of the detailed settings in real-time on the LCD. This gives the user the opportunity, before taking the shot, to make whatever adjustments are necessary to capture the desired image. To help take full advantage of the wealth of settings available, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 also offers an Navigation Guide on the LCD that shows the effect of each mode or submode setting.

The most significant improvement in the Panasonic Lumix FZ28 is the new Tracking AF. By keeping the focus locked on a moving subject such as a child or pet, this function makes it a lot easier for users to capture clear, perfectly focused shots at the perfect moment. To match the shooting situation and subject's position, the user can select from six auto-focusing methods: AF tracking, face detection, multi, 1-point high-speed, 1-point normal-speed, and spot. With the 1-point AF or spot AF method, the auto-focusing area can be chosen freely from the entire field of view with the joystick or cursor button. Various group area patterns can also be selected in the Multi method.

The new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 even records dynamic HD motion pictures in 1280 x 720p at a smooth 30 fps, in addition to WVGA (848 x 480) and normal VGA (640 x 480). With newly added HD component output capability, you can enjoy watching still and motion pictures in stunning HD quality taken by your Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 by simply connecting the camera to a TV via an optional component cable (DMW-HDC2). All Lumix cameras can take 1920x1080 pixel HD (high-definition) quality photos that perfectly fit a wide-screen (16:9) HDTV for full-screen viewing.

Clear, easy-to-see Panasonic DMC-FZ28 LCD is upgraded both in size and resolution to be 2.7-inch with 230,000-dot high resolution to offer even more comfortable view for both monitoring when shooting and for playing back the results. The Intelligent LCD function detects the light condition and automatically boosts the LCD backlighting by max. 40% when shooting outdoors in bright sunshine, and adjusts the frame rate when shooting in low-lit situations in addition to using the pixel mixed readout method to secure clarity in such situations. Detecting the lighting condition precisely and automatically controlling the brightness with a total of 11 fine steps, this function gives the display the most appropriate clarity in any situation without using extra energy. The High Angle mode makes the LCD screen extremely easy to view when the camera is held high, such as when shooting over a crowd.

The Panasonic DMC-FZ28 provides slideshows complete with music. Just select the pictures you want to show and choose the mood that best matches your selection from natural, slow, urban or swing, and you'll get an emotion-filled slideshow with a variety of slide change effects and matching music without any annoying adjustments. If you make the slideshow with HD photos in 1920 x 1080 pixels, you can also enjoy watching an impressive HD slideshow with music on a large-screen HDTV by using the optional component cable. The USB port supports the 2.0 HS standard and the internal memory has been increased to approx. 50 MB - two further enhancements that add to the convenience and fun of using the Panasonic FZ28. The Panasonic DMC-FZ28 is available in black or silver.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 details:

Sensor:

• 1/2.33" sensor
• 10.7 million total pixels CCD
• 10.1 million effective pixels
• Primary Color Filter

Image stabilization:

• Lens-shift
• MEGA O.I.S. (Auto/Mode1/ Mode2)

Image sizes:

4:3 Aspect Ratio:

• 3648x 2736 pixels
• 3072 x 2304 pixels
• 2560 x 1920 pixels
• 2048 x 1536 pixels
• 1600 x 1200 pixels
• 640 x 480 pixels

3:2 Aspect Ratio:

• 3648x 2432 pixels
• 3072 x 2048 pixels
• 2560 x 1712 pixels
• 2048 x 1360 pixels

16:9 Aspect Ratio:

• 3648 x 2056 pixels
• 3072 x 1728 pixels
• 2560 x 1440 pixels
• 1920 x 1080 pixels

Movie mode:

• QuickTime Motion JPEG
• 4:3 Aspect Ratio: 640 x 480 pixels 30 fps or
• 320 x 240 pixels 30 fps/10 fps
• 16:9 Aspect Ratio: 848 x 480 pixels 30 fps
• HD(16:9 Aspect Ratio): 1280x720 pixels 30fps

Output formats:

• JPEG ( Exif 2.21 standard)
• RAW

Image processor: Venus Engine IV

Lens:

