Panasonic Australia hast just announced one of the most exciting things to happen to cameras since they went digital.
The LUMIX DMC-FT1, is the world’s first waterproof, shockproof and dustproof digital camera to also feature AVCHD Lite High Definition (HD) video recording capabilities.
Tested with the same standards used to assess Panasonic’s acclaimed Toughbook notebook computers, the FT1 is waterproof to a depth of 3 metres, shockproof from falls up to 1.5 metres, and dust-proof. Rubber padding, reinforced glass and carbon resins inside the camera ensure the body is airtight and protected from water immersion, dust and sand, the rugged Panasonic FT1 will go where other digital cameras simply cannot.
The LUMIX DMC-FT1 features 12.1 megapixel resolution, a 28mm wide-angle LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens with a 4.6x optical zoom. With a zoom range from 28mm wide angle to a useful 128mm telephoto (35mm film camera equivalent, 28-128mm) and optical image stabilisation (MEGA OIS) to ensure blur-free results, this camera offers the flexibility for all shooting scenes.
And Panasonic’s own iA (Intelligent Auto) mode, makes it an easy-to-use, yet powerful camera that packs advanced imaging features.
The FT1 also features a 2.7-inch, 230,000-dot Intelligent LCD with a wide viewing angle, improving visibility during recording and playback by automatically adjusting the brightness according to the lighting situation.
It is available in a range of metallic colours – blue, olive green, orange and silver – to suit the user’s personal style, the DMC-FT1 is fun, good-looking, adventurous and ready for anything.
High Definition video recording is available in AVCHD Lite, allowing almost double the recording time in HD quality compared with the conventional Motion JPEG format.
When shooting still images, iA includes Face Recognition – a feature that ‘remembers’ faces from previous shots. With Face Recognition, when a familiar face is recorded several times, the camera will prompt you to register the face. Once registered, if the face appears in the frame again, the camera will display the name specified for that person and prioritise focus and exposure to capture it beautifully.
The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FT1 will be available in Australia from April for RRP $699.