Panasonic Expands Its Award-Winning TZ-Family of LUMIX Compact, Superzoom Digital Cameras

Market Wire, January, 2008

Panasonic today introduced two new additions to its award-winning TZ-family of LUMIX digital cameras, the DMC-TZ5 and DMC-TZ4 -- both packing a 28mm wide-angle, 10X optical zoom Leica DC lens in a compact design, ideal for the active user needing a versatile camera. By combining a 28mm wide-angle lens, which lets the user capture a wider-framed shot when compared to a traditional 35mm camera, with the TZ-Series 10x optical zoom -- consumers are empowered to take expanded shots, both wide and far. Adding to these feature-rich digital cameras, Panasonic also expands its Intelligent Auto technologies with new Intelligent Exposure and Digital Red-eye Correction.

"Panasonic is taking digital photography to a new level and recognizes that everyone, not just professionals, should be equipped with a digital camera powerful enough to take high-quality photos, but compact enough to carry with them everyday," said Alex Fried, National Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. "With the success of the TZ3, we're confident that the enhancements we've made to the 2008 TZ-family will make them a must-have for consumers who appreciate advanced, intuitive and versatile digital cameras."

With the addition of Intelligent Exposure and Digital Red-eye Correction, Panasonic's Advanced Intelligent Auto mode consists of seven intuitive technologies, all which are specifically designed to help make photo-taking an enjoyable and seamless process unnoticed by the consumer -- helping them to take clear photos. When in Advanced Intelligent Auto mode, the following technologies all operate automatically; the consumer does not need to change any settings:

--  Intelligent Exposure - With this new feature, photos will no longer be
    under- or over-exposed.  Instead, the TZ5 and TZ4, instantly analyze the
    framed image and adjusts the brightness in areas that are too dark because
    of dim lighting, backlighting or the use of the flash. The camera will
    automatically adjust the brightness accordingly.
--  Digital Red-eye Correction* - This feature helps to eliminate the red-
    eye problem that sometimes results when taking flash shots at the night.
    Incorporated into the built-in flash, the camera emits a small preliminary
    flash before the main flash, detects red-eye and will digitally correct it.
--  MEGA O.I.S. - Gyrosensors detect hand-shake and the lens system shifts
    to compensate, helping to prevent hand-shake from creating a blurry image.
--  Intelligent ISO - With Intelligent ISO, the TZ4 and TZ5 can determine
    if the photo subject is moving and change the ISO setting and shutter speed
    accordingly, thus giving a blur-free photo.
--  Intelligent Scene Selector - Intelligent Scene Selector senses the
    ambient conditions, recognizes the shooting environment and will
    automatically select the appropriate scene mode from: Scenery, Portrait,
    Macro, Night Portrait or Night Scenery mode.  This intuitive technology,
    helps the consumer use the most common scene modes that are built into the
    camera, but often go unused, without making any manual adjustments.
--  Face Detection - Panasonic's Face Detection detects faces anywhere in
    the frame and automatically chooses the optimal focus and exposure settings
    so portraits come out clear and crisp.  Detecting up to 15 faces,
    Panasonic's Face Detection can even track a face if the subject is moving.
--  Continuous AF - The Continuous AF (auto focus) system maintains focus
    on the subject even without pressing a shutter button halfway, thus
    minimizing the AF time.
    

Also new to the TZ5 and the TZ4 is the Venus Engine IV, Panasonic's new high-performance image processing LSI. The Venus Engine IV produces higher-quality pictures than its predecessor, the Venus Engine III, by using a more advanced signal processing system. The new Venus Engine IV also improves noise reduction, elevates the detection accuracy and corrective effects in both MEGA O.I.S. and Intelligent ISO and reduces the shutter release time lag. Both models also incorporate Intelligent LCD, which detects the lighting condition and controls the brightness level of the LCD in 11 fine steps, to offer optimal clarity in any situation, whether dark or light; indoors or outdoors. With a newly developed 460,000-dot high resolution in the TZ5's 3.0-inch LCD and 230,000-dot in the TZ4's 2.5-inch LCD, photos can be easily viewed on the display, regardless of the shooting environment.

The TZ5, with 9.1 megapixels is capable of recording 720p High Definition motion pictures, and because of its support of SD Memory Cards, is easily compatible with Panasonic VIERA Plasma HDTVs that have an integrated SD Memory Card slot, so viewing photos is simple. The TZ4, with 8.1 megapixels, joins the TZ5 in its ability to take 1920 x 1080 pixel High Definition-ready photos that perfectly fit a wide-screen (16:9) HDTV. Also, with the newly added HD component output capability, users can also connect the TZ models to an HDTV and watch a slideshow complete with mood-appropriate music, choosing from natural, slow, urban and swing.