• 18x zoom
• f=4.8-86.4mm (35mm Equiv.: 27-486mm)
• LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT
• 11 elements in 8 groups
• 3 Aspherical Lenses / 4 Aspherical surfaces
• 2 ED lenses
• Wide: F2.8 - F8.0 Tele: F4.4 - F8

Focus modes:

• Normal
• Macro
• Quick AF
• Continuous AF
• Manual Focus (Joystick)
• One Shot AF
• AF Area Select
• AF Tracking

AF assist lamp: Yes

Shooting modes: 

• Intelligent AUTO
• P(Program) mode
• A(AperturePriority) mode
• S(Shutter Priority) mode
• M(Manual) mode
• Custom1
• Custom2
• Portrait mode
• Scenery mode
• Sports mode
• Night Portrait mode
• Close-up mode
• Motion Picture
• Scene mode

Scene modes:

• Party
• Candle Light
• Baby1
• Baby2
• Pet
• Sunset
• High sensitivity
• Hi-Speed Burst
• Flash Burst
• Panning
• Starry Sky
• Fireworks
• Beach
• Snow
• Aerial photo
• Pin Hole
• Film Grain

Advanced Scene Mode:

• Portrait mode: Normal, Soft Skin, Outdoor, Indoor, Creative
• Scenery mode: Normal, Nature, Architecture, Creative
• Sports mode: Normal, Outdoor, Indoor, Creative
• Night Portrait: Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Illuminations, Creative
• Close-up: Flower

Metering:

• Intelligent Multiple
• Center Weighted
• Spot

AE Bracketing: +/- 1/3 EV ~1EV step, 3 frames

Exposure compen.:

• +/-2 EV
• 0.3 EV increments

Sensitivity:

• Auto
• 100
• 200
• 400
• 800
• 1600

High Sensitivity Mode : Auto(1600 - 6400)

Shutter speed:

• P: 1-1/2000sec (Selectable minimum shutter speed)
• A/S: 8-1/2000sec
• M: 60-1/2000sec
• Starry Sky Mode : 15, 30, 60sec.
 
Aperture values:

• Wide: F2.8 - F8.0
• Tele: F4.4 - F8

White balance:

• Auto
• Daylight
• Cloudy
• Shade
• Flash
• Halogen
• Color Temperature
• White Set 1
• White Set 2
• White Balance Adjustment

Drive modes:

• Single
• Continuous

Burst speed: 2.5 frames/sec Max. 5 images (Standard), Max 3 images (Fine)

High-speed Burst Mode:

• approx.11 frames/sec (recorded in 3M for 4:3)
• 12 frames/sec (2.5M for 3:2)
• 13 frames/sec (2M for 16:9) (Speed Priority)
• 7 frames/sec (recorded in 3M for 4:3, 2.5M for 3:2, 2M for 16:9) (Image Priority)

Self-timer: 10 sec. / 2 sec.

LCD monitor:

• 2.7"
• 230K dots
• Field of View : approx. 100%
• AUTO Power LCD mode

Viewfinder: EVF

Flash:

• Auto
• Auto/Red-eye Reduction
• Forced On
• Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction
• Forced Off
• Flash Synchro 1st / 2nd
• Flash output Adjustment (1/3EV step, -2 - +2 EV)

FLash coverage: 0.3 - 8.5m (Wide/Macro/ISO Auto), 1.0 - 5.4m (Tele/ISO Auto)

Connectivity:

• DC Input
• AV Output (NTSC/PAL)
• HD AV Output (Component)
• USB2.0 High speed

Storage:

• SD Memory Card
• SDHC Memory Card
• MultiMediaCard (Still image only)
• Internal Memory (approx. 50 MB)

Power:

• Li-ion Battery Pack (7.2V, 750mAh)
• Battery life: 460 pictures (CIPA standard)
• AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC) (Optional)

Dimensions: 117.6 x 75.3 x 88.9 mm

Weight (with battery): approx. 417 g

see the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 and full range here