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25mm Wide-angle Leica DC VARIO-ELMAR lens with 12x optical zoom
Venus Engine HD II/Venus Engine VI with Intelligent Resolution Technology
Intelligent auto mode (iA)
Intelligent LCD
Other
Leica DC VARIO-ELMAR lens
The ZS series feature a 25mm wide-angle* LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens with 12x optical zoom (35mm equivalent: 25-300mm) in a compact body. The lens unit comprises 10 elements in 8 groups, with 2 ED (Extra-low dispersion) lens and 2 aspherical lenses/3 aspherical surfaces to achieve high optical performance while maintaining compactness. This lens gives you all the power and flexibility you need to take remarkable telephoto, wide-angle, or macro shots, and dramatic portraits. The ZS series inherits the fine rendering and outstanding quality of the LEICA ELMAR lens, enabling these easy-to-carry cameras to deliver beautiful pictures any time, any place.
 Advantages of the 25mm wide-angle* lens
The 25mm wide-angle lens* lets you easily capture large groups of people indoors or expansive architectural structures and scenes with dynamic width and rich perspective, even from short distances.
Powerful 12x optical zoom easy zoom function
The ZS series are equipped with a 12x optical zoom lens (35mm equivalent: 300mm). The extended optical zoom function uses the centre part of the CCD to extend this 12x zoom ratio to a powerful 23.4x zoom (35mm equivalent: 586mm) at a resolution of 3-megapixel or less.
1/2.33-inch 12.1-megapixel high-resolution CCD*
The ZS series features a newly developed CCD. Slightly larger than previous types, this 1/2.33-inch CCD fully supports the camera's 12.1-megapixel resolution.
Venus Engine VI (DMC-ZS5) / Venus Engine HD II (DMC-ZS7)
The imaging power of LUMIX has evolved even further. Improved circuitry greatly reduces picture noise while preserving exceptional resolution, sharpness and colour reproduction. The Venus Engine VI / HDII also introduce a new circuit that makes Intelligent Resolution Technology possible. And the Venus Engine HD / HDII boast two CPUs which achieve the long-time HD motion picture recording of AVCHD Lite (MPEG-4/H.264) while maintaining low power consumption.
Intelligent Resolution Technology
Tiny nuances that used to be invisible are now crisp and clear, and every part of the image is breathtakingly beautiful. LUMIX's new Intelligent Resolution Technology automatically identifies areas with outlines, detailed texture areas and soft gradation areas, and optimizes the edge emphasis on the outlines and detailed texture areas while using the Venus Engine noise reduction process to make the soft gradation areas smoother. This lets the iA mode do much more than just take great shots automatically. It adds delicate detail that exceeds even optical image quality in both photo and movie recording.
Outlines
Clearly emphasizes the outlines between subject and background.
Detailed texture areas
Heightens the intricacy of detailed areas.
Soft gradation areas
The superior noise reduction system of the Venus Engine HD II/VI is applied to make it smoother.
Fast response - 0.006 second shutter release time lag
The DMC-ZS7 slashes the release time lag to 0.006 second minimum (ZS5: 0.005) by increasing both its circuit speed and the point at which it detects the shutter release signal. This makes Lumix® cameras extremely quick and responsive and they let you capture images comfortably even at a moment's notice and are a pleasure to use.
Full resolution MEGA burst / Unlimited consecutive shooting
The ZS series lets you snap off consecutive shots at 2.3 fps*1 with full resolution. The Unlimited*2 consecutive shooting function lets you keep on shooting until the memory card is full. You can take a series of shots and then choose the ones you like best and delete the rest. You can also select Hi-speed*3 or Flash*3 burst mode from Scene Mode.
Low energy consumption
The energy-saving Venus Engine image-processing engine and our efficient, rechargeable lithium-ion battery work together to extend the shooting time of the ZS series, making it possible to take approximately 300 shots (ZS7) / 340 shots (ZS5) on a single battery charge* despite the large, bright and high-resolution LCD.
The camera will set the most appropriate settings to match the subject and the recording conditions, which is perfect for beginners or those who want to leave the settings to the camera and take pictures easily
Continuous AF
The ZS series feature the continuous AF function which automatically and continuously focuses* on your subject, providing a clear, sharp focus even for moving subjects. This is ideal for capturing images of animals in nature and sports or other events, and is equally handy for taking photos of children and pets. It helps to ensure that pictures of sudden shooting opportunities will not be out of focus or blurry.
Digital red-eye reduction
iA mode also helps avoid the red-eye problem you get when taking flash shots at night. Red-eye reduction for the built-in flash works by emitting a small preliminary flash before the main flash. Furthermore, thanks to the digital red-eye correction function, red-eye problems are automatically detected and corrected digitally.
Face detection
The face detection function detects faces anywhere in the frame and automatically chooses the optimal focus and exposure. You can take clear, beautiful portrait shots easily. It detects up to 15 faces in a photo, and automatically readjusts the settings if their positions change. In iA mode, the quick AF function automatically begins focusing without having to press the shutter button halfway, so the shooting process is smooth and easy.
