Ultimate Hybrid Digital Compact Camera DMC-FZ100 with Full HD Movie
Offering Active, Creative Photo and Movie with Powerful 24x Optical Zoom and Hi-Speed Response
The DMC-FZ100, packs a powerful optical zoom and creative options including full HD movie recording capability. The newly developed LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens in the DMC-FZ100 extends its optical zoom range from 25mm at wide end and 24x to 600mm. Also the newly developed 14.1-megapixel MOS sensor lets the FZ100 record high quality 1920x1080 full HD movie smooth at 60i. Together with a host of options, unlimited expression is now easily available with FZ100. The high speed MOS sensor realizes the industrys fastest level of burst shooting in 14.1-megapixel full resolution at 11 fps with mechanical shutter and even 60 fps in 3.5-megapixel recording mode. It also enables the camera to record high speed movie at 220 fps in QVGA size, to capture the motion of a subject the naked eye cannot see.
25mm Ultra Wide-Angle LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT Lens with Powerful 24x Optical Zoom for Ultimate Versatility in Both Photo and Movie Recording
The FZ100 features a high-quality LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT 25mm ultra wide-angle lens with a 24x optical zoom (35mm camera equivalent:25-600mm). Comprising 14 elements in 10 groups, including 3 ED lenses and 2 aspherical lenses with 3 aspherical surfaces, this advanced lens unit realizes the outstandingly compact body while passing Leica's stringent standards to deliver exceptional optical performance suppressing distortion at wide end and color bleeding at tele end. Thanks to the newly incorporated Intelligent Resolution technology, the Intelligent Zoom is available with the FZ100 which extends the zoom ratio by approx. 1.3x maintaining the picture quality even combining a digital zoom. This means the 24x optical can virtually extend to 32x equivalent. Furthermore, the Extra Optical Zoom function that extends zoom power to 50.6x (at 3-megapixel resolution) by using the center part of the large MOS sensor to bring subjects even closer.
Newly Developed 14.1-Megapixel MOS Sensor Pursuing Even Higher Level in Resolution, Sensitivity and Speed
To realize the 1920x1080 full HD movie recording with high image quality, the new 14.1-megapixel MOS sensor is developed for DMC-FZ100. For the effective concentration of light, the newly developed sensor adopts microfabrication technology to achieve even higher sensitivity. With an advanced micro light tube structure, both color mixture and signal loss are prevented. The result is that the photo and movie shot at any sensitivity from low to high have outstanding clearness.
The high speed digital signal output technology integrated in the DMC-GH1 is applied also to the DMC-FZ100 realizing the high speed consecutive shooting and full HD movie recording. It lets the DMC-FZ100 shoot 11 fps in 14-megapixel full resolution with mechanical shutter and 5 fps with continuous AF. Even higher speed burst shooting is available with DMC-FZ100 if electronic shutter is used 60 fps in 3.5-megapixel. It also enables the camera to record Full HD 60i smooth movie. In addition, the high speed movie at 220 fps in QVGA size is another advantage of the sensor which captures the motion of a subject. The frame rate, AF setting and the recording resolution can be easily selected according to the movement of the subject with a dedicated button on the top of the camera.
Photos shot with the burst shooting are automatically organized and it is easy to play them back later either in the camera or on PC using the bundled software PHOTOfunSTUDIO 5.2 HD Edition.
Despite its outstanding performance, the high performance MOS sensor contributes to energy efficiency extending the battery life up to 410 shots (CIPA) per a single charge.
1920x1080 60i Full HD Movie Recording in the AVCHD format
The LUMIX DMC-FZ100 is an advanced photographic tool for recording not only great photos but also beautiful full-HD movies. In addition to Motion JPEG images, the DMC-FZ100 can record high-resolution full-HD 1920 x 1080 60i movies in AVCHD (MPEG-4/H.264) format. The AVCHD format features almost twice the recording time in HD quality than the conventional Motion JPEG and excels in the compatibility with AV equipment like HDTVs or Blu-ray players. A special, separate button on the top lets the user instantly start recording movies while shooting photos without any having to make any extra settings.
The powerful 24x optical zoom is available in movie recording with the mechanism designed to minimize the noise of auto focusing or zooming. With DMC-FZ100, there are always two options to record spur-of-the-moment scenes high-quality photos or movies. The user can simply choose the one that saves precious memories most beautifully.
The popular iA (Intelligent Auto) is also available in movie recording. The POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer), Face Detection, and Intelligent Scene Selector also support shooting beautiful movie with ease. The Intelligent Scene Selector automatically switches between Normal, Portrait, Macro, Scenery, and Low Light modes according to the situation to optimize visual quality. The Intelligent Exposure that also optimizes the exposure to prevent over/under exposure part from occurring.
The movies also come with the high-quality stereo sound of Dolby Digital Stereo Creator, to offer highly realistic sound to the movie. For more creative sound recording, an optional stereo microphone (DMW-MS1) is available. And a Wind Cut function is also available to block out most of the noise from background wind.
Redesigned Venus Engine FHD with Even Higher Signal Processing Performance
For the image processor, the new Venus Engine FHD is incorporated that features exceptionally advanced signal processing capabilities. By separating chromatic noise from luminance noise and applying the optimal noise reduction to each, you can capture clear and beautiful images even when shooting at high ISO sensitivity levels. The Venus Engine FHD also provides precisely selective noise reduction to the chromatic noise without affecting the border of colors which is judged from the brightness level of a pixel. The Intelligent Resolution technology is another feature of the Venus Engine FHD. With the Intelligent Resolution technology, 3 areas outlines, detailed texture areas and soft gradation areas are automatically detected. The outline parts are enhanced effectively to give edges more clearness while giving a moderate accentuation to the texture areas to look more finely detailed. To the soft gradation part, superior noise reduction system of the Venus Engine FHD is applied to make it smoother. Apart from the uniform enhancement of sharpness, the innovative technology Intelligent Resolution precisely performs signal processing pixel by pixel in the most effective way for it. As a result, images are naturally clear and crisp in both photo and movie recording. The Intelligent Resolution technology also realizes Intelligent Zoom, which virtually extends the optical zoom ratio to its approx. 1.3x equivalent maintaining the picture quality even combining the digital zoom. Details of an image in high sensitivity recording tend to be lost in the noise reduction process; however, the Intelligent Resolution works to keep them. Linking smoothly with the MOS sensor, the Venus Engine FHD processes a large amount of signals at high speed, making it possible to record high resolution consecutive shots and full HD movie recording.
At the same time, the multi-task image-processing engine Venus Engine FHD achieves a super-fast response time. The shutter release time lag is as short as approx. 0.008 second and the camera's quick response makes it easier to capture sudden, spur-of-the-moment photo opportunities together with the Sonic Speed AF (Auto Focus).
