January 26th, 2010 - Panasonic today introduced the LUMIX DMC-ZS7 (TZ10) as the newest member of its acclaimed ZS (TZ) series of digital cameras. Incorporating the key features that have been fundamental in the success of the Lumix ZS (TZ) series– including AVCHD Lite HD movie recording capability, a 25mm ultra wide angle and powerful 12x optical zoom in a compact body – the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 (TZ10) goes one step further to offer users built-in GPS and full manual control.

The Lumix ZS7 incorporates a 14.5-megapixel CCD which offers up to 12.1-megapixel resolution. This enables multi-aspect shooting that can reproduce images taken with the lens set from 25mm to 300mm in any of three aspect ratios - 4:3, 3:2 or 16:9 - so you can always capture dynamic, richly expressive shots with a wide perspective. The Multi Aspect mode lets you to take an image in all three aspect ratios simultaneously then choose the one that best suits your scene after shooting -perfect for when you want to take a picture for widescreen TV use but also to make conventional prints.

• Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 (TZ10) Specifications

One of the major new features found in the Lumix DMC-ZS7 (TZ10) is the built-in GPS geotagging ability. The location data where the photo was taken is automatically embedded with its latitude and longitude in the EXIF data. These geo-tagged images can be pinpointed on maps common in photo-sharing websites and social media sites – so travels can be archived and also visually represented on a map – and easily shared with friends and family.

The Panasonic LUMIX ZS7 also features a Travel Mode function with GPS which shows the name of the city, country and state, and information for more than 500,000 popular landmarks, covering 73 countries, are stored in the camera’s internal memory. For instance, when users are taking photos of the Eiffel Tower or Empire State Building, landmarks stored within the camera, these locations will be displayed on the screen while taking it and tagged in the data. Users can also refer to the locations using the included software.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 (TZ10) now features manual exposure override modes conveniently located on the top control dial of the camera. Users can select from Aperture, Shutter Priority and Manual exposure modes to control shutter speed and aperture for greater creative control.

For point and shoot simplicity you can simply select iA mode and let the ZS7 do all the work by automatically choosing the most suitable settings for capturing the scene at hand, as determined by the intelligent scene recognition technology built-in to the Lumix DMC-ZS7 (TZ10).

Technologies incorporated into the LUMIX ZS7’s iA mode include:

• Face Recognition – With new enhancements when compared to previous editions, Face Recognition allows users to register up to three different images for a person, helping to improve detection accuracy. Face detection is also included for up to 15 faces

• Intelligent Scene Selector – Automatically selects one of 6 Scene Modes – Macro, Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery and newly added Sunset

• Other iA Technologies: Intelligent Resolution and Intelligent Zoom, AF Tracking, Intelligent ISO Control and Intelligent Exposure

The new Intelligent Resolution (I.R) Technology found in the Lumix ZS7 digital camera gives a high resolution look to digital zoom images as well as ordinary images. The image is divided into contour areas, texture areas and smooth areas. And optimum image processing is applied to each type of area. This enables 16x Intelligent Zoom that achieves about 1.3 times the usual zoom magnification with almost no loss of image quality. The Intelligent Resolution Technology also achieves sharp images in modes that use fewer pixels to enable high sensitivity and high speed.

The Panasonic LUMIX ZS7 features Sonic Speed AF (Auto Focus), which enables a fast response time (0.35 sec), and a shutter release time lag as short as approximately 0.006 second. The camera's quick response makes it easier to capture sudden, spur-of-the-moment photo opportunities. The LUMIX ZS7 also features a short startup time of approximately 1.1 second.

When playing back, automatic sort & slideshow by shooting location is possible. The photos and movies with their location data are automatically sorted in the virtual folder alphabetically in the camera allowing quick access. You can also refer to the location names via the included software PHOTOfunSTUDIO HD Edition Ver.5.1. It is also easy to sort or search images by using location names.

In addition to Motion JPEG images, the DMC-ZS7 can record high-definition motion picture in AVCHD Lite. It allows almost doubling of the recording time in HD quality compared with the conventional Motion JPEG format. The picture quality is enhanced thanks to the newly added Intelligent Resolution technology. The Lumix ZS7 also features Dolby Digital Stereo Creator to record high quality audio, and offers a one-touch movie button for instant recording of videos.

With the ZS7 you can utilize the 12x optical zoom fully in movie recording mode. The GPS and corresponding location information can also be embedded in the video clips. With the newly added Video Divide function, users can divide the video into two sections to shorten or delete the unwanted part on the spot in the camera. You can capture a still image from a movie in the camera and Intelligent Resolution Technology makes it possible to produce 1920x1080 still images from a 1280x720 HD movie even recorded in AVCHD Lite. A Wind Cut function is also available to block out most of the noise from background wind.

Taking advantage of Panasonic's accumulated optical technologies, MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer) has been incorporated into LUMIX cameras from the earliest stages of development. MEGA O.I.S. has evolved into POWER O.I.S. on the DMC-ZS7 (TZ10), now offering twice the shake suppression capability of the predecessor TZ7.

The hand-shake component, which is physically generated when pressing the shutter button or when shooting at night with a slow shutter speed, is recognized as a low-frequency vibration, for which the new POWER O.I.S. is particularly effective. This greatly improves the quality of shots taken at night or indoors where a flash cannot be used, or where the photographer doesn't want to use a flash because it would spoil the mood.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 (TZ10) is equipped with a 3.0-inch, super high resolution 460,000-dot Intelligent LCD with a wide viewing angle and AR (Anti-Reflection) coating. The screen brightness automatically adjusts in 11 steps as the surrounding brightness level changes, ensuring easy visibility at all times. The big screen reflects fine details, making it easy to check the focus before shooting. It also serves as a small photo and video viewer, allowing the user and friends to enjoy viewing the still and motion images together.

Scene modes, which are optimized for a variety of still-image shooting situations, are now available for motion images as well. Thanks to a rich variety of 28 scene modes for still image and 18 for motion image (Portrait, Soft Skin, Transform, Self portrait, Scenery, Low light, Food, Party, Candle light, Sunset, Beach, Snow, Aerial, High Sensitivity, Pin hole, Film grain, High Dynamic and Underwater), capturing beautiful videos is effortless with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7.

A High Dynamic mode has been newly added to the existing Scene modes. This mode helps to capture a scene with moderate exposure, even though the scene contains both bright and dark areas together. The user can select either of three options, Standard, Art, or B/W, depending on the desired effect and personal taste to make the photo look natural to artistic.

An optional marine case (DMW-MCTZ10) is available for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 to allow underwater photography offering the ability to take advantage of an outstanding shooting range from 25mm to 300mm for both photo and movie.

In addition to the conventional SD/SDHC Memory Card, the DMC-ZS7 accepts next-generation SD format SDXC (SD eXtended Capacity), that features high potential in both capacity and data transfer speed. The Lumix DMC-ZS7 is compatible with Windows 7.

Pricing and availability for the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS7 will be announced 30 days prior to shipping date (Expected 03/10). The LUMIX ZS7 will be available in silver, black, red and blue models.