Face recognition
The ZS series also expands our popular Intelligent Auto (iA) mode with the addition of Face recognition – a feature that “remembers” faces from previous shots*. When a registered face appears in the frame, the camera will prioritize focus and exposure to capture it beautifully. With Face recognition, when a familiar face is recorded several times, the camera will prompt the user to register the face. Once registered, if the face appears into the frame again, the camera will display the name specified for that person and prioritize focus and exposure so that the registered face is bright and sharply focused.
Light detection - Intelligent exposure
The camera instantly analyzes the framed image and adjusts the brightness in areas that are too dark due to dim lighting, backlighting or use of the flash. Adjusting the brightness of dark areas this function produces natural images that are close to the way they actually look to the human eye.
Motion detection - Advanced intelligent ISO control
Thanks to Intelligent ISO control, the camera can determine whether or not the subject is moving. If the subject is moving, Intelligent ISO control changes the ISO sensitivity and shutter speed accordingly. You get clear, beautiful shots with no motion blur even when photographing kids who won't stay still.
Scene detection – Intelligent scene selector
When the camera is iA mode, the Intelligent scene selector senses the ambient conditions and automatically selects either Scenery, Portrait, Macro, Night portrait or Night scenery mode accordingly. It makes several other advanced image settings too, so you're assured of getting beautiful results every time you shoot, no matter what the scene or subject. With the Intelligent scene selector doing all the complicated work for you, you'll find photography easier than ever to enjoy.
Shake detection - POWER O.I.S.
LUMIX cameras now render nightscapes and other dark scenes, which tend to blur due to their slower shutter speeds, with even more natural beauty. The new POWER O.I.S. image stabilizer has doubled* the corrective power of previous models, making it possible to take beautiful nighttime photos with one hand. You do not need to raise the ISO sensitivity, even in dimly lit areas, so you are able to capture photos with less noise. POWER O.I.S. is an original, advanced LUMIX technology that is leading the way for some remarkable new possibilities in compact cameras.
Subject detection – AF tracking
Once you focus on your subject, AF tracking automatically tracks it until you press the shutter. When you're taking pictures of an active subject, like children or pets, this function eliminates the need to press the shutter button halfway down repeatedly to readjust the focus. AF tracking makes sure you don't miss those once-in-a-lifetime shooting opportunities.
11 Area AF
The camera automatically determines the most appropriate AF area from the eleven points. This ensures accurate focusing even for difficult compositions. You can also select the AF setting from five patterns -- Face AF, 1-area high-speed AF, 1-area AF, spot AF and AF tracking -- according to your shooting situation.
Intelligent LCD
The ZS7 has a 3.0" LCD high resolution of 460,000 dots*. This large LCD lets everyone view images together and its crisp clarity is ideal for shooting and viewing photos. The ZS series features an Intelligent LCD function that automatically controls the LCD brightness in 11 steps. Under bright sunlight, the Auto power LCD function increases the backlight brightness in nine steps according to the ambient light intensity. In dimly lit locations, it adjusts the frame rate of live images in 2 steps according to the ambient darkness. At the highest of these 11 steps, the LCD backlight becomes 1.4x (maximum) brighter than normal. This makes both shooting and viewing photos easier and more convenient.
HD Motion picture button (ZS7)
Press the button and the camera starts recording right away, regardless of whether it's in Rec or Play mode. You're ready to shoot quickly when there is a sudden shooting opportunity. It automatically selects the most suitable Scene mode (POWER O.I.S, Face detection, Intelligent scene selector and Intelligent exposure), and helps to correct handshake, focus and brightness problems – making iA mode your one-stop solution to capture beautiful still and motion images. By optimizing these settings, the camera allows you to shoot stunning HD motion images.
AVCHD Lite (ZS7)
The ZS7 is the world’s first digital camera to feature HD video recording in AVCHD Lite*. Compared with the conventional Motion JPEG format, AVCHD Lite allows longer recordings with breathtaking HD visual and audio quality. This, combined with a well-considered control interface that includes a dedicated movie recording button on the camera’s back panel, makes the ZS7 a hybrid model that performs admirably for both still and motion image capture. The ZS7 records HD motion images with 1280 x 720-pixel resolution.
You can also use the iA mode to shoot motion images, and let the camera do all the work for you. This user-friendly mode automatically selects the most suitable Scene mode and helps correct blurring, focus and brightness problems. All you do is aim and shoot. iA is the easy way to capture beautiful HD movies.
Travel mode with GPS
The ZS7 uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine your latitude and longitude, and automatically displays the location and area name on the LCD. It even displays the names of famous sightseeing locations. Positional data is also recorded with the image, making it easier to sort your photos by location and to arrange slideshows. When you return home, you can place thumbnail images onto an online map displayed on your PC.
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