Panasonic has added a new model to its Lumix GX Series of interchangeable lens cameras and announced a new 60x superzoom camera with the latest 4K capabilities.
The new Lumix DC-GX850 will be offered in a choice of orange, ‘cherry blossom’, or two-tone black and silver colours. (Source: Panasonic.)
Designed to be pocketable, the Lumix DC-GX850 has a 16-megapixel sensor and Venus Engine processor. No viewfinder is available. The large 3.0-inch 1,040,000-dot touch control monitor flips 180 degrees, triggering the Self Shot Mode. In this mode, users can access the Face Shutter mode, which triggers the shutter after you wave your hand in front of your face, or Buddy Shutter, which operates when the camera detects two faces next to each other. The camera can be set to take the shot immediately or after a 3-second or 10-second countdown. A new Panorama Selfie mode uses the flip up screen to fit in large groups against scenic backgrounds. Background Control mode offers Defocus, where the subject’s face is sharp and the background is blurred or Clear, where the subject and background are both sharp. The remote control Jump Snap feature is designed for fun group shots ““the acceleration sensor on a smartphone detects the highest point of a jump and releases the camera shutter via Wi-Fi and the Panasonic Image App.
The GX850 includes a user-friendly Intelligent Auto shooting-assist mode for beginners, along with on-dial Portrait and Child modes, a Snap movie mode that makes it simple to quickly capture and share a 2.8-second creative video across Vine, Instagram and Facebook and full wireless control and photography via the Panasonic Image App.
The GX850 has Panasonic’s very latest 4K capabilities, including support for recording 4K Video in 3840 x 2160 at 30p/25p/24p in MP4 format, in addition to Full HD 1920 x 1080 50p/60p. It also supports 4K Photo recording, which records at 30 frames per second before and after the shutter is released. In addition, Batch Save stores an entire burst sequence of up to 150 frames with one press of a button. Light Composition combines the brightest pixels from a series of images to create vibrant night scenes, such as fireworks. Also available are Panasonic’s Post Focus and Focus Stacking functions and users can use the touchscreen to select the area to focus on.
Angled view of the Lumix DC-GX850 in black, with the Lumix G VARIO 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH./MEGA OIS lens. (Source: Panasonic.)
The DC-GX850 will be supplied with the Lumix G VARIO 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH./MEGA OIS lens. It is due to go on sale in March at an RRP of AU$799. Visit http://www.panasonic.com/au/consumer/lumix-cameras-video-cameras/lumix-g-cameras.html for more information.
The new Lumix DC-FZ80, shown with its zoom lens extended. (Source: Panasonic.)
Panasonic’s latest FZ Series super telephoto camera, the DC-FZ80, features a powerful 60x zoom lens spanning from 20mm to1200mm (35mm equivalent) plus an 18.1-megapixel sensor. It boasts a high-resolution (1,170,000-dot) Live View Finder (LVF) with a magnification ratio of approximately 0.46x (35mm camera equivalent in 4:3) and a fast 60 fps refresh rate that minimises image lag. The 3-inch 1040K-dot touch control rear monitor provides quick focusing and shutter release, and supports after-shooting operations including selecting 4K Photo shots or setting Post Focus. Full manual control and selectable P/A/S/M modes allow advanced users to enjoy more creative photography. The grip design has been re-engineered for stability during extended shooting.
A full array of technologies is provided for recording 4K Video at 3840 x 2160 pixels with 4K Live Cropping enabling users to crop frames to create smooth, slow zooms or stable pans. The resulting footage is recorded with Full HD picture quality. Panasonic’s 4K Photo modes for shooting stills include 4K Photo, 4K Pre-burst and Post Focus as well as Focus Stacking. Depth from Defocus technology ensures highly responsive autofocusing while the POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabiliser) with Active Mode suppresses blurring in video and still image recording. The camera offers high-speed burst shooting at 10 fps (AFS) / 6 fps (AFC) in 18.1-megapixel full resolution with the mechanical shutter as well as High Speed Video for fast motion recording at 120fps/100 fps 50Hz with FHD resolution. Time Lapse and Stop Motion Animation are also available.
The Lumix DC-FZ80 will be available in Australia in March at an RRP of AU$599. Visit http://www.panasonic.com/au/consumer/lumix-cameras-video-cameras/lumix-digital-cameras.html for more information.
